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CTTAB is excited to announce Roni Ayalla as the 2010-2011 Get Engaged Board Member. Get Engaged is a partnership between the City of Seattle and Metrocenter YMCA, and is dedicated to cultivating the next generation of leaders and highlighting the value of youth voice in City affairs. Roni Ayalla comes to CTTAB with a master’s degree in digital media communications and a wealth of experience working with diverse youth and the community of Seattle. CTTAB welcomes Roni and looks forward to her expertise and passion in helping make a difference in the technology community of Seattle.

The YMCA of Greater Seattle and One Economy Digital Connector program will provide a unique opportunity to serve your community, learn technology skills and practice leadership skills. Seattle-area youth ages 14-21 are eligible to participate. In exchange for your participation, successful graduates of the program will receive a $500 stipend, laptop computer and other incentives for participating. Download the application and return it to rayalla@seattleymca.org.

• Increase your computer and internet knowledge
• Promote technology in your community
• Learn entrepreneurship and life skills
• Receive a Cisco I.T. essentials certificate
• Receive an Ever-Fi Financial certificate
• Build multimedia portfolio
• HAVE FUN!

Don’t miss City Inside/Out: Council Edition on the Seattle Channel. It’s a Q&A show featuring host C.R. Douglas in a discussion about local issues with three City Councilmembers. The next show airs on September 29, 7:00 p.m. on Cable 21 or online at the Seattle Channel. Email your questions in advance or leave a message at (206) 684-8821.

The Obama administration has invested heavily in expanding and improving broadband services in the US. They believe Internet access is vital to compete in the global market. Should Internet access be free, or should better services be available for purchase? The panelists are Bill Schrier, chief technology officer of the City of Seattle; Craig Aaron, managing director of the nonprofit advocacy group Free Press; Jim Harper, director of information policy studies at the Cato Institute; and Congressman Jay Inslee.

Listen online to Net Neutrality And Broadband: Google, Verizon And The FCC on KUOW.

LTE stands for Long Term Evolution, an up-and-coming fourth-generation (4G) wireless standard that promises much faster mobile Internet access on a wider variety of devices than existing 3G and 4G networks. It's about to debut in Seattle. Check out an interview with Bill Schrier, Seattle's chief technology officer at the Puget Sound Business Journal. [Subscription]

Free cable broadband Internet service is available for organizations providing technology training to community members. The free service is offered within the Seattle city limits, based on the City's cable franchise agreements with Comcast and Broadstripe (Millennium). For more information and to download a short form to make application, go to our tech web. If you have questions, email Derrick Hall or call (206) 233-5061.

q&a

Don't miss Ask the Mayor on the Seattle Channel. It's a Q&A show featuring host C.R. Douglas and callers discussing local issues with Mayor Mike McGinn. On Wednesday, September 8, 7:00 p.m. call (206) 684-8821 and talk to the mayor live. If you can’t call then, call (206) 684-8821 at any time and leave a message or email your questions to askthemayor@seattle.gov. You can also send us your questions on Seattle Channel’s Facebook and Twitter accounts. Don’t miss this opportunity to dialogue with City Hall’s CEO!

East African Community Services student who completed the Computer Literacy class.

Many Technology Matching Fund grantees from 2009/2010 have completed their projects. Here are few updates from recent grantees.

Youth Media Institute wrapped up their "Step Up Youth Leadership Pathway" project. With a TMF grant of $14,500, they were able to provide 12 youth with additional opportunities to improve their technical media skills, become more effective advocates for their communities, and engage additional youth in community media. One success of the project was the creation of a youth-inspired documentary video detailing the events and circumstances surrounding the closure of the Cooper Elementary School in June 2009. Check out their videos on their You Tube Channel. For more information, contact Estevan Munoz-Howard.

East African Community Services also recently completed their "Whole Families Literate" project. With a grant of $18,700, they installed ESL and literacy building software in their computer lab and offered after school support to East African youth. They also provided Internet use and safety, basic computer literacy and employment training to parents. The organization matched the City’s contribution with more than $25,000 in in-kind donations and volunteer support, and helped more than 500 East Africans over the course of the grant. Zahra Aden is one 9th grader who improved her research skills dramatically by working with EACS staff to learn appropriate Internet research techniques in the lab. For more information, contact Abdirizak Jama.

Do you want to provide input on city policies, and help shape both our city and its government? Do you have a special interest in issues relating to telecommunications and technology, including Broadband, Cable Television Access, and Community Technology Access? Apply today to serve on the City’s Citizens’ Telecommunications and Technology Advisory Board! Interested in serving? To be considered, send a letter of interest and a resume outlining your experience by September 28, 2010 to: Nicole.Schultz@seattle.gov.

Things to consider before applying:

• Service to the board will begin January 2011
• Board Members serve two-year appointments
• Board service requires significant time commitment (10-15 hours per month)

Applicants must:

• Either reside or work in Seattle
• Not be employed by the City of Seattle
• Not serve on more than one board or commission

South Park RecTech teens celebrate their summer web projects.

Hot web creations and videos filled the room as teens in the Seattle Community Centers’ RecTech program shared their summer projects with friends and family at a multimedia celebration at Garfield Community Center on August 28. The South Park RecTech crew learned web coding and created their own designs and sites. 911 Media Arts helped arrange the teaching artists with funding provided by the City of Seattle. Take a look at the South Park web curriculum and links to the teen-created sites, including cheap work; football history; how to get started in music; South Park business profiles; fashion tips; and more here.

The Garfield video crew learned to use Final Cut Pro and created drama and documentary pieces. Staff from the American Lung Association and King County Metro were interviewed for pieces on anti-smoking and the pending bus fare hike. Congrats to all these new tech creators!

What do you think? Join the conversation! On Thursday, September 30 Seattle Channel host C.R. Douglas will lead a discussion “in the round” with leaders from both sides of the issue, State lawmakers, audience members, business owners and YOU. Join us for Seattle Speaks: Income Tax in Washington State either at Town Hall or online. Audience members will participate with instant polling devices. Online viewers can also take the polls and voice opinions via emails, Twitter and Facebook. This interactive 90-minute program is a partnership of The Seattle Channel, CityClub of Seattle and Town Hall. Admission is free, but registration is required: visit SeattleCityClub.org or call (206) 682-7395 to sign up!

What: Help Seattle residents put an end to energy-sucking, phantom vampires!

How: Promote energy efficiency and educational awareness by encouraging entry in the Seattle City Light energy Vampire video contest. All SCL residential customers are eligible to submit one 90-second video that is fun, creative and educational – showing how the customer found an energy vampire and how they were able to eliminate it.

When: Contest begins 12:01 a.m., September 1, and ends 11:56 p.m., September 30, 2010. Winners will be announced October 28, just in time for Halloween.

Where: Complete rules and directions available online at Seattle City Light.

Prizes: Everyone who enters receives a free compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL). The Grand Prize is a free home energy audit and an “Energy Vampire Slayer” kit. 1st and 2nd runners up receive a vampire kit.

SCANTV is excited to announce that voting for the 2010 SCA Awards will open September 1. Community members & viewers of SCANTV are encouraged to go to www.scantv.org to vote for their favorite public access television programs. Voting is open through September 30. Ballots are available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean & Vietnames.

If English is not your primary language, you may wonder if you can get your operating system to support your native language better. New computers with Windows 7 Ultimate or above can be upgraded to support multiple languages. Other operating systems will not support multiple languages. You can still make your life a little easier, however. Under the “control panel” of your Windows operating system, you will see an icon called “Regional and Language Options.” Here, you can change your language and keyboard settings. This will not change your core operating system or most menus, but may help with certain applications allowing documents to be better viewed in another language.

Users of Apple’s iTunes services should keep a close eye on PayPal and credit card statements for fraudulent iTunes charges.

For more than a year, scammers have been racking up unauthorized charges on iTunes accounts, leaving Apple’s customers to clean up the mess.

Rober McMillan ComputerWorld reports that Tech Crunch and the San Jose Mercury News found that the scam drains hundreds of dollars or more from accounts and consumers have been complaining about the problem since at least early 2009.

The number of people being hit by the fraudsters now seems to be growing, however. PayPal, which is often processing the unauthorized charges, confirmed on August 23 that customers are being reimbursed for the fraud. The fraud "is happening on the iTunes side," a PayPal spokeswoman said via email. She referred further questions about the scam to Apple. Scammers appear to be gaining access to the accounts by sending out fake phishing email messages that try to trick users into disclosing their iTunes user names and passwords. Those credentials are then used to pile on charges for music or iTunes gift codes. Apple said that victims of the fraud must work things out with their banks and credit card companies. Remember: don’t share your user name and password with anyone. If they are legit, they don’t need it!

Harvest Foundation
Deadline for Letter of Inquiry: Postmarked by October 15
Funds education and social services programs for up to $10,000 each. The Foundation seeks to support the work of community social service agencies, arts programs and teacher training in technology and curriculum development. Unsolicited applications are not accepted. However, one-page letters of inquiry accepted twice per year will be considered for funding. Organizations may re-apply for grants annually.

Visit the August issue of Brainstorm for information on Wells Fargo (9/30) and Verizon Foundation (10/31) opportunities.

Zoopz: puzzles, mazes, and fun little thinking games.

Seattle area travelers map with cams.

Real vs. advertised broadband gap grows.

The business case for closing the digital divide.

BBC School typing lessons. [Flash]

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