C C C C N E W S L E T T E R
CENTRAL COAST COMPUTER CLUB
Santa Maria, California
VOLUME XVIII: NUMBER 1 NOVEMBER, 2003
NEXT MEETING: JANUARY 21, 2003 6:00PM KNOLLWOOD VILLAGE 4012 S. BRADLEY
PRESENTATION: MARTY JOEL PRESENTS "THE AWESOME COMPUTER"
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| CONTENTS |
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(1) Officers, Helplines, S.I.G.s
(2) President's Corner Charles Barney
(3) Novice S.I.G Amy Malicki
(4) Editor's Comments Dick Trissel
(5) Systems S.I.G Dick Trissel
(6) Web Wanderings Gil Smith
(7) Review: Quicken 2003 Premier Ray Isenson
(8) Red X Box Dick Trissel
(9) CCCC Book Library Barbara Godwin
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OFFICERS HELPLINES
President Juno
Charles Barney 937-1240 Gilbert Smith 925-3743
cbarney@lightspeed.net Gs5081@aol.com
Vice President Windows 95/98/ME/XP & VoiceControl
Richard Holmes 938-0622 Amy Malicki 925-5780
holmesr1@juno.com amymal@juno.com
Secretary and Book Librarian Hardware & DOS
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
Gmiller@pronet.net
Disk Librarian Help With Any Problem
Sharon Allen 928-2209 Dick Savage 928-4932
sallen4060@aol.com rsavage65@hotmail.com
Publicity Help With Any Problem
Bill Corning 934-0775 Fred Adams 934-1128
foster95@juno.com wd64acj@netzero.net
Newsletter Editor Visual Basic
Dick Trissel 937-7572 Gerald Miller 934-1396
rtrissel@juno.com Gmiller@pronet.net
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS (S.I.G.s)
Novice (6:00pm) Systems (5:45pm)
Amy Malicki Dick Trissel
amymal@juno.com rtrissel@juno.com
CCCC Membership is $15 for twelve months ($20 family). For this you
receive:
Monthly newsletter
EXTRA4C E-mail Messages
Access to the clubs software library
Disk of the month (usually for $1)
Helpline support
Monthly presentation
Valuable door prizes
Question and answer sessions
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CCCC Page 2 January 2003
PRESIDENT'S CORNER
by Charles Barney
The 4C's annual Christmas party was once again a big success! Our informal
get-together on December 17th was graced with sumptuous food, holiday
adornments, seasonal music, a table-full of great computer prizes, and most
of all YOU - the members. Thanks to all the 50 some folks who came out and
made our party such a great one.
As we begin a new year with the club, some changes are in the works that I
would like to bring to your attention at this time. One of the obligations
of the Executive Committee, I feel, is to keep up with the evolving needs
of the membership. It has become apparent that our Special Interest Groups,
which meet at the start of the evening, are in need of a change in venue.
While Amy Malicki continues to have a faithful (albeit smaller) following
in her Windows SIG, the growing interest in Dick Trissel's Systems SIG has
resulted in regular over-capacity attendance in the pool room. Those
wanting to attend miss out if they don't get there early enough. The
relatively small room can only hold so many people.
What we will be doing, starting with this month's meeting, is holding the
Systems SIG in the main room where plenty of seating is available and Amy's
group in, probably, the library. She plans to gear her sessions toward the
beginner or those who maybe just require a little more time to learn the
skills they need. We are hoping that this arrangement will work out to be a
better one for the majority of you.
Changes are not always easy at first, so I ask you to please have patience
and show your support to the SIG leaders during this adjustment period.
Also, if you have any constructive ideas on improving the meetings in any
way, I encourage you to let myself or another staff member know about them.
Your opinion DOES matter.
Allan Hancock College will be offering computer classes as part of their
Community Education program starting from the week of January 20th.
In addition to the long-running Seniors: Computers and You classes, some
interesting new ones have been added this year. Computer Creations for
Seniors: Do-It-Yourself Cards, Newsletters and More; and Explore the
Internet! will be offered for the first time. If you have a digital camera
or are thinking about getting one, Digital Camera Basics and Everything You
Want to Know About Buying a Digital Camera are classes you may want to look
into. For enrollment information, take a look at the Spring 2003 Spectrum
catalog that you probably received in the mail or call AHC at 922-6966,
ext. 3209.
Do you really know what makes a computer "tick"? What goes on inside the
box is a fascinating subject that our guest speaker at the January 21st
meeting will give it his best to explain. Marty Joel, who spoke to us in
October on "Demystifying the Internet", will be back again with a new
presentation he calls "The Awesome Computer." He told me that his topic was
admittedly deep, but believed that most of you will at least have a better
appreciation of the computer afterwards.
I'm looking forward to another year's activities at the Central Coast
Computer Club and serving a 4th term as your President. With the continued
efforts of all of us, it will no doubt be another great one! I'll see you
at the clubhouse. - Charles
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CCCC Page 3 January 2003
Special Interest Group (S.I.G.) for Novices
By Amy L. Malicki
This "NEW" six o'clock session will meet in one of the smaller clubrooms.
It is intended to satisfy the needs of new computer users.
Subjects to be covered this month will be Computer components, Monitor,
Keyboard and Mouse, and how they all work together (without going over
everyone's head), LIKE: "This is where the gas tank is, you will need to
change oil regularly, and replace the battery and tires occasionally."
Other subjects will cover Mouse Control, (Pointer, Clicks, and Cursor);
Icons, (creating, moving, hiding, deleting); Windows, (shapes and sizes);
Menus and Commands; and (most importantly) HOW to SHUT DOWN the computer
properly, and WHY.
There will not be an overhead projector. However, there will be
instruction sheets with a Glossary of terms to be used in each session and
space to make notes about the subjects being discussed.
The S.I.G. agenda is intended to provide some direction and will be
adjusted to fill the needs of those attending.
Future sessions will focus on Keyboarding, Opening and Closing Programs,
using the Help Program and a Word Processor.
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CCCC Page 4 January 2003
EDITOR'S COMMENTS
by Dick Trissel
I think everyone that attended the annual CCCC Christmas party had a good
time and plenty to eat. Those that couldn't make it missed a memorable
event--I won a door prize! Do you suppose it was because we drew from
coupons instead of the PicWin program? That program certainly seems to
favor certain members of the club .
A lot of thanks go to President Charles Barney for the tremendous job he
did gathering the large array of door prizes. There were at least ten
prizes ranging from CD discs to a scanner. And then Amy contributed two
copies of her new book "Computer Savvy for Seniors" as door prizes.
I think I finally found the answer so many have asked about the time limits
for Web access using Juno and Netzero. I found the Netzero Web access time
limits (See the copy of the Netzero Web page below). I assume Juno is the
same since they are both parts of United Online.
The free Netzero Web is 10 hours per month (they didn't say what happens at
the 10 hour point). The ** on the paragraph on Netzero didn't relate to
anything on the page.
The $9.95 Netzero is "unlimited" (within reasonable usage). The
$4.95/month Juno (not available) has a 10 hour limit with a $0.50/hour over
10 hours charge.
The $9.95 Bluelight service (now part of United Online with Juno and
Netzero) is advertised as "Unlimited".
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FREE NETZERO
From Terms of Agreement
**The 10-hour per month limit is per household and we assume that each
household has only one computer and one phone line. If you are sharing a
computer or phone line with other NetZero users, your hourly usage will be
aggregated with those users - even if you have separate Member IDs.
NETZERO PLATINUM ($9.95/month)
http://www.netzero.net/support/
faq/fptp02.html
How many hours per month do I get with NetZero Platinum?
We do not market Platinum as unlimited, but currently there are no specific
usage caps on the number of hours Platinum members can use during their
monthly billing cycle.
Please keep in mind, however, that we are a consumer service, and not
designed for people who require an "always on" connection with long
periods of inactivity.
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CCCC Page 5 January 2003
SYSTEMS S.I.G.
by Dick Trissel
The Systems S.I.G. has moved. We will be meeting in the main room. This
is a good news/bad news thing. The good news is that we will not be so
crowded, and we will have use of the projector. The bad news is that I
will insist that attendees sit up front--I will not be using the
microphone. This also means those in the room not attending the S.I.G.
must be quiet. I hope to retain the personal one-on-one we've had in the
smaller room.
For over a year now I've threatened to have one of our monthly S.I.G.s
devoted to burning CD discs. Well, hopefully, the January S.I.G. will be
questions and answers on burning CDs.
With the cost of CD burning hardware (internal CD-RWs) so low now that you
can buy one for $30 (after rebate), everyone should have one. The large
amount of storage with the convenience of a floppy drive, has just about
made obsolete the 3.5 inch floppy. In fact, some new computers don't even
have a floppy drive as part of the standard equipment.
As far as I know, all CD burners come with burning software. It's about
even between the Ahead Nero program and the Roxio Easy CD Creator program.
I personally prefer the Adaptec Easy CD Creator (ECDC) version 4 (the
original before Roxio took over). The Nero version 5.5 that I have doesn't
have the capability to packet write to CD-R discs--only CD-RW discs.
However, my new Samsung burner won't recognize the ECDC version 4. I have
to use the version 5.1 that came with the hardware.
And there are other third party CD burning programs such as Click 'N Burn
that was reviewed in a CCCC newsletter a few months ago. It does allow
packet writing to
CD-Rs.
So, bring all your CD burning questions to the January S.I.G. I'm sure
there will be plenty, and someone will know the answers.
There is an excellent book on CD burning in our Book library (see the list
on page 9): "CD and DVD Recording for Dummies".
If time allows, we will still discuss other computer problems, as usual.
__________________________________________________________________________
JANUARY COOKIES
Thanks in advance to the January "Cookies" volunteers:
Jean Burress & Carol Chambard.
__________________________________________________________________________
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CCCC Page 6 January 2003
WEB WANDERINGS
By Gil Smith
NET COOKS
Welcome to Cyber Soup, where you'll find tons of recipes from all over the
World Wide Web. There are lots of recipe sites on the net but this one is
an international recipe database. You can get recipes here from all over
the world. It also has a conversion table built into the sidebar. Be sure
to try it. I'm sure you'll like their international cooking links, as well
as their easy interface for finding that elusive perfect recipe. Happy
Cooking!
http://www.netcooks.com
WHAT'S YOUR CAR WORTH?
Wouldn't you like to be able to learn the value of your car, before you go
to a car dealership to trade cars? Especially when you "know" the dealer
is too low. If only you could check the blue book value yourself. Well,
you can. Check out the online blue book at the address below.
http://www.kbb.com/
CANDY USA
Do you have a sweet tooth? Well if so, you can visually feed it at this
site. Learn how to make candy crafts, read candy statistics, find candy
recipes, as well as candy trivia. Read up on Nutrition and Health
information where they answer such questions as: "Is my candy safe?" and
cover topics like: "Psychology" foods, Chocolate Does Not Raise
Cholesterol, and Snacks, Chocolate, Candy and Kids, and many more. Check
it out.
http://www.candyusa.org/
EYE WITNESS
The motto of this site is: "History through the eyes of those who lived
it." Sounds interesting, doesn't it? Just about every time period is
covered on this history site. So what makes it different, other than its
eye witness ploy? It is presented by Ibis Communications, a digital
publisher of educational programming, and it is quite thorough. Go ahead,
travel to the time period of your choice, and notice the links on the side
of other incidents that happened in that time period. Most of the pieces
have pictures to go along with the information on the site. It's a well-
written and well-published site, that is really interesting. Read about the
Dalton Gang and their attempt to rob two banks at the same time in
Coffeville, Kansas. One of the most interesting sites that I have found.
http://ibiscom.com/
KALEIDOSCOPE PAINTER
Ever want to be an artist? Well, this is a neat little site that lets you
do just that. Wait for the applet to load and then drag your mouse along
the applet, and you can even change brush sizes as you are creating your
masterpiece. This can provide hours of fun. Definitely worth checking out
and tons of fun.
http://www.permadi.com/java/spaint/
spaint.html
SHERLOCKIAN.NET
Are you a Sherlock Holmes fan? Do you enjoy a good whodunit? Well this is
the place on the web to find anything and everything you ever wanted to
know about Sherlock Holmes. There are pictures, sounds, games, and so much
more. Was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle a murderer? Find out by checking out the
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle section. Take a gander at the FAQ or learn about
the time period that Doyle wrote in. A fabulous site, with hours of
information. You'll enjoy it.
http://www.sherlockian.net/
LIVE BARNCAM
Watch the Appaloosas in their barn. These beautiful animals are quite a
sight to see. See a mare and her filly in their stable. Watch the little
one's first steps. The camera is updated every 20 seconds.
http://www.appaloosa.org/livefoal.html
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CCCC Page 7 January 2003
REVIEW: QUICKEN 2003 PREMIER
By Ray Isenson
For a great number of years, now, Intuit's Quicken has been characterized
by the enhanced capabilities offered with each updated version. As an all
around personal finance program it has
had few peers. Once again, with the 2003 release there are some
significant changes and additions to all of the four offered versions;
"Basic" through "Home and Business".
New and most likely helpful to all users but potentially of greatest value
to a novice is the "Guided Setup." With this step by step guidance,
developed through Quicken questions and the user's answers you can set up
just the portions of the program to satisfy your requirements without
having to enter your personal, total financial description. Some portions
of the "Guided Setup", program registration for example, require access to
the Internet. The instructions aren't always as clear as one might desire.
However, where a mistaken entry is made it is possible to later correct it.
Unchanged from prior versions is the ability to monitor bank and brokerage
accounts, to write checks and to pay bills on line. For the latter
functions, the cooperation of your bank is required. Bill Pay service,
after the free first month, is $9.95 for 20 payments. A list of
cooperating banks is available On Line. Through a joint effort with the
Muriel Seibel discount brokerage, " Quicken Brokerage" is available to
users of all versions of Quicken that have the online update feature,
though not all data (your tax profile and alerts) can be uploaded from
earlier versions. Buy and sell orders are executed for $24.95.
Information derived by the program through this service, coupled with
information transferred electronically from banks and other institutions as
authorized by you, allow the Premier and Premier/Home & Business versions
to generate federal 1040 schedules A, B, and D. at tax time.
Installation of Quicken 2003 was painless and quick. The setup process
recognized that I had a prior version of Quicken on my computer. With my
permission it uninstalled the earlier version, migrated my data files,
using one of the program's new capabilities, to a format required by
Quicken 2003, and installed the new version. It determined that the
computer on which I was installing the program still had Internet Explorer
5.0, advised me as to the enhanced security of I.E. version 5.5 and, with
my permission, updated that program. Total increase of space required on
my hard drive for Quicken Premier 2003 and I.E. was 46.9 MBytes.
In less than half an hour my computer was up and running on Quicken Premier
2003. Although I had no problem navigating through the functions of
interest to me, I found the new interface to be far more cluttered than
that of 2002 and earlier versions; so much so that I wouldn't advise
updating to 2003 unless some of the new functions are desired.
From a technical point an IBM Pentium 133 running Windows 95, or later,
with at least 32 MB RAM is required. The monitor should be capable of
800X600 resolution and the color card, 266 colors.
Internet access is required for all on line activities, including Pay Bill,
account access and brokerage functions. A 56k modem, although not
mandatory, is strongly advised.
From Quicken Basic to Quicken Home & Business, List prices are $30 to $90
depending upon version. The Premier version, with IRS 1040 schedules A, B
and D, lists at $75. (Street prices at Staples and Offices Depot for
example, are generally slightly less)
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CCCC Page 8 January 2003
RED X BOX
by Maureen Morrow
In a SIG discussion, a fellow wanted to know why he got a "red X in a box"
icon when he tried to open a friend's e-mail attachment. The friend
replied to him that he was the only one who said he had trouble. I don't
know who the troubled guy was, so please pass this on to him if you do.
For what its worth; today while I worked on saving many attachments of
photos that our family sends around, I occasionally got a similar "red X"
problem on a slightly different task. All of the photo attachments were
sent to me in the same way on the same e-mail by the same kid.
After saving a typical e-mail batch of 6 photos, I checked my Save To -
View Details file before Deleting. Most were moved and Opened just fine;
but a few opened to the blank "red X in box" icon. In the re-doing, I
discovered that if I just clicked on the bottom horizontal box of e-mail
Attachment, it Saved with Red X - no photo.
However, if I ignored that horizontal Attachment box and clicked on the
Paper clip icon on the upper right of the e-mail message instead, I got
another bottom line with another Attachment box. If I then clicked on that
duplicate, it opened. Only, then I could Save it as a whole photo. So it
is two extra clicks, but it worked every time.
[Editor's comments: Usually the red x icon designates a graphic that is not
actually part of the document file body. That is, it is not "embedded" in
the document. Instead, it is referenced as a separate file located
somewhere outside of the document.]
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CCCC Page 9 January 2003
CCCC BOOK LIBRARY
The following books are available in the CCCC library. To have a book
brought to a meeting for you, contact (in advance) Barbara Godwin, 934-
9885, yung.bag@verizon.net
Adobe Acrobat 3 for Dummies
America Online for Windows
Bill Gates-The Road Ahead
Build Your Own PC - A Tutorial by David Risley
CD and DVD Recording for Dummies
Close the Gaps
Computer Resource Guide
Fix Your Own PC, 2nd Edition
Getting Ready for Windows 95
How Computers Work - Millennium Edition
How to Do Everything with the Internet
I'm on the Internet, Now What?!
I'm turning on my PC, Wow What?!
Inside Windows 95
Introducing MS Windows 95
Introducing MS Windows 98, Beta Release
Master Office 97 Visually (with CD)
Microsoft Windows Me for Dummies
Modems for Dummies
MS Windows 95 Resource Kit (with Floppies)
MS Windows 98-Getting Started
Official Netscape Guide to Internet Research
Official Netscape Navigator 2.0
PC Mechanics' Build Your Own PC
PC's for Dummies, 8th Edition
Personal Computers-A Guide for Seniors
Pocket PC Starter Pak for Dummies (with CD)
Running Microsoft Windows 95
Teach Yourself the Internet in a Week, 2nd Edition
The Official America On Line, 2nd Edition
The Secret Guide to Computers-24th Edition for 1998
The Ultimate MS Windows 95 Book
The Windows 95 Bug Collection
Upgrading & Repairing PC's, 2nd Edition
Web Pages, 2nd Edition
Windows 95 Made Easy
Windows 95 Secrets Gold (with CD)
Windows 95 Secrets, 3rd Edition (with CD)
Windows 95 Secrets, 4th Edition (with CD)
Windows 98 Annoyances
Windows 98 for Busy People
Windows 98 for Dummies (X's 2)
Windows 98 in a Nutshell
Windows 98 Quick Reference
Windows 98 Simplified
Windows Me - I Didn't Know You Could Do That...
Windows Me for Dummies (Special PC World Pocket Edition)
Windows Millennium-The Missing Manual
Windows XP in a Nutshell
Windows XP, Home Edition
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