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Front Range PC Users Group Newsletter k-Byte |
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| v. 21, n. 7/8 July/August 2004 | Users Helping Users |
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Contents 1 How To Purchase A Computer - Jamie Leben 2 About k-Byte 5 Phishing Warning - Rick Mattingly 6 Hide Folders XP 7 Monitors - Charlie Paschal 8 What A Difference 100 Years Makes 10 Be Prepared - S. Housley 13 Computer Power Protection - Ira Wilsker 14 Calendar of Events 15 Using A Printer You Don't Have 16 August/September Calendars 18 Membership Application 19 Deleting Information From Hard Drives - Gene Barlow 21 Accessories For That New Digital Camera - Ira Wilsker 23 PCI Express - Timothy Everingham 26 Computer Memory - Brian K. Lewis 30 Trading Post 31 FRPCUG Contacts How To Purchase A Computer by Jamie Leben As children head back to school, and as the Internet and other computer related technologies become more interesting and easier to use, the question often arises: How do I pick out the right computer for me? Step 1: Defining Your Needs Begin by answering a few questions about your requirements: What is my budget? Where will it be used? Do I have (or need to purchase) software with special requirements? What tasks need to be performed on the new computer? Do I have (or need to purchase) hardware with special requirements? How long does this computer need to last me? Let's take these one by one: What is my budget? Did you know that good, modern, functional computers start out for only $200? Though these machines do serve a bit of a niche market, they are excellent for Internet, email, writing, and home finance. We'll talk about them in detail in a later article, or you can email IT-Works for more information. Good mainstream home desktop computers start around $500 and hit a good value price point around $800-$900. The smaller, more portable notebook computers start around $800; have a good value price point around $1200-$1300. Where will the computer be used? Do you need to travel with it? How much space do you have where you want to use it? If you need portability, or your space is limited (often the case for students), consider a notebook (or laptop) computer. Today's notebooks are every bit as fast as their desktop counterparts, and include LCD displays that are easy on the eyes for long work sessions. Desktop computers are good choices if you are on a budget, want more performance for your money, or what to have more options for adding accessories later. Do I have (or need to purchase) software or hardware with special requirements? The good news is that most modern computers have enough of the right connections (USB, serial, and parallel ports) to accommodate most computer accessories. Digital cameras and camcorders sometimes use a Firewire (Sony products call it iLink) connection, which is not as common. Check that your computer has the right connections for your accessories. Some older software (often for Windows 95 or NT) also has a hard time running on Windows XP. Check the software manufacturer's website to ensure you important older software will work on the new machine, or budget accordingly for new software. What tasks does the new computer need to perform? For general Internet, email, and writing tasks, a basic $500-$700 desktop machine has abundant power and capability. If you plan on doing anything graphics intensive (gaming playing, digital video editing, photo editing) it is recommended that you plan on spending more for a machine with a faster processor and more memory. The good news is that performance is so inexpensive these days that even a basic machine is very capable for all these tasks. How long does it need to last? Today's computers can be expected to be useful; and with proper maintenance, last for 2-5 years. Features that can prolong the lifespan and your satisfaction with your computer include- upgradeability, standard components, and higher quality components. These three features will take some research to nail down, but are typically sacrificed in the name of price in the mass merchandised machines. In the next article, we will dig into the inside of a prospective computer to show you how to avoid these small cost cutting short cuts that add up to big losses in performance and value. Jamie Leben IT-Works 970-405-4399 http://www.i-t-w.com From CUGG newsletter The following is the transcript of an ACTUAL high seas radio conversation released by the Chief of Naval Operations between a United States naval ship and the Canadian authorities off the coast of Newfoundland in October 1995. Americans: Please divert your course to zero one five degrees (15 degrees) to the North to avoid a collision. Canadians: Recommend you divert YOUR course to zero one five degrees to the South to avoid a collision. Americans: This is the Captain of a US Navy ship.....I say again, divert YOUR course! Canadians: No!...I say again, you divert YOUR course! Americans: This is the AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS EISENHOWER. We are a LARGE WARSHIP OF THE US NAVY.....divert your course NOW !!! Canadians: This.......is a LIGHTHOUSE! Your call! Published bi-monthly, k-Byte is the official newsletter of the Front Range Personal Computer Users Group (FRPCUG): our mailing address is PMB 152, 305 W. Magnolia, Fort Collins, Colorado 80521. Opinions expressed in k-Byte are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the group or its members. Publication of information in k-Byte constitutes no guarantee of accuracy. Use of any information found in this publication is at the sole risk of the user. Neither k-Byte, nor its officers, nor k-Byte, nor its editors or contributors assume any liability for damages resulting from use of information in this publication. Submissions Articles, letters and short items of interest on computer-related topics are welcome and encouraged. All items submitted for publication are subject to editing. Send your contribution to the editor via e-mail attachment or submit on disk. If you have questions about a submission, please contact the editor for information. Copyright k-Byte is copyrighted ©2004 by the Front Range Personal Computer Users Group. Unless otherwise noted, other nonprofit users groups may reprint or quote from any articles appearing in k-Byte without prior permission, provided that proper author and publication credits are given and that a copy of the publication in which the article appears is sent at no cost to k-Byte at the above mailing address. User groups wishing to exchange newsletters with FRPCUG are invited to send a copy of their newsletter together with an exchange request. IBM PC, OS/2, Compaq, MS-DOS, UNIX, Windows and other trademarks occasionally mentioned in k-Byte are registered trademarks of International Business Machines, Inc., Compaq Corporation, Microsoft, Digital Research, AT&T or their owners respectively. Neither FRPCUG nor its newsletter k-Byte are connected in any way with any manufacturer or seller. We, however, gratefully acknowledge sponsorship of our group by Data Service Center, Jim Becker, owner. Advertising Classified advertising is free to members for non-business ads. See “Trading Post” for pricing for camera-ready display ads. Charges for ad makeup from sketches, etc., are available on request. Deadline for camera-ready and classified ads is listed in the Calendar of Upcoming Events. Deadline for ad-makeup is the same as for articles. About FRPCUG FRPCUG is an independent nonprofit computer society, so incorporated with the State of Colorado and open to anyone interested in MS-DOS, OS/2, or UNIX microcomputers. Its purpose is to provide an educational and scientific forum of mutual benefit for members of the micro-computer community. FRPCUG holds a monthly meeting and conducts various special interest groups (SIGS) and seminars. Members have voting privileges, subscription to k-Byte newsletter, SIGs and selected seminars. Annual dues are $25 for individual/family membership and $50 for corporate/group membership. by Rick Mattingly Phishing (electronic fishing) is a scam whereby thieves email realistic notices to the unsuspecting public with a dire warning regarding some type of business account, bank, eBay, etc. Typically, these bogus messages indicate some type of problem with your account and request that you click a provided link to provide the requested information to correct the problem. What actually happens when you click the provided link is that your connection is hijacked and redirected in the background to a thief's bogus look-alike site where your responses are captured, including your user name, account number and password. The thief will then use this information to raid your personal account and rob you. Does this actually work? Who would possibly fall for such an obvious ruse? According to a recent Gartner Report, nearly two million people lost money from bank accounts last year alone after falling into this trap! Be aware that no respectable business concern will ever request such information be provided directly from an email message link. In other words, a legitimate business may contact you via email but will direct you to visit the web site through your own link to transact the request. They will never include the link to the subject site embedded in the contact email. If in doubt, simply manually type the URL into your browser address bar, which will take you directly to the real site. Do not be surprised when you find no reference to the supposed account problem when you access the authentic business site through the URL manually entered. If you do receive such an email, play it safe and first contact the subject business for confirmation before ever providing a single bit of information. Whenever possible, forward the actual suspect email to the contacted business so that they can tract the source. For example, eBay has a dedicated link for this and is extremely aggressive in shutting down this type of criminal activity. Don't get hooked in the lip (and wallet) by a Phishing scheme! MSN "Equipped for Success" Report July, 2004 Seattle-Tacoma International Airport reports finding 257 laptops lost or abandoned at the airport between March 2003 and March 2004. October 23, 2003 For Immediate Release FSPro Labs Releases Hide Folders XP 1.4 Hide folders to prevent unauthorized access and protect sensitive data stored in Windows XP and Windows 2000 computers. Hide Folders XP is a simple but ingenious program for Windows XP and 2000 users. In the days when almost all computers are tied in one or another type of network, protecting personal, sensitive data is critical. After installing Hide Folders XP, you can make invisible (hide) folders with important information to others, including people who access your computer directly or via a network. This means these files will be visible only to you. Network search, browsing, even removing an upper-level folder will not have any effect. Hide Folders XP is very easy in use - all hiding and "unhiding" is done with one mouse click. Up to 64 folders can be made invisible simultaneously. Importantly, Hide Folders XP comes with a password protection option, meaning even if the program is discovered on a workstation, accessing the protected folders is impossible. Hide Folders XP protects files from being accessed, edited and deleted and comes with NTFS, FAT32 and FAT volumes support. No file system structure modifications occurs during hiding. The program can run in a stealth mode (cannot be detected with Windows Task Manager), requires a password in order to be uninstalled and comes with a wealth of other options - such as "dummy protection" (does not allow system folders to be hidden, in order to avoid computer crash), and capability to delete files stored in the hidden folders from the recent documents list and recycle bin. The program offers multilingual support, hotkey option, is extremely easy to set up and run and has a very pleasant straightforward interface. Hide Folders XP is distributed electronically over the Internet; free demo version is available at http://www.fspro.net/ for evaluation. The price of a single copy is 24.95 US Dollars. There is a similar version of the program called Hide Folders for Windows 95, 98 and ME users. FSPro Labs is a small independent shareware company specializing in personal protection and corporate security products. Founded in 2000, it has already released several popular products - Hide Folders and Hide Folders XP, Lock My PC, Secure Credit Card and Access Boss. If you have any questions, would like to request editor's copy, want to inquire about special prices for volume buyers/software resellers, or have a business proposal, please contact Michael Karsyan at mike@fspro.net Company Website: http://www.fspro.net Product Page: http://www.fspro.net/hfxp/ Screenshots: http://www.fspro.net/img/hfxp/main.gif Download: http://www.fspro.net/download/hfxp.zip Buy Link: http://www.fspro.net/hfxp/purchase.html by Charlie Paschal Just as understanding computer memory can be confusing, so can understanding a computer display, one of the most important parts of a computer. The display, which also can be called a monitor, is connected to a computer by a cable that attaches to a video card inside a computer. Troubles with a display can be traced to the cable, the card inside the computer, software that drives the card, the display itself or some piece of equipment nearby. Monitors can be found in various sizes and shapes but even the best of monitors can be made to look bad if any of the other parts and pieces are not working correctly or of poor quality. A monitor is only as good as the video card in your computer and the software that runs that video card and monitor. Let's focus first on the monitor. Of all the parts and pieces that make up a computer system, the monitor is one part that you shouldn't scrimp on. If you plan to have a computer for a long time, then buck up and spend the money for a good one. Although you may buy a new computer, you can always use your old monitor on it - especially if you buy a good quality monitor. In that purchase, there's a lot to consider. Although you can find monitors less than 17 inches in size, I don't recommend buying one. Since some very cheap systems come with smaller monitors, it's something you should guard against when looking at buying a system that comes with a monitor. Resolution and dot pitch are very important when it comes to monitors. A computer screen is made up of dots and these are measured in dot pitch. In this case, you always go with the lowest number, with a cutoff of 28 dot pitch. Anything larger than that will give you a grainy display. More expensive models come with a dot pitch of 24. Resolution is another measure of a monitor. Common resolutions include 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768 and 1280x1024. Even if your monitor can do higher resolutions, if your video card can't, then you won't be able to use them. Why should you care about resolution? By using higher resolutions, you can fit more on your screen. A Web page viewed at 640x480 displays very little information. By boosting your resolution to 800x600 or 1024x768, you can fit more pixels on the screen, thus increasing your viewing area. Another feature to check before buying a monitor is its refresh rate. Although many makers claim their monitors are able to display higher resolutions, these are often delivered at a rate lower than 72Hrz, meaning that your eyes will see flicker. This is hard on your eyes and will make your eyes tire quicker than a higher refresh rate. In today's world, the hot item is a “flat panel” LCD monitor; but, just because it's hot and the salesmen are pushing it, doesn't mean you should buy it. Although many of us lust after a flat panel, there are drawbacks: * Small type often doesn't look good on one. If you're considering one, be sure to look at some small type faces in the store before you buy it. If a salesperson is handy, get them to start Wordpad (or Word) and make the type nine- or 10 point. Be sure to check around the edges of the LCD to see if the image blurs on either side. * Often, an LCD is “fixed” to a certain resolution, such as 1024x768. Be sure that you like the way icons and type appears on screen before buying. If the type is too small (or too large), try another resolution. If the type appears jagged or blurry, then the LCD might look best at one resolution. * Color is not rendered sharply by less expensive flat panels. If it's a bargain basement flat panel, the color on a normal CRT probably will be better. The availability of these flat panels mean that the CRT monitors - the old style larger monitors - are getting less expensive. About a year ago, I purchased a 21-inch Sony (almost top of the line) for less than $500 off the Internet. It has beautiful color, is capable of rendering higher resolutions at a high refresh rate. The push to flat panels also has opened up a huge market for used monitors since many people are replacing the older CRTs with this new style of monitor. Because of this, I've found used 17-inch monitors for less than $80 and 19-inch monitors for about $125. Bottom line: A good rule of thumb for monitors is at least a 1024x768 resolution at 72Hrz, no dot pitch larger than 26 and no smaller than 17 inches. Unless you've got a space problem (CRTs are much larger than flat panel monitors), I'd stick with CRT monitors rather than a flat panel, which will cost less in the future as manufactures ramp up production of them. You can bet on that. Charlie Paschal is Editor/Publisher of the Palmetto Personal Computer Club newsletter in Columbia, SC. He is also a columnist for the (Columbia) State newspaper in SC. Year is 1904 … Very Interesting, enjoy and be thankful for what we have! The year is 1904...one hundred years ago. What a difference a century makes! Here are some of the U.S. statistics for 1904: The average life expectancy in the U.S. was 47 years. Only 14% of the homes in the U.S. had a bathtub. Only 8% of the homes had a telephone. A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost eleven dollars. There were only 8,000 cars in the U.S., and only 144 miles of paved roads. The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph. Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee were each more heavily populated than California. With a mere 1.4 million residents, California was only the 21st most populous state in the Union. The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower. The average wage in the U.S. was 22 cents an hour. The average U.S. worker made between $200 and $400 per year. A competent accountant could expect to earn $2,000 per year, a dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year. Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at corner drugstores. According to one pharmacist, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health." More than 95% of all births in the U.S. took place at home. Ninety percent of all U.S. physicians had no college education. Instead, they attended medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and by the government as "substandard." Sugar cost four cents a pound. Eggs were 14 cents a dozen. Coffee was fifteen cents a pound. Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo. Canada passed a law prohibiting poor people from entering the country for any reason. The five leading causes of death in the U.S. were: 1. Pneumonia and influenza 2. Tuberculosis 3. Diarrhea 4. Heart disease 5. Stroke The American flag had 45 stars. Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Alaska hadn't been admitted to the Union yet. The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was 30. Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented. There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day. Two of ten U.S. adults couldn't read or write. Only 6% of all Americans had graduated high school. Eighteen percent of households in the U.S. had at least one full-time servant or domestic. There were only about 230 reported murders in the entire U.S. And I copied, edited, and forwarded this from someone else without typing it myself, and sent it to all of you in a matter of seconds! Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years ... it staggers the mind. by S. Housley Computers Businesses and individuals alike have all grown to rely on computers. The reliance is never more apparent than when something happens to the horrid little box that makes our lives easier. We expect computers to react a certain way, in certain situations. It nearly always comes as a surprise when the beloved little box, know as a computer, refuses to boot up. Probably even more shocking, is the dawning that we've neglected to backup or prepare for the unforeseen disaster that has just been thrust upon us. Regardless of the number of times you have experienced the dread of being unable to access the information trapped in the god-awful computerized contraption, we are always invariably unprepared. The reality of it is that computers, not only contain moving parts, but they like other machines, they are prone to failure at some point in their lives. Not only can hardware failures occur, but viruses can also corrupt data making it impossible to retrieve. Regardless of the litany of words used to bully the box into behaving, the truth is that the only offence is a good defense. So how do you prepare for a computer tragedy? Prepare for the Worst In structuring an offense it's important to realize the power of reinforcements: backups are invaluable and will save countless hours of shameless degradation. Be sure that you backup data and files on a regular basis, there are a number of tools that will automate the process. It is critical that you check the backup log to ensure that a backup was completed properly. I cannot begin to describe the devastation felt when it is realized that though there was a backup process in place, the backup never actually occurred. Realizing this during a restore is likely to push any computer lover over the edge. It is a good idea to store a weekly back up off site. This is especially helpful, if an unforeseen fire or a natural disaster strikes. Protection is critical! Build A Wall If the computer has Internet access, either a hardware or software firewall (or combination there of) must be used. The firewall creates a barrier between a computer and the world. Without a firewall, Internet worms are capable of exploiting security holes and are able to create what are referred to as 'back doors'. These back doors can then be used to gain access to personal information stored on the computer, including password files, and financial information. Trust No One If you are an avid Internet surfer or downloader be sure to scan any downloads prior to opening or installing. Up to date anti-virus software should be used to ensure, that computers do not become infected with malicious viruses that will ruin your life. Scan any email attachments prior to opening regardless of whom they are from. Files that end with .scr, .pif and .exe can contain viruses that will wreak havoc with your data and emotional well being. Preparedness goes a long way, and a little foresight will ensure that, while a computer might be an inconvenience, you will not be defeated. Preparation Resources Anti-virus Software -http://www.military-software.com/anti-virus-software.htm Firewalls - http://www.monitoring-software.net/intrusion-detection-software.htm About the Author: Sharon Housley manages marketing for NotePage, Inc. http://www.notepage.net a company specializing in alphanumeric paging, SMS and wireless messaging software solutions. Other sites and additional articles can be found at http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com , and http://www.small-business-software.net "By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he's wrong." by Ira Wilsker Now that summer is upon us, and our air conditioners seem to cycle on and off endlessly, we may have noticed our computer screens flicker or shrink ever-so-slightly for a mo ment when the AC compressor powers on. With our intermittent yet common summer thunderstorms, we may have noticed our lights flicker, occasionally accompanied by a power outage of varying lengths. While these and similar effects may be an emotional strain upon us personally, they may also be an indication that we may need to protect our computers from unseen electrical damage. The most basic form of electrical protection for our computers, which should be considered as mandatory for all computers, including notebook computers used away from the home or office, is a surge suppressor. Power surges, also referred to as spikes, are short term increases in voltage, often occurring when major electrical equipment, such as air conditioners or freezers are turned off. These surges and spikes can damage sensitive electronic devices such as computers, TVs, microwave ovens, and other devices. Surge suppressors to minimize the risk of damage are readily available in a variety of forms and prices, ranging from an inexpensive suppressor in the form of a power strip, to large box shaped devices that provide surge protection with line conditioning and a battery backup function. A recent review of the selection available locally at the office supply, electronics, and discount stores indicated a vast array of power strip type surge suppressors, ranging in price from about $3 to almost $100. One caveat is appropriate here; many users have a standard power strip connecting their computers to the wall plug. While almost all power strips offer some form of overload protection, typically with a circuit breaker, standard power strips offer no other protection for power related problems, and need to be replaced with a decent quality power strip that has a surge suppression function with a UL 1449 rating. The ability of a surge suppressor to dissipate the surge or spike is measured in “joules”, with a higher joules rating indicating a greater ability to absorb and dissipate the excess voltage from the surge. Almost all surge suppressors have a limited life expectancy, and may wear out. Many of the better ones have an LED or other device indicating the proper functioning of the surge protection. It is a good practice to frequently inspect your surge suppressor, and to immediately replace it if there is even a hint or suspicion of malfunction. Power surges are one of the major killers of computers and other electronic devices. In my house, each of my major electronic devices, including TVs, microwaves, stereos, cordless phones, and of course computers, is connected to a functional surge suppressor. I also carry a good quality surge suppressor - power strip in my notebook computer case which is always used whenever my notebook is plugged in. While the primary function of a surge suppressor is to protect plugged-in electrical devices from surge related damage, many of the suppressors on the market also provide additional functionality. Common in most better suppressors is an electronic noise filter, which reduces the electrical noise, often referred to as “RFI” or “EMI” interference, carried through the power lines. This electronic noise may be thought of as a type of static, and commonly comes from a variety of transmitters, welding devices, printers, lightning, or other sources. This type of line noise can cause errors in computer programs and data files, and possibly also damage some hardware components. In purchasing a surge suppressor, I recommend that one be purchased that includes electronic noise filtering. I have repaired countless computers where the modem was “fried”, or destroyed by a power surge. It is widely known in professional circles that power surges and spikes can also come through a phone line, as well as a coax cable, network cable, or other form of data connection. Many surge suppressors also include one or more protected lines explicitly for a phone or fax cable, TV or satellite cable, or other types of network cable. For those of us that still use dialup connections to the internet, or use fax machines, a surge suppressor that has a phone jack should also be a necessity. The phone plug from the wall connects to the jack in the suppressor, and another cable is used to connect the suppressor to the modem or fax machine. Generally, there is no significant degradation of signal while connected to a fax machine, but some 56K modems may suffer a slight degradation of signal or speed. This slight performance is a small price to pay for the added protection provided by the suppressor. All of my phone lines and cable TV coax is connected to the same surge suppressor that protects the device they are connected to. As an added benefit, many models of surge suppressors also carry some form of insurance coverage to repair or replace devices connected to them from covered perils, often including lightning. The amount of coverage provided is often high, but is sometimes used as a marketing gimmick. As with all types of guarantees and insurance, be sure to read the fine print, and follow explicitly the directions for filing a claim. Better safe then sorry. Add a Picture to a Folder Posted: November 19, 2001 Submitted by Jess Jimison, Laramie, Wyoming Tired of looking at the same old folder icons? Give your folders some style! Follow these steps to change the picture that identifies a folder, but note that if your folder doesn't contain an image file, Windows won't generate a folder picture. And you can only see a picture on a folder when it's in Thumbnails view within another folder. To switch to Thumbnails view, on the View menu of the open folder, click Thumbnails. 1. Right-click a folder, and then click Properties. 2. Click the Customize tab, and then click Choose Picture. 3. Select any image on your computer, click Open, and then click OK. 4. Your folder will have a whole new look. Place it inside another folder that uses Thumbnails view to see the display. Use pictures to remind you of the contents of folders, or just to make them more fun. Microsoft Windows XP Home Tips http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/tips/ - IMPORTANT NOTICE - FRPCUG meetings are held at the Fort Collins Senior Center. Check below for directions to the Senior Center. August General Forum Meeting No General Forum Meeting in August due to building maintenance at the Fort Collins Senior Center. There will also be no Board Meeting in August. September General Forum Meeting We will meet at the Fort Collins Senior Center on Tuesday, September 7 at 7:00 pm. Meeting Agenda 7:00 - 7:15 Announcements 7:15 - 7:30 Nomination of Officers 7:30 - 8:45 eBay and PayPal -Buying and selling with online auction and payment tools. 8:45 - 9:00 Break 9:30 - 9:30 Open Forum See you at the meetings! Directions The Fort Collins Senior Center is located at 1200 Raintree Drive. This site is situated at the northwest corner of the Shields and West Drake intersection, on the north side of the Raintree Shopping Center. Check the marquee at the main entrance for directions to the specific meeting room. Up-Coming SIG's, Seminars and Meetings Board Meeting FRPCUG's executive board meets on Wednesday of the week following the General Forum Meeting at 7:00 p.m. All members are welcome and are encouraged to attend. These meetings are held at the offices of JYM Information Systems: 1630 S College Avenue in Fort Collins. New Technology SIG The LINUX SIG and the Telecommunications SIG have been combined to form the new Advanced Systems Support SIG. This SIG provides advanced support for all PC-related operating system and telecommunication issues. The meetings are held at 7:00 PM on the third Thursday of each month at the offices of JYM Information Systems: 1630 S College Avenue in Fort Collins. For more information contact Chuck McJilton at 493-2987 or email telecomsig@jymis.com. Northern Front Range Netware Users Group NFRNUG meets at 5:30 pm on the second Wednesday of each month at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife building, 2101 Oakridge Drive in Fort Collins. NFRNUG meetings are open to any users that are involved with Novell networking products and integration of other networking products into the Novell environment (Unix, NT, Mac, etc.). Contact Jim Stephens at 303-541-3376 or jcsteph@concentric.net or contact Chuck Kluko at 970-663-4770 or c.kluko@ix.netcom.com for further membership information. Yearly dues are $000.00 (yes, FREE) with pizza and pop served at 5:00 pm prior to meeting. Saturday labs and training sessions open to NRFNUG members only, space is limited. Rocky Mountain Internet Users Group Meets on the second Tuesday of 'odd' months at NCAR in Boulder. Meetings start at 7:00 pm, but members are encouraged to arrive at 6:30 pm for informal networking and refreshments. NCAR is located in Boulder at 1850 Table Mesa Drive. For more information see the RMIUG Web site at: http://www.rmiug.org/. Web Design SIG If you're an HTML author/WEB page designer, or would like to learn, contact SIG coordinator Doug Boicourt at 495-6949 or e-mail db@jymis.com for the date and location of the next SIG meeting. Upcoming FRPCUG Meetings Along with presentations of new hardware and software, we will certainly continue to present tips, hints, solutions, as well as what is new with Public Domain and Shareware offerings. If you have ideas for presentations which you would like to see at future General Forum meetings or seminars, please let us know. We would appreciate the input and opportunity to improve your meetings. Know of a another computer-related meeting in our area? Please let us know so we can post it here. If you need to print a report on a printer that is not currently attached to your PC or which is unavailable on your network, you can send the report to a print file. You will need to make certain that you have installed the correct printer drivers for the printer, which you do by using the Add Printer icon in the Printers folder (click the Windows Start button and choose Settings, Printers to open this folder). When you check the Print file check box, Excel stores the output in a file, prompting you for a filename before printing. The resulting file will not be a standard text file. Rather, it will include all the printer codes that are required to print your worksheet. You can save the file and then send this file to your printer at a later time. This technique is also useful if you want to e-mail a print file to someone so that they can print the report on their printer -- even if they don't have Excel on their PC. To actually use the print file, you need to copy the file to the printer at the command prompt. The following is an example of the command you would use (assuming that you saved the file to drive A: using the name Report.prn and that your printer is connected directly to your PC on printer port 1): Copy A:\REPORT.PRN /B PRN No FRPCUG Meetings in August due to building maintenance at the Fort Collins Senior Center. September 2004 6 Labor Day 7 FRPCUG General Forum Meeting 7:00PM 15 FRPCUG Board Meeting 7:00PM 16 New Technology SIG 7:00PM by Gene Barlow User Group Relations Copyrighted May 2004 The early hard drives on mainframe computers were not considered very reliable. Information stored on these early devices would often not record properly or may become contaminated easily. Programmers using these drives would write the data in two separate locations on the drive. Then, when the data was needed later, it would be read from both locations and compared in memory to make sure it was still the same. If differences were detected, then the program could not continue until the data was corrected and rewritten to the hard drive. As technology advanced, special mathematical checking codes were stored with the data that could detect if the information retrieved from a hard drive was still valid. These codes eliminated the need to record the data twice, but did nothing to clean up any errors found. It wasn't long before more sophisticated checking codes were introduced that could not only detect errors, but would also actually correct most single and double character errors. Still, the recording of information on hard drives was not considered real reliable and frequent backup copies of the drives were necessary. When the IBM PC was introduced with hard drives, the designers of these drives were still very concerned about loosing data on these devices. So, everything was done to make sure the data written to the drive remained on the hard drive and could not be accidentally deleted or lost. Today, it is almost impossible to permanently delete information, once it is written to a hard drive. Who would have thought that this retention of information would become a problem for computer users? In today's world, privacy and security of information are major concerns. Identity theft is a major problem that we all face. With just a few pieces of information about us, dishonest individuals can steal large sums of money from us and ruin our credit ratings. At the same time, computers and the internet have made information much more widely available not only to us, but to these dishonest individuals. Unless we are careful, our private information can get into the hands of these dishonest individuals and they will certainly take advantage of the situation. Recent studies have shown that hard drives on PCs contain a wealth of private information that most users thought they had removed from the drive months or years earlier. What these users do not understand is that simply deleting a file from the hard drive does not permanently remove it from the drive. In fact, all that deleting a file does is to flag that file space for future reuse. It may be years before that space is reused with another file or it may never be reused. So, the deleted information remains on the hard drive, hidden from the user, but still there. Dishonest individuals using commonly available software can find and access all of these deleted files. Users that are knowledgeable enough to know that deleted files remain on the hard drive are often surprised to learn that formatting the hard drive does not get rid of these deleted files either. All the formatting function does is to create a few tables at the beginning of the partition. The deleted information on the hard drive is not removed or changed during a format. Operations such as defragging a hard drive only cause your private information to be copied and spread across the entire hard drive. So, how can you permanently remove private information once it is written to a hard drive? The only effective way to permanently remove information from a hard drive is to write blanks or zeros over the top of the deleted information. This obliterates the information that was written there earlier. To do this, special hard drive wiping utilities must be used. Two of the best hard drive wiping utilities were developed by White Canyon Software. I have come to know and rely on these excellent products. One or both of them could make your job of keeping your hard drive clean of hidden private or personal information easy to do. The first of these two products is called WipeDrive. This is the bulldozer of the two products. When you use it to wipe your hard drive, it starts at the beginning of the drive and writes blanks on top of everything on the drive. It continues to wipe the drive until it reaches the end of the hard drive. When it is done, the entire drive is totally clean and empty. Nothing remains on the hard drive that a dishonest person could see or use against you. Everyone should use this utility before they sell or give their old computer or hard drive away. Otherwise, you are giving away all of your private information with your old computer. WipeDrive boots from a diskette or CD and can wipe all PC type hard drives. WipeDrive sells for up to $45 in computer stores, but user group members can obtain a copy from our User Group Store for just $24. The second of these two products is called SecureClean. This is more like a vacuum cleaner, than a bulldozer. It vacuums the dirt out of the carpet, but does not knock over the furniture or the walls. In other words, it can clean the deleted information off your hard drive, but does not disturb the actively used files on the drive. The selective ability of SecureClean to wipe your hard drive, but not disturbing your current files, makes it the ideal tool to use on your current hard drives to keep them clean of deleted information. I recommend that you run SecureClean about once a month on your computer to permanently wipe over all deleted information on the drive. Packaged with SecureClean is a bonus utility call SecureScan. This product will scan your hard drive and show you all of the deleted information that is hidden on the drive. You will be surprised at what you'll find still on your hard drive. You may find personal files that you deleted months or years ago that are still on the drive. You may even find some files that were accidentally deleted and you thought they were forever lost. If a deleted file is still complete, SecureScan can even bring this file back to life and make it available again on your hard drive. This un-delete function of SecureScan is not the main purpose of this program, but a nice additional feature that you may want to use. SecureClean and SecureScan install on any Windows operating system. SecureClean sells for $40, but user group members can obtain a copy from our User Group Store for just $24. Buy both WipeDrive and SecureClean/Scan for just $39, a $60 value. To order either or both of these excellent hard drive wiping utilities, go to the User Group Store at http://www.usergroupstore.com. (or http://www.ugr.com/store) You can read more about these two products in the security department of the store. Click on any of the Buy Now buttons to get to our secure web order form. Complete the form including the special code of UGWCM04. You will be given the chance to verify and correct your order before it is submitted. Once you submit it, we will receive it shortly and normally we ship all orders the following morning. You should have your products in just a few days. While you are at the User Group Store, check out the many other products we offer, all at great user group discounts. Preventing personal and private information from building up on your hard drive is important for all of us to do. Get the tools you need to keep your drive clean today. If you have any questions about these products or this technical newsletter, please contact me at gene@ugr.com. I look forward to helping you. Gene Barlow User Group Relations PO Box 275 Orem, UT 84059-0275 801-796-7370 www.ugr.com gene@ugr.com by Ira Wilsker Last month I wrote about the features to look for in a new digital camera. That column was most timely as many in the national media are predicting that digital camera sales will soar this holiday season. It is also common that many of us “accessorize” our gifts to others to enhance the enjoyment of the recipient. Appropriate accessories would include cases, memory, photo editing software, photo printers and paper, rechargeable batteries, and other useful items. Cases for digital cameras are usually available from the camera makers as well as a broad assortment of third parties. The primary function of a case is to provide protection for the sensitive instrument. Other functions include a means of conveniently carrying the camera, and a place to store accessories. In shopping for a case, look for proper fit and good protection from harm, as this is the function of a case. This protection may be in the form of padding, water resistance, and a variety of other factors. Do not practice the fine art of “buying cheap” and trusting a several-hundred dollar camera to a five dollar case, unless that case can provide adequate protection and convenience, which will not be likely. Additional camera memory may be one of the most valuable adjuncts to a new (or already owned) camera. Almost all new cameras come with integral memory which can only store a very limited number of images before it must be downloaded to a computer, or the images in memory must be deleted to make room for more. While some cameras, such as several of the Sony models, use a floppy disk or mini-CD-R disc to store images directly to a universal media, almost all other digital cameras use some type of nonvolatile memory card or stick to store images. These cards or sticks are inserted directly into the camera, and provide additional storage for images. In shopping for camera memory be absolutely sure that the proper type is selected for the camera, as there is often little interchangeability between the types. Common types of memory are “CF” compact flash, smart memory, multimedia cards (MMC), “SD” secure digital cards (sometimes interchangeable with MMC), tiny “xD” cards, memory sticks, and several other formats. Normally, “more is better” applies to memory capacity, but price must also be balanced with capacity. If photos are taken at full resolution (not normally a best practice), a 2 megapixel camera uses about 900k for a single JPEG format image, so a 32meg memory card will hold about 35 images, while a 128meg card will hold about 142 images. Other resolutions and amounts of memory will be somewhat proportional. A 4 megapixel camera uses about 2 megs of memory for each image at maximum resolution. Another factor which varies among different models of memory is the speed (faster is better) and power consumption (less is better). Along with a new memory card, an external reader, typically with a USB connector, is a great convenience which enables photos to be transferred without the camera. Almost all digital cameras come with a “lite” or limited functionality photo editing software. The included software may be adequate for normal snapshots, but often we want to do more to enhance or improve our photos. Near the top of the price range of popular photo editing software is the Adobe PhotoShop at around $600, and its lesser brothers from Adobe including PhotoShop Elements (about $90). One of the other powerful photo editing and enhancement utilities is JASC's PaintShop Pro 8, available locally for around $60. I especially like PaintShop's “One Step Photo Fix” that can automatically perfect almost any reasonable digital image. For the bargain hunters who want a powerful editing and enhancement utility, without paying big bucks is the very popular Irfan Viewer, which is available for free download from www.irfanview.com. Personally, I use both Irfan and Paint Shop Pro about equally. Other editing software is available from other publishers. Most color printers on the market today can print plausible color images using stock inks and decent quality paper. Some printers offer enhanced photo printing capability for a moderate price, while there are also dedicated photo printers on the market. Good photo grade paper is a necessity to produce quality prints. Some printers on the market print directly to Polaroid film, giving real photos from a digital camera. Many users prefer both the quality and economy of having their local photo finisher print digital prints, a service which most now provide, often at prices less than “do it yourself”. My digital camera eats batteries. Using AA alkaline batteries would be a major expense, if it were not for the now common NiMh or Lithium rechargeable batteries. Many cameras utilize the common AA size, and as an added advantage, the better NiMh rechargeable batteries typically offer many times the photos of disposable alkalines, at a far lower cost per picture. Spare batteries, especially if fully charged, can be a godsend. Other popular accessories for digital cameras may appeal more to the advanced user than the amateur. These include tripods, accessory lenses, external flash devices, and other items. Just be sure that the accessories are compatible with the user's camera. by c, TUGNET teveringham@acm.org Those of you who have been around personal computers for a while might remember plug in cards slots referred to as ISA, EISA, Microchannel, and VESA Local Bus. ISA, EISA, and Microchannel were replaced by PCI. VESA Local bus was primarily for video cards, which was replaced by PCI, then AGP slots. It was a fun time during these card slot transitions because many times you could not use the plug in cards from your old machine in your new computer or motherboard or if you did it could slow down the entire system. Well guess what, its time to do it all over again. Intel has come up with a new slot standard PCI Express, which will start to show up in computers/motherboards this spring. PCI came out in 1992. Today these slots and its data bus technology are used for things not envisioned when it was under development over 12 years ago. PCI has its limitations and the PCI pro slots never became popular. The limitations are coming to the forefront in delivering multimedia content and Gigabit Ethernet. Of course getting higher frame rates at higher resolution and quality for video games also is an issue. PCI has been evolving over time increasing its speed to five times the original, but it has reached its limits of development. Many say that stretching out the AGP to 8x speed might be pushing at its limit too. First let us look at the current PCI architecture you will find on most motherboards. The CPU/Microprocessor communicates with the first of two data bridges, normally referred to as the Memory Bridge or Northbridge. The Northbridge not only communicates with the CPU; but also communicates to the AGP port, which is where your main graphics card is (usually the only graphics card). It also communicates with your RAM. The fourth thing it communicates with is the second data bridge, known as the Input/Output (I/O) Bridge or Southbridge. The Southbridge also communicates to your plug in slots/cards, drive controllers, and USB, Fireware/1394, parallel. serial, game, keyboard and mouse ports. The theoretical speed limit of the Southbridge communication to I/O including the PCI slots is 133 MB/second. All of the communications in the system are parallel with none of the data having any priority over any other. Blocks of data have to be sent one at a time and cannot be done concurrently. Therefore the data is transferred from one section of the motherboard to the next section based on the order received, not the importance or whether a piece of data arriving by a certain time to its destination is critical. PCI Express, instead of using a parallel bus architecture, uses serial networking typology with only two wires for each direction. At higher speeds, it allows concurrent transfer of data while having a similar look and the same type of Northbridge/Southbridge architecture as currently in desktops and laptops. However, in servers the Southbridge is eliminated producing greater data throughput. The PCI slots initially have a 250 MB/second throughput, but the scalable width technology (increasing the number of wire pairs) enables slots and cards to communicate at 32 times that speed in later implementations using longer slots. But the typology can also use network switching type technology, giving data priority and quality of service functions. Hot plug/swap of components is a native part of the architecture. The PCI Express Graphics Port, replacing the AGP Port, will have a 4GB/second transfer rate in its initial configuration, double that of the current 8x AGP ports. For laptops units there will be a new plug-in card to replace PCMCIA called ExpressCard. It will come in two forms, one that more looks like a PCMCIA card refereed to at the 34 module form factor (34 x 75 x 5 mm) and a more oversized L looking card called the 54 module form factor (54 x 75 x 5 mm). This new architecture is compatible with existing operating systems. Also the new PCI Express slot is capable of being placed alongside current type PCI slots so a choice can be made which type of card can be used in a motherboard just like was done with ISA slots and current PCI slots. The standard PCI Express slots being put in motherboards this spring (1x) will be a lot shorter than the standard PCI slots. All of this will mean that a lot of issues having to do with multimedia on desktop and laptop computers will have been solved. It also opens wider use of Gigabit Ethernet on local area networks. It also enables the prospects of new motherboard form factors and computer case designs. As the transition from ISA to PCI was an interesting transition with computer buyers having to do more research and planning on their purchases, the move from PCI to PCI Express will do the same. However, as was with the previous transition, the performance and capability increases of computers will be profound. Further information on PCI Express can be found at www.express-lane.org. Timothy Everingham is CEO of Timothy Everingham Consulting in Azusa, California. He is also Vice Chair of the Los Angeles Chapter of ACM SIGGRAPHand is also on the Management Information Systems Program Advisory Board of California State University, Fullerton. In addition he is the Vice President of the Windows Media Users' Group of Los Angeles. He is also part-time press in the areas of high technology, computers, video, audio, and entertainment/media and has had articles published throughout the United States and Canada plus Australia, England, & Japan. Further information can be found at http://home.earthlink.net/~teveringham Digital Image Color Adjustment Color corrections: Photo too yellow: reduce yellow or increase blue. Photo too blue: reduce blue or increase yellow Photo too green: reduce green or increase magenta Photo too magenta: reduce magenta or increase green Photo too red: reduce red or increase cyan Photo too cyan: reduce cyan or increase red. Kodak http://www.kodak.com/global/en/digital/products/ by Brian K. Lewis, Ph.D. Occasionally the question arises as to how much memory can be put in a computer. The answer is “it depends”. It depends on just what you mean by memory (RAM or hard disk), what operating system you are using and the capabilities of your computer's motherboard and its chipset. When I talk about memory I am not referring to the permanent storage of programs and data on the hard disk. Rather, I refer to the random-access memory or RAM. This is the memory provided by memory chips seated in slots on the motherboard of today's computers. Anything stored in RAM disappears when the power is turned off, so it is referred to as volatile, or temporary, memory. If you want to upgrade the memory in your computer you have to be able to determine the memory type as well as the size, pins and speed, the number of slots available on your motherboard and the maximum amount of memory that your system can address. In general, this varies with the age of your computer. So let's look at these components in a little more detail. (Please note that although my remarks refer to Intel's Pentium series central processors, they also generally apply to the equivalent AMD processors.) Early Pentium based computers had a CPU bus speed of 66 MHz (megahertz) and a PCI I/O bus speed of 33 MHz. These values relate to the speed of data movement within the central processor and transmission to and from peripherals such as the memory bank. In some cases transfer to and from memory was at 50 MHz. Pentium computers generally had four slots which were arranged as two banks. This meant that memory had to be installed in units of two. The memory chips were 72 pin DRAM (dynamic RAM) or SIMM (single in-line memory modules) modules. Many of these computers could support four DRAM modules of 32 MB (megabytes) for a maximum of 128 MB of RAM. There were some motherboards built for Pentium 5 systems that had 2 or 3-168 bit DIMM slots in addition to the 72 pin slots. However, you could not use both the 72 pin and 168 pin slots, only one or the other. These systems would support either 128 or 256 MB of memory. However, at the time, many Pentium/Pentium II computers were sold with only 16 MB of RAM and Windows 95. Later, with Windows 98 the basic memory was 32 MB. In both cases, this is a less than optimum amount of memory for these operating systems. The first Pentium computers had a 32 bit address space which was theoretically capable of addressing 4 GB (gigabytes) of memory. However, none of the motherboards manufactured for these computers carried any such memory capacity. The next generation of computers carried faster CPUs and chipsets along with faster bus speeds. For example the Intel 440 series chipsets were capable of working with CPUs with speed of 233 - 333 MHz at a bus speed of 66 MHz or with 350-450 MHz processors at a bus speed of 100 MHz. These motherboards generally had 3- 168 pin slots and would support a maximum of 384 MB of RAM. As the address space of the CPU was increased to 36 bit, the maximum addressable memory was 64 GB. However, in practice some computers running Win98 would not recognize more than 256 or 384 MB of RAM. This problem has been ascribed to the chipset design and problem with the L-2 cache. So some caution is recommended if you intend to upgrade the memory in a Pentium II or older system With some of the Pentium III class computers there was an additional increment in bus speed to 133 MHz. The motherboards had 2 to 4 168-pin memory slots. The maximum usable memory of such systems ranges from 512 MB to 1 GB. These motherboards for this CPU class are generally able to use 100 - 133 MHz DIMMs. The 133 MHz DIMMS are capable of working at the 100 MHz speed. The Pentium 4 motherboards came with a whole new array of chipsets and memory chip types and speeds. The maximum memory now ranges up to 4 GB. Intel's initial Pentium 4 motherboards required the use of RDRAM or Rambus DRAM memory chips. RDRAM is a serial memory technology that arrived in three speeds, PC600, PC700, and PC800. RDRAM designs with multiple channels, such as those in Pentium 4 motherboards, are currently the fastest in memory throughput, especially when paired with the newer PC1066 RDRAM memory. A Rambus channel is 2-bytes wide, so we get a maximum 1.6GB/s transfer rate for a single RDRAM channel using PC800 RDRAM or 2.1GB/s for PC1066. The other form of memory chip is the double data rate DRAM. Intel and other manufacturers now have motherboards and chipsets that can utilize these memory modules. They are less expensive than the RDRAM. DDR memory modules are named after their peak bandwidth - the maximum amount of data they can deliver per second - rather than their clock rates. This is calculated by multiplying the amount of data a module can send at once (called the data path or bandwidth) by the speed of the front side bus (FSB). The bandwidth is measured in bits, and the FSB in MHz. Note that the RDRAM bandwidth is in bytes. One byte is equal to 8 bits. A PC1600 DDR memory module can deliver bandwidth of 1600Mbps. PC2100 (the DDR version of PC133 SDRAM) has a bandwidth of 2100Mbps. PC2700 modules use DDR333 chips to deliver 2700Mbps of bandwidth and PC3200-the fastest widely used form in late 2003 uses DDR400 chips to deliver 3200Mbps (3.2 Gbps) of bandwidth. You may see the term “dual channel” applied to memory. When properly used, the term refers to a DDR motherboard's chipset that's designed with two memory channels instead of one. The two channels handle memory-processing more efficiently by utilizing the theoretical bandwidth of the two modules, thus reducing system latencies, the timing delays that inherently occur with one memory module. For example, one controller reads and writes data while the second controller prepares for the next access, hence, eliminating the reset and setup delays that occur before one memory module can begin the read/write process all over again. Consider a model in which data is filled into a container (memory), which then directs the data to the CPU. Single channel memory would feed the data to the processor via a single pathway at a maximum rate of 64 bits at a time. Dual channel memory, on the other hand, utilizes two pathways, thereby having the capability to deliver data twice as fast or up to 128 bits at a time. The process works the same way when data is transferred from the processor by reversing the flow of data. A memory controller” chip is responsible for handling all data transfers involving the memory modules and the processor. This controls the flow of data through the pathways, preventing them from being overfilled with data. Now that you are totally confused by all this memory type and speed terminology, let's look at the next question. How much memory should you have in your computer? The answer is: probably as much as your motherboard and chipset can handle. For the newest motherboards, that may be excessive unless you are involved in digital video editing or graphic design. For most home users running WinXP or Win2K I would recommend 512MB up to 1GB. So why those figures? I have found that WinXP uses over 200 MB of RAM for its own files, if that much is available. So on a 256 MB system that leaves very little for other applications and data. The net result is a lot of swapping with the virtual memory space on the hard drive. That slows everything down. In WinXP the Windows Task Manager (bring up by pressing CTRL-ALT-DEL) shows your current performance and the amount of memory available in real time. With 512 MB and several programs running, I have over 300 MB of real RAM available. That greatly increases the responsiveness (speed) of the system as moving data to and from RAM is many times faster than using a hard disk. The Page File window shows you the virtual memory swapping your system is doing. At the moment, mine is zero. You can do similar analyses on Win98/WinMe systems. The System Monitor application that comes with Windows can supply this information. However, you may need to modify it to get the memory info you want. Go to Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools and select System Monitor. If this selection is not available on your menu, then you need to install the program from your original Windows disk or from \WindowsOptions\Cabs file. You do that from the Control Panel (Add/ Remove Software) and Windows Setup. Once you have the system monitor you can ADD memory information by clicking on Edit, then add item. Select Memory Manager. The individual items that will be the most helpful are: allocated memory, unused physical memory, page files in/ out, swap file in use or swappable memory. The kernel reading tells you how much of your CPU capacity is being used. Generally, Win98/WinME will do very well with 256 MB - 384 MB of RAM. You just have to be certain that your motherboard and chipset can support this much RAM. Most of the home computers I have worked on really don't have enough RAM for the most efficient operation. Does yours? Dr. Lewis is a former university & medical school professor. He has been working with personal computers for more than thirty years and is a member of the Sarasota Personal Computer Users Group, Inc., Florida. CTPC NEWSLETTER April 2004 A person needs only two tools in life: WD-40 and duct tape. If it doesn't move and it should, use WD-40. If it moves and it shouldn't, use the tape. FOR SALE: Viewsonic 17GA 17" monitor with speakers in bezel. Must see/hear this monitor to appreciate how wonderful it is. $100 or best offer. Paul, 484-7680 FOR SALE: Gateway 800C Desktop w/Monitor, 20GB Hard Drive plus Epson Stylus Color 777 printer. Less than one year old. Only $600 complete. Contact Frances in Fort Collins at (970) 224-0776. Members: Place your FREE ad here! About Trading Post k-Byte runs classified ads in Trading Post for three consecutive issues. Trading Post ads up to 10 lines (or 70 words) long are free to FRPCUG members: $5 for non-members. To place an ad in Trading Post contact Rick Mattingly at 223-2154 or email rmatt@jymis.com. Commercial Advertising Specifications (Monthly rate) Full Page (8 1/2” X 7”) $30 Half Page (3 1/4” X 7”) $20 One Third Page (3” X 4”) $15 Business Card (2 3/4” X 1 1/2”) $ 5 We offer a substantial discount for repeat ads and continuing contracts. For additional charge, we will design your ad for you. Contact Will Horton for information on this service at 223-2154 or email whorton@willsigns.com. |