C C C C N E W S L E T T E R
CENTRAL COAST COMPUTER CLUB
Santa Maria, California
VOLUME XVIII: NUMBER 10 OCTOBER, 2003
NEXT MEETING: October 21, 2003 6:00PM KNOLLWOOD VILLAGE 4012 S. BRADLEY
PRESENTATION: Mark Haley of Analytical Software, Inc. on "DVD Technology"
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| CONTENTS |
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(1) Officers, Helplines, S.I.G.s
(2) President's Corner Charles Barney
(3) Systems S.I.G. Dick Trissel
(4) Hardware S.I.G. Ray Isenson
(5) Editor's Comments Dick Trissel
(6) Web Wanderings Gil Smith
(7) Review: DriveImage 7.0 Ray Isenson
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OFFICERS HELPLINES
President Juno
Charles Barney 937-1240 Gilbert Smith 925-3743
cbarney@lightspeed.net colgil1@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) Hardware (6:00pm) Systems (5:45pm)
Amy Malicki Ray Isenson Dick Trissel
amymal@juno.com risenson@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 2003
PRESIDENT'S CORNER
by Charles Barney
If you happened to have noticed me missing at the 4C's September 16th
meeting, it's because I was enjoying a vacation from my full-time job (my
first real getaway in about 3 years). A big Thank You goes out to Ray
Isenson for doing an admirable job filling-in my stead.
Folks, this month I'd like to depart from my column's usual format to talk
about a most important issue; one that is vital to the very future of our
beloved user group.
It is that time of year when club officers are chosen for the coming year
through the process of nomination and then election by member ballot at the
November meeting. Historically, this has been like pulling teeth (no wait,
pulling teeth is easier). It seems that no one wants to take on the
positions of responsibility that are necessary in order for the club to
function as we know it today. Most of our officers have held their
positions for several terms and it's time they were given a much-deserved
break.
I have served willingly and with no regrets as your President for four
years now, but have reached the point where I must go down another road. My
dream for 2004 is for someone else to accept the helm and for myself to
lead a monthly digital imaging SIG.
Some of you may not be fully aware of the various tasks that I presently
perform as your President, so I have compiled the following list:
The Twelve Jobs I Do As Your President
* Preside over the monthly meetings and keep order.
* Greet and orient visitors and new members.
* Lead the monthly staff meetings on the Friday following club meetings.
* Write a column for the monthly newsletter.
* Act as main Program Chair in obtaining and coordinating with speakers.
* Serve as primary contact person for club business, inquiries, and
solicitations.
* Obtain copies of evaluation software from vendors.
* Set up equipment at the clubhouse prior to the meetings and assist in
interfacing club equipment with needs of SIG leaders and guest speakers.
* Haul to and from the clubhouse and store above said equipment.
* Serve as the APCUG representative for our user group.
* Shop for monthly door prizes and conduct the drawings.
* Produce name badges for new members as needed.
Ok, now I can just envision all of you running for the exits when nominees
are called for at the October meeting. My point that I want to make very
clear to you is that you DO NOT have to do everything that I'm doing now! I
am willing to keep up with some of the tasks I've been handling and be of
assistance in any way I can to the new President. There are also others,
namely the staff and volunteers in the group, that aid the President in
many ways. It is not a one-person show by any means. And, believe it or
not, you do not have to be a "computer expert."
I'm not going to try and kid you. This hasn't been the easiest thing I've
ever done. And, I know that it's a scary thing for most of us to get up in
front of a group to speak. I still get major butterflies in my stomach
before a meeting. But I can honestly tell you that being the President of
the 4Cs has been absolutely one of the most rewarding things I have done in
my entire life. My friends, your opportunity awaits. - Charles
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THIRTEEN WAYS TO KILL AN ORGANIZATION
Editor's excerpts from the APCUG Reports newsletter
1. Don't participate beyond paying your dues.
2. Decline all committee appointments and offices.
3. If appointed to a committee, don't work.
4. If you attend meetings, don't initiate any new ideas.
5. Don't rush to pay your dues.
6. Don't encourage others to become members.
7. Don't read the newsletters or other communications.
8. Don't volunteer your talents.
9. Have faith in no one and nothing.
10. Run for office but don't read the bylaws or past minutes.
11. Create and work for yourself alone.
12. Work alone. You can do it better and faster.
13. As a hard working member, if your ideas are not accepted, resign.
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CCCC Page 3 October 2003
SYSTEMS S.I.G.
by Dick Trissel
For entertainment at the September Systems S.I.G. we had two cat shows.
One was a copy of segments from the TV show Worst Home Movies. The second
was a Shockwave Flash animation. Several people wanted the web address to
get the 58KB file. It is at:
http://home.wanadoo.nl/annekebroenink/maukie2.swf.
A recent investigation into the new hard drive construction brought several
interesting facts to light. The new drives have only one disk instead of
the stack of several disks. Therefore, they have only one or two physical
read/write heads. And yet the drive specifications still state 16 heads.
The drive manufacturer's Web sites state that these are 16 "virtual heads".
Since hard drives have never had 16 heads, this technique is not new. Ray
Isenson contacted the local Seagate office and got the answer to what a
virtual head means. The 16 virtual heads are formed in a "buffer" (a
memory storage area). I assume the physical head is used to read the
tracks on the disk in sets of 16 and "prints" the track images into the
buffer. This wouldn't require too large a buffer. If there are 4096 bytes
per sector, 63 sectors per track for 16 tracks, this equals 4,128,768 bytes
(4MB).
There was an interesting result to the SUN newspaper survey of the "best"
things in Santa Maria in the category of the best Computer Purchase and
Repair. The 1, 2, 3 stores were Best Buy, Office Depot, Circuit City. And
along that same line, the rumor is that Comstar Computers will be closing
at the end of this year.
A news report states that the latest rash of computer viruses are causing a
problem for the e-mail spammers. Now, if the spammers could cause problems
for the virus writers, and they got into a war...
Here's a couple of suggestions. Many users don't seem to realize their
computers are capable of "multi-tasking". That is, you can have several
applications running at the same time. You don't have to close one window
before you open another. On older, slower computers, you may notice a
slight reduction in response time. Also, know that you can get help for
most applications by pressing the F1 key.
We had a discussion about the use of Windows Explorer (how and why). I
will have an article in next month's newsletter on this subject. I have
published many articles in the past on the use and features of Windows
Explorer. This article will concentrate on the many ways to get it running
(I count ten, so far).
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CCCC Page 4 October 2003
HARDWARE S.I.G
by Ray Isenson
We'll meet at 6PM in the library for a question and answer session.
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CCCC Page 5 October 2003
EDITOR'S COMMENTS
by Dick Trissel
I'd like to set the record straight. At the September meeting reading of
the Treasurer's report, there seemed to be concern that the treasury had
decreased. This is expected. We take in the year's worth of dues at the
beginning of each year for the year's expenses. As the year progresses,
the money gets used to publish the newsletter and buy door prizes and
cookies, which reduces the treasury.
I would also like to comment on the September presentation. It was very
interesting and well done, and I think many others appreciated it, also.
However, the presenter's comment that all he did was just install the
Dragon program and there it was as he showed it, may have been a little
misleading. I was told that he actually spent nearly an hour "training"
the program. It required reading in three pages of text in a quiet
environment and without interruption. Unfortunately, that was a hard thing
to do with all the background noise of setting up for the meeting and SIGs.
I have recently had the need to learn the Windows XP system (that's try to
learn). As a consequence, I checked out the three XP books in our club's
library. They are:
Windows XP in a Nutshell
Windows XP, Home Edition
Windows XP Inside Out (with CD)
The last one has a CD that, among other things, includes the entire book
(about 35MBytes). This can be put on your computer for quick reference.
They all are very useful--but not a "Dummies" type useful. Yeh, they get
pretty technical. But there is a lot of beginner's information in the
first few chapters. If you are not taking advantage of the club's library
as a resource for computer assistance, you are missing a good thing.
As I mention in the Systems S.I.G. section of this newsletter this month,
I'm getting familiar with the Windows XP operating system--finally. I'm
still at the position that I feel more comfortable with Windows 98SE. It's
so much simpler, which fits my intellect. Why am I learning XP? Because
so many of the club's membership are using XP, (either voluntarily or by
default from buying a new computer).
It is interesting how many inquiries I get about either switching back to
Windows 98, or having it as a second option on the computer. First let's
look at putting XP on your computer.
My experience has only been with installing XP on older computers (three
different systems). I know, you aren't suppose to put XP on old, slow
computers. However, just for fun, I put Windows XP Pro Upgrade on the
club's old computer--AMD 300MHZ, 64MB SDRAM, 2GB hard drive. It was an
upgrade from 98SE.
It works, slowly, but it works. Not only that, it retained all of the
applications that were on the drive--JUNO, WORD, WORKS, PaintShop Pro, and
many utility programs. And it recognized all of the motherboard embedded
hardware--sound, video, modem; and the CD burner and software. I did a
similar install into a Pentium 233MHZ computer with 96MB EDO Ram.
Then I did the same installation into an AMD 333MHZ computer with 256MB
SDRAM. That configuration does run a little faster, but not as fast as the
98SE in the same computer. One noticeable difference is in the shutdown
time. To give you an idea, my 98SE shuts down in three seconds, XP takes
30 seconds. I guess that's because XP is checking to be sure all
applications are closed.
Anyway, that's the good news--you can go forward by putting XP in some
older computers. But, going backward is not so easy. From what I hear,
those that have tried putting Windows 98/SE on a new computer with all the
latest hardware (motherboard, etc.) have problems because 98 can't
recognize the newer hardware that was designed after 98 was developed. In
some cases you can get updated drivers, but it is not easy, if at all.
So, what if you want to try, anyway. There are several choices. One is
for you to install a second hard drive with 98 on it. One person did this
and then chooses which operating system by using the BIOS to select the
boot drive. Of course, this requires you knowing how to go to the BIOS
setup screen (usually Delete, CTRL, or F1 during bootup). This method lets
you have visibility into the other drive.
Another way to have both systems available is to partition your hard drive
and install 98 on the new partition. Then you will either have to obtain a
program such as PowerQuest's BootMagic (on the PartitionMagic CD), or go
through the Windows XP dual-boot procedure. I've not been able to get the
XP dual-boot to work for me, but others have. It requires installing 98
first and then XP. I think the XP dual-boot method lets you still have
Windows Explorer access to the other operating system. DriveImage does
not--the non-active partition is "hidden".
I have used the DriveImage option successfully on two computers (one being
the club's old computer). Hopefully, I will demonstrate this at the next
System S.I.G.
_________________________________________________________________________
Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in
what oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the
frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses
and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid
deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.
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CCCC Page 6 October 2003
WEB WANDERINGS
By Gil Smith
Sand Castle Central
You guessed it - this site is about sand castles. They boast at being your
best on-line source for all things sand sculptured, including free tips for
beginners, information on the best sand carving tools, updated contest and
master sculptor information, related links and lots of photos.
They have tips for both beginner builders and advanced sand sculptors.
Learn basic sand stacking and check out how to build a better sand castle.
Find out what tools you might need, and where you can find sand castle
competitions.
This one is definitely a great site. Maybe it will chase the winter blues
(doesn't apply to the Central Coast) away with some summer fun.
http://www.sandcastlecentral.com/
Banished Words and Phrases 2003
Since 1976 Lake Superior State University has released its annual list of
words that should be banished from the English language due to Mis-Use,
Over-Use, and General Uselessness. The school received over 3,000
nominations this year from all over the world.
Among this year's list are "untimely death", "that said", "got game", and
the most over-used word in current marketing: Extreme. Extreme sports,
extreme cars, extreme soft drinks - razors aren't extreme, and neither are
deodorants or cheeseburgers.
Be sure to view the Banishment Archives to view words and phrases from the
past that should have gone away.
http://www.lssu.edu/banished/current/default.html
Knowledge Hound
This site claims to be "the Web's biggest directory of free do-it-yourself
tips and tutorials. From sports to cooking to computers and much, much
more, we'll help you become one smart puppy."
From surfing around their site, and checking things out, I'd have to say
they have the right to their claim. I think you'll love the categories and
then the array of information that you'll find. My wife started out by
choosing sewing (and I know there are some of you who love this particular
hobby). She found great tips and information, not to mention links.
I also liked the sections on weight maintaining, personal finance, and
automotive help. I think this site is a diamond in the rough, so check it
out.
http://www.knowledgehound.com/
Internet Archive
How long have you been on the Internet? Probably not as long as Yahoo or
even Microsoft has been. If you'd like to take a step back into the past,
visit this cool site so you can see what a certain website looked like, say
. . . 5 years back. Just go to the "Wayback Machine" at the Internet
Archive.
For example, take a look at Microsoft.com back in 1986 compared to what it
is today. It's amazing how websites transform from something simple to
complex sites.
Even better, pull up a search for worldstart.com and see what it looked
like back in 1998 compared to today.
If you can't find a certain website, they you can always add it to their
database for future comparison.
http://www.archive.org
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CCCC Page 7 October 2003
REVIEW:DRIVEIMAGE 7.0
by Ray Isenson
With the introduction of Drive Image 7.0 (DI7), PowerQuest adds several
capabilities to an already powerful utility. Useable only in Windows XP
and Windows 2000 operating systems, DI7 retains the ability to create a
backup image of an entire partition or hard drive, restore files or folders
from a backup image to the original source drive, do a total restore of a
drive from its image or copy one drive to another, facilitating the
replacing of a failing drive or installing a new and larger drive. In
addition to being able to store the image to a different partition on the
source drive or to another drive in the same computer, DI7 will store the
image directly to a recordable CD or DVD, spanning to multiple CDs or DVDs
if the image is too large to fit on a single disk. Where a computer is
part of a network, DI7 can be directed to store the image in a folder on
the server.
Although DI7 will not function in a Windows 9X or ME system, it can be used
on a multiboot system if one of the operating systems is XP and the program
is installed into the XP partition. (Note: A copy of Drive Image 2002,
which will work in systems using earlier versions of Windows, is included
as a second CD with the purchase of DI7.)
Installation of DI7 is fully automated, requiring user input in only a very
few instances; for example, entering a serial number found on the envelope
containing the CD or accepting a boiler plate agreement. Functioning of
DI7 requires the presence of Microsoft's .NET Framework. If Microsoft's
.NET Framework isn't already present on the computer the full installation
takes almost 70 MBytes of hard drive space; of which about 45 MBytes is
used by DI7 itself. (Note: the .NET Framework is a set of software
technologies for connecting information, people, systems and devices. It
is based on small building-block applications that can connect to each
other as well as to larger applications over the Internet.)
A Windows XP system CD as sold by Microsoft contains a utility called the
Recovery Console. This utility will, in principle, allow a user who has
had a system failure boot from the CD and repair the damage. Unfortunately
this utility may or may not be included with whatever backup software
package accompanies a newly delivered PC. Further, the Recovery Console is
not easily installed or used by the typical computer user. The DI7 program
includes a system restore wizard called the PowerQuest Recovery Environment
(PQRE) on the bootable PowerQuest CD. Booting on the DI7 CD, when Windows
is so badly damaged that a normal boot is impossible, will enable restoring
the system from a previously made system backup. Thus obviating the need
for the Microsoft CD.
I must admit that I did have a problem with the installation; one of my own
making. Good practice dictates that all other programs should be closed
during an installation. I neglected to turn off several programs including
my antivirus, firewall and CD burning programs. One of these caused an
interference. On the second try I turned all off and had no further
trouble.
The only true pitfall noted during installation had to do with the .NET
Framework. If the installation software determines that the Framework is
not already present it will start loading it and then ask whether the user
wants it to be loaded. Should the user, for any reason, click the "NO"
box, a message will appear stating that DI7 will not run. The user is not
given an opportunity to step back to correct the input but must terminate
the installation and start all over.
Once DI7 is installed and a backup is made, your computer is protected
against the disaster that can strike at any time. Every computer is
vulnerable to data loss caused by viruses, faulty software or hard drive
failure. DI7 provides a complete backup solution. By saving the operating
system, programs and settings as part of one backup file, the computer can
be restored completely to proper functioning with a minimum of effort.
Where only one or more files or folders are damaged, DI7 offers very easy
selective restoration.
The test computer was multiboot, Windows 98SE and Windows XP. A third
partition is used for applications. DI7 was installed in the latter. When
DI7 was invoked from the Program Menu and "Backup" was selected, a window
opened that offered the opportunity to select for backup any one, two or
all of the partitions. A backup was made of the XP partition. The five
GBytes of data in that partition were backed up to four CD-RW disks in an
hour and ten minutes. As a test, a single file, my Juno address book, was
restored,. There was no problem.
User group members may purchase Drive Image 7 at a special price of $39 by
ordering from the secure web site at www.ugr.com/order/. Indicate the
special price code of UGEVAL0903 with your order.
Drive Image 7, PowerQuest Corp., PO Box 1911, Orem, UT 84059
Phone: 801.437.8900.
List Price $69.95
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