C C C C N E W S L E T T E R
CENTRAL COAST COMPUTER CLUB
Santa Maria, California
VOLUME XX: NUMBER 4 APRIL, 2005
Meetings are held on the third Tuesday of every month at the Knollwood
Village Clubhouse 4012 S. Bradley Dr., Santa Maria.
General meeting at 7:00 PM. Special Interest Groups sessions are at
5:45pm and 6:00pm. Guests are welcome.
Check out our web site: http//member.apcug.org/fourseas for the latest
program schedule information.
Membership is $15 for twelve months for individuals, $20 for families.
For this you receive: Monthly newsletters, EXTRA4C E-mail Messages,
Access to the clubs software library, Disk of the month (usually for $1),
Help-line support, Monthly presentations, Valuable door prizes, Question
and answer sessions.
NEXT MEETING: APRIL 19, 2005 KNOLLWOOD VILLAGE 4012 S. BRADLEY
PRESENTATION: The April presentation will be Amy Malicki on
Compact Disc Burning.
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| CONTENTS |
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(1) OFFICERS, HELPLINES, S.I.G.S
(2) PRESIDENT'S CORNER Spence Stimler
(3) EDITOR'S COMMENTS Dick Trissel
(4) WEB WANDERINGS
(5) SYSTEMS S.I.G. Dick Trissel
(6) COMPUTER REPAIR COSTS Dick Trissel
(7) DVD STANDARDS: The Differences Scott Koegler
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OFFICERS HELPLINES
President Juno
Spence Stimler 938-0217 Dick Trissel 937-7572
SPENCE923@msn.com rtrissel@juno.com
Vice President Windows 95/98/ME/XP & VoiceControl
Bill Corning 934-0775 Amy Malicki 925-5780
foster95@juno.com savvyforseniors@juno.com
Secretary Hardware and Windows XP
Dorothy Raupp Ray Isenson 937-6938
dort32Raupp@AOL.com risenson@juno.com
Treasurer AOL
Gerry Miller 934-1396 Frank Maciel 922-2318
2741 Banyan Way frm8198@aol.com
Santa Maria CA 93455
gandamiller@verizon.net
Disk Librarian Visual Basic and Genealogy
Sharon Allen 928-2209 Gerald Miller 934-1396
sallen4060@aol.com gandamiller@verizon.net
Publicity Help With Any Problem
Bill Corning 934-0775 Fred Adams 934-1128
foster95@juno.com fredeadams@verizon.net
Newsletter Editor
Dick Trissel 937-7572
rtrissel@juno.com
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS (S.I.G.s)
Systems (5:45pm) Word & Windows (6:00pm)
Dick Trissel Amy Malicki
rtrissel@juno.com savvyforseniors@juno.com
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CCCC Page 2 April 2005
PRESIDENT'S CORNER by Spence Stimler
Pat and Kenny Keith from Computer Works gave us a presentation on battery
backup power supplies - UPS. It was well done and the members had a series
of questions which indicated the growing interest in ways to protect our
computers; this time from a hardware standpoint.
In addition, they announced the inauguration of their new ISP which can be
found at their website: www.zzlink.com. They are now the only company
offering local ISP service. For those of you on dial-up, it might behoove
you to check it out.
Finally, we have become accustomed to Pat furnishing us with CDs including
all the latest utilities including Anti-virus and Anti-Spyware. There are a
lot of other goodies on the disc and for those of you who missed out at the
meeting, you can pick it up free of charge from Pat at Computer Works at 207
W Main St.
A total of about 45 people were in attendance at the March meeting. Winners
of the door prizes were: Epson Glossy Photo Paper, Miles Dennis; Crossword
Program, Carol Chambard; Scrapbook Maker, Joe Magnusson; Sharpie Pens, Dick
Jones; Chemical Spray Cleaner, Dorothy Raupp; Pro Venture Mail List, Joe
Koerner; MS Money 2005, John McCurdy; and Norton Anti-Virus, Ted Tucker.
Our April meeting will have Amy Malicki demonstrating CD burning for the
education of Dick Trissel and others. (Just a bit of sick inside humor).
Actually we haven't discussed CD burning in some time and it was felt that
with the newer programs out, it might be time for a review.
We are beginning to run out of ideas for programs, but have planned for a
Q&A session for the May meeting. So start thinking of what questions you
need answered. I suggest you start now writing down the problems you
encounter so that you can make a lucid description at the meeting. It is
far better to have all the facts together so that a problem can be fully
investigated and hopefully a forthcoming resolution will occur.
Finally, put on your thinking caps and give us some ideas for future
programs. Our efforts to get suppliers are few and almost non-existent, so
we need to come up with subjects and try to find a means of getting a
program together for you. Thanks.
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CCCC Page 3 April 2005
EDITOR'S COMMENTS by Dick Trissel
Well, finally, I think all the past and new members have paid their dues for
2005. We are definitely holding our membership numbers. This time last
year we had 92 members including 8 spouses. We ended the year with 104
members including 10 spouses. Our current membership is 93 including 10
spouses. If we grow this year at the same rate as last year (one per
month), we will break 100 again.
However, with the membership count at 93, why are less than half attending
the monthly meetings? And, it seems to be about the same members each
month. There are five things I can see motivating the monthly attendance--
camaraderie (social event), S.I.G.s (help and advice), presentations
(education and entertainment), 50/50 drawing, and door prize drawings. So,
what are the other absentee members getting out of their membership to CCCC?
It must be the "fantastic" newsletter and the EXTRA4C bulletins (said with
tongue in cheek).
If you have a suggestion to make the meetings more beneficial, send an e-
mail to any of the people listed in the Officers and Help section of this
newsletter. I know, in the past the many suggestions have been for
demonstrations on using different programs and hardware. And, I agree. All
we need are some volunteers to do the presentations.
This month Amy Malicki has taken on what is probably the most difficult
presentation--burning compact discs. You've asked for this for several
years. Well, here it is:
CD Program by Amy Malicki
Come, Learn about CD’s. No, Not Bank Notes. This is about saving, copying
and storing computer files onto external sources, such as floppies and laser
disks. If "we’re" lucky you may even get to watch a CD “burn”.
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CCCC Page 4 April 2005
WEB WANDERINGS
MICROSOFT MAPS
As you might imagine, Microsoft has a full research and development
facility. At today's site, you can get a sneak peak at the mapping
service that the company is working on.
Microsoft TerraService offers high resolution USGS aerial imagery
and USGS topographic maps.
You can locate imagery by clicking on the map, entering a city or town
name in the "Search TerraServer" form at the top of the page, or
entering a U.S. street address. Another way to see the images is to
just keep zooming in on the U.S. map.
http://terraservice.net/
REVERSE PHONE LOOKUP
I knew a popular guy in college who couldn't keep track of the phone
numbers he collected. He'd stuff a napkin in his pocket or ink up his
palm only to forget the person's name. Too bad he didn't have Infospace.
All he'd need to do is enter a phone number in the reverse lookup box
and voila, name and address. Or if he only could remember the street of
his long lost fraternity, he could unearth a list of current residents.
Of course, if he were still socializing today, his weapon of choice
would be Lookup Email!
http://infospace.com/reverse.htm
BOOT DISKS
At some point in your life with computers, you'll wish you had a boot
disk. If there's a glitch in your Master Boot Record (MBR) or boot
sector, a boot disk will bring your PC back to life, hopefully.
Bootdisk.com offers resuscitation to systems ranging from DOS 5.0
through Windows XP. Geeks go for the site's many utilities. For
example, you can partition hard drives and troubleshoot registries.
http://www.bootdisk.com/
GOLD IN SENIOR MOMENTS
If you're over 50, you've probably pitched in to help others most
of your life. Isn't it time someone pitched in for you?
At Senior Discounts, you can "Find the Gold in the Golden Years."
Get reduced rates on entertainment, shopping, travel and everyday
services. Go to the site and pop in your city or ZIP code. Out pours
a pile of senior discounts in 22 categories. This is better than Vegas.
Details include the name and address of the business, the amount of the
discount and the minimum age required. Yes, you may be too young for
some things. But isn't that nice for a change?
http://www.seniordiscounts.com/cgi-bin/redirect/Searchform.epl
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHICS
When I was a kid, I dreamed of stowing away on a National Geographic
exploration. Thanks to the Internet, my own kid won't have to dream--
he can jump right in!
The National Geographic site has dynamic screen savers and wallpaper
for wannabe explorers. Also check out the Crittercam -- video clips
from a camera attached to a moving animal. How cool is that?
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/channel/downloads.html
FREE ONLINE FLIGHT SIMULATOR
FlightGear is a free flight simulator. And you don't need a mega-bucks
computer for liftoff. Based on open code, the program lends itself to
tweaking from the flying community.
You can choose from over 20,000 airports. Runways and topography
are accurately displayed. Try a night flight; you'll see headlights
glow on the highways and airport lights intensify upon approach.
Choose your aircraft, too -- from a 1903 Wright to an A320 airliner.
While in the cockpit, watch the instruments update. They'll behave
like the real thing!
http://www.flightgear.org
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CCCC Page 5 April 2005
SYSTEMS S.I.G. by Dick Trissel
As usual, we had over 30 attendees. As usual, some people had computer
problems. As usual, we were able to answer some but not all of the
questions.
One item discussed was the use of firewalls. The term firewall for
computers is used to describe the action of a device or program to inhibit
the flow of traffic either into or out of your computer. The action can
usually be set to block or accept particular accesses, or allow the user the
option to accept or reject an access.
There are three devices available to accomplish this. One is a built-in
firewall option in Windows XP that can be turned on for a particular
connection. However, it only blocks or warns of incoming traffic. Those
that have broadband and a router can have an effective firewall. And, of
course, you can use a firewall program such as Zonealarm (free) or Blackice
(not free). With these you have much more control of the firewall activity.
The advice from the experts is that if you have XP and an installed firewall
program, don't use both at the same time. It's recommended you use the
installed program.
One person complained of his computer not finishing the shutdown process.
This is usually due to an application that is still running that Windows
can't shut down. The only advice given was to manually shut down each
program still running (as shown in the Systray) and do the Windows shutdown.
When you hit the right one, shutdown will be successful. Then you have to
decide if you want that program to be started at all. It is either getting
started by the user, or at Windows startup from the startup list. Go to
Start / Run and type msconfig. Then click the Startup tab and uncheck the
program that is the culprit. Click Apply, OK, and restart your computer.
The question of whether to install Windows XP SP2 came up again. Know that
the SP2 has not changed. However, there are updates to fix some of the
problems. The experts advise the user to investigate the potential problems
before installing SP2. These problems involve incompatibility with some
programs and hardware. The lists of problem items are available on the
Internet--go to Google.
There was a question about Adobe Acrobat 7 Reader. Version 7 has some nice
features, but some people are having a problem with version 7. If all you
need is to be able to read PDF type files, stick with an older version.
The question of usage of an UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) came up. But
I hope all the questions got answered by the presenter at the business
meeting. I would not consider running any of my computers without an UPS.
Interestingly, those using a laptop computer effectively have an UPS by
virtue of the power pack and built-in battery.
I did a "show and tell" of an external USB hard drive case. The advantage
of a separate case instead of an external hard drive is the ability to put
any drive in the case that you want. The cost of the case and a drive is
about the same as the integral unit, but there is more versatility. I did
find that the case would not recognize any of my drives smaller than 3GB,
although the manual stated "up to 300GB".
I also showed a simulation of what it looks like to access to the CCCC Web
site and read the newsletters and the table of contents for each newsletter
for the past four years of publication.
We had a brief discussion about e-mail and Internet providers. As always, I
mentioned my personal preferences for those using a dial-up modem. I use
Juno Platinum ($4.95/mo.), Juno free (3 accounts) and nearly free ($10/year
for Megamail--EXTRA4C account), and free Netzero (2 accounts for Web
browsing). The free accounts are supported by advertising banners or pop-
ups. My little experience with the Speedband (Hi-Speed) doesn't seem worth
the extra $4.95/mo.
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CCCC Page 6 April 2005
COMPUTER REPAIR COSTS by Dick Trissel
When you have a computer problem you have five options (provided you still
want a working computer). Here are your choices in order of probable
expense.
1. Fix it yourself (maybe ask a friend for advice).
2. Take it to a repair shop.
3. Ask for advice from a Web site repair facility.
4. Have a repairman come to you (in house).
5. Buy a new computer.
The first option is probably the least expensive. The second option is not
as convenient as the others, but probably more reliable.
A call to two of the local independent computer repair shops yielded the
following repair rates.
ComputerWorks: In store $40 for the first half-hour, $80/hour after that.
$90/hour on-site (in your home).
ABRO Computers: In store, a flat $65 for most operating system repair (virus
removal, etc.). A more extensive repair is $97.50. Otherwise, you will be
given a quote for the repair. On-site is a flat $75 for most repairs--
otherwise a quote for the work.
The April 2005 issue of PCWorld magazine had an extensive article comparing
the cost and quality of computer repair on the Web and on-site (in your
home). You can read the article at:
http://www.pcworld.com/resource/printable/article/0,aid,119574,00.asp
For this test, they used three unglamorous PCs of a kind still serving in
many homes: Dell Dimension XPS T700r desktops, now more than three years
old, running Windows 98.
They introduced a range of problems that they felt were fixable either on-
site or online: They "lost" some important work files (by dragging them from
the My Documents folder to another place on the hard drive); they deleted
the graphics board's driver files; and they installed four common spyware
apps. For the on-site technicians, they added a final, challenging test: a
damaged IDE cable that prevented the CD-ROM drive from working.
They sent the sick PCs to reporters in three metropolitan areas: Boston;
Austin, Texas; and Los Angeles. Their field operatives called four repair
companies that make house calls: CompUSA, ComputerAssistant.com,
GeeksOnTime, and Geek Squad (affiliated with Best Buy). One person also
tried out three online service companies: PC Pinpoint, PlumChoice, and
Tech24.
The following are brief comments on each of the options they tested.
ONLINE SERVICES
Online services are better suited to simple fixes such as Spyware
infestations. Problems that inhibit Internet connectivity can stymie online
service technicians. The following are a few Web sites. Go to Google to
find the Web addresses.
PC Pinpoint: An annual subscription costs $75; then each remote-control
session costs a flat $25. Rated Very Good.
PlumChoice: $23 per 15 minutes. Rated Very Good. Requires an appointment.
Tech24: $30 per 30 minutes. Rated Unacceptable.
ON-SITE REPAIRS
While they cost more than online repairs, fix-it services that send a
technician to your home are more likely to succeed with complex problems.
The following is a list of companies that were used.
CompUSA Technical Services
$150 (flat rate, per visit). Rated Good to Poor.
ComputerAssistant.com
$89 for the first hour; additional hours $59 to $99. Rated Fair.
GeeksOnTime
$85 for the first hour; subsequent service charges are prorated in 15-minute
increments. Rated Fair.
Geek Squad (Best Buy store)
$129 to $229 (flat rate, depending on the type of service required). Rated
Good.
With the exception of Best Buy, none of the non-Web repair shops named in
the PCWorld article are available in Santa Maria.
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CCCC Page 7 April 2005
DVD STANDARDS: The Differences
by Scott Koegler
http://www.computerpoweruser.com/email.asp?emid=126300
BACKGROUND
The video cassette market began with a technology battle between the VHS and
Betamax formats. The same kind of battle raged in the DVD market in terms of
technological claims and counterclaims. However, the consequences are much
better, in part because there are currently no physical size differences
among DVD media as there were between VHS and Betamax tapes.
The DVD media landscape started out with a split personality, with Philips'
and Sony's proprietary MMCD (MultiMedia Compact Disc) competing in 1995
against Time-Warner's and Toshiba's proprietary SD (Super Disc) format.
Approved in 1996, the first true DVD specifications-DVD-ROM 1.0 and DVD-
Video 1.0-drew from the SD model, with a 120mm diameter and 1.2mm substrate
that matched the physical dimensions already established for the compact
disc.
Since DVDs entered the mainstream in 1995, numerous formats have come and
gone, but two have dominated. On one side there's the so-called dash-R
format group, which loathes use of the word "minus" to distinguish its DVD-
R, DVD-RW, and DVD-RAM formats from the competition. This group, founded by
Hitachi, Matsushita, Mitsubishi, Pioneer, Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and
others, calls itself the DVD Forum (www.dvdforum.org ).
On the other side there's the DVD+RW Alliance (www.dvdrw.com ), which
supports-you guessed it-the DVD+R and DVD+RW formats and consists of members
such as Dell, HP, Ricoh, Thomsen, and Yamaha, not to mention apparent hedge-
betters Philips and Sony. The DVD+RW group used the plus sign purely for
marketing purposes, wanting the "-" in DVD-R/RW to be seen as a "minus,"
implying it's less than the "plus" disc format.
For consumers, format differences were a pain at first, with DVD-R/RW drives
unable to accommodate DVD+R/RW media and vice versa. But, this has become
less of a problem as drive manufacturers strive to make drives that support
multiple, previously incompatible formats. Today, consumers can play (and
often burn) DVDs using a variety of media formats in a single drive. This
means that a consumer can buy whatever media happens to be available or
priced lowest and use it in the drive they own.
SPECS & FORMATS
The physical size of all retail DVDs (and CDs for that matter) is 120mm in
diameter and 1.2mm thick. However, raw DVDs are only half the thickness of
raw CDs. The slimmer form factor is part of the design that contributes to
the improved storage capacity of DVDs over CDs.
In the beginning, engineering DVDs to be as rigid and durable as CDs
required beefing up the design. To solve this dilemma, complete DVDs are
actually two DVDs layered back to back. This provides the necessary
stability to the disc and allows for the possibility of double-sided
recording. Retail discs, though, may only have a single side available for
recording, with the flipside free for a label.
The disc formats are different, and even though it is possible to use almost
any disc manufacturer's DVD media in most any drive, the differences show up
in the names of the formats and in the underlying technology built into the
different formats.
If you are buying a prerecorded DVD, you don't have an option of selecting
which format you want. However, there are five basic versions of recordable
DVDs to choose from: DVD-RAM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, and DVD+RW.
DVD-RAM was the first rewriteable DVD format available. Defect management
makes use of DVD-RAM well-suited for use in computers, but the format is not
compatible with most DVD players. DVD-RAM discs also rely on a cartridge to
house the disc.
The DVD-R/RW (aka DVD-R/W) and DVD+R/RW formats are most readily available
on store shelves today. They have much in common, and in fact, the technical
differences between them can be ignored by most users because drive
manufacturers have accommodated the differences in their designs.
The proponents of the DVD-RW format claim the format is more compatible with
older players. So, if you know you will be distributing a disc for use in a
player more than two years old, you may want to stick with the DVD-RW discs.
SPEED
It would seem that CD drives have reached amazing reading speeds in the
range of 64X, while DVDs are lumbering along in the range of 8X. In fact,
the difference is in the measurement, not in the throughput.
DVDs pack data much more densely on each track. Because more information
passes the reading head during each revolution of the disc, more data is
picked up in each pass. That means the DVD format allows for significantly
higher data transfer rates at slower spin rates.
A CD spinning at 1X is transferring 150KB of data per second, while a DVD
spinning at its 1X rate is moving 1,250KB of data per second. Therefore, the
64X measurement attributed to a CD drive's data transfer speed is roughly
the equivalent of an 8X measurement attributed to a DVD drive's data
transfer speed.
CAPACITY
There are a couple of things to consider when it comes to deciphering DVD
capacities. First, there's a difference between single-layer DVDs, which
have a stated capacity of 4.7GB per side (more about our use of the word
"stated" in a moment) and dual-layer DVDs, which have two recordable layers
on one side and can hold nearly twice the amount of data as single-layer
discs. Using two layers is accomplished by refocusing the writing or reading
laser on one or the other layer. Two-sided DVDs are also available, which
obviously doubles the capacity of comparable single-sided media.
The dual-layer discs are compatible with most existing DVD players. Dual-
layer disc drives are relatively slow when it comes to burning discs and can
only write at around 2.4X compared with standard single-layer drives that
burn DVDs in the 12X range or better. Dual-layer DVDs are relatively
expensive, too, with a premium cost in the range of $8 to $10 per disc vs.
$3 or less for a standard DVD.
DVD terms relating to capacity include DVD-5 (a single-sided, single-layer
4.7GB DVD that truly holds 4.38GB), as well as the less familiar DVD-9 (a
single-sided, dual-layer 8.5GB DVD that truly holds 7.95GB), DVD-10 (a two-
sided version of DVD-5), and DVD-18 (a two-sided version of DVD-9).
BLU-RAY & HD-DVD
Blu-ray technology uses a blue laser that makes smaller marks on the disc
and thus can put more marks in the same space, delivering up to 27GB of
storage on a single side of a disc. That's enough to hold a full two hour
high-definition movie on a single disc. The competing HD-DVD technology can
deliver up to 15GB per side. The promoters of this format expect to use more
efficient compression techniques to squeeze an HD movie into the 15GB
format.
The HD-DVD format uses the same laser equipment used in current DVD drives
and is said to be compatible with the technology used by both the
manufacturing equipment and players. Expect to see these higher-capacity
systems on the market at premium prices sometime in 2005.
Sony has recently announced its intention to produce Blu-ray DVDs with four
layers rather than one. These discs will deliver 100GB of storage and should
be commercially available by 2007. At the same time, Sony said it is working
on a version of the disc with eight layers and expect the capacity of these
discs will be in the range of 200GB but didn't give an expected availability
date.
FORMATS GALORE
DVD-Video. Designed specifically as a storage medium for feature-length
movies.
DVD-Audio. DVD-Audio is a digital audiophile's choice over the CD.
Relatively few albums are available in this format, though.
DVD-R/RW. DVD-R is similar to DVD-ROM in that it allows a write-once,
read-many format much like the familiar CD-R. DVD-RW is a rewriteable
version of DVD-R.
DVD-RAM. Although part of the DVD-R/RW family, DVD-RAM uses a cartridge
enclosure. Typical DVD-RAM drives accommodate other DVD formats, but to use
a DVD-RAM you must have a DVD-RAM drive. DVD-RAM uses random-access memory
so you can add and delete data much the same way you would use a hard drive.
DVD+R/RW. DVD+R/RW are competing versions of the writeable DVD-R and DVD-
RW formats.
DVD±RW. DVD±RW isn't a unique format, but we include it here because the
designation is becoming more common for DVD drives. It means that the drive
supports both DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW media.
DVD-Multi. Also not an actual format, DVD-Multi is an umbrella term for
DVD-R/RW, DVD-RAM, and compatible formats.
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