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Front Range PC Users Group Newsletter k-Byte |
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| v. 23, n. 7/8 Jul/Aug 2006 | Users Helping Users |
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Front Range PC Users Group Newsletter k-Byte |
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| v. 23, n. 7/8 Jul/Aug 2006 | Users Helping Users |
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Contents 1 Multi-Core Processors - Brian K. Lewis, Ph.D. 2 About k-Byte 5 Tip of the Month - Bill Sheff 6 The Old Farmer Meets Cyberspace - Gil Smith 7 Google Copies Your Hard Drive-Government Smiles in Anticipation 8 Free Stuff, Good Stuff, Part 2 9 Bluetooth FAQ's 14 Calendar of Events 15 Symantec Caught in Rootkit Controversy 16 August/September Calendars 18 Membership Application 19 Tech News - Sue Crane 23 Software and Website Reviews - Herb Goldstein 30 Trading Post 31 FRPCUG Contacts Mark Twain Multi-Core Processors by Brian K. Lewis, Ph.D. Sarasota Personal Computer Users Group, Inc., http://www.spcug.org When I first started researching central processing units (CPUs) my idea was to try to make some sense out of the naming/numbering schemes currently being used by Intel and AMD. This turned out to be an almost impossible task. Did you realize that Intel has more than 50 different Pentium 4 CPU models? That in each speed range there can be a dozen different models. They vary by cache size, socket size, hyper-threading or not, 64 bit or not, voltage and other parameters. As just one example, Intel's 3.2 GHz processor has 12 different models. AMD is just about as bad when you try to analyze their nomenclature. So, for the moment, I have given up on trying to find a simple way to categorize the currently available CPUs. Maybe next month Since the upper end of the CPU production now seems to be aimed at producing processors with more than one central core, I decided to look at that topic. So what does it mean that a CPU has more than one core? You can think of it as a single chip containing two or more central processors. It is like having two (or more) computers in one box. That said, I have to admit that it doesn't double your processing speed. At least, not yet. Servers and workstations used in business have had multiple processors for a number of years. Mainframe computers with multiple processors have also been around for years. In order to take advantage of multiple processing, your operating system must be capable of recognizing and using multiple processors. Windows has had that capability since Windows NT/2000 and it is included in Windows XP. Intel introduced Hyper-threading technology in 2002. That allowed two different "threads" to be processed almost simultaneously. Going the next step and putting multiple processors on one single chip is the idea behind multi-core processors. The AMD64 chip was originally designed to have a second core added at a later date. This became the current Athlon 64 X2 dual-core processor. Intel's Pentium D is also a dual-core processor. In any multi-core processor each core is seen by the operating system as being a discrete processor as if the motherboard had two or more separate CPUs. Ideally this allows the computer to process more work within a given clock cycle. The question is why would Intel and AMD want to complicate CPU design by putting these processors onto a single chip? The design is more expensive to produce. The primary answer to the questions is heat. In the fall of 2002 Intel indicated that it had a 4.0 GHz processor in production. That processor never reached the market. There was also talk about processors reaching 10 GHz. That has all changed and primarily due to the difficulty of reducing the heat output of these processors. When you have 125 million transistors in a very small space, as in Intel's Prescott processor series, there is a lot of heat produced. In fact, it takes special cooling to keep the processor from overheating and essentially burning itself up. I have a 3.0 GHz Intel "Prescott" processor in my computer and it runs at a consistent 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees F). That's only because I have an over sized copper heat sink and very large CPU fan. Ideally it should be running in the low 30's which would be about 50% of the maximum temperature. Another problem is current or electron leakage. As the processor die size decreases and the number of transistors increases, there is a greater problem with leakage. Electron leakage from one pathway to another can result in data corruption. Die sizes are currently 90 nm and are anticipated to drop to 65 nm this year. Finally the power requirements increase with the increase in transistors. The increase in power is another component in the increasing amount of heat produced by the CPU. Dual core processors are designed to run at lower clock speeds than the fastest of the single core processors. This reduces the heat output even though the dual core processors currently have 230 million transistors in a smaller space. Intel has also announced another dual core processor to be on the market this summer that will have 1.7 billion transistors! Their literature says they anticipate that by the end of 2006, 70% of their desktop and mobile processors will be dual-core. By the end of 2007 fully 90% of Intel's processors will be at least dual-core. AMD is moving just as fast in producing dual core processors. As the number of cores increase on a single die there will definitely be increases in heat output. Cooling requirements for these CPUs will definitely increase. The future of CPU cooling would seem to be water-cooled systems even for the home desktop market. Unless there is some technological break-through that will reduce the heat problem. There are other bottlenecks that will become more important in multi-core systems. One is the bus that transmits information from the core to other components. With two or more cores sending information over the bus, both speed and bandwidth will have to increase to handle the increased load. The CPU depends on the computer RAM for the source of its data and instructions. Therefore memory speed is also important and will need to be increased. Finally, information is read from and written to the hard disk. Even with the increased speed and bandwidth associated with SATA drives, this can be the largest bottleneck in the system. So these problems can prevent the user from gaining the maximum advantage provided by a multi-core system. All that said, I have to admit that there will be some definite gains in processing speed with the multi-core systems. This has already been demonstrated by a number of third-party testers. However, it will be some time before a dual-core system will function at twice the speed of a single core system. I keep talking about "threads" without really giving you any explanation of them. I don't think you really want to go into the programming background for this, so I will try to give you the simple explanation. A thread is a series of sequential programming steps or operations. In some instances, programming steps can be executed simultaneously. However, the program must be designed to allow this to happen. There are also problems associated with multi-threading that can slow down the overall operation. One problem is called "deadlock". This is when two threads are each waiting for the other to complete its operations. This can result in neither thread reaching completion. For software developers, multi-threaded applications have much higher development costs than the current single-threaded applications. Although Intel's Hyper-threading CPU's have been around for several years, very little software has been written to take advantage of the dual-thread processing. Both Intel and AMD are working with software developers to produce more multi-threaded software applications. But it may be some time before the majority of software applications can take advantage of multi-core processors. Intel has another technology it has developed for use in its multi-core chips. This is called "Foxton". This allows a processor to adjust its speed and power requirements based on its processing load. Each process will have a base or minimum clock speed and a maximum speed. When the load is low, the processor can raise its clock speed up to a maximum level. This gives the processor more power for faster computing. If the load or the power requirement rises too high, the processor slows. All of this is more technology to simply reduce the system heat to manageable levels. As I was writing this, Steve Jobs, at MAC World in San Francisco, announced the introduction of Intel based Macintosh computers using the Intel Core Duo processor. This processor was developed for the mobile computer market. It uses clock speeds from 1.6 GHz to 2.1 GHz. Although it has a lower clock speed, the dual processor will provide some performance gain. There will also be a lower drain on the battery. Several other companies have produced Windows based laptops using this same processor. So how will multi-core computers affect the individual computer user? It should improve the efficiency of your computer by improving its multi-tasking ability. Since each core is essentially a separate processor, at least two applications can be run simultaneously. If the dual core also supports hyper-threading, as some of the Intel Pentium D CPUs do, then it could handle four applications or four threads in multi-threaded applications. Now you may think you really don't do any multi-tasking. However, if you are running an anti-virus program, a firewall, or any other application in the background while you also do word processing or emailing, then you are multi-tasking. A dual core CPU would permit this to happen more efficiently, if not more quickly. Frequently, I am writing, checking a spreadsheet and pulling data off the web. This is also multi-tasking. I suspect that if you plan to replace your computer within the next year (or two), you will have a dual-core 64-bit processor in your system. With a couple of Gigabytes of RAM, you'll be all set to run Windows Vista as a 64-bit operating system. Dr. Lewis is a former university & medical school professor. He has been working with personal computers for more than thirty years. He can be reached via e-mail at bwsail@yahoo.com. 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. 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. by Bill Sheff Lehigh Valley Computer Group nsheff@aol.com Do you use Microsoft Word's Lists? You know the one-start a line with a number or bullet point and every time you hit Enter, the next line becomes part of the list. Great as far as it goes, but what if you want to put in a few differently formatted or blank lines in between. Here is what you do: press Shift-Enter after a list item, and you get a blank line. When you're ready to continue the numbered or bulleted list, hit Enter. by Gil Smith, Central Coast Computer Club, Santa Maria, CA. http://member.apcug.org/fourseas/ Remember your grandparent's faded yellow copy of the Old Farmer's Almanac? Grandpa would look up the best times to fish. Grandma would study the best times to plant. It's now available online. Since 1792, the Almanac has recorded and predicted planetary events that affect tides and weather. More than that, it's an archive of food, gardening and outdoor advice. Who needs a thermometer? Convert cricket chirps into temperatures at http://www.almanac.com.  From the February 2006 issue of The Status Register, the newsletter of the Champaign-Urbana Computer Users Group, http://www.cucug.org Consumers Should Not Use New Google Desktop Google has announced a new "feature" of its Google Desktop software that greatly increases the risk to consumer privacy. If a consumer chooses to use it, the new "Search Across Computers" feature will store copies of the user's Word documents, PDFs, spreadsheets and other text-based documents on Google's own servers, to enable searching from any one of the user's computers. EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) urges consumers not to use this feature, because it will make their personal data more vulnerable to subpoenas from the government and possibly private litigants, while providing a convenient one-stop-shop for hackers who've obtained a user's Google password. "Coming on the heels of serious consumer concern about government snooping into Google's search logs, it's shocking that Google expects its users to now trust it with the contents of their personal computers," said EFF Staff Attorney Kevin Bankston. "Unless you configure Google Desktop very carefully, and few people will, Google will have copies of your tax returns, love letters, business records, financial and medical files, and whatever other text-based documents the Desktop software can index. The government could then demand these personal files with only a subpoena rather than the search warrant it would need to seize the same things from your home or business, and in many cases you wouldn't even be notified in time to challenge it. Other litigants-your spouse, your business partners or rivals, whoever-could also try to cut out the middleman (you) and subpoena Google for your files." The privacy problem arises because the Electronic Communication Privacy Act of 1986, or ECPA, gives only limited privacy protection to emails and other files that are stored with online service providers-much less privacy than the legal protections for the same information when it's on your computer at home. And even that lower level of legal protection could disappear if Google uses your data for marketing purposes. Google says it is not yet scanning the files it copies from your hard drive in order to serve targeted advertising, but it hasn't ruled out the possibility, and Google's current privacy policy appears to allow it. "This Google product highlights a key privacy problem in the digital age," said Cindy Cohn, EFF's Legal Director. "Many Internet innovations involve storing personal files on a service provider's computer, but under outdated laws, consumers who want to use these new technologies have to surrender their privacy rights. If Google wants consumers to trust it to store copies of personal computer files, emails, search histories and chat logs, and still 'not be evil,' it should stand with EFF and demand that Congress update the privacy laws to better reflect life in the wired world." For more on Google's data collection: http://news.com.com/FAQ+When+Google+is+not+your+friend/2100-1025_3-6034666.html http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/01/21/google_subpoena_roils_the_web/ http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/01/20/EDGEPGPHA61.DTL http://news.com.com/%20Bill+would+force+Web+sites+to+delete+personal+info/2100-1028_3-6036951.html Contact: Kevin Bankston Staff Attorney Electronic Frontier Foundation bankston@eff.org by Mike Morris Front Range PC Users Group This article concludes my report on freeware computer security products. In this issue, I report on my experience with: Spybot Search and Destroy Zone Alarm Free I need to repeat the disclaimer from the last issue: I am reporting my experience with only these products, not the results of comparative testing of multiple competing products in each category. I do not claim that these reviews exhaustively cover all features. There are a number of websites you can connect to in order to test the security of your computer. I have not used any of those websites. My evaluation criteria are: Ease of installation Ease of use Effectiveness Compatibility with other installed software Here is the hardware and software baseline of the computer on which the products are installed: eMachines Model T1090 Tower Intel Celeron 900 Mhz processor 256 MB RAM 20 GB hard drive with (currently) approximately 12.5 GB free space 56 kB internal modem Windows XP/Home Service Pack 2 Dial-up internet connection using a local ISP Single computer, single user  The next program I want to review for you is called "Spybot Search and Destroy." It is different from the other programs in that there is only a free version. The program and the database are maintained-and extremely well maintained-by volunteers. Locate the program using Google. Click on "The home of Spybot-S&D!" Examine that Google search carefully, and you will see similar names, so be certain that you have selected Spybot-S&D. When you click on the correct link, you are connected to http://www.spybot.info/, which looks like this:  Once you select the language, the window displayed looks like this:  If you don't see those flags, you are not connected to the correct website. Click on "Download" and the window changes to:   Scroll down the page until you see the "Download here" button for Spybot. Click on that button to start the download process. When the download is complete, double click on the file to start the installation. This website has (so far) proven itself to be virus, spyware, and adware free. After installation, the first task is to check for updates. Click on the "Search for Updates" button in the upper left corner of the display.  Note the list of servers available from the drop down box. The only problem I have had with this program was the failure of updates to download. I searched the on-line tech support and discovered the problem was most likely server overload. When I selected another server from the list, the updates were downloaded without problems.  To initiate a scan all you need to do is to click on the "Check for problems" button. The program scans the computer and reports any problems. If problems are found, you can quarantine or delete them. 
The program is extremely easy to use. From installation to the first scan only takes a few mouse clicks. There is good on-line support, although, except for the one easily solved problem described above, I have not needed any tech support.If you select "Advance mode" from the "Mode" menu item, three choices appear at the bottom left corner of the window. You can click on "Settings" for a variety of set up choices, although the default settings work extremely well.  Note that there is a "Scheduler" item that allows you to schedule scans. There is much more to this program, including a real time monitoring feature called "TeaTimer." Once the program is installed, take time to explore the features and the Help file. That will allow you to get the most out the program. One question that inevitably arises when discussing this program is "do I need both Ad-Aware and Spybot?" My own personal experience is that the answer is Yes. Each program finds different problems; those problems that Ad-Aware misses will be found by Spybot, and vice versa. I find it worthwhile to repeat what I have said about the other two freeware programs reviewed in the last issue: Since installation, I have had no problems, and have concluded that the program is very effective. During the time I have used this program, I have had no compatibility problems with the operating system, with programs installed prior to its installation or with programs installed after its installation. I found it easy to install. I find it easy to use. It clearly does not offer all the features of the paid programs. Yet the features included I find effective and sufficient. If you decide to use Spybot, please give serious consideration to a donation.  The final program I want to review for you is Zone Alarm Free. This is a free version of the Zone Alarm firewall product. A firewall has been described as analogous to a lock on a door-it prevents those without keys or access codes from entering a home or a room. Use Google to locate the product. Click on Zone Labs. You will connect to http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/home.jsp, which looks like this:   Scroll down to the bottom of that page and locate the text phrase "Free Zone Alarm and Trials." Click on that link and the window changes to a display that answers the question "what is the difference between the paid version and the free version?" It also provides a link to download the free version (or any other version). Once the download is complete, and before you double click on the downloaded file to install it, disconnect from the internet and disable the Microsoft firewall. As with virus protection programs, only one software firewall should be in use. You can disable the Microsoft firewall from the Control Panel (in Windows XP SP2). If you question the need for a firewall, use the link on the Zone Alarm home page ">Why I need a PC Firewall," or either of these two websites: Free Firewall and Security Software: http://www.firewallguide.com ConsumerSearch.com: http://www.consumersearch.com/www/software/firewalls/index.html If you question why the Zone Alarm firewall is better than the Microsoft firewall, note that the Zone alarm firewall monitors both incoming and outgoing traffic, while the Microsoft firewall monitors only incoming traffic. Why is it better to monitor both incoming and outgoing traffic? In the interest of brevity, I refer you again to the two websites mentioned above.  The program is easy to install. It takes some operator intervention (as will any firewall) to make it usable. Once installed, each time any program tries to access the internet, you will receive a message, similar to this one: Note that you can allow or deny the program access to the internet. You can also have Zone alarm remember the setting, which you should do if you use a program regularly. Eventually, the firewall builds a list of those programs that require access to the internet, and the permissions you have granted to each program. In Zone Alarm, the list looks like this:  Note that this list can be edited from this window, as well as the permissions granted to each program. To confirm that this program meets my evaluation criteria, I repeat here my earlier conclusions from the previous program reviews: Since installation, I have had no problems, and have concluded that the program is very effective. During the time I have used this program, I have had no compatibility problems with the operating system, with programs installed prior to its installation or with programs installed after its installation. I found it easy to install. I find it easy to use. It clearly does not offer all the features of the paid programs. Yet the features included I find effective and sufficient. That concludes the review of four high quality, reliable freeware products that offer protection from a wide variety of threats to your computer. These free products do not offer the same features as the paid products, so you will have to consider which of these products is appropriate for your needs. The information in this newsletter should help you make that determination. From Verizon Wireless What is Bluetooth? Bluetooth is a wireless networking technology designed primarily to replace cables for communication between personal computing and communication devices. It is intended to be used for both voice and data communications. Why is it called Bluetooth? The Bluetooth name refers to King Harald "Bluetooth" Blaatand, a famous Danish king of the 10th century, who unified Denmark and Norway. In the beginning of the Bluetooth wireless technology era, Bluetooth was aimed at unifying the telecom and computing industries. What is the history of Bluetooth? Bluetooth was initiated by Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Nokia and Toshiba in early 1998. These companies later formed a special interest group known as the Bluetooth SIG. The Bluetooth 1.0 specifications were released on July 26, 1999, but the technology has only recently become inexpensive enough for widespread use. How does Bluetooth fit in with WiFi? The 802.11b (WiFi) standard is commonly used for wireless networking. Bluetooth is not a competitor with 802.11b, but rather a complement to it. While 802.11b is generally a replacement for wired local area networking, Bluetooth is more commonly used as a replacement for cables between individual devices. Bluetooth is designed to link devices within a very short range (up to 33 feet for Verizon Wireless' devices). Bluetooth is part of the 802.15 standard. What are some of the uses of Bluetooth? Depending on the Bluetooth profiles included on the device, Bluetooth technology has the capability to wirelessly synchronize and transfer data among devices. The Bluetooth audio capabilities can be used for headset and hands free applications. The exact functionality provided by a Bluetooth enabled device depends on the Bluetooth profiles included. Verizon Wireless products do not include all Bluetooth profiles (Please see the Bluetooth profile section below for more details about the Bluetooth profiles included on Verizon Wireless' products). Is Bluetooth typically built in to laptops/computers? Bluetooth is not generally built in to most laptops sold in the US today. However, a Bluetooth adapter can be added to a laptop either as a PCMCIA card or a USB dongle (which looks like a memory stick). If a Bluetooth adapter is added to a laptop or computer, Bluetooth client software must be installed on the computer to be able to use Bluetooth. Verizon Wireless http://support.vzw.com/faqs/Bluetooth/faq.html - 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 MEETING IN AUGUST September General Forum Meeting We will meet at the Fort Collins Senior Center on Tuesday, September 5 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 Computers and Invest ing: Things to Con- sider When Construct- ing an Investment Port- folio. 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. 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 SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKER IN SEPTEMBER TOPIC-COMPUTERS AND INVESTING: THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN CONSTRUCTING AN INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO. Presented by Jim Watt, CPA/FPS, a NAPFA-Registered Financial Advisor, a Member of the Front Range PC Users Group, and a columnist for the Fort Collins Coloradoan. Know of a another computer-related meeting in our area? Please let us know so we can post it here. From the January 2006 issue of The Status Register, the newsletter of the Champaign-Urbana Computer Users Group, http://www.cucug.org Symantec has been forced to fix a "flaw" in Norton SystemWorks which could possibly allow malware authors to hide files from users. While the feature is designed to prevent SystemWorks users from accidentally deleting files vital to the software package's NProtect feature, weaknesses in the technology could be exploited by opportunistic developers of malicious software. The hidden directory is also hidden from most antivirus scans, including Symantec's own. Malware/virus writers with knowledge of the directory can easily hide their files undetected. While no exploits have been made to this point, it did not take long for Sony's rootkit to become exploited and quickly spiral out of control in weeks past. Users of 2005 and 2006 versions of SystemWorks and SystemWorks Premier are urged to run LiveUpdate to patch the flaw, which will then allow the directory to be seen and scanned by antivirus software. August 2006 1 NO MEETING 9 FRPCUG Board Meeting 7:00 PM 17 New Technology SIG 7:00 PM September 2006 4 Holiday 5 FRPCUG General Forum Meeting 7:00 PM 13 FRPCUG Board Meeting 7:00 PM 21 New Technology SIG 7:00 PM TechNews by Sue Crane, Vice President & Editor Big Bear Computer Club, California Scrane5@charter.net www.bigbearcc.org Microsoft will release Vista in two versions. The volume-license business version will ship in November 2006, but the consumer version will not be available until 2007-too late for the holidays. Some MS partners feel this move will take a huge bite out of 2006 holiday sales, but others say they are not surprised. Following its push back of Windows Vista, Microsoft confims the Office 2007 release will move to next year as well. It's been reported on a number of blog sites that Microsoft will release Windows Vista with 8 different versions, but no pricing information is available yet. Microsoft is also building in a tool, Windows Performance Rating, that will rate a PC based on how well it is running and on how much it can take advantage of Vista's capabilities to help average consumers easily understand their Windows Vista PC's overall performance. As for systems slowing down over time, that's another issue that Microsoft is trying to tackle. Meanwhile, Vista is being designed to shut the door on spyware. It will introduce important changes at the heart of the operating system, as well as to Internet Explorer, and include Windows Defender, an anti-spyware tool. Sun Microsystems recently released the beta software for Java Platform Standard Edition 6.0, code-named Mustang. The update should make it easier to use scripting languages such as PHP or Ruby to write Java applications and improve diagnostics to spot bugs. Last year, Sun modified the license around Java to allow developers to see the source code. Sun also changed its development practices so that outsiders can see and contribute to Java development. The completed software will be available in the fall. Microsoft Office 12 (Office 2007) will offer new features, including an all-new user interface and new XML-based file formats, but no significant price increase. Office Standard will sell for $399, while Office Professional will sell for $499. Microsoft released an initial beta of Office 2007 in November 2005, with a second beta planned for this spring. The company is replacing its Student and Teacher edition with a $149 Home and Student edition that can be used by all home users and removing the Outlook and including OneNote. The Student and Teacher edition and the home version of Office can be used on up to 3 PCs in a home, but cannot be upgraded. The ProPlus version will include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access and Publisher plus the Office Communicator, InfoPath and server-based content management and forms management capabilities. Many of the new capabilities will be included in SharePoint Portal Server, which has been expanded to handle forms management, spreadsheet hosting and content rights management. The "Core CAL(client access license)" combines licenses for Windows Server, Exchange Server, Office SharePoint Portal Server and Systems Management Server. The new "Enterprise CAL" includes those licenses, as well as Microsoft Operations Manager, Microsoft Office Live Communications Server and rights-management and security products. Microsoft is also using the SharePoint brand for a new Web site development program. Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2007, like Microsoft's Expression Web Designer software is based in part on FrontPage. Nearly one-third of American Internet users go online just for fun rather than to check e-mail, read news or use a search engine according to Deborah Fallows, senior research fellow at the nonpartisan Pew Internet & American Life Project, which examines the social impact of the Internet. A survey of 1,931 Internet users found 30 percent of respondents said they went online "for no particular reason" on the previous day. The survey also showed that 34 percent of online men were surfing for fun on an average day, compared with 26 percent of women. The Survey said that sending or receiving e-mail ranked highest with 52 percent of Internet users saying they did this on a typical day. Using a search engine ranked second with 38 percent, while reading news online was third with 31 percent. Lego has picked 100 lucky fans who will be the first members of the public to get their hands on Mindstorms NXT, the latest generation of the company's programmable robot toys. Last year some Lego fans figured out a way to hack the development tools on a company Web site. Instead of going after them with lawyers, Lego responded by saying, "That's terrific." The 100 Lego fans named last week have a chance to help develop the product by road-testing it and then share their impressions with Mindstorm executives. The 2006 version-which is expected to be publicly available in August 2006-gives users the ability to build and program robots that incorporate visual, sound and touch-sensitive sensors that can be controlled wirelessly using Bluetooth devices. Mindstorms director Soren Lund hopes many of the developer-program members will create attractive and impressive robots that Lego will be able to showcase on the Mindstorms NXT Web site when the product officially launches this summer. The organizers of RoboCup, an international robot world's World Cup of soccer held annually, plan to have a new category this year named the "RoboCup Citizen Eco-Be League," which will feature the tiny Eco-Be robots, which measure less than one square inch. Citizen is releasing a developer kit so teams can create their own Eco-Be robots. This year's competition will be held from June 14-20 in Bremen, Germany, and will feature separate competitions for robots in various size categories as well as humanoid and 4-legged leagues. What's Your "Brain Age"? If millions of Japanese are to be believed, it is the secret to a happy and healthy old age as millions of them take up Nintendo's brain training. Players have to complete puzzles as quickly and accurately as possible, including reading literary classics aloud, doing simple arithmetic, drawing, and responding rapidly to deceptively easy teasers using voice-recognition software. The player's "brain age" is then determined. The first in the English-language series of games, Brain Age, is due for its US release on April 17, followed by Big Brain Academy in May. Brain Training for Adults, a package of cerebral workouts aimed at the over-45s, is said to improve mental agility and even slow the onset of dementia and Alzheimer's disease and also proves addictive to over-45s anxious to ward-off old age. When Daniel Hickey's doctor suggested he have a microchip implanted under his skin to provide instant access to his computerized medical record, the 77-year-old retired naval officer immediately agreed. "If you're unconscious and end up in the emergency room, they won't know anything about you," Hickey said. "With this, they can find out everything they need to know right away and treat you better." Some doctors are welcoming the technology as an exciting innovation that will speed care and prevent errors. But the concept alarms privacy advocates. They worry the devices could make it easier for unauthorized snoops to invade medical records. VeriChip Corp. is selling kits containing scanners and the large-bore needles used to insert the chips, and recommending that doctors charge patients about $200 each. At an academic computing conference in Pisa, Italy, researchers plan to demonstrate how it is possible to infect a tiny portion of memory in an RFID chip with a virus. Started by Westinghouse in 1942, STS is the oldest, and generally most prestigious, national science competition for high school students. Intel took over the competition in 1998 as part of its overall effort to promote science education, for which it spends $100 million annually.40 students make the finals, plucked from 300 semifinalists and more than 1,500 total entrants. Shannon Babb, 18, won top honors, which included a $100,000 scholarship, for her research and remediation work on pollution. Yi Sun, 17, won a $75,000 scholarship for his discovery of new geometric properties. Yuan "Chelsea" Zhang, 17, came in third place to win a $50,000 scholarship. Zhang, from Rockville, Md., studied the plaque buildup of arteries that leads to heart disease. Students taking fourth, fifth and sixth places get $25,000, while those ranking 7th through 10th receive $20,000. The remaining 30 finalists receive $5,000, and every finalist gets an Intel Centrino notebook computer. Intel's new Core microarchitecture takes advantage of similarities to fuse certain types of x86 instructions into more manageable chunks. 3 new chips-code-named Merom (a notebook chip), Conroe (for desktops) and Woodcrest (for servers)-are based on the Core microarchitecture. Intel has said all 3 chips will deliver significant performance increases compared with current chips-as much as an 80 percent improvement in the case of Woodcrest-while consuming less power. One way the new architecture makes this happen is through macro-ops fusion and micro-ops fusion. When the Pentium M chip that is the model for the Core architecture was introduced in 2003, it used a technique called micro-ops fusion to glue pieces taken from the same instruction back together, reducing the overall amount of work the processor needs to complete a task. The new chips will also be able to combine separate large instructions that usually appear in pairs into a single instruction, known as macro-ops fusion, which increases performance, but also reduces the amount of power used by the chip. Merom is scheduled for the second half of the year. It's really a major change in clock and in the amount of time it takes to execute a sequence. Google Desktop 3 is a free, downloadable program that includes an option to let users search across multiple computers for files. The application automatically stores copies of files, for up to a month, on Google servers. From there, copies are transferred to the user's other computers for archiving. The data is encrypted in transmission and while stored on Google servers. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has urged consumers to boycott the software, warning that Google could be forced to turn over the data to the government [See related article on page 7-Ed.]. Cosmeo is bringing Discovery's online encyclopedia into homes via it's Web site. The site resembles the screen of a handheld game device and features video clips and interactive games. Content providers, including Scholastic Corp. and the Public Broadcasting Service, are customized to meet the curriculum standards of different states. The service is available for $9.95/month. An error in McAfee's virus definition file released mid-March caused consumer and enterprise antivirus products to flag Microsoft Excel, AdobeUpdateManager and other applications on users PCs as a virus called W95/CTX". Files were deleted or quarantined, depending on the user's settings. When Microsoft first talked about Windows Live in November, most of the "Live" products were MSN services that had been rebranded. Since then Microsoft has added more than a dozen new products under the Windows Live umbrella. MSN executive David Cole explains, "Microsoft's goal is to continuously update and launch products". Over the next 3-6 months, Microsoft expects to ship more Windows Live technology into the marketplace than during their entire 10-year OS history. Microsoft's new ad-serving engine, AdCenter, is at the heart of Windows Live. AdCenter draws on user demographic information to help drive more targeted marketing. Microsoft has even talked about using advertising as a way to pay for traditional desktop software. Meanwhile, the list of Windows Live services continues expanding to include all the basic portal services. Take a look at the Ice Weasels, Space Cookies and Cheesy Poofs, high school teams competing for top merit in the 15th annual robotics contest sponsored by FIRST (For the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). With about $10,000 worth of donated hardware and software, high school students are given 6 weeks to assemble a functioning robot that can move around a court and shoot Nerf basketballs for points. Part of the challenge is for teens to find and work with mentors who are experts in technology and science. Once registered, the teams are given 3 boxes of hardware and software and a programming language called Easy C that allows them to write a program for the robot's onboard computer. Also included is Autodesk's 3D Max Studio animation software so they can create a 30-second animation. The game itself is roughly 2 minutes long, with robots that are 2 feet wide by 4 feet high. For the first 10 seconds, the robots must make as many baskets as possible; the robot with the most points from the first 10 seconds then gets to play offense. Winning bots will go on to compete at Atlanta's Georgia Dome at the international finals. Neurofeedback, a form of conditioning that rewards people for producing specific brain waves, taps youths' fascination with animation and electronics to sweeten frightening medical treatments. While this form of treatment has been around for decades, incorporating video games marks a new frontier that taps young people's fascination with animation and electronics to sweeten often frightening, lengthy and tedious medical treatments. Video games are being used, for instance, to help sick children manage pain and anxiety during hospital stays. A young leukemia patient inspired "Ben's Game," which let him fight the cancer cells invading his body. A private island called Brigadoon in Linden Lab's "Second Life" virtual world is open only to people with Asperger's syndrome and autism. West Virginia's public schools are battling obesity by making "Dance Dance Revolution"-a step-to-the-beat video game-part of their curriculum, while Nintendo has made a splash with its new "Brain Age" mind-exercising game. CyberLearning's Smart BrainGames system targets symptoms arising from brain injuries, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and learning disabilities. Priced at $584, the system is built on NASA technology that used video games and neurofeedback to train pilots. Traditional treatments, such as prescribing the stimulant Ritalin, behavioral therapy and education, are often covered by health insurance, while neurofeedback usually is not. Despite such hurdles, some medical practitioners are advocating the new approach. by Herb Goldstein, Review Editor Sarasota PC Users Group http://www.spcug.org [Ed. Note: The following information was extracted from a larger article] JETAUDIO is integrated multimedia software made up of a single compact rack. Not only does it play various music and video files, it also has features such as CD burning, recording, and conversion to other file formats. You can create your own Internet broadcast by using JetCast, provided with JetAudio, and you can play all major file formats, including WAV, MP3, MP3Pro, OGG, WMA, MPEG, AVI, WMV, MIDI, RM, and video and audio CD tracks. Convert among audio file formats, and record analog audio to various formats; tag editing for MP3, OGG, and WMA files; sound effects including wide, reverb, and x-bass; multichannel sound output; speed control of audio playback; cross-fading for a smooth transition between two songs; a skinnable user interface; and synchronized lyrics display (karaoke) for MIDI and MP3 files.supports for video conversion for iAUDIO U3, supports .ts, .tp file extension, and includes video format converter to AVI. http://www.cowonamerica.com POP PEEPER is a small utility that runs in your Windows system tray. It visually and audibly lets you know if you have email on any number of POP3 servers as well as Hotmail, Yahoo, Mail.com, Myway, Excite, Lycos and Rediffmail. It allows you to preview the headers of your email, and view the messages. There is also support for file attachments, which allows you to view the name of the files. If you are checking multiple accounts, you can specify a custom color for each, making it easy to distinguish the messages. Message preview is quick and fully supports HTML messages. Using POP Peeper, you can quickly scan what messages are important enough to read, and which ones you want to delete without even opening your email client. A great little tool that works fast and efficient. http://www.poppeeper.com AVAST! Home Edition is a complete anti-virus package, that is is free for registered home non-commercial users. It contains an on-demand scanner with two interfaces (simple for novices and advanced for experienced users), an on-access scanner with Standard Shield (which protects against execution and opening malware programs) and an embedded e-mail scanner which scans incoming and outgoing email messages. Avast! Home integrates with the Windows Explorer right click menu and also includes a special screen saver which is able to scan your system while your computer is not in use. Updates are incremental and frequently made available for manual or scheduled download. You will download a 60 days demo, if you would like to continue free usage beyond that time, you'll need to register from the home page to obtain a free activation key by email. http://www.avast.com/ OUTLOOKHELPER. With all the spam and those friends sending "chain" emails, it makes sense to bolster Outlook. OutlookHelper is a free add-on for Windows 2000 and above and Windows XP. It's like a turbo charger for Outlook, allowing you to more efficiently manage your email. It features several helpful functions, such as previewing images of multiple emails simultaneously without opening them (so technically you're not breaking that lucky chain email). Also lets you store, sort and organize email in more flexible ways and a virus alert lets you know before you open that tainted email. This add-on comes with free, private cyber-storage, which more than makes up for the small disc space it uses. Easy to load and use and priced to move: free. http://www.outlookhelper.com/olh_main.asp? Note from JL: Link home page wasn't available when I checked but you can download it here:http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file/fid,26679;order,1;page,1;c,All%20Downloads/description.html DIGITAL CAMERA TIP. Here's a handy tip for digital camera owners from Scott Johnson, The Computer Tutor. "Any digital camera that you buy will come with its own software that is supposed to help you with downloading your pictures from the camera to the computer. Some of these programs are Camedia, Corel PhotoAlbum, Kodak EasyShare, etc. Here's my advice: don't use any of them. In fact, if you use Windows XP, you don't need to use any separate program to get your pictures to your computer-XP has that function already built in. Here's how you do it: Connect your camera to your computer, via the cable that goes to the USB port, and turn on the camera. Double-click My Computer so that you see the various drive letters displayed. Double-click the drive letter for your digital camera (it will probably say "removable disk" followed by the drive letter). Double click the next folder shown (probably labeled DCIM), and then double click the folder containing your photos. Hold the Ctrl key, and hit the letter "A" (this highlights all of the photos). Do a right-click on one of the highlighted images, and choose "Copy" (this copies all of the images to the Windows Clipboard). Now, close this window completely and go to the My Pictures folder (you can find that by clicking on the Start button). In a blank area in that folder, do a right-click and choose "Paste" (this copies all of the images to this folder). Now, your images are on the hard drive. You are able to move them around to the proper folder(s), or you can edit them, or you can delete them. Once you know that the pictures are on the computer, you can delete them from the camera, thereby freeing up space on the memory card for more photos. If you really want to use a separate program for moving pictures from the camera to the computer, I highly recommend Picasa-just use the Import button found in the top left corner, and choose your camera as the device from which to import. REAL ALTERNATIVE V1.32. Many audio and video files are offered only in Real Networks' formats. If you like the files, but you don't like being tied to Real, you may prefer Real Alternative. This player plays RealAudio (.ra and .rpm) and Realmedia (.rm, .ram, .rmvb, .rpx) files just like RealPlayer and RealOne Player do-but without the hassles of dealing with Real. It offers limited support for Real's .smi and .smil formats. Real Alternative's RealMedia browser plug-in supports Internet Explorer, Mozilla, Netscape, and Opera. http://home.hccnet.nl/h.edskes/finalbuilds.htm ADJUST MOUSE WHEEL SCROLL SPEED. If you own a wheel mouse, then you can control how many lines your mouse scrolls when you turn the wheel: Click the Start menu and open the Control Panel. Click the Printer and Other Hardware icon, then the Mouse icon. (Note: This is in Category view, not Classic view.) Click the Wheel tab in the dialog box, change the number of lines your mouse scrolls with each turn of the wheel, and then click OK. VIDEO2PHOTO captures frames from a video source (DV camcorder, Webcam, live stream) or video file (AVI, DivX or MPEG). Play your movie within the application and select individual frames to extract. Choose to apply effects or processing options to all or selected frames, including color corrections, cropping, old photo effect, and more. Exported image as still images, HTML galleries, Flash, or AVI. http://www.pixelchain.com/video2photo/ BAZOOKA ADWARE AND SPYWARE SCANNER. While many programs detect Spyware, Bazooka Adware and Spyware Scanner not only detects unwelcome guests, it obliterates them. This free program detects spyware, adware, foistware, trojan, keylogger, various trackware components and more stuff that much anti-virus software overlooks. Once Bazooka detects something, it gives you easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions for uninstalling the threat. Bazooka Spyware Scanner searches for more than 460 threats, including ghost programs that track your surfing habits, which leads to even more pop-up windows. It's free and easy to install, and the website is updated regularly to keep you safe and free from new invasion technology. http://www.kephyr.com SITEADVISOR for Firefox users helps protect you from all kinds of Web-based security threats including spyware, adware, spam, viruses, browser-based attacks, phishing, online fraud and identity theft. Their automated testers continually patrol the Web to browse sites, download files, and sign-up for things with e-mail addresses. As you search, browse, download or register online, SiteAdvisor's safety ratings help you stay safe and in control. The short story on SiteAdvisor is that it gives you the dirt on more than a million Web sites. Its test bots constantly check sites to see whether they send unsolicited e-mail, bury users under a blanket of pop-ups, and-perhaps most importantly-contain software that could compromise your privacy. Whenever you visit a URL, SiteAdvisor's browser icon flashes one of three colors: green (safe), yellow (caution), or red (extreme caution). Then, with a couple clicks, you can head to SiteAdvisor's home page for more detailed information. According to the company, about 90 percent of the sites tested so far have scored a green rating, whereas only 5 percent have earned the red flag for bad behavior. A favorite part about the plug-in is that it rates sites directly from search engines such as Yahoo and Google, which reduces your chances of falling victim to a drive-by install. http://www.download.com/SiteAdvisor-for-Firefox/3000-2378_4-10493671.html SPAMFIGHTER has partnered up with Microsoft to build what it claims is the strongest, safest and most effective anti spam tool on the market. So if you use Outlook or Outlook Express and you want to get rid of spam, just install SPAMfighter. And if you use it at home, it's 100% free. http://www.spamfighter.com/Product_Info.asp FOXYTUNES lets you access your media player from Mozilla Firefox. This free slender plug-in appears at the bottom of your browser window. Supported players include Apollo 37, Foobar, ITunes 4, JetAudio 6, Musicmatch Jukebox, Quintessential Player, Sonique, Winamp, Windows Media Player, and Yahoo Music Engine. It includes limited support for Real Player as well. FoxyTunes v1.2 Some people surf in silence because their media player is too distracting. FoxyTunes lets you escape this sad fate by accessing your media player from Firefox. This slender plug-in appears at the bottom of your browser window, leaving your precious browser space untouched. http://www.foxytunes.com/ MERCORA IMRADIO is for the music connoisseur or aficionado who is into music discovery. Mercora IMRadio is the "universal tuner" that connects you to the world's largest and legal music radio network powered by people, dj's and artists just like you. With Mercora IMRadio, you can search, find and listen to thousands of artists and hundreds of genres in near-CD quality sound from webcasters all over the world-you can never find such variety with other online services, AM, FM or even XM. Mercora IMRadio also allows you to legally time-shift authorized webcasts for listening at a later more convenient time or when you are disconnected from the Internet. Welcome to the future of legal music discovery-Mercora IMRadio!Search, listen, and record any music. With over 2.5 million unique tracks, Mercora is a legal music radio network powered by people, DJs, and artists just like you. Mercora combines Internet streaming, country-specific copyright compliance, and social networking technologies to create the next generation of digital music. http://search.mercora.com/msearch/index2.jsp DOWNLOAD ACCELERATER PLUS V8.0.2.3. This download manager brings much more to the table than faster downloads, but it's main focus definitely delivers on making file transfers quicker. Upon installation, the program asks for your e-mail address in the hopes of sending you special offers, but you don't actually need to submit any information to use Download Accelerator Plus. Although the software is free, the trade-off is the ad that occupies the top-right portion of the interface, but it's easy to get used to. In most other respects, the tabbed main window is easy to use and navigate; we especially like the built-in player for previewing media files. The program also installs a handy toolbar in Internet Explorer and integrates with alternate browsers such as Firefox. Increased download speeds are this Download Accelerator's bread and butter, and it doesn't disappoint, making downloads faster than other programs by almost 200 percent in most cases. Besides the common tactic of splitting files into smaller pieces, Download Accelerator Plus speeds things up by automatically seeking faster mirrors. It also can get a file simultaneously from several sites, which is useful if a particular site limits the download speed. Other useful tools include the ability to resume interrupted downloads, log onto protected sites, and schedule downloads at low traffic times for faster downloading. We appreciate the extra tools for organizing media and finding games, as well as the basic yet functional FTP client. All things considered, this feature-rich program will prove to be a valuable addition for the majority of habitual downloaders. http://www.download.com/Download-Accelerator-Plus/3003-2071_4-10037157.html EMAILING LARGE FILES. You may have discovered that most ISP's (especially Comcast) will not allow you to email anything whose size is more than a few paltry megabytes. There is a very easy workaround. Go to either http://www.yousendit.com or http://www.mailbigfile.com. You can very easily send files up to gigabyte in size on these and it's free. The mailing is done directly at their site by just indicating what file you want to send and where you want to send it. HP PHOTOSMART ESSENTIAL helps you get great prints without having to buy anything new. With this fast, free download, you'll not only save time and money, but you'll also get the power to create professional-looking prints in a snap! Designed to streamline the most frequently performed photo software tasks, it's a quick and easy solution for organizing, fixing, printing, and sharing photos. Featuring a mere two clicks to printing lab-quality photos and one touch auto fix, it's surprisingly simple for the novice and convenient for experienced user. Optional plug-ins allow you to do more with your photos. Version 1.9 (formerly Image Zone Express) now features great new sharing options: Upload, share, order prints and photo gifts at Snapfish.com or let Photosmart Essential auto downsize your photos perfectly for home printing and automatically send them in your default email program. Also included are many more borderless home photo album templates, and much more. http://www.hp.com SIMPLE FILE SHREDDER is a utility that securely deletes your files so they can't be restored using recovery software. SFS ensures your privacy by scrambling filenames, overwriting files with random bytes, changing the file date/time to a random date/time value, and verifying files have been completely shredded before deleting them. Simple File Shredder also supports shredding the Windows Recycle Bin, Recent Documents, and Temp files. Also supported are Firefox, Opera, and Netscape browser "junk files." Version 2.6 features quick search advanced search options and Netscape 8 is added to System Junk Shredder. The application also has simple or custom shredding options; changes to System Junk Shredder user interface. http://www.scar5.com E-mail comments, suggestions, etc. to Herb Goldstein at: revieweditor@spcug.org 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@mesanetworks.net 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" X 3 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@mesanetworks.net. |
FRPCUG Officers Name Work Home e-Mail
President Rick Mattingly 613-8968 rmatt(at)mesanetworks.net
Vice President Don Anderson 498-3534 482-0943 doande(at)gmail.com
Treasurer Virginia Febinger 223-0908 gingercln(at)cs.com
Treasurer Robert Clayton 493-4124 rclayton41244(at)msn.com
Secretary Jim Bragonier 484-9061 james.bragonier(at)comcast.net
k-Byte Staff
Editor-in-Chief Mike Morris 461-2002 461-2002 twriterext(at)gmail.com
Features Editor Mike Morris 461-2002 461-2002 twriterext(at)gmail.com
Advertising Coordinator Open - We need a volunteer! Contact Rick Mattingly in interim.
Other Contacts
Membership Coordinator Jack Linder 663-2151 jack(at)frpcug.org
New Technology SIG Chuck McJilton 493-2987 cdmcjs(at)gmail.com
Door Prize Coordinator John Goldey 221-0877 johngoldey(at)juno.com
FRPCUG Fax Line 493-1408
FRPCUG Home Page w/E-Mail http://www.frpcug.org
FRPCUG Officer E-Mail frpcug-board(at)frpcug.org
Membership in the Front Range PC Users Group is $25 per year for individuals and $50 per year for companies.
Mail your completed application and payment to:
FRPCUG
PMB 152
305 W. Magnolia
Fort Collins CO 80521
or join in person at the monthly meeting on the first Tuesday of each month.
