C C C C N E W S L E T T E R
CENTRAL COAST COMPUTER CLUB
Santa Maria, California
VOLUME XX: NUMBER 11 NOVEMBER, 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:November 15, 2005 KNOLLWOOD VILLAGE 4012 S. BRADLEY
PRESENTATION: The November presentation will be
Preparation for System Backup
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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) VERIZON DSL Dick Trissel
(7) HOW ARE RECORDABLE CDS BURNED? Kim Komando
(8) WINDOWS LOCK UP IN SLEEP MODE Kim Komando
(9) FILM SCANNER FOR 10,000 SLIDES Kim Komando
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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 Ray Isenson 937-6938
foster95@juno.com risenson@juno.com
Newsletter Editor
Dick Trissel 937-7572
rtrissel@juno.com
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS (S.I.G.s)
Systems (5:45pm)
Dick Trissel
rtrissel@juno.com
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CCCC Page 2 November 2005
PRESIDENT'S CORNER by Spence Stimler
This is my second to last article for the CCCC Newsletter. Term limits have
taken over and I cannot and will not run for a third term. I want to make
room for new blood. I am patiently waiting for someone(s) to step forward
to take the helm before the ship sinks.
I really don't want to make light of the problem. We are facing 2006
without a slate of officers and I have no idea of how the club will survive
without an officer corps. Elsewhere in this newsletter you will find an
article by Dick Trissel explaining why we need a Pres., VP, Sec. and Treas.
Even though Dick and Amy do an admirable job of handling the SIGs, and
assisting in securing people for our programs, there are limits to what they
can do. I shudder to think what the club would do if something happened to
one or both of them. The structure of the club is not very secure if we
have to depend on only one or two people.
I have agreed to act as liaison between Knollwood Village and CCCC. It is
essential from Knollwood Village's standpoint that a resident of Knollwood
be present whenever the clubhouse is reserved for any activity. That means
that I will need to be in attendance, and if I am unable to attend, I will
take the responsibility of finding someone to take my place.
Being President is not that difficult. There is plenty of help from the
core of the club, but somebody needs to act as a coordinator. Publicity
will continue to be handled by Bill Corning, and Gerry Miller has agreed to
continue as Treas. So we need a Pres., VP, and Sec. I sincerely hope that
somebody will step forward. Perhaps two or three of you can get together
and solve the problem. Come our next meeting on Nov. 15, I hope that we can
have election and installation of officers. With over 100 members, surely
there must be a few who would like to see it continue to thrive. It would
be a shame for CCCC to disappear after so many years of existence.
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CCCC Page 3 November 2005
EDITOR'S COMMENTS by Dick Trissel
OFFICERS AND VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
There are several reasons why the Central Coast Computer Club must have a
set of elected officers in order to survive. Some of those reasons are: to
claim to be a legitimate organization for purposes of a bank account for the
treasury funds; to qualify for membership in the APCUG organization that
supports our Web site and provides publications to the club; and to retain
recognition from the Microsoft/Mindshare Group that provides us with
occasional gifts--sometimes amounting to several hundred dollars; and to
maintain the appearance of a club in order to attract outside speakers.
The elected officers positions are President, Vice-president, Treasurer, and
Secretary. Here are the four officer position descriptions along with other
functions we currently have in effect supported by volunteers.
President--preside over the monthly member meetings and staff meetings,
second signature on the bank account.
Vice-president--assist the president and be available in the president's
absence.
Treasurer--collect the annual member dues, register new members, disperse
funds when needed, and maintain the club's bank account.
Secretary--take minutes of the business and staff meetings.
Newsletter editor--provide monthly e-mail publications of club activities
and lists of support personnel.
50-50 drawing coordinator--provide coupons for the drawing participants,
manage the monies, and supervise the drawings.
Door prize coordinator--obtain appropriate prizes for the monthly meetings.
Membership roster maintenance--coordinate with the treasurer to provide a
list of members for the monthly door prize drawings and the newsletter e-
mail distribution addressbook.
Obtaining a monthly presenter.
Providing refreshments--currently coffee and cookies.
And last but not least--a club member resident of Knollwood Village must be
in attendance in order to qualify for the use of the clubhouse and to
properly close the rooms. This person, or another authorized resident, will
provide the keys to the equipment locker and PA cabinet.
And then there are the other activities, such as Special Interest Group
(SIG) leaders, room seating arrangers, room cleanup personnel, and the
annual Christmas party organizers.
It takes a lot of work to keep functional an operation like the Central
Coast Computer Club. Every year when the fiscal year closes we usually have
around 100 members. This drops to 70-80 after the first of the year dues
are due, and then gradually builds back up. Our monthly attendance is
usually between 40 and 50. With that many people interested and
participating, there should be no problem maintaining the club and providing
computer support and assistance to the members.
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CCCC Page 4 November 2005
WEB WANDERINGS
INTERESTING SITE
Damn Interesting is a blog that focuses mostly on science and technology
topics. Don't expect a rehash of the science and technology section of the
newspaper. And don't expect anything so boring as a textbook.
The stories run the gamut from the bizarre to the fantastic. They're
arranged by date. But if you want to browse by category, click the
Categories button. Then choose your topic from the list.
This is the type of site you'll probably spend hours perusing. And once you
start reading, I'm sure you'll forgive these guys for the name they chose.
It might, in fact, be the only appropriate name for the site!
www.damninteresting.com
E-MAIL SOLUTION
Back in the day, most people only had one e-mail account. Today, you could
have many e-mail addresses. You might have one for work, one with your ISP,
a Yahoo or Hotmail account and one "dummy" e-mail address you use for
signing up for giveaways and contests.
Mail2Web allows you to check all e-mail accounts without having to surf to
different pages. Just enter your e-mail address and password. You can pick
up your mail from any Internet connection--desktop, laptop, PDA or cell
phone.
Oh, and it's free, too!
www.mail2web.com
YOUR SOURCE FOR SPORTS
If you're a sports fan, you know the best sports coverage comes from local
papers. This makes it difficult to follow teams from all over the country.
The Web makes it easier to find sports scores and local stories. But you
need to do a lot of clicking to find what you need.
Well, Sports Pages will spare you repetitive-stress injuries from all that
clicking! It has done the work for you by gathering links to sports pages
around the country.
You'll find coverage of college sports, in addition to the pros. There are
also links to popular sports columnists and news sources.
http://www.sportspages.com
FREE CREDIT REPORT!
Identity theft is running rampant. It seems there's another story about it
in the news every day.
So you should check your credit report regularly. You'll find out if someone
has opened credit accounts in your name. Unfortunately, credit reporting
agencies charge about $10 per report.
Well, starting today, everybody in the country is entitled to a free report.
You can view what's in your file at each of the three nationwide agencies.
You can obtain your free report once a year.
Anyone can fall victim to identity theft. So do your friends and family a
favor and forward them today's Cool Site. They'll benefit from the free
credit report.
www.annualcreditreport.com
WHAT DOG ARE YOU?
Okay, stay with me. In the comedy film "Gone to the Dogs," Jack retires
to the seaside with wife Rose. He dies of a heart attack and returns to
earth as a stray dog. Rose unwittingly adopts him, and Jack begins a
journey of self-discovery.
Now, if you think that's surreal, check out the Web site. It features
a game entitled "What Dog Are You?" Powered by CATS (Canine Algorithmic
Transfer System), your answers to 10 questions determine what breed of
dog you are.
Just click the "Game" link on the left side of the Web site to being
your journey.
http://www.gone2thedogs.com/index.html
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CCCC Page 5 November 2005
SYSTEMS S.I.G. by Dick Trissel
Here are some of the discussion items that we covered in the October Systems
SIG.
A member was having a problem getting Internet Explorer to read some Web
sites. A suggestion was made to reset the security settings in IE. This is
done by clicking Tools / Internet Options / Security and choose Internet and
click the Default button. Ironically, I had the same problem last month and
this solved my problem. However, I do get more security popups now asking
permission to access some sites.
There is a nice feature available in some mouse drivers that allow you to
set a "SnapTo" feature. This causes the mouse pointer to automatically rest
on the default button of an option window. You can find this by going to
the Control Panel, double click the Mouse icon , select Pointer Options and
choose "Automatically move pointer to default button in dialog boxes".
I mentioned a case where a user was unable to use the CTRL-ALT-DEL function
on his computer. This was because he was using the DEL button in the ten-
pad while Num-Lock was on. Either turn off the Num-Lock or use the main
keyboard DEL key.
Everyone was reminded to unplug your computer, modem, and telephone line to
you computer during lightning storms.
I suggested using a registry cleaner frequently to keep the Windows registry
cleaned up. The registry gets written into with almost everything you do on
the computer, and a lot of what is put there is left as "junk". A
recommended registry cleaner is the free ToniArts Eclea_2.exe program. Go
to Google and search for ToniArts. Don't choose anything else because there
are many "easyclean" programs that are not as good. However, if you are
using Windows XP, when you first load the ToniArts Easyclean program, be
sure to put the following in the Skip window: norton,help,lowdatetime
If you don't skip help, you will lose your Help and Support. I have the
registry keys if you forget to skip. However, there is an "Undo" for
recovery of deleted registry keys.
A person had the need to insert a password in order to open a PDF document
in Acrobat Reader. No one had an explanation of how this should be handled.
I know that Reader versions 5 and up allow insertion of form items into PDF
files.
I've had the opportunity to play around with the free "voice over Internet"
program called SKYPE. It apparently works well if both users have a fast
broadband connection. My dialup modem was clear enough, but there was a
delay when one person stopped talking and until the second person was heard-
-strange. For a fee it also can be used to call from a computer to a
regular telephone.
I recommend that anyone who is not already subscribing to the four Kim
Komando e-mail newsletters, do so. As you have probably noticed, much of
the material in the EXTRA4C bulletins and some CCCC newsletter articles are
extracted from these newsletters (Yes, I do have reprint permission from
her). Go to www.komando.com and sign up for the weekly newsletter, the
daily newsletter, the Tip of the Day, and the Site of the Day.
The November Systems SIG will have some more on using Windows Explorer. And
some time will be devoted to the cleaning up of system hard drives in
preparation for system backups. This will be a prelude to the November
presentation on preparing for backing up an entire operating system drive.
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CCCC Page 6 November 2005
VERIZON DSL by Dick Trissel
I've been trying to determine just how much the Verizon DSL costs. Several
of the customers I've talked to in the past really couldn't tell me because
of the way it is bundled into their total phone bill. Now, Verizon has
introduced a new, slower, cheaper DSL service. An explanation of the
service is printed at the bottom of the advertisement, but in such small
print that it is almost impossible to read normally. So, I got out my
magnifying glass, read it and transcribed into readable text. Here's what
it says:
"Offer by Verizon Online. $14.95/mo. rate available for new residential DSL
customers ordering 768 Kbps service. One-year commitment required. If
service is canceled between months 2 and 12, a $79 early termination fee
applies. A $19.95 shipping and activation charge will apply to each DSL
order. An additional monthly supplier FUSF Recovery Fee and, where
applicable, a tax recovery charge will be added to the monthly bill.
Service provided will be up to 768 Kbps based on Verizon line qualification
requirements. Verizon residential local service required. Service not
applicable in all areas or on all telephone lines and subject to final
confirmation by Verizon. If for any reason you are not completely
satisfied, you may cancel your DSL service within 30 days of your service-
ready date, return all equipment provided to you by Verizon and receive a
refund for any charges you have paid to Verizon Online. If you fail to
return the equipment, an equipment fee will apply. Minimum system
requirements apply. Acceptance of Verizon Online Terms of Service is
required. Applicable taxes apply. Actual throughput speed will vary.
Speed and uninterrupted use of the service are not guaranteed. Not all
Verizon Yahoo! features available with MacIntosh. Equipment is a new or
fully inspected, tested and warranted return unit. Offer subject to change.
Copyright Verizon. All Rights Reserved."
Whoa! What is this $19.95 shipping fee? What is a monthly FUSF Recover Fee?
Here's the description of the FUSF Fee:
"The Federal Universal Service Fund (FUSF) is a fee charged by the US
Government to all providers of interstate telecommunications services, which
includes Internet Service Providers. All DSL service is considered
"interstate telecommunications services" and therefore subject to this fee
which is used to provide telecommunications services to:
schools, health care, and libraries; people with low incomes;
people in areas where the cost of providing telephone services is high.
Congress has mandated that all telephone companies providing interstate
service must contribute to the USF.
The FUSF charges PER telecommunications service you use. Some of these
services include: Telephone service; Cellular phone service; DSL service.
If you purchased DSL from your local phone company, you would then have 2 of
these "services" and your FUSF fee on your phone bill would go up.
A FUSF charge equal to 10.2 percent of all the charges, excluding Taxes,
appearing on a Customer's invoice will apply to telecommunications services
subject to direct regulation by the Federal Communications Commission."
So, if you keep DSL for only one year, the $19.95 charge is another $1.67
per month. The 10% FUSF is another $1.50 per month forever. So, for the
first year, it is really a little over $18 per month for the $14.95 deal.
However, if you order online instead of over the phone, you get the first
month free, saving $14.95 of the $19.95--what a deal .
The modem you get may be the new combination modem/router (the router is for
a firewall), or you may get the older modem only and have to buy your own
router.
My dialup modem connection is usually around 50 Kbps. If your DSL
connection is optimal, your download speed will be about 15 times faster
than a good dialup connection.
By the way, I know of one instance where a person with the faster more
expensive service converted to this cheaper service.
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CCCC Page 7 November 2005
HOW ARE RECORDABLE CDS BURNED?
from Komando newsletter
Q. How is a CD-R actually "burned?" Is it etched as vinyl records were, or
are there actually tiny burn marks on the disc?
A. CDs are a great example of how fast technology moves. Ten years ago, CDs
were high technology. I remember buying an expensive computer just to get a
CD player (CD-ROM). Today, we burn CDs at the drop of a hat, to play in our
cars. But it's still good to know how this stuff works. The technology is
pretty cool.
Digital information, including music, is stored in binary (1's and 0's). To
represent all those 1's and 0's, a CD contains tiny spots that are highly
reflective or poorly reflective. A laser is used to read the sequence of
spots. The sequence can then be interpreted as sounds.
A CD-R disc has two important layers of material sandwiched between plastic.
One is a layer of metal, typically aluminum. In front of that is the other
layer, a special dye. The aluminum layer is highly reflective. The dye is
mostly transparent, so overall the disc is completely reflective. But the
dye can be changed by the laser in your CD-R drive.
The laser heats and burns tiny spots on the dye layer. The burned spots
become nontransparent. They block light from reaching the aluminum layer. So
a finished CD-R ends up with both highly reflective and poorly reflective
spots. These are the 1's and 0's, respectively.
Your CD-R drive uses a strong laser to burn a disc's dye layer. Typically,
CD-Rs have a second, weaker laser, used for playing. It is too weak to
affect the dye's transparency. CD-ROMs also have only a weak laser.
The chemicals used for the dye layer eventually degrade, ruining the disc.
Disc manufacturers use various dye formulas, some sturdier than others. But
the cheapest last only a couple years. And price tag aside, it's difficult
to discern the quality of CD-R brands. I always buy name brands.
Rewritable discs use a layer of crystallized material instead of a dye. A
CD-RW drive's laser melts tiny spots of the layer. The spots cool too fast
to re-crystallize; that makes them opaque. Those spots are 0's, because they
do not reflect light. Crystallized spots, which are transparent, are 1's.
When data is erased on a CD-RW, the spots are melted again. But they're
heated to a lower temperature and cool slowly enough to re-crystallize.
Commercially produced discs like software or music albums (and my books) are
not burned. They use tiny bumps or dips to represent 1's and 0's. The dips
and bumps are molded directly into a disc's plastic. The sequence is then
coated by a layer of metal, usually aluminum. These discs can last for
decades.
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 8 November 2005
WINDOWS LOCK UP IN SLEEP MODE
from Komando newsletter
Q. I would like to keep my PC running all the time per your recommendation;
however, when I leave it running, sleep mode takes over and then the PC
locks up. I cannot find out why. It is only two years old, and I am running
XP SP2. Could you give any advice?
A. I've read many stories about computers that lock up after a period of
inactivity. Most of them have one thing in common: screen savers. The usual
story is that some screen savers don't work well with Windows' standby and
hibernation (sleep) modes.
If you prefer to use these power conservation features, consider disabling
any screen saver you're using. Click Start>>Control Panel. Double-click
Display. Select the Screen Saver tab. Under "Screen saver," select "(None)."
Then click OK.
Screen savers aren't the only programs that can conflict with standby and
hibernation. You might need to note which programs are running whenever your
computer locks up or hangs. And don't forget about the numerous ill effects
of spyware. You can find anti-spyware tools on my Web site.
Otherwise, consider adjusting or disabling the power conservation features.
To disable standby, first click Start>>Control Panel. Double-click Power
Options. Select the Power Schemes tab. Under "System standby," select Never.
To disable hibernation, first click Start>>Control Panel. Double-click Power
Options. Select the hibernation tab. Unmark the checkbox under hibernation.
Standby and hibernation are commonly called "sleep" modes. Both conserve
power, but they differ a bit. Standby leaves your computer running with only
enough power to keep Windows running along with any open programs.
Unnecessary items like the monitor are shut down.
Hibernation saves the current state of Windows onto the hard drive and
essentially shuts down the computer. The information is reloaded when
Windows restarts or "awakens." So standby wakes faster. But hibernation
saves to the hard drive, which can be safer during an unexpected power
outage.
The benefits of sleep modes are most noticeable if you're using a laptop. If
you are, then you can still activate standby or hibernation manually from
the Shut Down menu. You'll notice that Windows XP offers only standby, Shut
Off and Restart. Press and hold the Shift key to change the standby button
to a hibernation button.
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CCCC Page 9 November 2005
FILM SCANNER FOR 10,000 SLIDES
from Komando newsletter
Q. My next project is to scan 10,000 of my father's and grandfather's
slides, representing two generations of my family’s history. I want a Nikon
or Konica Minolta film/slide scanner between $250 and $1,100. Is the
software that comes with the scanner sufficient? Are scanning programs
available? I want as much detail as possible in the images.
A. Wow, that's a lot of slides! This project could turn into a lifetime
undertaking! Homebound scanners, even those with slide feeders, can make
this work tedious. Unless you just like doing this, I suggest you consider
having the slides scanned commercially.
However, Nikon and Konica Minolta do have scanners available that will work
with slides. Before we get into that, let's consider some specifications.
For scanning slides, I recommend at least 2600 dpi (dots per inch) optical
resolution.
When shopping, ignore digital resolution. This uses interpolation to create
pixels through digital enhancement. Interpolation is another word for
"guesswork." It probably will degrade your image. So, make your decision
based on optical resolution.
Buy a scanner with at least 24-bit color depth. That is true color. Some
scanners offer higher color depth. But you are unlikely to notice the
difference.
The Nikon Coolscan V ED scans at 4,000 dpi optical resolution, the same as
the Super Coolscan 5000 ED. There is no slide feeder for the Coolscan V. You
can only feed one slide at a time. If you don’t mind this approach, the
Coolscan V would be a good choice. It retails for around $600.
If the thought of loading 10,000 slides, one by one, is overwhelming, buy a
scanner that accepts a slide feeder. This will push you outside your price
range, but might be worthwhile. The Nikon Coolscan 5000 ED runs about
$1,100. The Nikon SF 210 Auto Slide Feeder is another $500. It can take 50
slides at a time.
You may have problems with a feeder, since you will be scanning old slides.
Their edges may be warped and their thickness may differ. The Nikon feeder
accepts slides up to 1.5 millimeters thick.
Konica Minolta offers the DiMAGE Scan Elite 5400 II for $800. It can accept
five slides at a time. That's convenient, but not nearly as convenient as
Nikon's 50-slide feeder. Konica Minolta's DiMAGE Scan Dual IV also can
handle five slides simultaneously. It scans at 3200 dpi optical resolution
and lists for $449. Konica Minolta does not offer a feeder.
Scanners from both companies have USB 2.0 connections. They work with Mac
and Windows machines.
I would try the software that comes with the scanner you end up buying. If
you're dissatisfied, use the trial version of VueScan, a high-end and
inexpensive scanning program.
VueScan supports 400 scanners, including the scanners in this tip. It is
available for Mac and Windows computers. The trial version places a
watermark on the images, so you'll want to buy the program if you decide it
is a keeper. The Standard Edition costs $50.
You could also try image-editing programs, such as Adobe PhotoShop CS2
($600) and Paint Shop Pro ($129). They have a fair learning curve, but they
are very powerful.
To save as much detail as possible, you'll want to scan in an uncompressed
format. One such is TIFF. Unfortunately, these files are big. With 10,000 of
them, you're talking about a tremendous space requirement. I'd get a second,
large hard drive, either external or internal, to store the images. A
mammoth hard drive will cost you $200-$300.
If you plan to edit the images, always use copies. Save your original image.
Then, if you make a boo-boo, you'll still have the original.
I'll close by pointing out, once again, that this is a mammoth undertaking.
There are numerous companies on the Internet that do this kind of work. Your
local photo shops can do it, too, or direct you to the right people. Perhaps
you could scan some of the slides, and have others done. Otherwise, you may
have to give up your life!
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