C C C C N E W S L E T T E R
CENTRAL COAST COMPUTER CLUB
Santa Maria, California
VOLUME XVIII: NUMBER 6 JUNE, 2003
NEXT MEETING: June 17, 2003 6:00PM KNOLLWOOD VILLAGE 4012 S. BRADLEY
PRESENTATION: STEVE MELANCON OF PRIMIER PRINTER REPAIR WITH:
"TIPS AND TRICKS FOR HOME PRINTERS"
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| CONTENTS |
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(1) Officers, Helplines, S.I.G.s
(2) President's Corner Charles Barney
(3) CCCC Benefits
(4) Editor's Comments Dick Trissel
(5) Novice S.I.G. Amy Makicki
(6) Web Wanderings Gil Smith
(7) Systems S.I.G. Dick Trissel
(8) Lost Font Mick Topping
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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 & 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
Gmiller@pronet.net
Disk Librarian Visual Basic
Sharon Allen 928-2209 Gerald Miller 934-1396
sallen4060@aol.com Gmiller@pronet.net
Publicity Help With Any Problem
Bill Corning 934-0775 Fred Adams 934-1128
foster95@juno.com wd64acj@netzero.net
Newsletter Editor
Dick Trissel 937-7572
rtrissel@juno.com
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 June 2003
PRESIDENT'S CORNER
by Charles Barney
Nearly 70 computer enthusiasts turned out for our meeting on May 20th. I
like to see a good crowd at the clubhouse, but we do have limited parking
around the immediate facility. Just as a reminder, if you can't find a
parking space around the clubhouse when you arrive, please use one of the
Guest Parking areas located around the Knollwood neighborhood or park
across Bradley Road. The important thing is that we have no one illegally
parking their vehicles in front of anyone's residence in Knollwood Village.
Thank you.
Joining us at our last get-together were new members Ginny DeBolt and
Eugene Johnson. A hearty 4Cs welcome to you folks! We are happy to have
you with us and it is our sincere wish that you will feel right at home in
our PC user group. Please be aware of and take advantage of all the
privileges available to you as members (see the article elsewhere in this
newsletter). We are essentially a group of people helping people. It is
our goal to provide an unassuming and non-threatening atmosphere for people
to ask questions, learn from others and to share their own knowledge and
experiences.
Margrit Holmes, manager of Arrow Camera in Santa Maria, was our guest
speaker for the evening. Having been in the photography business for over
25 years, she has certainly seen a lot of changes in the technology of how
pictures are acquired, processed and distributed. Margrit says that she
has been busy "reinventing" the store to keep pace with the growing
popularity of personal computers, digital cameras, and the Internet. After
seeing some of the examples she brought to the meeting, and especially
having had a chance to take a tour of the store, I can personally attest
that she has done an admirable job. Margrit gave an interesting discussion
of digital photography, from cameras to the finished print before fielding
several questions from the inquisitive in the audience.
One of my favorite parts of our get-togethers (even though I disqualify
myself from eligibility) is the door prize giveaway! Being somewhat of a
"shopaholic" I have a lot of fun going to the various computer stores
around the area, hunting for special bargain items that make the most of
the club's dollars, but also for things that I think the members will
enjoy. There haven't been many complaints, so I guess I'm doing ok in this
area.
Speaking of door prizes, we had the usual mix of winners and no-shows when
it came time to give out the goodies at the last meeting.
The winners were: Edward Sage - Kim Komando's E-Book "The 50 Biggest
Computer Mistakes (and how you can avoid them)", Bill Corning - Mavis
Beacon Teaches Typing Deluxe ver 10, Stanley Voris - 50 Pack Sony CD-R
Media, Seymour Schwartz - 30 CD Storage Tower, Bill Jones and Robert Dixon
both passed before Laudell Ludwig took home Hasbro Interactive's Monopoly
Game. The no-shows who missed out on a prize included: Miles Dennis (he
left early!), Paul Highfill, Peter Dettelis, David Lowry, George Keys, and
Marshall Wiley.
It has come to my attention recently that maybe it's time to get another
SIG going at the meetings in order to better serve the interests of the
members. What I'd like you to think about is some possible topics; what
computer related subjects you would like to see covered. How about a SIG
on Genealogy? Digital Imaging? Ham Radio on the Internet? Also, we of
course will need someone willing to lead a new SIG. You don't have to be
an expert by any means to be a group leader. Give it some thought, won't
you? Let me hear some of your ideas.
At our upcoming meeting on June 17th, we have scheduled as our guest
speaker Steve Melancon of Premiere Printer Repair to give us some tips and
tricks to keep our home printers in good running order. No doubt, there
will be some very useful information presented. I'll see you at the
clubhouse. -Charles
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CCCC Page 3 June 2003
CCCC BENEFITS
If you've been a member of the Central Coast Computer Club for awhile you
probably already know all the benefits of being a member. But, just in
case you've forgotten, or if you are a relatively new member, here's list
of what is available for you.
There are monthly meetings structured to share assistance for using your
computer and provide exchanges of information, advice and help with other
members, many of whom are very knowledgeable and willing to assist.
Regular monthly Special interest groups (S.I.G.s) are available for using
your computer's operating system and for Internet operations.
At the meetings we have presentations by speakers, both local and national.
There are 50/50 drawings for the brave at heart, and door prize drawings
for the lucky members.
And, of course, there is the social aspect of the meetings where you get to
meet new and old friends with like interests.
Obviously, there is a monthly newsletter you are now reading with the list
of officers, support personnel, and consultants for specific computer
problems. It also contains any important announcements, dates, and
suggestions to improve the usage of your computer.
The club maintains a Web site that has pages of important announcements,
copies of past newsletters and past newsletter contents listings, and an
extensive categorized bookmark listing of Web sites. The Web site is at
http://member.apcug.org/fourseas (fourseas-CCCC, get it?)
At nearly every monthly meeting there is a disk-of-the-month (DOM) made
available, with interesting new programs.
There is a disk library of the past DOMs and a publication library, both
available to all members. The disks are maintained by the disk librarian,
and the publications are available from the librarian, who currently is
also the secretary.
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CCCC Page 4 June 2003
EDITOR'S COMMENTS
by Dick Trissel
Well, we're making a change again in where the Special Interest Groups
(S.I.Gs.) will meet. Starting this month (June) the Novice S.I.G. with Amy
Malicki will be back in the Main room at 6:00PM. This will allow Amy to
use the much needed projector for her presentations.
The Systems S.I.G. at 5:45PM with Dick Trissel will be back in the
Poolroom. As before, there will be limited seating, so get there early.
There will be a new informal meeting group in the Library for those that
just want to share miscellaneous experiences and discuss world conditions,
etc. We might call it the B.S.I.G. Hopefully, this will decrease the
background noise in the main room during the S.I.G. meeting times.
In case you missed it in the EXTRA4C bulletin, I hope to demonstrate a
novel graphics presentation at the Systems S.I.G. Ray Isenson found this
Honda (COG) advertisement at:
http://paradiselost.com/index.php?module=htmlpages&func=display&pid=2
I'm giving the URL here now, because after seeing it many will want to get
it for themselves. However, it is over 4 megabytes long (about 20 minutes
with a dialup modem).
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CCCC Page 5 June 2003
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP (S.I.G.)
FOR NOVICES By Amy L. Malicki
This six o'clock session meets in the main clubroom this month, so we will
be able to use the overhead projector. This session is intended to provide
answers to new user questions and/or problems.
This month we will continue to discuss "Directories" and how to "Save" or
"Transfer" files to a specific Directory, or a Floppy Drive. We will use
"Find/Search" to locate files by name, symbols and dates. If there is time
we may work with "Microsoft Explorer" - the "Windows File Manager".
An Agenda will be available, which can be used for making notes. However,
since we try to solve individual problems as well - we don't always
complete the Agenda. A Glossary of basic computer terms will be available
for those who need one.
Future sessions will cover Start Menu, and different ways of Accessing
(opening) files, Creating Shortcuts, and how to Write and Edit a letter.
Bring your questions, and I will try to answer them -- even if you are not
a novice, but want to learn more about the computer, and what it can do for
you.
=========================================================================
AMY'S BOOK: "Computer SAVVY for Seniors" or
$7.50 "What to do AFTER you turn the computer on"
Is Available at COMSTAR COMPUTERS - 2530 S. Broadway near the Mobile
Station
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CCCC Page 6 June 2003
WEB WANDERINGS
By Gil Smith
HEALTHY DIET
Here you will find Medical Diets and much, much more. Need to find a diet
after all the holiday eating? Then I suggest you start your research at
this site. The Medical Diet section is very interesting with information
ranging from Heart and Diabetes diets to Allergies and Pregnancy. For
those of us who are regular dieters, you will enjoy the other sections with
recipes, humor, and various types of diets, from Low Calorie to the Yoga
Diet. I think you'll find what you're looking for.
http://www.geocities.com/kaloriekounts/index.html
STARRYSCAPES
Welcome to Loke Kun Tan's Astrophotography website which displays
photographic images of celestial objects adorning our night skies. Some of
the objects are visible to the naked eye, such as the bright and
spectacular Comets Hyakutake and Hale-Bopp. Other objects, such as gaseous
nebulae and galaxies, can be extremely faint and are visually evident only
in telescopes or through long exposure photography. Did that grab your
attention? It did mine, I sure couldn't think of a better way to say it.
Now let me tell you about these pictures; they are phenomenal. You can
even choose what kind of things you want to look at: Comets, Galaxies,
Nebulae, Star Clusters, or H-Alpha. I like the Nebula section, the
pictures are in color and my favorite is Nebulae7000 North America and
ICS070 Pelican Nebulae. The color photos really take your breath away, and
make great wallpaper for your desktop. However, please don't just set
these images as wallpaper. Read the copyright info and ask:
http://www.starryscapes.com/etc/profile.html
ASK OXFORD
Are you passionate about language? Well so are the publishers of Ask
Oxford. You can get a lot out of this site. Like what, you ask? Well
there is a Word of the Day section, Games, Quotations, and an Ask the
Experts section. For those of you who like odd trivia, you'll enjoy the
section that gives you the history of a word and where it originated.
There is even a Question and Answer section for those of you who have deep
probing language questions.
http://www.askoxford.com/
DUMB WARNINGS
In the style of Dumb Laws, here are dumb warnings. I particularly
Enjoyed their top ten dumbest warnings and I think you will too. A nice
section is the random warning, which is a good way to experience the humor
of these warnings. Want to just go through them however you want? Go
through their warning index and pick and choose as you please. Have you
read a dumb warning on something you've bought or operated? If so you can
submit a dumb warning. You can even check out the Dumb Network which has
things like Real Haunted House and many more.
http://www.dumbwarnings.com
BOYCOTT WATCH
What is Boycott Watch? Their FAQ answers this question efficiently.
Boycott Watch is a non-profit organization that looks at boycott calls,
asks both sides their story and posts it at Boycott Watch so people can
decide for themselves what the truth is. If you have more questions about
them and their goals, check out their FAQ. Get your information on
boycotts you are watching as they are updated and new information as it
comes to light, stay on top of new boycotts as they arise. Think of it
like News for boycotts. You've probably received email with lists of
alleged French companies to boycott in reaction to the French position on
Iraq. Well, here you'll find a CONFIRMED list of which companies really
are French and which actually are not. Or read the REAL stats on where oil
is imported from before you believe the Internet rumors. Head on over for
the information, then decide for yourself.
http://www.boycottwatch.org/
VIRTUAL FISH TANK
Like fish, but don't want the upkeep? Well now you can get your fish fix
by using the virtual fish tank. You'll need to have Macromedia's Shockwave
to use this site. If you don't have shockwave this site will direct you to
enhance the educational experience by planning pre and post Museum visit
online exercises. Now for the fun info! You get to build your own fish.
That's right you get to design it, and then you can save it and release at
the Museum of Science's virtual fish tank or you can release your fish into
the simulated online fish tank. Registering is free and only takes a
minute and gives you the option of having four fish. This is a great site
for both kids and adults. I'm really excited about it, and can't wait to
release my fishies into the tank.
http://www.virtualfishtank.com/fishtank/fishtank.html
RODEO NETWORK
Gotta go rodeo!
If you've been to a rodeo you know the excitement involved, even just
sitting in the stands watching Cowboys and Cowgirls put on their best shows
to pay the bills or to have some fun. If you've never been to a rodeo,
this is a great website to learn about it and to hear the truths about the
myths out there. Rodeo Network has many interactive features as well as an
extensive and ever growing database of rodeo events nationwide throughout
the USA. So, Cowboy of Cowgirl, get up and get on over there!
http://www.rodeonetwork.com/
LICENSE PLATE INTERNET GALLERY
Ah license plates, lovely little things really. You can personalize them
and make them witty. Well here is a whole gallery of them for your
enjoyment. This gallery is of license plates that are web/computer
oriented. So for you cyber geeks, you'll scroll through them all. Some of
them are really witty and some of them are just nerdy. But the really neat
thing is it tells you who these vanity plates are registered to and the
person's computer background. Definitely a site you'll enjoy.
http://webreference.com/outlook/license/gallery.
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CCCC Page 7 June 2003
SYSTEMS S.I.G.
by Dick Trissel
First off I want to apologize for not having my head screwed on when we
discussed "Bootable CDs" for computers that have no floppy drive. Of
course they can take the place of emergency startup bootable floppies. I
had even put an article in the March 2003 CCCC newsletter on how to make
bootable CDs...DUH!
I emphasized the importance of defragging hard drives, again. And, again,
someone mentioned the defrag operation requiring running scandisk. This is
a selectable option (at least in Win 98). I don't use it because I think
it is unnecessary to do a scandisk with each defrag. To control this
option, bring up Defrag, click on Settings, and don't choose "Check the
drive for errors". Also, choose this setting for all defrags.
There was a question about the value of the $14.95 Juno Speed option. The
following WILL be accelerated: Web pages - HTML markup and JavaScript;
Graphics including JPEG and GIF images; Text and E-mail on the Web.
The following will NOT be accelerated: Streaming media, audio and video
files; Secure pages, such as those used for online banking and credit card
forms; Files and attachments such as music or digital photos.
The e-mail spam subject came up, of course. It was suggested trying the
free ePrompter program. E-Mail Chomper was also mentioned It costs $15
per month. Got to Google and search on the names for more
information.
It was suggested that anyone using Windows XP, has installed a patch, and
subsequently suffered a major slowdown of their computer, go to Add/Remove
programs and remove the patch.
I demonstrated the procedure for changing the file type in Outlook Express
Send from HTML to Plain Text. The default for OE is HTML, and most users
don't realize the are sending their e-mail in HTML. This not only makes
for larger e-mail messages, but puts = and =20 marks throughout the
message. Use HTML mode if you really want to compose an HTML message.
Otherwise use Plain Text.
The setting is found in OE under Tools / Options / Send / Mail Sending
Format. Click the Plain Text option. You can also use the Plain Text
Settings to customize your settings. One setting lets you change the
"Forwarding indent character". You know, those > marks (or other selected
marks). They can be turned off.
I mentioned that if members want timely help, send their e-mail to a club
officer or staff member. Their addresses are on the first page of every
monthly newsletter. If you send your e-mail to the EXTRA4C address, it may
not get read for several days. And, PLEASE use the Help Request
Information form sent out in the EXTRA4C 18/05/03 bulletin.
If you want to register early for the telemarketing exclusion list, go to
the Web site:
nocall.doj.state.ca.us
However, it is not supposed to become effective until October.
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CCCC Page 8 June 2003
HUNT FOR THE LOST FONT
By Mick Topping
Springfield, Missouri User Groups
mtopping@mchsi.com
Did you ever lose a font? A year or so ago I made up and printed a sheet
of business cards that I was happy with. Last week, I gave away my last
one. (I go through about one card a month.) When I opened the business
card again (in Corel Draw-7), it complained that it could not find the font
Andy Bold and asked which font to substitute.
Let me mention that I am not much of a font person. I usually couldn't
care less about which font to use. I am an engineer, more interested in the
meaning of the words than in how they are drawn. Arial, Courier, and Times
New Roman are about all I ever use. But for my business card, I wanted
something to reflect my casual insouciance, and convey the fact that I have
a passion for informality, and that I am really not looking for work.
Since I had put a good 10-15 minutes into the original font selection, I
was somewhat concerned, and more than somewhat irritated that it was no
longer available. So, I decided to hunt the critter down.
First, I looked for "Andy" in every font folder on 3 computers. (I couldn't
remember which machine I had used to print the cards.) Nothing like Andy
Bold anywhere. Then I remembered, Windows applications (for the most part)
keep their fonts in the C:\Windows\Fonts folder, and most applications just
reach into this folder to use a font. And applications rarely delete their
fonts when they are uninstalled. So any font that was ever put on a
computer is likely still there, unless major surgery has been done. This
fact pointed to my laptop computer as the culprit, as I had recently done a
clean-install of Windows XP, whereas the other computers had been little
changed over the year. Regular experimentation had caused numerous apps to
be installed on the laptop, then when the new version of Windows was
installed only those apps still needed were re-installed.
But which of those non-reinstalled applications came with the Andy Bold
font? First a web-search on "lost font"--wow, I am not the only one who
has lost a font. Over 300 web pages containing "lost font", none of which
were very promising. Many of the links were inactive, and advertising
overwhelmed others, and I was getting nowhere. Another search on "Andy
Bold", only a few hits this time, and here was a "Bulkley Valley Christian"
school web page, with a note that to appreciate the page you needed to have
Andy Bold installed on your computer. And there was a link promising to
let me download AndyB.ttf ! Unfortunately, it was another broken link.
Most likely, someone had remembered that the fonts are copyrighted, and
shouldn't be downloaded.
In frustration, I finally gave-up, and printed 2 new sheets of business
cards in Balloon, or Plump, or Poster Boldoni, not sure which. Of course,
the new cards were not out of the printer when I had another thought--maybe
someone at Microsoft had considered this problem. Sure enough they had.
It is not easy to find, but once you know where to look,
http://www.microsoft.com/
typography/fonts/default.asp
has a search engine that will allow you to find which applications came
with which fonts.
A quick lookup, and there was what I needed. Andy Bold is distributed with
Microsoft Home Publisher, part of the never used software that had come
with my laptop. A quick dig through my stack of CD-ROMs, and there it was,
in the MHP\Fonts folder, an icon labeled AndyB.ttf. I drag it over to my
Windows\Fonts folder, and it automatically installs, and I can now print my
cards like I want them. Unfortunately, I have a 2-year supply of them done
with the other font. Anyone want a card? Aw come on--please take a card.
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***** S.I.G NOTICE *****
The 5:45PM Systems Special Interest Group will meet in the Pool Room.
Seating is limited, so get there early. There is no particular agenda.
Questions from the attendees on computer problems will be fielded by other
members that have experienced similar problems and have solved them. In
addition to questions, there will be program and system operation
demonstrations.
The 6:00PM Special Interest Group For Novices will meet in the Main Room
where there will be a projector available for better viewing of the
subjects presented.
________________________________________________________________________
***** ATTENTION NEW MEMBERS *****
You should have received a Central Coast Computer Club Welcome Disk floppy
when you joined. If you did not, please see the Treasurer for a disk. The
disk contains a history of the club, the bylaws of the club, a partial list
of the past Disk-of-the Month, and a list of books available from the
club's library.
________________________________________________________________________
JUNE COOKIES
Thanks in advance to the June "Cookies" volunteers:
Dick Jones and Barbara Godwin.
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