C C C C N E W S L E T T E R
CENTRAL COAST COMPUTER CLUB
Santa Maria, California
VOLUME XX: NUMBER 7 AUGUST, 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,
Help-line support, Monthly presentations, Valuable door prizes, Question
and answer sessions.
NEXT MEETING: AUGUST 16, 2005 KNOLLWOOD VILLAGE 4012 S. BRADLEY
PRESENTATION: The August presentation will be Will Gordon from
ABRO Computers
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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) XP PASSWORD EXPIRATION Dick Trissel
(7) WI-FI LIABILITY
(8) E-MAIL ADDRESSES Kim Komando
(9) SCANNERS-WHAT'S NEW-WHAT TO LOOK FOR Amy Malicki
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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
Acting Secretary Hardware and Windows XP
Barbara Godwin 934-9885 Ray Isenson 937-6938
yung.bag@verizon.net 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) Application Problems & Solutions (6:00pm)
Dick Trissel Amy Malicki
rtrissel@juno.com savvyforseniors@juno.com
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CCCC Page 2 August 2005
PRESIDENT'S CORNER by Spence Stimler
The attendees for the July meeting numbered approximately 40. S.I.G.s by
both Dick Trissel and Amy Malicki were followed by a scanner presentation by
Amy. Scanner knowledge by the members exceeded expectations; consequently,
most of the session devolved into "What do I do with and where can I find
the info once I've scanned it."
We need more input from the members about your interests regarding programs.
We have planned sessions for both August and September, but we would like
some input for October and November. Please give us your thoughts.
50/50 drawing results enriched the wallets of Bob Portune, Amy Malicki, and
? by $8 each. Age and short term memories have cast the third winner (?)
into the unknown. Neither Vic nor I can remember who it was, so if the
third winner wants to expose himself to the world and perhaps the IRS, let
him step forward.
Door prize winners were:
1. Bob Gallagher: Photoshop 7.0
2. Bill Barnett: Space
3. Lud Ludwig: PC Attorney
4. John Portune: Hell Cops
5. Don Kreymer: Mavis Beacon Typing
6. Joe Koerner: Photo Editor
Many of you responded to the survey to Amy, and we hope to glean from it
your desires for future meetings, door prizes and etc. Trying to come up
with appropriate door prizes within our budget is still a challenge. Thanks
to Ray Shafer we had an abundance for the past two meetings, but it's back
to the drawing board for August and on. Let me know if you spot any
bargains.
We look forward to our August meeting when Will Gordon and some of his
cohorts from ABRO Computers will be on the agenda. We hope to see you all
there.
P.S. The members who have signed up to bring cookies for the remainder of
the year are:
August Gary Astin
Sept.
Oct. Barbara Tucker
Nov. Ben Middleton
The original schedule had Ben Middleton for Sept. but he is rescheduled for
Nov. We need a volunteer for Sept. Please let me know if you can take on
the Sept. meeting and bring cookies. Remember all you have to do is bring
them. We will reimburse you the cost. Email me at: spence923@msn.com or
call me at 938-0217. Thanks for your cooperation.
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CCCC Page 3 August 2005
EDITOR'S COMMENTS by Dick Trissel
The member e-mail survey by Amy Malicki caused an interesting problem to
surface. Some members did not know how to edit a response to an e-mail.
They apparently were trying to write directly into the received message.
That won't work--you can't edit a message in the e-mail Inbox.
In most e-mail programs there are two commands--Reply and Forward. After
choosing either of these, THEN you can type in the message body that you are
going to send out. The Reply will usually put the > marks on each original
line, AND automatically insert the incoming address as the outgoing address.
The Forward does NOT put the > marks, and does NOT fill in the address.
This would have been the preferred option for the survey as the original
message was sent from EXTRA4C, BUT should have been forwarded to Amy's
address (given in the survey).
Some e-mail programs require you go to e-mail preferences and choose to have
the original message included in the reply.
Another method for editing e-mail messages is to Save the message to a
folder as a file that can be put into a text editor, such as Notepad,
Wordpad, Word, or my favorite, Editpad. Then insert the edited file into
the message body of the outgoing e-mail.
Also, see the article titled E-MAIL ADDRESSES in this newsletter.
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CCCC Page 4 August 2005
WEB WANDERINGS
ARE YOUR EYES PLAYING TRICKS ON YOU?
Optical illusions are fascinating. They trick your mind into seeing things
that aren't really there. Or sometimes you don't see things that are there.
These illusions are a favorite area of study for many psychologists. They
help us understand how perception affects thought. But, more importantly,
they're tons of fun!
At today's site, there are countless optical illusions. They're arranged
into different categories. Descriptions accompanying the illusions explain
them. So you can find out why you're seeing something. And sometimes the
descriptions will help you find what you're supposed to see.
I spent a considerable amount of time studying the illusions. Now I have a
headache. So pace yourself - don't look at all the illusions in one sitting.
www.michaelbach.de/ot
TRACE YOUR FAMILY TREE
The Internet makes it easy to locate information about family histories. So
it's no surprise that genealogy sites abound.
The USGenWeb Project is a cornucopia for professional and amateur
genealogists alike. It's a great place to start when you're looking for free
information.
The USGenWeb Project provides a directory of sites containing genealogical
records. Just click on a state. From there, you can narrow your search by
county, if you desire.
You can search census information, marriage licenses and birth records.
What's available varies by state. Some states even have databases containing
pictures of graves! I was impressed with the breadth of information. You
will be, too.
www.usgenweb.org
WHAT'S COOL ABOUT CLEANING?
There's nothing worse than cleaning. I can think of many better ways to
spend my time. But I like things spick-and-span.
That's why the Housekeeping Channel's Web site is so cool. It provides tips
to help you get the most from your cleaning – in less time!
You can search articles by category. Or peruse products that will make your
life easier. If you have a particularly tough problem, post your questions
in the forum. Chances are someone will be able to offer advice.
The site promises that new features will be added soon. These include
streaming video and audio and product reviews. So bookmark the site and
check back often.
http://www.housekeepingchannel.com
DAZZLING PHOTOGRAPHS
National Geographic is one of those magazines you just gotta love. The
stories give fascinating glimpses into places and cultures all across the
globe.
But like most of the magazine's readers, I rarely make it to the stories.
It's the photos that capture my attention. They're breathtaking! And they do
an excellent job of capturing the essence of the stories.
That's why I love National Geographic's Web site. Each day there is a new
picture with a brief description. The pictures are the same quality as the
ones in the magazine. However, many of them weren't published in the
magazine.
And don't forget to check out the archive. It goes back several years. You
can search by date or by category.
lava.nationalgeographic.com/pod
FINDING BOOKS AND MAGAZINES
Unfortunately the Internet doesn't contain all the information in the world.
Sometimes you have to go low-tech and get a book or periodical.
But with WorldCat, you can use the Internet to locate printed materials. It
searches library catalogs for what you need. You can read descriptions of
the matches for your search. Then type in your ZIP code to find local
libraries that carry the title. It's way cool!
Start by reading about how the search works. Then you can try the search
directly from WorldCat's site. If this is something you like, you might want
to download some search tools. The tools help you search via a browser
toolbar.
www.oclc.org/worldcat/open/how
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CCCC Page 5 August 2005
SYSTEMS S.I.G. by Dick Trissel
The summer duldrums have set in, but we still had a lively 25 members/guest
attendance at the July systems S.I.G.
The topic of discussion was Windows Explorer (WE) because I have found that
many computer users aren't familiar or comfortable with this essential file
and folder management program. We only had time to show a few of the
different ways to invoke WE:
Windows key and E key
Right click My Computer / Explore
Start / My Computer / Explore
Right click Start / Explore
WE shortcuts on the Desktop and the Quick Launch taskbar area.
Start / All Programs / Accessories / Windows Explorer
And we showed a few of the View and Tools / Folder Options settings to make
WE more useful than the default settings.
For a more complete discussion I referred to the 10 articles I have written
over the years and are in the CCCC newsletters archived on the club's Web
site (http://member.apcug.org/fourseas). From this home page, click on the
newsletter contents link and search for the word explorer. You will get
hits on May-September 2000 (the original series of four articles), December
2003 (a small review), March-June 2004 (a repeat of the four part series),
and May 2005 (XP differences). Then, from the home page, click on the
newsletters link to display each months link. Click on a newsletter month
link to read, copy and print the articles.
Some of the interesting questions were:
Can you put a new big hard drive in an old Windows 95 computer? That was a
qualified yes. It depends on how large a drive the BIOS can handle, if the
drive was supplied with a special disk to put a "trick" on the hard drive to
fool the BIOS, or if the BIOS needs and can be upgraded (flashed). The
evolution over the years of the boundaries for the BIOS capability was 540
Megabytes, 2 Gigabytes, 8 Gigabytes, and 32 Gigabytes.
Windows 98 defrag stalls. In this case, the original W98 defrag was being
used. He was advised to get the much more forgiving and faster WinME
defrag. Also, boot in Safe Mode to do the defrag.
How do I get a listing of a disk directory for printing? There's an
excellent free ~400MB program called DIRLISTER.EXE. It is downloadable
from: http://dl.winsite.com/bin/downl?2000000035923
I was asked to describe why I use the XP multiboot option for my W98SE / XP
system disks. By installing W98SE in one hard drive partition first (it
must be the first system installed for this to work), and then installing XP
in a second partition (with that partition formatted to FAT32), The XP
installation will automatically create a multiboot configuration. This
means that every time I bootup, I get a choice of systems.
Also, by using a FAT32 file system for XP, I can use Windows Explorer and
manage the files in the "other" system from whichever one I booted into--
very handy. One big advantage to this is I can use the superior ME defrag
utility in W98SE to defrag the XP system.
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CCCC Page 6 August 2005
XP PASSWORD EXPIRATION
by Dick Trissel
If your computer occasionally requires you to update your password during
the computer startup, here's how to change the setting so it won't ask
again.
1. Start / Run and type cmd and press OK
2. At the prompt, type net user and press Enter
C:\>net user
3. Note the Administrator name--that's the "user" (no quotes)
4. At the prompt, type net user /"user" (use the Administrator name)
C:\>net user / "user" (no quotes)
5. Notice the settings for Password Expires, it probably is a date
6. At the prompt, type net accounts /maxpwage : unlimited
C:\>net accounts /maxpwage : unlimited
7. Repeat steps 4 and 5 and note the Password Expires is set to Never
For the curious that want to learn more, at the prompt type net (C:\>net).
And at the prompt type net user /help (C:\>net user /help).
And at the prompt type net accounts /help (C:\net accounts /help).
Note the vertical scroll bar to view previous screens.
Ain't this fun. Welcome to the land of DOS commands.
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CCCC Page 7 August 2005
WI-FI LIABILITY
from an E-mail newsletter
The tech community is just starting to come to grips with the wider, legal
issues of wireless insecurity. You see, the problem isn't just that someone
might hack into your system to steal data or passwords--although that's bad
enough. But there also are legal implications if someone else simply uses
your connection for nefarious purposes.
For example, what happens if someone sends or gathers illegal porn via your
wireless setup, or commits identity theft or some other online crime through
your setup, even if you're not an active participant? At the very least,
*your* IP address--your digital fingerprint--will be all over the evidence,
so it could be very hard to establish your innocence. And in these days of
the "Patriot Act" and similar laws, the concept of "innocent until proven
guilty" is increasingly quaint and meaningless.
And what about your liability if you access someone else's unprotected link?
Even if all you do is surf the web via their connection, are you
trespassing? Are you stealing services?
Long-time readers have been attuned to some of these issues, and how to
avoid them, for years. For example we ran these items back in 2002:
http://langa.com/newsletters/2002/2002-11-04.htm#1
http://langa.com/newsletters/2002/2002-11-07.htm#1
But there's growing general awareness of the issues now, and two recent
papers may help further understanding of the problems:
"Wi-Fi Liability: Potential Legal Risks in Accessing and Operating Wireless
Internet" is a scholarly legal paper available from:
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=692881
And "Assessing Liability? Trespass on (Municipal) Wi-Fi Networks," a more
colloquial take on the issue, is available here:
http://blog.pff.org/archives/2005/06/assessing_liabi.html
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CCCC Page 8 August 2005
E-MAIL ADDRESSES
from Komando newsletter
Q. I hope you can help me. When forwarding e-mail, how do you delete all the
previous addressees so their e-mail addresses don't show to others? I have
Windows XP.
A. A forwarded e-mail message can gain a lot of mass. Most e-mail programs
include addresses of previous recipients and senders automatically. Messages
can become cluttered after only a couple generations of forwarding.
The included information is supposed to be helpful. The idea is that you can
see who has already seen the message, and avoid sending it to them. But more
often than not, all those addresses are really just clutter. Furthermore,
all those e-mail addresses are shared with recipients. And messages can
eventually make their way to complete strangers.
There are a couple of simple ways to keep e-mail addresses out of your
forwarded messages. First, you can highlight and copy the text of the
original message. But don't copy the addresses! Then paste the text into a
completely new e-mail. This is the easiest solution.
You could also erase the addresses as you forward. After you select the
option to forward, highlight the addresses with your mouse and delete them.
Some e-mail programs are set to forward messages as attachments. In that
case, you can't copy or make changes to the message. You'll need to change
your program's settings. These settings might also be listed under
"composing" or "sending."
Choose to include forwarded messages within the e-mail text or "inline."
You'll still have to erase names or addresses from the text.
And since we're on the topic, consider using your e-mail program's BCC
function to send a mass e-mail. When you use BCC, put your own address in
the To: field. Put the rest in the BCC: field. Everyone will be able to see
that you got the e-mail. But the rest of the addresses will be hidden. We
love that part!
If you're not sure how to use BCC with your e-mail program, check out the
steps that I have posted on my Web site.
Copyright 2005 WestStar TalkRadio Network. Reprinted with permission. No
further republication or redistribution is permitted without the written
consent of WestStar TalkRadio Network. Visit Kim Komando and sign up for her
free e-mail newsletters at: www.komando.com
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CCCC Page 9 August 2005
SCANNERS-WHAT'S NEW-WHAT TO LOOK FOR!
by Amy L. Malicki
At the Scanner presentation last month I was amazed to find so many members
already using scanners, and I apologize for running out of time, so you
didn't get to ask any questions. From the few comments I heard, I decided
to do an Internet Search to see what was available out there for persons who
might want to upgrade, or to pursue a special interest.
I checked at Tiger.com and CDW.com. These have been around for many years.
I used them many years ago, when I was recommending and installing full
computer systems for the Department of Rehabilitation. They are dependable,
and their prices are still the best. Another source I used then was ZD Net,
a technology company that provides Technology news and reviews.
Unfortunately, neither ZD Net nor PC Magazine had any recent scanning
reviews. ZD Net however, had three scanner use recommendations:
1) For scanning film exclusively, get a dedicated film scanner;
2) To scan photos and flat art as well, get a really good flatbed scanner
with a built-in film attachment;
3) If you are planning to digitize your family album look for color
correction, as well as dust-and-scratch-removal tools.
These are pretty good for a start.
It appears that the main reason members have purchased scanners is to copy,
print or share photos. For those of you not interested in doing any photo
correcting or retouching, a flatbed scanner "under" $100 should serve you
very well. There was an EXTRA4C bulletin (19 July) "Scanner Info" sheet
sent just before the last meeting that might be of interest, if you did not
get a chance to read it yet.
Very few people seemed interested in scanning a page of text to turn it into
an electronic document that could be edited in a word processor, faxed or e-
mailed. If you would like more information on OCR (Optical Character
Reading) - e-mail me at: savvyforseniors@juno.com.
For persons who want to print their own photos or edit them with photo
retouching software, they can do so even without a digital camera. When you
have your prints developed, pay a few dollars more and have the pictures put
on a CD disk. Then all you have to do is put the disk in your CD drive and
access the photos with your photo enhancing software. Most scanners and
printers now come with some kind of Photo Editing or Retouching software -
if only to remove red-eye, crop, or re-size. You can't save changes to your
Walgreen Disk - but if you have CD software, you can "Create a New CD Disk"
and Add the edited files as you work on them. The key is to make note of the
directory you are saving files to.
If you have a digital camera you will be using a flash card, about 1"x1",
instead of film. If you don't know how to get the pictures into your
computer, you can get them transferred to a CD disk in a matter of seconds,
at a Walgreen's (and probably Costco). You buy a blank CD disk from them,
and insert your flash card into the slot provided and Click your choices. At
home insert the disk into the CD Drive, open the file with your editing or
camera software and save to the computer hard drive. Save As: "Look-in"> My
Documents> My Pictures. Make a folder called "Burn to Disk". Then, if you
have CD Burning software, you can later "burn" them to a "Read Only" or
"Read-Write" disk. Most digital cameras, printers and scanners provide some
form of photo editing software. The pictures can also be downloaded directly
from your camera to the C-Drive - or from a small flash card holder that can
be purchased separately.
Some printers have a Flash Card slot, so pictures can be printed instantly-
without editing. Some printers show a preview of the picture and you can
select the ones to print, and the size. Use good quality paper to print
these, as regular paper may not be able to absorb all the ink and the paper
may curl.
Printer-Scanner-fax-Copy combinations are good if you are not looking for
the BEST Printing and Scanning qualities. Just like the old WORKS program,
it had a little bit of Word, a little bit of Lotus 123, and a little bit of
a data base. Some members are still happy using Works. These combinations
are usually easy to use and perfect for a quick fax, scan or copy.
For those who are creating family albums and plan to use some of the
scrapbook software available, you may need to have an 8.5"x14" scanner, and
possibly a larger printer. If you want to know more about this - e-mail me
at Juno, or read on to see if any of the following will serve your purpose.
For those who want to put all their old film and slides on disk, I'm not
sure the dedicated slide scanner is the answer. The ones I saw at CDW and
Tiger seemed very limited. It appeared they could scan only one frame or a
few slides at a time; and none of them mentioned sending slides directly to
a disk. I did, however, discover some NEW flatbed scanners that did some
absolutely AWESOME things
At $99.00 or less - Here are some things to look for if you are planning to
work with photos. The Epson scanner has a good 2400 x 4800 dpi resolution.
Color hardware is best at 48 bits per pixel for color, 16 bits per pixel for
grayscale. Some USB port connectors are now USB2.0 and higher for more power
(older ones maybe 1.1, be sure it is compatible with both). The HP Scanjet
3970 is similar.
At around $187.30 - Here are some numbers from a Visioneer One Touch 9420 -
with front buttons. 48 bit color they say recognizes a trillion colors. It
includes a built-in backlight and film holder for 35 mm slides and
negatives, but does not specify the number of slides per scan. It's Hi-speed
USB compatible with 1.1 or 2.0.
Some flatbed scanners have built-in attachments that scan several frames of
film at a time. However, make sure these are not Optional parts that have to
be purchased separately. Also, be wary of external film adapters, they may
not be able to produce the same digital quality as the flatbed.
At $255.99 - Here are some numbers, and new devices, from a Tech Data,
Scanmaker 6800 operating on Microtek software, at 4800x2400 dpi & 48 bit
color, with both HI-speed USB and (new) FireWire Connections - plus a (six-
pin) PCI FireWire card. It is the First one-step Digital ICE Print
Restoration scanner (they say). Applied Science Fiction (ASF) technology
built into software and hardware; maps, identifies and eliminates unwanted
surface defects on photos, corrects most scratches and cracks, and removes
dust and lint. Specifications refer to an integrated 4"x5" transparency
adapter - but no mention of slides.
At $299.99 - An HP Scanjet 5550C Flatbed at 2400x 2400 was designed for
office use with multiple page scanning capability. It provides Professional-
quality results for text, OCR, graphics, photos, negatives and slides,
including 3-D objects (using a lighted adapter sold separately $78). The
intriguing statement was "Streamline electronic storage using the included
Scan-Soft Paper-Port Software, and scan to CD's, printers & more", ALSO
"Archive information and preserve drive space using Scan-to-CD feature". "HP
Memories Disk Creator" included, to send files directly to CD. Shown with a
5-star rating from Tiger.
NOTE: Regarding 3-D objects, most scanners whose lids can be lifted to
accept a book are capable of scanning 3-D objects, showing the depth with
color and shadows. Just don't put anything on the glass that would scratch
or discolor it.
At $429.99 - The EPSON Perfection 4990 scanner is also a "gas" with the
quality of a dedicated digital film scanner, plus the flexibility of a
flatbed scanner all in one. It scans multiple slides simultaneously, as well
as negatives and photos. The built-in transparency unit accommodates film up
to 8 x 10. It delivers intricate detail due to astounding 4800x9600 dpi
resolution, 48-bit color. It easily restores faded or damaged film and
photos with Epson Easy Photo Fix and Digital Ice Restore Technology.
Last but not least: At $472 to $599 (depending where you buy it), the new
Microtek I900 was featured at Tiger Direct. It sounds AWESOME. It's a
"dual" media scanner with legal size 8.5"x14" flatbed for scanning photos,
etc. at 6400 x 3200 dpi (dots per inch), and 8"x10" film scanning in the
lower bay. SnapTransfilm holders provide optimal film handling for glassless
batch scanning of 12 frames of 35mm slides and strips, as well as 120 and
4"x5" film. It uses SnapTrans templates and EDIT (Emulsion Direct Imaging
Technology) for multi-format, distortion-free direct film scanning without a
pane of glass. This scanner has its own exclusive "PictuRescue system,
featuring DIGITAL ICE Photo Print Technology built into the hardware, for
fast and easy photo-damage removal; plus one-touch color restoration that
restores faded photos and film to their original colors. MIcrotek has had
many previous models, but this is the only one with all these powerful
features at an "affordable" price.
The new technology is here. Prices over $600 are usually because they are
Professional, or office related, which usually requires bigger or heavier
equipment, or more repetition and speed. The HP 5550 is a good example of
such an office product which provides a 35 page multiple scan and 7 second
preview scan from the same equipment that can also focus on the details
required in a photo scan.
I Hope this helps. Maybe six months from now, these will all be half price.
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