C C C C N E W S L E T T E R
CENTRAL COAST COMPUTER CLUB
Santa Maria, California
VOLUME XVII: NUMBER 10 OCTOBER, 2002
NEXT MEETING: October 15, 2002 7:00PM KNOLLWOOD VILLAGE 4012 S. BRADLEY
PRESENTATION: Marty Joel on: "Demystifying The Internet".
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| CONTENTS |
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(1) Officers, Helplines, S.I.G.s
(2) President's Corner Charles Barney
(3) Driver's License Test Dick Trissel
(4) Editor's Comments Dick Trissel
(5) September Systems S.I.G. Dick Trissel
(6) Web Wanderings Gil Smith
(7) Windows File Attributes Dick Trissel
(8) Windows Registry Tools Dick Trissel
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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
Amy Malicki 925-5780 Amy Malicki 925-5780
amymal@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)
Windows 95/98/ME/XP (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 October 2002
PRESIDENT'S CORNER
by Charles Barney
What at first looked like a modest-sized group during the September 17th
meeting quickly burgeoned to a near room-filling crowd of 65 after all the
folks came pouring out of the Pool Room at the conclusion of Dick Trissel's
Systems SIG. Frankly, I don't know how he packs 'em in there, but he does!
I'd like to welcome aboard new 4Cs member John McCurty. Glad you decided to
join us John! We are a friendly, unassuming group and our main mission in
getting together for monthly meetings is to help and learn from each other
regarding the realm of personal computers. These complex machines that we
allow to share our homes and occupy our time can be both a joy and a
nuisance at once. But whether it's learning about some new and useful
program or trying to solve a vexatious problem, all is made easier and more
enjoyable through participation in a support group such as ours.
Member and club Disk Librarian Sharon Allen was our featured speaker,
giving us a previously postponed presentation that certainly did not
disappoint! Her main focus was on using the Disks-Of-The-Month that she
regularly offers at meetings for just the cost of reproduction. Stepping us
through file identification, decompression, installation and use of some of
the programs contained in her monthly offerings, I'm sure, went a long way
toward increasing member's knowledge and getting the most out of their PCs.
Thanks Sharon. We'll have to have you back more often!
The lucky door prize winners for the evening were as follows: Charles High
- Microsoft Money 2002 Deluxe, Robert Walton - CD Stomper Pro CD Labeling
System, Ken Baur - PowerQuest Drive Image 4.0, Ted Tucker - Memorex 50-Pack
Slim CD Jewel Cases, and Eldean Voris - Data Becker Perfect Photo Printer.
Called for a prize, but not present were Maurice Ross, Don Rowe, Marjorie
Hoogenbosch, Dorothy Raupp, and Peter Dettelis.
Candidates for the club's 2003 officer positions, i.e. President, Vice
President, Secretary and Treasurer will be announced at the October meeting
and additional nominations will be taken from the floor at that time.
The officers will be elected, as is our custom, by ballot at the November
general meeting.
So, do you think you have a pretty good understanding of how the Internet
works or are you like most of us and merely see it as something akin to
magic that we access when we turn on the computer just like any other
appliance? To clear the air on this topic, our October 15th scheduled
speaker will be Web developer and software company owner Marty Joel on
"Demystifying the Internet." I have seen the outline of his presentation
and can tell you that this is one that you won't want to miss. I'll see you
at the clubhouse. - Charles
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CCCC Page 3 October 2002
DRIVER'S LICENSE TESTS
By Dick Trissel
Oh boy! It's that time for me, and yours is coming-driver's license
renewal written test-UGH! But there's good news. Besides the California
Driver Handbook's meager five question sample test, there are five 10
question sample tests and the answers available from the Web. You may not
have noticed the URL near the back of the Handbook. It's www.dmv.ca.gov
(you can also make your test appointment from this page). And, you don't
have to go online every time you want to review the tests. Here's how to
get hard copy of the tests and the answers.
After you get to the Web site, on the left side of the screen under License
and ID Information is Driver License-click it. On the next screen is a
search window. Choose to search This Site and type in Sample Test.
On this next page you can choose to download the 2002 Driver Handbook and
all kinds of tests for different types of licenses. Choose Samples of
Driver Tests. On this next page, assuming you are not a commercial driver,
choose Regular Driver (Class C License).
When you get the list of tests, choose Test #1. After you get the display,
do a right click and choose Select All. Then do a right click and choose
Copy. This will put the test on the clipboard so you can use your text
editor (Notepad, Wordpad, etc.) to edit, save, and print.
Notice at the bottom of each test page there is an Answer Sheet option.
Click on it and do the same as you did with the Test to save it.
Go back to the page with the list of tests and choose Test #2. Repeat the
above procedure for all five tests and answer sheets.
I hope these sample tests help you as much as they have me, because some of
the questions are tricky, ambiguous at best. Since you are only allowed to
miss three questions, I'm amazed there are so many licensed drivers. But
then, maybe there aren't that many licensed drivers . Good luck!
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CCCC Page 4 October 2002
EDITOR'S COMMENTS By Dick Trissel
********************************************
CCCC OFFICER ELECTION NOMINATIONS
It is time for the nominations for election of year 2003 CCCC officers.
Here's an explanation for the benefit of the new members (and the old
members with poor memory ). The officers take office in January.
Since the Christmas Party in December is in lieu of the business meeting,
the elections are held in November. Therefore, the nominations are done in
October.
The four positions to be filled are:
President (currently Charles Barney--past 3 years),
Vice President (currently Amy Malicki--V.P. several years ago),
Treasurer (currently Gerry Miller--past 3 years),
Secretary (currently Barbara Godwin--past 3 years).
We don't have a formal nominating committee this year. So, anyone that
wants to nominate himself or another member for office, call me or send me
an e-mail (937-7572, rtrissel@juno.com), or make the nomination at the
October meeting.
With over 100 paid members in the CCCC, we shouldn't have to have the same
people in the same office for 3 years. It is not even necessary that an
officer be computer literate. A new officer need not even be experienced
in the position. The monthly officer and staff meetings are attended by
the past club officers who give all the needed assistance to new officers.
********************************************
Note: The above nominations are for the elected positions only. The
volunteer positions are another matter.
And along that line, I apologize for omitting Vic McLaughlin's 50/50
drawing position in last month's volunteer list. It slipped my mind
because I don't participate--can't afford it .
50/50 Drawing (volunteered) - Vic McLaughlin -- Collect the money, maintain
the coupons, dispense the funds, and hold the drawing.
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CCCC Page 5 October 2002
SEPTEMBER SYSTEMS S.I.G.
by Dick Trissel
Summer vacations must be over. We had 39 attendees to the September
Systems S.I.G--standing room only. I apologize to those that arrived a
little late and had to stand in the doorway. However, we did cover a lot
of computer territory.
I started out demonstrating a couple of ridiculous screen saver programs.
The Leak.scr program "rains" on the screen. The FishMaus.scr program fills
the screen with water containing a fish which is really the mouse pointer--
fish mouse, get it?
I mentioned a CD that is available called Discover Your Hard Drive (DYHD).
This is a standalone slide show with narration by Gene Barlow who has been
a presenter of PowerQuest products at several of our meetings.
If anyone wants a copy of the DYHD slide show, send me an e-mail request
(rtrissel@juno.com). The cost is one CD-R disc (or 25 cents) for the CD.
Also, if you want a floppy disk with the screen savers on it--same thing--
exchange disks only.
I also mentioned a floppy disk that is available called Demystifying The
Internet. This is a PowerPoint slide show with an 8-page narration in a
text file with slide cues. The slide show requires either PowerPoint or
the free Microsoft reader called PPVIEW97 (search for it with Google). The
presenter for the October meeting is the originator of the disk and it is
the subject of his presentation. A copy of the presentation is available
at http://www.mavens.org
One member has complained of floppy drive rattle and CD drive random access
for months now. So, here is a description of how I can cause the problem,
and how I avoid it. This description applies to many programs that access
the removable media devices. I'll use WordPad for this example.
The problem:
1) Put a floppy in the drive.
2) Run WordPad.
3) Choose to Open a file.
4) Choose the 3.5 floppy drive.
5) Select a file on the drive.
6) Open it.
7) Remove the floppy disk.
8) Choose to open a file.
BINGO, the drive rattles--it wants a disk, so put one in to make it shutup,
or just wait--it will stop.
The fix:
1) Put a floppy in the drive.
2) Run WordPad.
3) Choose to open a file.
4) Choose the C: drive.
5) Open a file on the C: drive.
That's it for WordPad and the floppy drive.
You may have to do this for the CD drive, and you may have to do this for
each program you ran that you last selected the floppy or the CD drive. I
avoid this problem by copying the files of interest to the hard drive
first, and then opening them from there.
This also saves me from accidentally modifying the original file until I
copy it back. If anyone knows of an easier way to avoid the rattle
problem, please send me an e-mail describing it.
There was a little discussion about the Windows operating system Registry,
accompanied by a warning to not mess with it if you don't know what you are
doing. There is an excellent $20 book on the Registry titled "Windows98
Registry Handbook" by Jerry Honeycutt and published by QUE. However, when
I attempted to get his version for WindowsXP, he wrote that he is not going
to do WindowsXP.
Of course, viruses were mentioned. Several of us recommended the free
anti-virus program AVG6 from Grisoft (use Google to search for AVG6).
I have been told that free Juno Web does still exist. You just have to get
on late at night. I haven't been successful, yet. I still use free
Netzero for my free Web access when I don't want to use up my 10 hours of
Juno Gold.
Speaking of Juno, it was mentioned that clicking on a URL in Juno mail
doesn't always get to the Web site after automatically bringing up Juno
Web. I find I sometimes have to copy the URL from the e-mail (Alt-c) and
paste it into the address window.
A few people agreed that the Norton Utilities can cause a problem with your
computer (the August speaker, Jon Jaqua agrees). One person correctly
stated that you have to know what you are doing with Norton. He said he
uses Norton System Works and is satisfied.
One person commented that he got a message on a Web site that he should
click here and download an advertised file, and he did. Be careful. This
is a dangerous thing to do unless you are absolutely sure you want that
file.
I reminded everyone that the present day computers all operate as a "file"
type system. Everything in your computer is structured as a file and is
controlled by the File Allocation Table (FAT). This is a reserved section
of the hard drive (or floppy drive) that contains the file names, sizes,
locations, and attributes.
We had a brief discussion about attributes. See the article in this
newsletter.
If we have time, the October Systems S.I.G. will touch on CD disc burning
questions. So, come prepared.
__________________________________________________________________
OCTOBER COOKIES
Thanks in advance to the OCTOBER "Cookies" volunteers:
Millie Smith and Jim Miller
__________________________________________________________________
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CCCC Page 6 October 2002
WEB WANDERINGS
By Gil Smith
THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE
Discover the "truth behind UFOs" and extraterrestrial intelligence. This
effort seeks the facts on unworldly events.
http://www.disclosureproject.org
ONLINE FIREWORKS
Did you celebrate our Independence Day by watching some of the fireworks
displays? If you missed a pyrotechnics show, you can still watch Fourth of
July on your desktop. This shareware screen saver shows a display over New
York City plus other interesting places.
http://www/risoftsystems.com/
store/fireworks.asp
AMERICA ARCHIVES
This government site offers access to historic documents. View the
Declaration of Independence and the Bill or Rights among the many documents
that are available.
http://www.archives.gov
KNOW WHAT'S BEHIND YOUR FIRST NAME
This site explores the history of first names. Learn more about the origin
of your name. And you'll find the family crest for your name too.
http://www.behindthename.com
JIM'S MEDIA SHOWS
This one is for all of you who enjoy media shows. There are instructions
for downloading, viewing, and closing out of these media shows right on the
site. Read them before you download anything to your computer. "The Wall"
is a very touching tribute to the Vietnam Veterans.
http://jimsmediashow.com/
media_shows.htm
BOX OFFICE STATS
This site has all the information you could ever want on box office hits.
You can find out all kinds of stuff here from the cost of movie's
production to how much it sells at the box office. You can even research
movies back to 1939. Also, read about your favorite movie stars and their
total gross profit. Movie fans, you'll enjoy this site.
http://www.the-numbers.com
GEOCACHING
Do you have a GPS device? If so, this is a game for you. For those of you
who don't know what it is, here's a definition. A GPS unit is an
electronic device that can determine your approximate location within 6 -
20 feet, anyplace on the planet. This is an adventure game for all you GPS
users and is more or less a treasure hunt. You use your GPS device to find
the caches, that are stashed all over the place. So for those hikers and
travelers, this could be a fun game for you to play while you're traveling.
The caches contain actual prizes for you to find - check out the site for
more details.
http://www.geocaching.com/faq.asp
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CCCC Page 7 October 2002
WINDOWS FILE ATTRIBUTES by Dick Trissel
It is very useful to be able to see the file attributes in a Windows
Explorer display. File attributes can be a combination of four
possibilities:
A for Archive (has not been backed up since the last modification).
R for Read only (no write, but can be deleted).
S for System (critical for Windows).
H for Hidden (will not be displayed unless the option is turned on).
File attributes can be displayed one file at a time by right clicking the
file name and displaying the properties. However, this can be cumbersome
if you want to see many files at once. Windows Explorer can be set to show
an Attributes column in the Details mode. Here's what you have to do to
see them.
Set Windows Explorer to show the Details View:
In Windows Explorer, click on View / Details. Then, in View, go to Folder
Options / View. Click on "Like Current Folder". This makes all folders
display in Detail mode.
While in Folder Options / View, check [*] Show file attributes in Detail
View. Under Hidden files, check [*] Show all files. If you do this, be
careful editing folders in Explorer--don't mess with System or Hidden
files. Also, uncheck the "as Web Page" to give you more screen space.
Now here's the rub. Some Windows98SE systems came without the
[*] Show file attributes in Detail
option available. To fix this, the registry must be modified. Before you
do the following, go to Start / Run and type scanreg and click OK. This
will make a backup of your registry. In the event you damage the registry,
you can restore it by going to Start / Shutdown / Restart in MS-DOS mode
and, at the C:\ prompt type scanreg /restore. Choose the latest backup.
To make the registry modifications for adding the show the attributes, use
Notepad to type in (or cut and paste) the following lines listed between
the
------ (don't include the ------). Copy the lines exactly, with no extra
lines or spaces. The HKEY line must be all on one line. Save the file as
attrib.reg (the .reg is required). In Windows Explorer, double click the
attrib.reg file. Or, if you have the .reg extension set to associate with
Notepad (for safety reasons), then right click the attrib.reg file and
click Merge. Either way, this will write into the registry. Then go to
the top of this article and start over.
------
REGEDIT4
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\Adva
nced\
Folder\ShowAttribCol]
"Type"="checkbox"
"Text"="Show file attributes in Detail View"
"HKeyRoot"=dword:80000001
"RegPath"="Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Explorer\\Advanced
"
"ValueName"="ShowAttribCol"
"CheckedValue"=dword:00000001
"UncheckedValue"=dword:00000000
"DefaultValue"=dword:00000000
"HelpID"="update.hlp#51071"
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CCCC Page 8 October 2002
WINDOWS REGISTRY TOOLS by Dick Trissel
The Windows Registry is the heart of the Windows 95/98/98SE/ME/XP operating
systems. As such, it is essential that it not be damaged. It is also
something that should be managed. You can go along for years and never
need to even know the Registry exists. But, woe the day you have an
application, or a virus, damage the Registry.
A complete description of the Registry is by far too much for a newsletter
article. Entire books have been written on just the Registry. And, I'm
sure not many users are motivated to learn how to manage the Registry.
However, for those that are so inclined, here is a list of recommended
applications that I have found invaluable for maintaining the Registry on
the Windows 9X/ME systems. The Windows XP users are on their own.
RegEdit -- Microsoft's built-in Registry editor.
RegEditPlus -- A much better Registry editor (with UNDO capability).
Registry Detective -- A FAST registry search program.
MS Registry Cleaner -- Microsoft's Registry cleaner for system related keys
(with UNDO capability).
Easy Cleaner -- For the rest of the Registry (with UNDO capability).
Scanreg -- Microsoft's built-in Registry tool (for DOS mode) with many
options such as:
/backup, /restore, /fix, /opt
Scanregw -- Microsoft's built-in Registry tool (for Windows mode).
I've noted the UNDO capability because this can be very important if you do
something bad and need to correct it.
Now, where do you get the free programs that are not built-in as part of
the Windows operating system? My first recommendation is to get on the Web
and search using www.Google.com. Or, try these sites (not guaranteed these
are still valid addresses):
RegEditPlus -- Rgedplus.zip Version1.1 (642KB) for Windows 95/98(ME?) -
http://www.zdnet.com/pcmag/filters/downloads/0,9077,6008597,00.html
Registry Detective -- Regdet.zip version1.0 (595KB) by Neil J. Rubenking
for Windows 95/98/ME/NT 4/2000 -- http://www.pcmag.com/utilities/
Easy Cleaner -- Eclean7_1f (404KB) -- EasyCleaner version 1.7f for Windows
95/98/(ME?)/NT by ToniArts -- (use www.google.com to find and download).
MS Registry Cleaner -- Regclean.exe (800Kb) for Windows 95/98/(ME?)
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q147/7/69.asp
Most Windows users don't realize that almost everything you do with your
computer modifies the Registry. If you do a Find, type a URL in a Web
browser, do a Start / Run, access a file, run an application, install a
program, and most other operations, these all put entries in the Registry.
And, not only does this take up space on the hard drive, but the entire
registry is loaded into memory at startup and is being modified as you
work.
For those users that want to learn about the Registry, I recommend the book
Windows 98 Registry Handbook by Jerry Honeycutt ($20 by Que Publications).
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