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Front Range PC Users Group Newsletter k-Byte |
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| v. 23, n. 1/2 January/February 2006 | Users Helping Users |
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Contents 1 The Shadow Knows - Mike Morris 2 About k-Byte 6 Backup Blues 6 Wi-Fi Limitations 8 In Memoriam 8 Tip of the Month 8 Add Rootkit to Your Vocabulary 10 Now the Legalese Rootkit 11 Computer in a Smart House 13 Clear Reading With ClearType 14 Calendar of Events 16 February/March Calendars 18 Membership Application 19 Tech News 21 Software and Website Reviews 29 FRPCUG Election Results 30 Trading Post 31 FRPCUG Contacts Edward R. Murrow (1958) The Shadow Knows by Mike Morris Front Range PC Users Group How many readers remember that phrase? Or remember listening to the show on the radio: "Who knows what evil lurks in the heart of men? The Shadow knows." Recent headlines have announced the availability of TV shows on the internet-at a price. No headlines, however, for The Shadow or other radio programs from the 1930's and 1940's. The copyrights to a large number of the old radio shows have expired, and the shows are available over the internet. You can download (or order) these programs in a variety of formats and listen to them through your computer or other audio equipment. Whether your interest is historical research, for the nostalgia value, for a hobby, or for the simple entertainment value, the variety of programs and information about these old radio programs is astonishing. I originally searched the internet using Google and the phrase "old radio programs." That search returned over 20,000 hits over 6 months. The correct phrase should have been "old time radio." That search returned over 1 million hits from the past 6 months. These websites provide an incredible wealth of information. I have checked a very small number of websites, and offer my comments on them. There are episodes of The Shadow, Sam Spade, The Thin Man-as you can see, I like mysteries. There are comedies, westerns, music, and much more. By the way, how many readers remember the origin of Sam Spade? Do you recall the movie "The Maltese Falcon" with Humphrey Bogart? The movie was based on the novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett (originally published in 1929), which introduced the world to Sam Spade. Another novel by the same author, "The Thin Man," (originally published in 1933) was turned into a move starring William Powell and Myrna Loy. Here is a trivia question for you: who really was the Thin Man?-answer at the end of this article. As you might expect, the audio quality of these old radio shows varies. Some websites allow you to listen to short samples of selected shows using either RealPlayerT or Media Player, both of which are bundled with the Windows operating system. "It is Thursday night, July 31,1930. The time is 9:40 PM. Radio listeners tuned to CBS hear the first appearance of "The Shadow" . . . ." Thus begins the history of "The Shadow" as provided by the Old-Time Radio Program Guide: http://www.old-time.com/toc.html. This website has links to historical information on a number of old time radio programs and to other websites that include soundbites and stories, and to websites that offer programs on cassettes, CD's, DVD's, or direct downloads to your computer. More history is available at Radio Days: A Soundbite of History: http://otr.com/index.shtml. There are links to history by category (Mystery, Private Eyes, Comedy, SciFi) and to histories of selected programs (Captain Midnight, Terry and the Pirates). This website also provides an historical timeline with important dates in radio broadcasting with descriptions of relevant programs. Selected downloads (soundbites) are included. There is a link to a schedule of old time radio on the airwaves (and on the internet). At "It Seems Like Only Yesterday:" http://www.yesterdayradio.com/, old radio programs are offered for sale on cassettes. Categories include: World War II and Civil War History, Big Band Music, Comedy, Westerns, Science Fiction, and Sherlock Holmes. The Big Band category includes Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, and other broadcasts from the 1940's. The "Radio of Yesteryear" website: http://www.originaloldradio.com/, claims to have 50,000 old time radio programs available on CD's, in various formats. There is a category called "Radio's Best 1000," and "single subject" CD's such as Abbott and Costello, CBS Radio Mystery Theatre, and many more. Meanwhile, back at . . . old-time.com, there is a link to a website called "Radio Showcase:" http://www.old-time.com/sponsors/rad_sho.html. This site offers an excellent searchable database, with "actor credits, recording sources, story categories, and program notes . . . ." Here is a sample of a search:  Here is a sample of the results of the search:  In the interest of objectivity, I call your attention to the RadioLovers.com website: http://radiolovers.com. This site claims to offer individual old time radio program downloads. However, I did not pursue the offer. I found the site's use of pop up ads objectionable (the ads appeared despite having the pop up blocker enabled in my Firefox browser). But that is my personal prejudice. For those with greater tolerance to such ads, you may find this site useful. As I listened to these old radio programs, and read about their history, I realized that there was one program that I wanted to locate above all others: the original radio broadcast of War of the Worlds. This program, created from the 1898 H. G. Wells novel by Orson Welles and broadcast in 1938, is famous (or infamous) for the real panic it created. A search using Google on the phrase "war of the worlds" provided the result EarthStation1.com: http://www.earthstation1.com/wotw.html. Success! I listened to the entire program (slightly less than one hour) using RealPlayerT. My brain soaked up certain phrases: ". . . these creatures have scientific knowledge far in excess of our own . . . ." ". . . a vanguard of an invading army from Mars . . . ." Okay, so point your finger at me and laugh, while you enjoy the latest movie version with its extraordinary computer generated special effects. I thoroughly enjoyed the hour I spent listening to this classic radio broadcast. Even the 1930's audio quality added to its menace. While you are watching the movie, I am going to dim the lights, turn off the TV, unplug the phone, and settle into my favorite chair. It is time to listen to The Shadow. Even in the 21st century, it is comforting that there is an answer to the question "who knows what evil lurks in the heart of men? The Shadow knows." [The trivia question answer: No, it is not the detective Nick Charles. The title of Thin Man belongs to the extremely eccentric inventor Clyde Wynant, who remains missing until the last chapter of the novel, when it is revealed that he is the victim of a gruesome crime.] 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 ©2006 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, Windows, or UNIX/LINUX 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. Yesterday, All those backups seemed a waste of pay. Now my database has gone away. Oh, I believe in yesterday. Suddenly, Not half the files there used to be, And there's a millstone hanging over me The system crashed so suddenly. I pushed something wrong What it was I could not say Now my data's gone And I long for yesterday Yesterday, The need for backups seemed so far away. I knew my data was all here to stay. Now I believe in yesterday. [Located on the Lehigh Valley Computer Users Group website Dec 2005, with credit given there to the Newsletter of the Middle Peninsula Computer Users Group of Hayes, VA] by Bill Pryor Lehigh Valley Computer Users Group, www.lvcg.org/index.html People love Wi-Fi access to the Internet. More and more, they are using the wireless connection technology at cafes, in airport lounges and at home. Wi-Fi seems irresistible because it makes the Internet accessible anywhere, at anytime. It provides fast communications links that allow e-mail messages to appear almost instantly and Web pages to download quickly with all the mobility and freedom that has made cell phones nearly ubiquitous. But the very popularity of Wi-Fi also brings problems. As Wi-Fi networks become more and more heavily used, they may be unable to handle the increased traffic, causing clients' devices to become bogged down with slow service and long delays. Even when the Wi-Fi is working properly, the wireless access is not as swift as that provided by high-speed wired connections to the Internet, such as digital subscriber line (DSL) or cable modem links, for example. Wireless LANs are subject to problems because the technology relies on radio, which has a number of inherent drawbacks. Radio signals cannot hope to match the transmission speeds of copper wires or fiberoptic cables. Nor can Wi-Fi, or other wireless technologies that rely on radio, supply the same degree of security; the transmissions can be intercepted by nearby radio receivers. Wi-Fi networks are comprised of Wi-Fi-equipped mobile computers (laptops or handhelds), as well as access points (APs). APs are base stations that communicate by radio and by wire with both mobile systems and the networks that ultimately provide entree to the Internet. Each AP can send and receive signals within a limited range, typically 50 to 150 feet inside a building. Wi-Fi networks were originally called wireless LANs. Since Wi-Fi relies on radio transmission, it has its own specific operational drawbacks. A signal received by a client or an AP can be degraded in various ways: A wireless transmission is attenuated-that is, weakened by distance even when there are no obstructions (which can cause additional reductions in radio signal strength). A radio wave can suffer multipath distortion by reflecting off walls and building structures, furniture, equipment or other objects nearby. Signals may then follow multiple paths from transmitter to receiver, which causes numerous copies of the same transmission to arrive at the receiver, each at a slightly different time. The delayed duplicates can corrupt the direct (line-of-sight) signal, creating reception problems. A third kind of signal degradation results from interference and noise effects. Interference is generated by conflicting radio transmissions which also includes more than one Wi-Fi enabled computer trying to communicate with the same access point. One common source of Wi-Fi network interference is the microwave oven, which can release stray radio signals. Fortunately, modern microwave ovens are well shielded to keep these emissions to a minimum. Radio noise occurs in nature but also comes from man-made sources such as electrical machinery, automobile engines and fluorescent lighting. Whereas wired Ethernet networks provide service at speeds from 100 to 1,000 megabits per second (Mbps), many wireless LANs employ the IEEE 802.11b standard and so operate at rates up to 11 Mbps. Newer IEEE 802.11a and 802.11g equipment can run at speeds up to 54 Mbps-still a bit sluggish compared with Ethernet operations. A soon-to-be-introduced version of IEEE 802.11 will allow communications as fast as 108 Mbps, however. These numbers in fact overstate Wi-Fi transmission rates. Wi-Fi automatically drops from the maximum speed (11 or 54 Mbps) to a lower rate to cope with radio signal attenuation, multipath, interference and noise conditions. Hence, an IEEE 802.11b link may step down from a data rate of 11 Mbps to 5.5, 2 or even 1 Mbps. In addition, overhead bits for error correction-extra digital bits that are added to each transmission to control network operation and reduce errors-further reduce the effective data rate. Wireless (Wi-Fi) is continually being improved and is certainly a fabulous way to access the Internet at home or away from home, and is continually being updated and improved to approach the theoretical speed of a wired network. So the next time you are at Starbucks sipping coffee why not enjoy your Wi-Fi Internet connection? The members of the Front Range PC Users Group offer their condolences to the families of Hugh McFadden and Doyle Selix. Doyle passed away in August, Hugh in December. by Bill Sheff Lehigh Valley Computer Users Group [Ed. note: this information extracted from a longer article] There is a website designed to help those who are new computer users learn the keyboard. That website is: http://www.internet4classrooms.com/winkeyboard.htm Experienced users may also find it helpful for three reasons: The information provided on function keys; The information provided on keyboard shortcuts; The links to "extensive list of keyboard shortcuts" for both Microsoft Word and Excel. "Extensive" does not properly describe what is available through these links. The list of shortcuts for Word is over six pages long. There are more shortcuts than any one person will ever use in a lifetime. The links to the shortcuts are located at the bottom of a long web page. To find them, scroll way down to the bottom of the page. Champaign-Urbana Computer Users Group, www.cucug.org [Ed. note: adapted from an unattributed article in the Status Register, the newsletter of the Chanpaign-Urbana Computer Users Group] First, a quick review of definitions: A virus is a self-replicating program that spreads by inserting copies of itself into other executable code or documents. A worm is a self-replicating computer program, similar to a virus. A virus attaches itself to, and becomes part of, another executable program; however, a worm is self-contained and does not need to be part of another program to propagate itself. The main difference between a virus and a worm is that a virus can not propagate by itself whereas worms can. A Trojan is a malicious program that is disguised as legitimate software. Trojans cannot replicate themselves, in contrast to some other types of malware. A Trojan can be deliberately attached to otherwise useful software or it can be spread by tricking users intobelieving that it is a useful program. Spyware is software that collects and transmits user specific behavior and information, with or without permission. Adware is software that generates advertisements such as pop-up windows or hotlinks on Web pages that are not part of a page's code. Adware may add links to your favorites and your desktop. It will often change your home page and your search engine to sites that earn income from various advertisers. Malware is software that damages your system, causes instability, or exhibits antisocial behavior such as changing settings or interfering with a computer's registry and security settings. The definition of Rootkit: Rootkit is used to describe the mechanisms and techniques whereby malware, including viruses, spyware, and trojans, attempt to hide their presence from spyware blockers, antivirus, and system management utilities. There are several rootkit classifications: Memory-based rookits are malware that has no persistent code and therefore does not survive a reboot. User-mode rootkit might intercept all calls to the Windows FindFirstFile/FindNextFile APIs, which are used by the file system. Kernel-mode rootkits can be even more powerful since, not only can they intercept the native API in kernel-mode, but they can also directly manipulate kernel-mode data structures. A persistent rootkit is one associated with malware that activates each time the system boots. by Fred von Lohmann Champaign-Urbana Computer Users Group If you thought XCP "rootkit" copy-protection on Sony-BMG CDs was bad, perhaps you'd better read the 3,000 word (!) end-user license agreement (aka "EULA") that comes with all these CDs. First, a baseline. When you buy a regular CD, you own it. You do not "license" it. You own it outright. You're allowed to do anything with it you like, so long as you don't violate one of the exclusive rights reserved to the copyright owner. So you can play the CD at your next dinner party (copyright owners get no rights over private performances), you can loan it to a friend (thanks to the "first sale" doctrine), or make a copy for use on your iPod (thanks to "fair use"). Every use that falls outside the limited exclusive rights of the copyright owner belongs to you, the owner of the CD. Now compare that baseline with the world according to the Sony-BMG EULA, which applies to any digital copies you make of the music on the CD: If your house gets burgled, you have to delete all your music from your laptop when you get home. That's because the EULA says that your rights to any copies terminate as soon as you no longer possess the original CD. You can't keep your music on any computers at work. The EULA only gives you the right to put copies on a "personal home computer system owned by you." If you move out of the country, you have to delete all your music. The EULA specifically forbids "export" outside the country where you reside. You must install any and all updates, or else lose the music on your computer. The EULA immediately terminates if you fail to install any update. No more holding out on those hobble-ware downgrades masquerading as updates. Sony-BMG can install and use backdoors in the copy protection software or media player to "enforce their rights" against you, at any time, without notice. And Sony-BMG disclaims any liability if this "self help" crashes your computer, exposes you to security risks, or any other harm. The EULA says Sony-BMG will never be liable to you for more than $5.00. That's right, no matter what happens, you can't even get back what you paid for the CD. If you file for bankruptcy, you have to delete all the music on your computer. Seriously. You have no right to transfer the music on your computer, even along with the original CD. Forget about using the music as a soundtrack for your latest family photo slideshow, or mash-ups, or sampling. The EULA forbids changing, altering, or make derivative works from the music on your computer. So this is what Sony-BMG thinks we should be allowed to do with the music on the CDs that we purchase from them? No word yet about whether Sony-BMG will be offering a "patch" for this legalese rootkit. I'm not holding my breath. Linda Soloski, Greater Tampa Bay PC User Group I got this from a friend who just moved to North Carolina. Her husband is being deployed to Iraq: Hello, everyone! It is so good to return to the land of the living. We've had quite an adjustment getting ourselves here to North Carolina, electronically speaking. The saga began in Brandon [Florida], when - for some unknown reason - Verizon decided to disconnect our service four days early. Repeated attempts to get back online failed, as did numerous attempts to retrieve all my lost email correspondences (which I had not yet saved) and all of my email contacts. Charlotte, my DAR friend, actually located your address on a scrap slip of paper stuck between the kid's medical record and the telephone book! So, please, if you have a mass email from me with numerous addresses, forward it to this new address, as I am trying to compile a list from scratch. Did I mention that no one at Verizon seemed to know that one could actually store email addresses in their "Address" box? Interesting. Finally, with much ado and nothing to show for it, we get to North Carolina. We bought our house in a nice little rural neighborhood with quiet streets, so quiet in fact, that apparently the cable company had no idea we existed. For three weeks, I called back and forth trying to get someone to acknowledge that we are here and we do indeed exist. On the third week without internet access, I have completed my 12-step compulsive-computer-user-withdrawal program and the pangs have started to subside when the cable guy stops by to say we do, indeed, exist and our lines, as I've repeatedly shouted, are running all through the house. Did I mention we purchased a "smart" house? Yep. It's so sophisticated that you can turn electronics on from any phone or internet extension anywhere in the world. (Too bad we can't get internet, huh?) The entire house is hard-wired with wireless internet, surround sound, security systems, the works! Then we move to step two. The "other" cable (not the one that says you exist, a different one) has to come by and actually stick the cables together and connect them to their box. Another nine days go by and the drool and shaky hands are back. It's so hard to be addicted to technology. I'm telling you, the guy seemed to have a glow all around when he approached the door and I thought I heard the faint sound of harps playing. Now I wish I could say I'm exaggerating, but seven hours, yeah, SEVEN HOURS later, he still can't get the lines hooked up. Apparently our "smart" house is smarter than our cable guy. He leaves, then returns, then calls the home office, then another cable guy. At 7 p.m., my husband comes home and dismisses the guy in lieu of going to dinner and asks him to come back the next day. "Sure" the guy says. Of course, the next day, no one shows. After several calls we're told only the home office can schedule and the next available slot is five days from now. A familiar pang hits my gut like an alcoholic at a night club. We press on and five days later, not one, not two, but THREE cable guys show up. In 15 minutes, we're up and running. Internet, email, the works! HALLELUJAH! So you think now we are we up and running? Nah. Once again, our "Smart" house has outsmarted us. Our 21st century top-of-the-line electronic package left us without a connection in the dog-gone office! (`Cause no one wants a computer in the office, right?) I'm off to Best Buy for a wireless router to network with our smart house. Installation, as is always the case, was a blast! I never realized I had a drinking problem. That night, before I've had a chance to surf even the first Website, we have a terrible electrical storm. No problem, we've got the monster surge protector, we'll be fine. You guessed it! No power. The next day, no computer, either. I wish I could say I am joking. Two trips to Best Buy's "Geek Squad" and I'm told I have no - let me repeat that - NO HARD DRIVE. They try rescuing it, but, as is par for this course, there is just no saving it. I take a week off to lick my wounds and try to heal then run out and buy a new laptop. Now I have a nice new computer that is completely useless until I fill it up with all of the software I lost. Did I mention I HATE electronics? I've lost all my family tree stuff, all my World War II information, all the stuff on book publishers for the family history, the Daughters of the American Revolution stuff, everything. I would appreciate anything that any of you may have that could help me rebuild. And yes, I'm putting it all on CD this time so as not to lose it. As for my internet days, I'd like to say I'm cured. But like a bad addition, I find myself inexplicably drawn to the blue-gray glow of the computer screen and the hum of a hard drive kicking in is like the melodic sirens off the coast of tiny islands, drawing unsuspecting sailors toward their doom. At least for that brief period, when everything works according to plan, I may be able to reach that euphoric nirvana of a captain sinking with his ship, knowing he's going down doing what he loves. by Vinny La Bash, vlabash@home.com Member of the Sarasota Personal Computer Users Group, Inc. My students know why LCD displays are superior to CRT monitors. When one of them complained to me that he found text difficult to read on his new 21 inch LCD Monitor, I told him it was probably because the screen resolution made the text too small to read easily. He didn't think so because his teen age granddaughter also thought the text wasn't clear. His comment made me think. Flat panel LCD Monitors are designed to display information at a specific resolution known as the "native resolution". Manufacturers refer to them as "fixed-pixel displays" because they are limited to displaying only one resolution. If they receive an image signal that is either higher or lower than the native resolution, they convert or scale the image automatically to fit the native resolution. If the incoming source has more pixels than the display's native resolution, you will lose some visible detail and sharpness. Very often you will need to carefully compare the images side by side to see any difference. Only the most exacting applications will suffer from this small constraint. If the incoming source has fewer pixels than the native resolution, there is no benefit from the higher resolution. Extra pixels will not improve the appearance of a lower-resolution source. Converting images from either a higher or lower resolution to the LCD's native resolution hardly affects the quality of graphic or video images, but it can make text appear blurry. Early LCD displays had no ready solution for this problem. All one could do was experiment with various font styles and sizes until an acceptable compromise was reached. Microsoft didn't want to keep its customers waiting while it found an answer so it licensed TrueType fonts from Apple. The advantage of TrueType fonts was that text could be made larger or smaller with little distortion. Text became easier to read, and Microsoft made some improvements to the technology, but TrueType proved to be an interim response. While Microsoft was working on Windows XP, it was also developing a new software technology designed to enhance text readability on flat panel LCD monitors, laptops, PDAs, Pocket PCs, indeed any device that used an LCD screen, no matter how big or small. Microsoft claims that its development people spent two years studying typography and the psychology of reading to create ClearType. Instead of affecting individual pixels which are either treated as "on" or "off", ClearType works with a different type of pixel that is constructed of three individual pieces tinted with red, blue, and green stripes. The technology varies the brightness of the sub-pixels, making the screen characters appear smooth, clean, and sharp around the edges. Now that you know what it is, how can you use it? You have three ways to turn on or "enable" ClearType for your LCD display. Let's start with the easiest way. Go to http://www.microsoft.com/typography/cleartype/tuner/Step1.aspx Follow the online directions to enable ClearType on your system. Another way is to download the PowerToy version of the online tuner. This lets you do the same thing that the above procedure does, but you do it by accessing the Control Panel and activating the ClearType settings from there. Go to http://www.microsoft.com/typography/ClearTypePowerToy.mspx Follow the online directions to download, install, and use. It's easy. Finally, for the propeller heads and bit twiddlers in the audience, you can access the Registry. To enable ClearType for all users of your system: From the Start button, select Run and type Regedit in the Text box. (As if you didn't know). Navigate to HKEY_USERS/.DEFAULT/Control Panel/Desktop. Create or Modify the Data Type and Value Name as detailed below. Data Type: String Value Value Name: FontSmoothing Setting for Value Data: [Set Value to 2] Data Type: Dword Value Name: FontSmoothingType Setting for Value Data: [Change Value to 2] Exit Registry and Reboot Enabling ClearType only for the current user instead of all users is identical to the above procedure except that instead of HKEY_USERS, work with HKEY_CURRENT_USER instead. When you're finished, check the Desktop and examine the icon titles. Open the Start menu while you're at it and observe the readability of the text. You may find the text too small to read even though it is sharp and clear. If this is the case: Right click on the Desktop Choose Properties from the popup menu. Click the Appearance tab. Click the Advanced button and make changes there. Decide which technique is best for you, and enjoy text that is clear, crisp and sharp. - IMPORTANT NOTICE - FRPCUG meetings are held at the Fort Collins Senior Center. Check below for directions to the Senior Center. February General Forum Meeting We will meet at the Fort Collins Senior Center on Tuesday, February 7 at 7:00 pm. Meeting Agenda 7:00 - 7:15 Announcements 7:15 - 8:00 Open Forum 8:00 - 8:15 Break 8:15 - 9:00 Freeware Review March General Forum Meeting We will meet at the Fort Collins Senior Center on Tuesday, March 7 at 7:00 pm. Meeting Agenda 7:00 - 7:15 Announcements 7:15 - 8:00 Open Forum 8:00 - 8:15 Break 8:15 - 9:00 What's New in Printers 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 in the Staff Board Room of the Fort Collins Senior Center. 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 Bluebird Manufacturing Inc., 1421 Webster Avenue, in Fort Collins. For more information contact Chuck McJilton at 493-2987 or email telecomsig@jymis.com. 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/. 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. 7 FRPCUG General Forum Meeting 7:00 PM 15 FRPCUG Board Meeting 7:00 PM 16 New Technology SIG 7:00 PM March 2006 7 FRPCUG General Forum Meeting 7:00 PM 15 FRPCUG Board Meeting 7:00 PM 16 New Technology SIG 7:00 PM by Sue Crane, Vice President & Editor, Big Bear Computer Club Sue.crane@charter.net SP3 for Win XP Microsoft has confirmed that there will be a 3rd service pack for Windows XP. They declined to release further details, but said that Windows XP SP 3 will be available after Windows Vista ships, scheduled for the end of 2006. Microsoft released the most recent Windows XP service pack, SP2, in August 2004. The service pack was one of the most significant updates to the Windows OS that Microsoft ever produced, and it included features to make Windows more secure. Microsoft Employee Warns Against Downloading From Unofficial Site A Microsoft employee has warned against downloading an unauthorized version of Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) that has surfaced on Hotfix.net, a popular Web site that provides software patches. The employee told users that downloading an unofficial version of Windows XP SP3 provided on The Hotfix.net would likely harm their computer and put them "out of support" from Microsoft because it is not an official Microsoft package. Each of these hotfixes can be obtained for free from Microsoft by calling their support lines, the employee said. SP3 will be released after Windows Vista ships next year. Robotic Cars Make History The Stanford Racing Team's robotic car, "Stanley," drove autonomously across 131.6 miles in the Mojave Desert in six hours and 53 minutes, finishing about 11 minutes faster than Carnegie Mellon's "Sandstorm." All of the teams made history during the weekend. They were the first autonomous vehicles to travel far within a specific time frame, as well as the first to finish the 2-year-old race (last year no one finished at all). A DARPA spokesman said this likely means the end of the Grand Challenge. DARPA is now hoping to see the technology take-off. Real ID Act The Real ID Act lays out minimum national standards for licenses, which will have to include a digital photo, anti-counterfeiting features and machine-readable technology. States will have to verify all documents presented to support license applications, such as birth certificates, Social Security cards and utility bills, with the issuing agency, and will be required to link their license databases so they can all be accessed as a single network. States will also be required to verify that a person applying for a license is in the country legally. Another Real ID Act requirement is that a person's license and Social Security card must bear the same name-not a nickname or shortened version. HP Recalls Laptop Batteries HP has recalled around 135,000 lithium ion rechargeable battery packs worldwide after several melted or charred the plastic cases of laptops. The battery is used with the HP Pavilion, Compaq Presario, HP Compaq and Compaq Evo laptops, company spokesperson, Mike Hockey, said. The company received 16 reports of batteries overheating, with four cases of damage to the laptops. No injuries have been reported. Consumers can verify if they have the faulty battery pack by going to www.hp.com/support/batteryreplacement. New Intel Technology Could Shorten PC Boot Up Time With Robson, a PC pulls data and applications off an add-in flash memory card and Intel software, rather than the PC's hard drive. Potentially, notebook users could experience a longer battery life because the hard drive wouldn't have to work as hard. Intel did not provide exact boot-up time comparisons, but a representative said Robson will cut the amount of time it takes from when you hit the "on" button to when the PC can operate, the time it takes to go from a sleep state to an active state, and the time it takes to launch an application. Some Camera Models Have Defective Sensors Several major camera makers have announced plans to replace faulty CCD sensors in digital cameras and camcorders. CCD sensors capture images. As a result of the defect, images are distorted or nonexistent. The CCDs were manufactured between October 2002 and March 2004. Konica Minolta, Canon, Fujifilm and Nikon have sold models that are affected by the problem. More information can be found on their respective sites: http://www.fujifilm.com/JSP/fuji/epartners/ServiceSupportHome.jsp; http://www.nikonusa.com/email_images/nikonusa/service_advisory. Chip-Enabled Soccer Ball Engineers working on a chip-enabled soccer ball are optimistic about the technology being used at the FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) World Cup soccer tournament in Germany next year. FIFA has shown interest in the technology-largely to help referees make crucial goal-line calls-but has yet to make a final decision. The radio-based tracking system could also be used to determine whether a ball has gone out of bounds, to compile statistics about individual players, and more. by Herb Goldstein, Review Editor Sarasota PC Users Group www.spcug.org/ [Ed. Note: the following information extracted from a longer article] BARGAINS! BARGAINS! It's no secret that regardless of what you are looking to buy, chances are you can buy it for less on the internet. We all have our favorite shopping sites, but PC World recently did a head to head comparison and found the 3 best sites price-wise are (in order of best prices) pricerunner.com, pricegrabber.com, and shopping.yahoo.com. From personal experience, I prefer pricegrabber.com and bizrate.com. Enjoy your shopping! PATCH TUESDAYS. Microsoft regularly updates and patches Windows via Windows Update Manager. It can be set to run automatically via control panel security if you do not already have it so configured. Actually, it is the safest and easiest way to be certain you get all your updates as they are released. Your indication of automatic updates is the little red shield sitting in you system tray that indicates automatic updates as you pass your pointer over it. Some people, myself included, do not have automatic updates running continuously since it is yet another item using available memory. If you are among those, you need to be certain to check the Microsoft Windows update site at least every Tuesday. That's when Microsoft posts its regular updates if any have been released. The Windows update site is available in your start menu. Where do you find it if it's not there? Google, of course, like everything else! AVOID USER LOGON PASSWORD. For most people, the home computer is not a big security concern. The only people that use the computer are family members, and they are probably not going to do anything malicious to your computer (at least not intentionally). In light of this, most home computers do not require a password to get into the Windows XP operating system. If your computer has just one user account and you don't want to enter a password to get into it, you might as well completely eliminate that step. Here's how. Click Start - Run, and then type this in the field: control userpasswords2 and click Ok. Find the option that says "Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer" and uncheck the box next to it. Click Ok. Now, restart the computer. You will see that it goes straight to the desktop, without requiring any clicks from you. GHOSTSURF CAUTION. Recently I recommended GhostSurf as the application of choice to hide your IP address and surf anonymously. It is till the best app I have seen to reliably do the job. It does present a problem, however, in that you can't get to certain web sites or run some update URL's because they reject you as unseen. If you have a problem reaching certain sites or running some apps that need web access, you might try temporarily shutting GhostSurf down. WHICH FIREWALL? Windows and a variety of antivirus apps, etc. offer you their own firewall, some better and some worse. Our advice is to pass them all by and use the best of the lot, ZoneAlarm (free version). WINDOWS DEFENDER will replace and contain substantial changes to the Windows AntiSpyware beta version. In addition to the spyware detection and removal technologies, Windows Defender will include other malware detection and removal features and will run as a service, giving it lower-level access to the OS. It will provide visibility and control, as well as protection, detection, and removal from other potentially unwanted software, including root kits, keystroke loggers, and more. A version of Windows Defender will be included in Windows Vista (due in late 2006), and Microsoft says that it continues to plan for a free Windows Defender version that will be made available to Windows XP users. ALL-IN-ONE SECRETMAKER is free and combines several tools: Security Watchdog, Intruder Blocker, Spam Fighter, Pop-up Blocker, Banner Blocker, Movie Blocker, Privacy Protector, History Cleaners, Worm Hunter, and Cookie Eraser. Security Watchdog recognizes malicious "mysteryware" and parasites that may assault your computer. Intruder Blocker can protect you from spyware, trackware, and viruses. Spam Fighter rates spam and works with any POP3 e-mail client, and the automated whitelist keeps preferred contacts up-to-date. Banner Blocker reduces advertising banners, and Movie Blocker blocks Flash ads. Pop-up Blocker stops unwanted pop-ups, and Privacy Protector hides your identity while you surf. Cookie Eraser circumvents profiling. History Cleaner clears needless files, logs, and tracks. Various whitelists allow user-specific optimizations. http://www.secretmaker.com. AVG ANTIVIRUS FREE EDITION is the well-known antivirus protection tool. AVG Free is available free of charge to home users for the life of the product. Rapid virus database updates are available for the lifetime of the product, thereby providing the high level of detection capability that millions of users around the world trust to protect their computers. AVG Free is easy to use and will not slow your system down (low system resource requirements). Highlights include automatic update functionality, the AVG Resident Shield, which provides real-time protection as files are opened and programs are run, free Virus Database Updates for the lifetime of the product, and AVG Virus Vault for safe handling of infected files. http://free.grisoft.com SMARTFTP allows you to transfer files across the Internet. It features an Explorer-like, customizable interface and supports drag-and-drop functions. Multiple FTP connections can be opened at the same time, and you can copy files from one remote host to another (FXP). Remote-host directory information is cached for future viewing, and FTP URLs are supported. Other features include a Favorites list; the ability to resume broken downloads; a global history; background transfers; proxy support; a passive transfer mode; and the ability to perform recursive downloads, uploads, and deletes. Version 1.5.990.26 may include unspecified updates, enhancements, or bug fixes. http://www.smartftp.com ICQ PRO 2003b is the latest release of ICQ, the instant-messaging program that lets you communicate with friends and colleagues in real time. To seek out a friend on the ICQ network, simply enter his or her ICQ number, name, nickname, or e-mail address. Once your contact list is set up, you'll be notified when your friends are online so you can chat; send instant messages, files, and URLs; play games; or just hang out. ICQ Pro 2003b includes ICQphone, a feature that incorporates IP telephony functions into the ICQ program. Users can initiate and participate in PC-to-PC and PC-to-phone calls. In addition, users can also utilize SMS technology, send wireless-pager messages, view up-to-date information on ICQ channels, and integrate ICQ with Outlook. With the latest version of ICQ, you can move instantly from the Pro to Lite versions just by clicking "Switch to ICQ lite" from the Main menu, and the shared ICQ preferences and password make it easy to move between Lite and Pro versions without losing your settings. Other new features include improved e-mail integration and user interface, enhanced integration with Windows XP, automatic firewall detection, and the new Search Google window which allows you instant access to Google searches through the ICQ interface, plus much more. For a complete list of new features, visit the ICQ New Features page. http://www.icq.com ARES GOLD. Search for and download MP3s, movies, and media files on major P2P networks. Ares Gold is a file-sharing program that builds on the latest P2P technology to offer a unique and exciting user experience. Ares Gold completely eliminates the performance problems that have plagued other P2P networks like Kazaa, LimeWire, and Ares Galaxy. Within seconds, Ares Gold brings up thousands of audio, video, image, software, and media files, which can be downloaded from multiple sources and managed in a media library. The built-in theater also allows you to enjoy your music and movie files. Version 1.85 filters out fake MP3 files and adds several options for tweaking performance. http://www.aresgold.com ASTERISK KEY reveals passwords that are hidden under asterisks. Unlike many others, this program works both with password dialog boxes and web page login forms. Asterisk Key is easy to use, just press a button, while the dialog or web page is open and it will detect and reveal all masked passwords. http://www.lostpassword.com/asterisk.htm EASEUS DISK COPY enables you to create an exact copy/clone of your internal hard drive, by copying the data from one drive to the other, including all operating system settings, programs, data etc. This is useful when you are upgrading or replacing your hard drive as it eliminates the need to reinstall Windows and all your programs. The program runs from a boot floppy and includes a wizard that will create the floppy disk for you. In order for EaseUs Disk Copy to work, the new hard drive must already be installed (external USB or Firewire drives are not supported) and configured as a Secondary Master-this may require you to change Bios settings. Documentation does not come included but is offered from the web site. http://www.easeus.com/ COFFEECUP PRIVACY CLEANER allows you to clean your Internet and computer usage history, either on demand or automatically. The cleaning options include cookie management, history, visited websites, typed URLs, Temp folders and more. You can optionally run the program in stealth mode and on a regular schedule, and it also provides an option to securely erase the files rather than using the conventional delete method. Additional features include IE Home Page protection, Boss Key, and more. It offers support for Internet Explorer, Opera and Netscape browser. http://www.coffeecup.com/privacy-cleaner/ FOXIT PDF READER is an alternative to Adobe Reader, that allows you to view and print PDF files. Unlike Adobe Reader, it opens PDF files very fast, without any delay. It supports all the standard features, browser integration, and also select/copy of text from the documents. http://www.foxitsoftware.com/ CRYPTOEXPERT 2005 LITE allows you to create a virtual drive and use it to securely store documents, images or any other files. The content of the secure container acts and looks just like any other drive, however it is encrypted on-the-fly and only accessible if the user has logged in. Additional features include integrated emailing of files, secure file deletion, auto or hotkey dismount and more. The program uses 128-bit CAST encryption, and the free version is limited to a 20mb container size, you can create multiple containers, each up to 20 mb. http://www.secureaction.com/cryptoexpert/lite/index2.shtml APO USB AUTORUN enables you to add autorun functionality to your USB drive. It automatically searches for the standard autorun.inf (as used with CDs) and executes it. This simple, but very handy functionality allows you to create an autorun menu in the same way you would for a CD and use it with your USB drive, or launch playlists, html pages and any other type of file as soon as the USB drive is inserted. In addition to the autorun functionality, the program also allows you to quickly access the files on the USB drive(s) from the tray icon menu. http://www.archidune.com/apo ENCRYPTONCLICK is a simple encryption/decryption tool, that uses military grade 256-bit AES encryption which is fully compatible with WinZip 9. It encrypts selected files or folders and compresses them at the same time. The encrypted file can be decrypted by EncryptOnClick, as well as anyone that uses WinZip 9 and has the proper password. http://www.2brightsparks.com/ WINGUARD PRO 2006 can password protect your programs, windows and web pages in one easy to use program! What's more, there is also encryption for your personal files and folders. It offers an all-in-one security solution for your computer. With extra features to lock the desktop, boot keys, task keys, blocking software installations and internet access. WinGuard Pro 2006 comes in a Free and Premium edition. http://www.winguardpro.com/ QUICKTIME ALTERNATIVE. QuickTime is a common format, but QuickTime's player is huge. Avoid that space hog by watching your QuickTime files in QuickTime Alternative. This free codec works in a number of browsers, too. With QuickTime Alternative, you can watch QuickTime files over Internet Explorer, Mozilla, Netscape, and Opera. http://free-codecs.com/ MAXTHON (previously named MyIE2) v1.5 Build 95 Combo. Tired of watching browser windows fill your entire taskbar? Maxthon uses a tabbed interface so you can hop from page to page from the same window. You can cascade or tile them in the window, if you prefer. Enable the Mouse Gesture feature to cut back on clicking and using the tab key. Super Drag & Drop opens pages by dragging-and-dropping a link, or runs searches when you drag-and-drop highlighted text into the built-in search engine. Keep useful items such as Web services, favorites, the Google Toolbar, and even external programs handy by putting them in the Maxthon toolbar. Privacy concerns become less worrisome with the combined browser/history/address/cookie-clearing function-especially if you schedule it to sweep up when you close out of the program. AD Hunter can be used as either an ironclad pop-up blocker, a filter list, or a white list. Please note that Maxthon is not a stand-alone program; you need to have Internet Explorer installed to run the program. Also, the Lite version only includes the FlashSave and ViewSource plugins; the full (or "combo") version includes those as well as AI Roboform, EnableRightClick, Up a Directory, and Weather. http://www.maxthon.com/ FASTSTONE IMAGE VIEWER is a fast, stable, user-friendly image browser, converter and editor. It has a nice array of features that include image viewing, management, comparison, red-eye removal, emailing, resizing, cropping and color adjustments. Its innovative but intuitive full-screen mode provides quick access to EXIF information, thumbnail browser and major functionalities via hidden toolbars that pop up when your mouse touch the four edges of the screen. Other features include a high quality magnifier and a musical slideshow with 150+ transitional effects, as well as lossless JPEG transitions, drop shadow effects, image frames, scanner support, histogram and much more. It supports all major graphic formats (BMP, JPEG, JPEG 2000, animated GIF, PNG, PCX, TIFF, WMF, ICO and TGA) and popular digital camera RAW formats (CRW, CR2, NEF, PEF, RAF, MRW, ORF and DNG). http://www.faststone.org ACCESS MANAGER provides fast, easy and secure storage for all your passwords. You can organize passwords into types and categories for easy access and keep notes, web site links and e-mail addresses with each password. Email addresses or web site URLs can be automatically launched from within the program. The program is easy to use and uses a clean MS Outlook style interface and can be protected with a master password. Also included is an option to generate random passwords, search functions, printing of password lists and more. Very nice! Free for personal use. http://www.accessmanager.co.uk/ TRACE. We're used to associating danger with Web sites and emails that might have viruses, but the truth is that the Word document you receive over your own computer network might have risks of its own. Trace utility gives you a security risk rating on the presence of hidden information in your Office documents. Among other things, it looks for server names, macros, email addresses, track changes and comments. It works for Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The ratings you'll receive are High, Medium and Low. http://workshare.com/products/trace/default.aspx CD, DVD JEWEL CASE & LABEL CREATOR FOR WORD. Now you can create your own beautiful and professional CD Jewel Cases and CD Labels in just minutes! Perfect for business, home, or hobby. Works with any type of paper or CD label including centered label sheets. Making Jewel Cases and Labels has never been so quick and easy! It's easy to make both front and rear CD Jewel Case Covers with Side Spines, CD Booklets, as well as CD Labels - all in one package! This program can also make DVD labels! It's not free, but costs only $15. http://www.createcdlabels.com/ SPYCATCHER EXPRESS protects all Web surfers by providing the safest and most advanced antispyware solution available as a free service. SpyCatcher Express protects against next-generation, mutating spyware and puts users back in control of their PCs. SpyCatcher is the only antispyware solution that goes beyond traditional signature matching by incorporating a three-pronged method for threat detection (profiles, behavioral analysis and contextual intelligence) to ensure cutting-edge protection. Competitors typically use one detection model, preventing them from blocking mutations and the latest threats. DeepDefense prevents the installation of rootkits, removes aggressive spyware, and intercepts all API calls and blocks reinstallation of aggressive spyware. With SpyCatcher Express there are no gimmicks or time restrictions, just the most advanced antispyware solution available provided by Tenebril as a free service to the Internet. http://www.tenebril.com AUDACITY. This free audio editor can record and play sounds and import and export WAV, AIFF, MP3, and OGG files. Edit your sounds using cut, copy, and paste features (with unlimited undo functionality), mix tracks, or apply effects to your recordings. The program also has a built-in amplitude-envelope editor, a customizable spectrogram mode, and a frequency-analysis window for audio-analysis applications. Built-in effects include bass boost, wah wah, and noise removal, and the program also supports VST plug-in effects. This program is open-source, and this version adds tool tips, keyboard shortcuts, and OGG exporting and fixes some bugs.Version 1.2.2 has a Meter Toolbar added for monitoring volume levels during playback and recording, allows you to export multiple files at once, attempts to automatically correct latency in full-duplex recordings, and contains some bug fixes. http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ 3GPTORAWAVI. You're likelier to have a camera phone with you than a bulky video camera, but many camera phones record in the unusual 3GPP format. With 3gpToRawAvi, you can convert files from this esoteric format to the better-known (and more useful) AVI format. Once converted to AVI, your candid camera moments will play on most media players. You can even edit them, e-mail them, or burn them to DVD. http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/software/ There's no shortage of software that will permanently erase files, but if you simply want the very best there is and one that spares none of the bells and whistles, East-Tec Eraser leads the pack. It's for those who demand that their erasures, albeit a single file or an entire disk is erased in such a way as to be totally, completely, and unequivocally gone and unrecoverable by any means or entity known to man. In fact it surpasses even top-secret military requirements. East-Tec erasure is not only the leading permanent deleting utility, it offers an extremely useful associated bag of tricks you can employ at your choosing: It will search any of your drives or partitions for remnants of previously deleted files and remove any trace. It will wipe any remnants that exist in the free space of your drives and in your swap files. East-Tec's Privacy Guard will wipe web pages, pictures, temp files, history, recent docs and all other tracks you usually accumulate in your internet wanderings, newsreaders and web browser. It will permanently erase the contents of your recycle bin. It will permanently erase the contents of your "deleted items" folder in Outlook Express and compact the information in your other folders. It will permit you to schedule regular erasure tasks to run at your time and choosing. Eraser installs in your context (right-click) menu in Windows Explorer or your alternative file manager. If you right click on any files or folders you have selected, eraser can promptly dispatch them beyond recovery Eraser can completely wipe an entire hard, CD or other media making it safe for disposal. You can password protect the use of Eraser. You are provided a choice among several permanent and secure erasure methods which are fully explained. The program is child's play to install and use. A total novice will have no problem employing any or all of its wizard-driven features. It has received top awards in such computer publications as PC World. East-Tec Eraser provides the most advanced, thorough and effective erasure utility of its kind to safeguard and protect your privacy. It is more than worth its cost of $30. You can try it free or purchase it at http://www.east-tec.com Windows XP For Starters. THE MISSING MANUAL. It used to be that when you bought software, it came with a manual that, for better or worse, taught you how to use the program. Unfortunately, it was more often for worse than better. And frequently you would swear you were reading an Arabic translation of the Dead Sea Scrolls. So when the vast majority of software publishers for economic reasons stopped including extensive documentation in the box, most users hardly noticed it wasn't there. For the more thoroughly experienced among us, the software help files or on-line documentation offered adequate solutions to most queries. For those lesser experienced it became a stumble-your-way-through or head for the computer section at Barnes and Noble experience. Then along from out of the blue came O'Reilly Publishing that began to make available a diversity of computer manuals offering practical guidance and written in plain English. Among the most welcome of these is a gem written by David Pogue, noted New York Times columnist and author. Of his many contributions, the one that stands out most in my mind and offers the greatest assistance to PC Users is "Windows XP For Starters, The missing Manual." Yes, it is the missing manual that under ideal circumstances should have been included in Microsoft's box. This manual is a must for Windows XP newbies. It offers the greatest amount of well-organized information to XP users, especially those interested in learning in a thoroughly clarified manner what this most common Windows operating system is all about. In 13 information-filled chapters and 385 pages, David Pogue will make it all abundantly clear to you. From the first XP screen that appears on your computer on startup to the intricacies of the Control Panel and the ins and outs of the Internet, Pogue explains in step-by-step fashion how to live comfortably with and master Windows XP, no means an easy task. The book was written with both the inexperienced beginner in mind, as well as the overconfidents who think they know it all and will discover how much they really missed. You will go from simply logging on to mastering the ins and outs of the Internet; from basic terminology or setting up home networks; from e-mailing, using the security center to making adequate backups via XP. In other words, this manual covers all the XP bases and a whole lot more. I highly recommend this book for every Windows XP user. It normally lists for $19.95, but you can get a user group discount at oreilly.com. Further info is available from Pogue Press, www.missingmanuals.com and O'reilly's sales department, 800-998-9938 Last year's officers agreed to stand for reelection this year, and were reelected unanimously. The group's officers are: Rick Mattingly, President Don Anderson, Vice President Virginia Febinger, Treasurer Robert Clayton, Treasurer Jim Bragonier, Secretary Thanks to all of you for your hard work and willingness to continue that work in the new year. 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 970-613-8968 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 Rick Mattingly for information on this service at 970-613-8968 or email rmatt@jymis.com. |
