Wisconsin All-computer User's Club
January 2001 WAUCtalk Newletter
Volume 18, Number 1 - January 2001
Wisconsin All-computers User's club
January at a Glance
It's that time again............
***********TIME TO RENEW YOUR WAUC MEMBERSHIP**********
January at a Glance
You may mail your dues in to: WAUC
P.O. Box 340241
Milwaukee, WI 53234-0241Or bring it to the general meeting. No increases in dues, still just $25 per year.
Remember, if Naspa is your Internet service provider, you need to be a WAUC member in good standing to get their discounted rate.On the agenda for this month: Wednesday, January 3rd
PC SIG
Super America on 60th & LaytonThursday, January 4th
General Meeting
Jackson Park Lutheran Church
4535 West Oklahoma Avenue
Professor Levine will share humorous anecdotes of
his many years as a computer scientistTuesday, January 9th
Apple II/GS SIG
Child Dev. Center of St. Joseph's at
1600 West Oklahoma AvenueWednesday, January 10th
HTML SIG
Corp Technologies
9733 W. Greenfield Avenue,
Suite #206Thursday, January 11th
Multi-Format SIG
Corp Technologies
9733 W. Greenfield Avenue,
Suite #206
Topic: Print Shop DeluxeThursday, January 18th
Telecom SIG
Super America
60th & LaytonWe have about 60 Smart Computing Magazines to give away at the general meeting. They will be given out to the first 60 members attending. Hope to see you at a meeting soon. Wow! Here it is! The year 2001, a computer odyssey. What a time to be alive. The computer age is in full speed and there doesn't seem to be any slowing down. Remember when a computer consisted of a CPU and a printer? Now there are video cams, scanners, voice recognition, read/write CD's, and the list goes on. The snow has fallen and fallen and fallen. With the cold snowy nights, what could be better than snuggling up with your computer and maybe doing some web surfing to somewhere warm. I hope your holidays were joyous. If you know anyone who may have received a computer or computer accessory for Christmas, be sure to tell them about WAUC. We are here for everyone. Have a safe and blessed New Year and happy new millennium.
A couple of events will be taking place this year that some of you may want to keep in mind. In February there will be another e-Customer Expo in Chicago and in April we will have our annual trek to COMDEX.
Bruce KosbabNovember Board Meeting
The WAUC Board met on November 27, 2000, at the home of Marcia Zientek. Those present included Bruce Kosbab, Doris Regner, Marcia, Jackie Tamsett, Bob Banerian, Marie Bellin, Leo Hoffer, and me.Doris brought quite a few rebate checks she has received on items she has purchased for door prizes. Doris really chases these great pr~ motional items and then mails in the rebates. These items are used for door prizes and raffles and generate considerable income for WAUC.
Bob Banerian will now handle the sale of the paper products and the distribution of paper packets to those writing SIG minutes. Marie Bellin has been doing this for a number of years and it is becoming more difficult for her to keep up on all her WAUC duties. She is the newsletter editor and putting together WAUCtalk takes approximately twenty hours per issue.
Leo Hoffer will now handle the monthly raffle.
Doris has been in contact with the people at "Smart Computing", and has made arrangements for WAUC to receive sixty copies of the magazine. These magazines will be given out to the first sixty WAUC members to arrive at the January general meeting.
Leo will be contacting a software publisher to see if they will offer us books and software for review. WAUC members would be able to take the book or software, use it, evaluate it, write a review for WAUCtaIk , and the software or book would be theirs to keep.
Holiday party details were discussed. Jackie Tamsett and Sandy Karlovich are co-chairing the party. Debbie Breese and Carol Termini will help with the preparation and Ron Toro will be in charge of the clean-up.
Please acknowledge those WAUC members who are going the extra mile to help WAUC remain the best computer club in this area. A "Thank you" in person or via email would be appreciated for all their efforts. If you enjoy the raffle, the door prizes, WAUCtaIk, the party, or anything else you are benefiting from, please express your appreciation to the responsible person.
Submitted by Terry HarveyJanuary Raffle
1. Photo Suite
2. Streets & Tips 2001
3. Ultimate Family Tree
4. Print House 2000 for the MacAnnual WAUC Holiday Party
There was snow on the ground, there were lights in the hall and there was enough food to fill everyone who came to the Annual WAUC Holiday Party. It's amazing how the effort of the individuals who make up a group can start the Holiday Season off with a bang, and what a bang! The hot turkey and pork sandwiches were delicious and the variety of salads, snacks and desserts was something that the BIG MAN in the RED SUIT would be proud of! As I looked around the room, I saw laughter and merriment everywhere and conversations in every corner of the room. What a great way to start the Holiday Season.An EXTRA SPECIAL THANKS to Scott Sherer for his generous donation toward the Holiday party. We appreciate your donation Scott and hope that BIG MAN leaves you an extra something under the tree this year!
We all know that without the assistance of the WAUC Board who oversee ideas for the party it just wouldn't be; and for those that organized this years party, you are the greatest. A special thanks to Sandy Karlovich, Carol Termini, Debbie Breese and Jackie Tamsett for being the best darn committee any club has ever seen! A final HIP HIP HOORAY to Ron Toro and Jerry Regner for clean up. When the laughter was dwindling, and the lights went out, they left a sparkle in the room for all to see.
Wishing you all - A Very Happy and Healthy New Year in 2001 - Happy "real" Millennium
Your WAUC Holiday Party CommitteeCherry Pretzel Dessert
2 cups crushed pretzels
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup butter (less)
Combine and line 9" x 13" pan. Save
1/2 cup for toppingI pkg. cream cheese (8 oz.)
1 - 10 oz. Cool Whip
1 cup powdered sugar
Mix and spread over crumbs.2cups cherry pie filling.
Spread over cream cheese mixture
Sprinkle with reserved crumbs
Chill until ready to serve.Free Computer Magazine
Thanks to the generosity of the Smart Computing Magazine and Mark Anderson, their representative, we have a large number of Smart Computing Magazines that will be given away at the January general meeting. Smart Computing Magazine is a magazine written in plain English and we all appreciate not having to decipher computereze.I have a personal subscription, and look forward to receiving my copy every month. The magazines will be given out at the January meeting, so be sure to attend.
Doris RegnerTo ME or Not to Be...
Approximately two months ago my PC crashed. After shutting down and trying to restart, the Scan Disk procedure advised me that I had bad clusters on my hard drive. I was not surprised at this, as my system had become very unstable. My alternative was to have a new hard drive installed. Prior to the new drive installation, I was going to be a smarty and was going to rename the folders on my hard drive. This proved to be a disaster, as many of my programs no longer ran, particularly Microsoft programs. I resolved this issue by changing the folder names back to their original status, reinstalled Windows 98, and was back in business. Never attempt to change folder names on Microsoft folders.At the time I was ready to have the hard drive installed, with the help of Eric Neitzke (Office Depot), I was able to procure a evaluation copy of Windows Millennium Edition (ME). After considerable thought upon the merits of this move, we decided we would go ahead. We installed the drive, installed ME, without any problem. We then transferred all of my other programs and applications from the old drive to the new drive. Everything seemed to be working fine until the next day when I tried to boot, the Win Me screen came up and froze. It took us three days to discover that my Super disk drive was causing a conflict. We disabled the Super Disk drive and did get a successful boot. Subsequently my scanner and printers did not also work. I had to contact the vendors who provided me with Win Me drivers and that solved the problem. My one remaining problem is with a lomega, Ditto 2GB tape drive for which no drivers for Win ME are available, so I will have to remove the Ditto tape drive. The Ditto tape drive is fully compatible to Win 95 and Win 98 only.
The only other problems I have encountered are that many of my programs are missing DLL files, which are found by reinstalling the erratic programs. If I had to do it over, I would have installed WIN ME, then installed my other programs rather than trying to transfer the data.
I have noticed that with Win ME, I seem to be using up a lot of disk space; perhaps this is true because I have so many programs installed. I particularly like the" restore feature" which allows you to go back to a previous point in time, in the event of a computer problem. My computer seems to run more stable with faster boot and shut down times. If I have problems now Win ME seems to repair the problem with little effort on my part.
I would recommend the installation of Win ME, even though it did cause me some problems. This experience was a great learning process for me. At this point in time everything seems to be working fine, I will let you know a couple of months from now about it's stability.
Leo HofferFlash Memory Gaining Ground As Portable Devices Increase
by Ken FermoylePerhaps "flash memory" is not part of our daily vocabularies, but the technology is rapidly becoming part of our lives, even if many of us don't realize it. Flash memory, you see, is used in cell phones, digital cameras, MP3 music players and other portable devices we all use more and more these days. It also plays a big role in unseen areas, such as networking devices from companies like Cisco.
Perhaps the most visible use of flash memory to consumers currently is in the little memory cards or sticks that slip in and out of digital cameras. Familiar brand names include Smart Media and CompactFlash. Many other devices have built-in flash memory, so we aren't even aware that it's there.
But it is, and in growing numbers. Sales for 2000 are expected to hit $10 billion or more, more than double the total for 1999. Manufacturers such as Intel, AMD, Atmel and Fujitsu will reap substantial profits as a result. And companies continue to announce new products or developments almost weekly.
For example, Intel Corporation in October 2000 introduced a new flash memory chip designed to enhance the performance of next-generation Internet phones and wireless devices. Intel claims that the new 1.8 Volt Wireless Flash Memory is the "highest performance flash chip available, carrying out key functions up to four times faster than existing flash solutions." The increased performance will result in higher data throughput rates to speed up data-intensive Internet phone applications such as browsing, data streaming and text messaging, the company reports. Energy savings of up to 60 percent are also claimed for the new low voltage memory. In another indication of flash memory growth, AMD earlier announced that it has entered into an agreement with Hewlett-Packard Company (HP) to supply flash memory products over the next three years. Under the contract, AMD will provide HP with flash memory products designed to support a broad range of products including its inkjet printers and various print servers.
"Our high density and Page Mode flash memory devices offer an ideal complement to HP's innovative products," said Walid Maghribi, group vice president of AMD's Memory Group.
AMD produces a broad spectrum of flash memory products, including the award winning Simultaneous Read Write (SRW) product family, Super Low Voltage I .8V flash memory devices, and Burst and Page mode devices. Significantly, all of AMD's flash memory products are guaranteed for a minimum of one million write cycles per sector and 20 years data retention, "making them the most reliable non-volatile memory devices offered in the industry," according to AMD claims.
Copyright 2000 by Ken Fennoyle, Fennoyle Publications. Ken Fennoyle has written same
2,500 articles for publications ranging from Playboy and Popular Science to MacWeek,
Microtimes & PC Laptop. Ken's Komer, a syndicated monthly column, is available free to User Groups. For information or permission to reprint this article, contact Ken's KomerDecember Telecom SIG
Sub zero temperatures were not enough to deter seven hardy WAUC members from making it to the WAUC Telecom Sig on December 21, 2000 at Super America. Doris Regner had brought the WAUC la~ top and WAUC projector, but the cable for connecting the two was missing. The phone line was plugged into the laptop and we proceeded anyway. Leo Hoffer said he wasn't able to play the Xmas music on the WAUC homepage so we tried it and sure enough, recognizable music came out of the laptops little speakers. One just has to wait for the file to load and play.Next, Leo asked for assistance in accessing the NASPA file library. The directory can be seen, listing a wide variety of interesting files: Gifs, Communication programs, Utilities, DOS programs, Macintosh files, Screensavers, Icons, kids education files, virus protection files, and many more. Several different passwords were tried and none worked. It was decided that Leo will email NASPA about this and report back to WAUC.
For the next project, Leo had a disk with his address book file on it that he wanted to import into Netscape. Open Netscape Communicator and on the menu bar go to Address Book, trace to File, Import, Messenger Import Utility. A dialogue box will appear on the screen on which one high-lights "LDIF File," click on the "Next" button, select your 3 1/2" drive, high-light the address book file on the disk, click on the "Open" button, and the file on the disk will be imported into Netscape.
Leo said he had a program called Signature File which he said he couldn't get to work with Netscape. We couldn't work with this program at the Sig so the suggestion was made to scan ones signature and save it as a 'jpeg" file, and then copy and paste it into the bottom of one's email message. Leo also checked printouts of his preferences screen against the preferences on the WAUC laptop, a good idea the rest of us might consider. One useful tidbit that came up during this and is worth repeating is how to hide the Windows 95198 taskbar. Right click on an empty space on the taskbar, trace to "Properties," select "Auto-hide," and click on the "OK' button.
After this, we switched to using Internet Explorer as a change of pace and set up the WAUC site as the default homepage. We huddled around in back of Doris at the laptop and checked out a few club photos on the page and listened to the music again which plays automatically when clicking on the photo thumbnails in Internet Explorer. Our webmaster, Bruce Schneider, pointed out how one can't click on the "NO" button on the WAUC survey because the button will jump away from the cursor. Haven't seen that one before, Bruce. While still in Internet Explorer, we tried tuning in to some internet radio stations but couldn't get a signal in the remaining time available.
That was it for the December 2000 Telecom Sig. I will NOT mention that Doris found the connection cable for the projector while packing up the laptop.
Wireless Headset Is First To Meet Bluetooth Standard
by Ken FermoyleYou may or may not have heard the name "Bluetooth" in the past, but you are sure to hear it a lot in the future. Reason? Bluetooth is expected to be the jumping-off point for a giant leap forward in wireless communications.
To understand why, you need only recall the story of the Tower of Babel. Inability to communicate stymied its builders. That's been true of wireless communication devices. Until now. An industry-wide Special Interest Group developed the Bluetooth standard to ensure interoperability between wireless devices such as cellular phones, computers, and PDAs (personal digital assistants).
Nokia, Ericsson, 3Com, IBM, and Lucent Technologies are among the more than 100 companies that make up the Bluetooth Special Interest Group.
Interestingly, a small New Hampshire company beat mobile phone biggies Nokia and L.M. Ericsson out of the Bluetooth starting gate. GN Netcom has announced one of the first officially qualified Bluetooth devices, its GN 9000 Bluetooth wireless headset. Now a new headset might not seem like a big deal, but releasing one of the first Bluetooth devices is a "milestone" both for GN Netcom and for Bluetooth technology, according to Michelle Boockoff-Bajdek, the director of marketing communications at GN Netcom.
The product underwent the extensive testing required by the Bluetooth Qualification Body to ensure interoperability with the standard, Boockoff-Bajdek said. This is a crucial step, because "the success of Bluetooth as a standard hinges on interoperability," she said.
The headset will require a Bluetooth host device - either the base station, which GN Netcom sells, or a Bluetooth card for a PC or PDA - to operate. When such a device is present, the GN 9000 Bluetooth headset will offer users a mobile range of up to 30 feet (900 centimeters). The device will retail for $299, and a package Including the base station and headset will cost $499.
Though this price level puts it out of the reach of small office/home office (SOHO) users, which includes most Ken's Korner readers, I agree with GN Netcom's Boockoff-Bajdek that the headset is a significant milestone. It is the harbinger of things to come, the "first robin" of a wireless communications spring, as we must put the cost into context, notes Paul Mahoney, the director of product marketing at GN Netcom. The idea of Bluetooth "is to allow [the consumer] to use a single device instead of six or seven," he said, adding that $299 for a single product is not expensive compared to buying multiple items for multiple devices.
Copyright 2000 by Ken Fennoyle, Fermoyle Publications. Ken Fennoyle has written some 2,500 articles for publications ranging from Playboy and Popular Science to MacWeek, Microtimes & PC Laptop. Ken's Komer, a syndicated monthly column, is available free to User Groups. For information or permission to reprint this article, contact kfermoyle@earthlink.net.
Ken's KomerRelief in Sight from Barrage Of Irksome TV Commercials?
by ken FermoyleAre you fed up with the seemingly endless barrage of commercials crammed into your favorites TV shows and sports events? If so, join the club! But relief may be in sight, according to Electronic Digest (Sept. 5, 2000 issue).
The magazine reports that sophisticated new integrated circuit controllers will improve performance of Set-Top Boxes and Personal Video Recorders (STBS/Pars). The new ICs will make the devices less expensive and more versatile. This should eventually change their status from novelties with appeal to a limited market of "early adopters" to appliances that gradually will take the place of today's VCRs.
Electronic Design also notes that the new controllers "can be used to manage arriving and departing data streams, into and out of set-top boxes, storage devices, digital TVs. Pars," from a variety of sources, including broadband cable, satellites, terrestrial and IP (Internet Protocol) networks.
What does this have to do with computers? PVR technology is digital, like computers, not analog like VCRs, and data is stored on a hard drive, like computers, not on magnetic tape. A PVR will do everything that a VCR can, but with significant improvements.
For example, I have about given up on watching a lot of TV when it is aired, especially movies. Instead, I record them on a VCR and play them back later, fast4orwarding through commercial breaks. This scenario works even better with a PVR. You can record a program in real time but pause it at any point, at a commercial break, for example.
The PVR keeps recording the program while you get fresh coffee, go to the bathroom or whatever. When you return and hit the Pause button again, the recorder picks up where it left off, playing the program back from the hard drive. Now you can fast forward quickly through the commercials and enjoy what you really wanted to see.
You will also be able to do your own instant replays; just rewind, then r~ play segments you want to view again. You can also preprogram a PVR to record favorite program automatically, just as with a VCR.
(Ed. Note: If you currently use a PVR and service like TiVo, ken Fermoyle would love to hear about your experiences with these technologies for possible use in a future article. Email him at kfermoyle@earthlink.net.
E-mail: kfermoyle@earthlink.net.
http://www.zyworld.com/wordsmithken/Consulting, newsletters, Website design
"In the beginning was the Word..." And don't you forget it!copyright 2000 by Ken Fermoyle, Fermoyle Publications. Ken Fennoyle has written some Z500 articles far publications ranging from Playboy and Popular Science to MacWeek, Microtimes & Pc Laptop. Ken's Komer, a syndicated monthly column, Is available thee to User Groups. For information or permission to reprint this article, contact kfermoyle@earthlink.net. net.
Ken's KomerDirect exploring to a often used folder
If there's a particular folder or file you access frequently, change the focus on Windows Explorer to open there each time. On your shortcut to Windows Explorer (startmenu ->settings >taskbar >startmenu programs->advanced, navigate your way to programs\windows explorer)), right click, select Properties and the Shortcut tab. In the target field, you will likely see a line ending with explorer.exe. Add to this line so it reads as follows (without the quotes) "explorer.exe /n , /e, drive:\path \folder" substituting for drive:\path \folder the location you want opened, for example "c:\temp\myfiles 'somedoc." Be sure in the target field you observe spacing and punctuation as shown.November Telecom SIG
The Telecom SIG was held at 7 p.m. November 16, (the third Thursday of the month), in the meeting room of Super America. There was good attendance with few chairs to spare. We also had a visitor who learned of WAUC through a flyer at a computer show.Vice President, Doris Regner, was the evening's leader. There were generally 3 topics of discussion: 1) use and installation of ROADRUNNER, 2) Forum on Delphi, at http://delphi.com, and 3) a presentation by Waco’s Webmaster, Bruce Schneider.
ROADRUNNER
Several members have ROADRUNNER up and running and shared their knowledge and experience. Installation costs are dependent upon whether or not you already have cable, plus monthly charges. There are several ways to measure bandwidth: go to http://computingcentral.com or http://www2wire.net. The general consensus concerning use of a firewall was that regular ISP users do not need one. A firewall was recommended, however, for DSL and ROADRUNNER users. "Shields Up" is a website to test security; "zonealarm.com" is a free firewall; "Norton" is another firewall. Tom said that ROADRUNNER allows for 8 e-mail accounts, should you want them. And his important words of advice: It is running on MSN-BC... DO NOT DELETEIForum on Delphi
in order to use delphi.com you must register. As a guest, you can only read. There are thousands of free forums, including Roadrunner tests and a free firewall. You can reply to a discussion or start your own. Go to delphi.com. You will be asked if you are a member. Or go to WAUC. Bruce Schneider showed us examples of messages and replies, and informed us that we cannot delete an item unless we authored it. James Smith, a WAUC member now living in Irving, CA, organized the WAUC forum.WAUC's Website
There is fantastic information on this website. Bruce has put Standard & Poor's Ticker on it. This can be customized to your very own portfolio. Take a look and see the grand holiday greeting on it as well. If you are like me and know very little about computers, these SIGs are the place to hear and learn about them. Everyone finds help and encouragement. And there are always tidbits of knowledge flying around, e.g. comparisons in the use of Netscape and Microsoft Internet Explorer as your browser(s), and the need for WINZIP AND ACROBAT READER, etc. I would like to extend Holiday Greetings to everyone.Thank you Scott
Thank you so much for your generous donation to the WAUC party. We were sorry you weren't able to be there. We had a most enjoyable time visiting with Don McMurray though.
Please know that everything you do for WAUC is greatly appreciated.Welcome New Member!
Sal CanalesTrack Systems Files Changes
Let the System File Checker track changes in your system files during program installations. This is a good idea for future troubleshooting, and will help facilitate full uninstalls for programs.To run the System File Checker following each install you perform, go to the Start menu and select Programs/Accessories. From there, select System Tools and choose System Information. Once the System Information Utility begins, select System File Checker from the Tools pull-down menu. You can also print out alterations each program makes to your system files for future reference.
Tip provided by CNET Help.com
Emoticons
UNHAPPY, SAD
:-( frowning; boo hoo
:( sad
:-< reallysad
:-c really unhappy
:-C really bummed
&-| tearful
:’ crying
:'-( crying and really sad
-I grim
:[ really down
:-[ pouting
\_/ "my glass is empty"FEELING STUPID OR TIRED
:~/ mixed up
%-) braindead
(:1 egghead
<:-l dunce
=:-) hosehead
:-] smiling blockhead
:-[ un-smiling blockhead
|-0 yawning
I-I asleep
:~ exhausted; wipeoutSURPRISED, INCREDULOUS, SKEPTICAL
:> What?
.@ What?
:Q What?
:-o "uhh oh!" OR surprise
;-) sardonic incredulity
:O shocked
8-I eyes wide with surprise
:-C skeptical
8-O "Omigod!!"
:-C just totally unbelieving
|-{ "Good Grief!" (Charlie Brown)Emotions for You
HAPPY, SMILING, LAUGHING
:-) smiling; agreeing
:-D laughing
I-) hee hee
I-D hobo
.-> hey
;-) so happy, I'm crying
:'-) crying with joy
\~ full glass; my glass is fullTEASING, MISCHIEVOUS
;-) winking; just kidding
'-) winking; just kidding
;-> devilish wink
:*) clowning
:-T keeping a straight face
Treasurer's Report
November 2000
Beginning Balance $3679.83 Income Membership Dues 800.00 Rebates 74.97 Leo Hoffer - Software Sales 40.00 Scott Sherer - Picnic Donation 50.00 CD Sales 3.00 Total Income 967.97 Expenses Leo Hoffer - Paper 10.00 APCUG - Membership 50.00 Marcia Zientek - Postage 99.00 Marie Bellin - Newsletter Printing 68.64 Terry Harvey - Door Prizes, Copies 48.27 Doris Regner - Door Prizes, Sweatshirts 241.68 Unik Associates - Software Sales 40.00 Bruce Kosbab - Meat/Picnic 69.86 Sandy Karlovich - Checkbook Covers 53.07 Jackie Tamsett - Plates, Forks, Cups, Coffee - Picnic 54.08 Sandy Karlovich - Creamer - Picnic 3.48 Total Expenses 738.08 Ending Balance $3909.72 Updated: January 3, 2001
Home