k-Byte, May/June 2000
v. 17, n. 5/6
Contents
 1 State of the Group - Rick Mattingly
2 About k-Byte
3 April/May Meeting Reports - Mike Meyer
5 Printer Paper - What's The Difference?
6 On the Web: Health and Medical Sites - R. Glenn York
7 Andy Rooney Quotes
8 A Web Site For Everyone! - Steve Morgan
11 More On The Power Of Microsoft Word - Mike Alcorn
14 Calendar of Events
16 June/July Calendars
18 Membership Application
19 Jasc's QuickView Plus Version 5 - Ten A. Sorgatz
20 Bibliofind Book Search
21 Do It With Word “Style” - Thomas Fischer
23 FlashPath - Rick Mattingly
26 InkJet Printer Tip
26 What Your Computer Is Trying To Tell You - Humor
27 Will CD-R and CD-RW Become the "Floppy of the Future"? - Surya Singh
31 FRPCUG Contacts

In America, anybody can be president. That's one of the risks you take.
-- Adlai Stevenson


State of the Group
by Rick Mattingly

As "temporary" newsletter editor, I want to take this opportunity to thank members Jack Linder and Glenn York for "looking over my shoulder" and pointing out corrections which need to be made to the newsletter. It never ceases to amaze me that so many errors can creep into the newsletter when it is right in plain view on the screen in front of me. Glenn recently did a nice job of reviewing the newsletter from cover to cover and identified a number of corrections and updates that should be made. Much appreciated!

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About k-Byte

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 © 2000 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, open to anyone interested in MS-DOS, OS/2, or UNIX microcomputers. Its purpose is to provide an educational and scientific forum of mutual benefit for members of the micro-computer community. FRPCUG holds a monthly meeting and conducts various special interest groups (SIGS) and seminars. Members have voting privileges, subscription to k-Byte newsletter, SIGs and selected seminars. Annual dues are $25 for individual/family membership and $50 for corporate/group membership.

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Scribe's Corner
April Meeting Report
by Mike Meyer

36 people attended the April meeting. During the Announcements Period, President Rick Mattingly informed the membership that the July meeting was rescheduled to the 11th from the 4th. The annual Software Zoo will be held then, since there will be no meeting in August, due to routine scheduled maintenance at the Senior Center. Glen York mentioned that OnTrac.Com (Vers.4.0) is available for free downloading from the Myogenics web site. It is a substitute replacement) for the Windows File Manager (Explorer). Rick again discussed the FRPCUG web-site maintenance problems for new users of the HTML programming language and how they might be handled to everyone's benefit, including FRPCUG.

A number of rather interesting questions were addressed during the Open Forum Session. They included some problems with the newest version of Windows Explorer (Vers. 5.0), when using WIN98, not WIN95. They appeared during the bootup and cache operations.

Glen York discussed a new "worm" virus ("Network") that is showing up lately. It situates itself in the root directory of the hard drive and interferes with Internet operations, when that drive is being shared. The "worm" can be deleted to restore normal operations. Dave Trump mentioned that a very good free software program ("Zone Alarm") is available from ZoneLabs.Com, which will act as a "firewall" and run effectively in the background to protect your system from unauthorized external access. Rick then discussed the Explorer 5.0 diagnostics tool, which can be accessed through My Computer (Add/Remove Programs).

The Main Program was presented by Rick Mattingly and was a very interesting discussion of computerized mapping programs (i.e., GIS/GPS). His presentation covered the high points of Geographical Information Systems and Global Positioning Satellites. The latter systems were developed and paid for by the U.S. Defense Dept. and are accurate to within centimeters for the most sophisticated available equipment. There currently are 28 satellites in the system (7 orbits w/ 4 satellites each). The typical commercial hand-held units usually are accurate to within +/- 50 ft. Their operation can be affected by the presence of buildings and trees, and possibly by some other factors (e.g., snowstorms). They must be located on the dashboard for optimum performance in a car. To demonstrate a GIS "smart mapping" system, Rick utilized the many capabilities of the DeLorme Street Atlas U.S.A. program, which is available for about $40 "off-the-shelf". This is a highly versatile program that can be used very effectively by the average person for several different applications, including their own trip planning. Rick also showed how GIS/GPS was used by his employer (ELCO) to lay out the locations of their water supply operations in Larimer County around the Fort Collins area. This included a discussion of how the information obtained can be shared and used by various agencies of government and industry. A lengthy Q & A period, along with some more demos, ensued after the regular program ended.


May Meeting Report
By Mike Meyer

Despite a slow start, 30 people ended up attending what proved to be a very interesting meeting. During the Announcements Period, President Rick Mattingly stated that the May 10th Board meeting will be held at the Perkins North restaurant at 7 p.m., due to a scheduling conflict with the PFA meeting room. He also announced that Microsoft's Millennium program currently is scheduled for a June release, and that Microsoft will put on a presentation on this program for our September meeting. He further mentioned that short informational sessions will be held at each future monthly meeting on a special feature of the Microsoft operating system, which likely would be of special interest to new members. Glen York mentioned that Internet Group monthly meetings will now be held at the Barnes & Noble Book Store on South College Avenue, beginning with the first Monday in June (7 p.m.). It is open to all levels of competence and lasts until about 8:30 p.m. It will be held in the area near the computer section and is sponsored by both the bookstore and JYM Information Systems. Rick then provided an update on his presentation at the April meeting on GPS/GIS. Due to a recent relaxation of some security rules by the Defense Department, operations now are significantly more accurate and convenient for general users.

During the Open Forum Session, a large number of user problems were addressed, These included WordPerfect 6.0 document handling difficulties, when graphics were involved; MS Word's annoying "multiplying icons", created during macro operations; Installation of filters or viewers to enable reading of documents created in other programs; Anti-virus programs employing automated features that monitor many system operations and run continuously in the background; Editing e-mail messages to avoid annoying "word-wrap" difficulties; and, the great importance of recording and monitoring your system's BIOS settings.

The Main Program was presented by Chuck McJilton and Glen York, who showed some of the features of the recently well-publicized LINUX operating system, using Red Hat 6.2. Similarities to and differences with prominent features of Microsoft Windows were demonstrated. The Star Office program, which has many capabilities comparable to those of Microsoft Office, also was demonstrated. A nice feature of this program is its ability to create smaller file sizes than the Microsoft program. Star Office also is less expensive than the latter program at software vendors, but can be downloaded free from Sun Microsystems' web-site (www.sun.com). Since this file is quite large, however, it takes a rather large amount of time to complete the down-loading operation. Glen mentioned that he is negotiating through JYMIS to obtain this program on a CD for our club members for only the cost of the CD disk. He also mentioned that versions of the LOTUS SmartSuite and Corel WordPerfect Office 2000 programs are among those now available for use with the LINUX system. Thanks to Chuck and Glenn for their efforts in providing an interesting and timely presentation.

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Printer Paper - What's the Difference?

You've finally got a great color printer with 600 to 1200 dpi (Dots per Inch) capability for text and graphics and you can't wait to start printing. According to the manufacturer it should be able to print photo quality graphics and crisp text files. However, when you actually print something, it seems the print quality is no better than with your old printer. Eventually, you look with envy at your friend's printouts and sigh "Someday I'll be able to afford a high quality printer like theirs." But wait, maybe the problem isn't the printer... perhaps it's the paper.

Let's take a look at the basics of different printers:
An impact printer uses a mechanical hammering device to produce each character by forcing a metal or plastic form against an inked ribbon to produce an image on paper. The characters may be on a moving bar, a rapidly rotating chain, a rotatable ball, or even a spoked wheel. A dot matrix printer uses a matrix of tiny pins that, when struck, impart a set of dots to form a wide variety of characters. Graphics may be created by using different dot combinations. Bubble-jet printers (or ink-jet printers) squirt heated ink through a matrix of holes to form characters. These small ink droplets are electrostatically sprayed from a nozzle onto the paper. Laser printers form an image of the output on a selenium-coated drum, using laser light according to data from the computer. The image is then transferred to the output from the drum using photocopying techniques. Thermal-wax-transfer printers and dye-sublimation printers use heat to transfer color pigment from a ribbon to a special paper to produce photographic-quality color images.

Inkjet (bubblejet) printers are very affordable for home use. In the store the printouts may look incredible but when you get home, somehow the printer just doesn't seem to have the same print quality. Most of the time the problem is not the printer, it's the paper. Most people try out several different kinds of photocopy, laser printer, or inexpensive inkjet papers. When an inkjet printer sprays onto these papers, the ink is wicked by the fibers causing an effect known as bleeding. Some inks spread to the sides or the back of the paper making the image less sharp. When the ink bleeds, it isn't all on top of the paper, some has soaked in. This is easy to check by turning the sheet over. If the ink is starting to come through or the front appears lighter, grayed-out, or feathered, as though you were printing with diluted ink, you probably have the wrong paper.

To get good quality printouts with an inkjet printer you need to use coated paper stock. A single coated paper is not enough, as it is formulated to keep the ink from getting into the paper fiber but doesn't have the best ink adhesion or reflectivity. Quality printouts need a second coating on top of the ink barrier coating. The second coating optimizes viewing by reflecting light back to set off the colors. The second coat also provides a base to adhere the ink. To put it more simply you need a primer coat and a finish coat to generate a quality printout.

Two options controlled by most inkjet printers are configuration for the "Media Type" and "Print Quality". "Media Type" controls the amount of ink set down on the media. It DOES NOT control or affect the resolution. "Print Quality" controls the "Resolution" of the images printed.

Now you know what type of paper to use, lets see what some of the other manufacturing terms mean!

Basis Weight - the weight of a ream of paper in the Basic Size for that grade (e.g. 500 sheets of Sub. 20 Bond paper in its basic size, 17x22 in., would weigh 20 lb.)

Bond Paper - paper manufactured usually for stationery, letterheads or forms. Distinguishable in the more popular grades by a watermark and excellent writing surface.

Brightness- the measurement of a paper's light-reflective qualities that affect contrast and halftone reproduction.

Coated Paper - paper with a coated surface that gives the paper a smooth finish.

Finish - the special characteristics of a paper's surface, which differ from grade to grade. High, low and textured finishes, for example, exhibit varying degrees of smoothness, ink receptivity and printability.

Ink Holdout - the ability of the paper to keep ink on its surface rather than absorb it into the sheet (e.g., paper with good ink holdout would require less ink and exhibit less "feathering" than a highly absorbent paper).

Ink Receptivity - the degree to which a paper resists or accepts ink penetration based on variations in its size and coating.

Laser Papers - papers suited for optimum performance on heat fused, high-resolution, laser printers used in desktop publishing. (Not recommended for inkjets)

Ream - 500 sheets of paper, regardless of size.

What are some of the specialty papers available for inkjet printers?

HIGH RESOLUTION: Coated 24lb paper provides distinct crisp details and colors for graphics, text and photographic images. This paper has a non-resin coating and provides exceptional results at an economical cost.

ULTRA RESOLUTION: Coated 27lb paper provides a sturdier platform for intense graphics and color applications which would saturate lighter papers. It provides a thicker media while maintaining an economical cost.

PHOTO GLOSSY: Photographic coated paper provides a heavy surface for "true" photo applications. Gives images a glossy photographic appearance. This paper may also be obtained with an extra coating that bonds with the ink to provide a waterproof image.

OPAQUE WHITE GLOSSY FILM: Synthetic film providing a durable media for Photo applications. A thin polyester material provides stability for hostile environments and also provides for exceptional color and detail.

CLEAR TRANSPARENCY FILM: A clear polyester base coated with a specifically formulated quick dry emulsion for optimum performance. Produces bright colorful overlays and presentation foils.

T-SHIRT TRANSFER: An iron on product that utilizes a "cool-release" process to maximize image detail and color transfer. Look for an easy to use product with easy peel backings and machine washability.

ULTRA-VIOLET T-SHIRT TRANSFER: This product provides a unique transfer. In addition to color transfers, the Ultra-Violet transfer actually changes color when exposed to sunlight! When sunlight is removed the image returns to the natural state.

SILVER REFLECTIVE FILM: A polyester based silver film. The metalized film is excellent for monochrome as well as color graphics

CANVAS: An artist grade canvas that is pre-stretched and gives an elegant look to portraits and artist renderings. Provides excellent color reproduction.

POLY-SILK FABRIC, (ADHESIVE BACKED): A woven polyester base that looks, feels and gives the appearance of real silk. An adhesive backing provides for transfer to fabric or textiles.

WATERCOLOR PAPER: An artist grade paper that provides the feel and appearance of watercolor texture. Provides excellent format for reproduction of renderings and other artistic applications.

BACKLIT REVERSE PRINTING FILM: A UV resistant polyester film designed for most light box applications. Produces bright vibrant colors with a superb light diffusion quality. Reverse printing or viewing through the base allows for single sided lamination.

WINDOW DECAL FILM: Polyester based transparent film with self-adhesive backing to allow mounting directly to windows or other substrates.

Some of these specialty papers are difficult to locate and prices vary considerably. For economy, print your images on inexpensive 20-24 LB paper until you are satisfied with the composition, then switch to the more expensive media. Try printing the same image on several types of media, you'll be amazed at how different they look.

To acquire various types of specialty papers go to the web sites of paper manufactures and distributors such as Hammermill, Mead, Hewlett-Packard, or Kodak and request sample packets.

Most of all, have fun and experiment with different paper media, you'll be amazed at what your inkjet printer can do for you!

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On the Web: Health and Medical Sites
by R. Glenn York

The following sites on the World Wide Web provide information about health and medical topics. Some of these sites include information from patients and may not be sound medically. The information on these sites should be used in conjunction with your doctor to help you better understand your condition and treatment options.

Additional medical and health related sites can be found by using any search engine and searching for health or medical sites. The following list is just some of the many sites available on this topic.

MSNBC Health site
http://www.msnbc.com/news/HEALTH_Front.asp
This site features that latest health and medical news articles along with links to many health related articles.

DRKoop.com
http://www.drkoop.com
Site developed by former Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop. This site features health news and articles and resources on many health issues.

The Health Network
http://www.ahn.com/
Covers a wide range of medical and health topics. This site also includes video segments on major medical procedures like joint surgery and child birth. During these segments a doctor explains what is happening.

Web MD
http://www.webmd.com/
This site provides sections for consumers and medical professionals. The consumer site provides a searchable database of information for people that have just been diagnosed with a disease. Access to some of the professional resources is restricted.

American Medical Association
http://www.ama-assn.org/
This site provides information about the AMA and Links to articles from the Journal of the American Medical Association. This site also provides a Doctor finder that provides information about doctors including education, specialties, AMA membership status and office phone numbers.

Adam.com
http://www.adam.com/
This educational site provides information about the human body and it's systems. The site also calculators for desirable body weight, calories burned and other health measurements.

Healthanswers.com
http://www.healthanswers.com/
This site offers articles about various medical and health related topics and is searchable. There is also a drug database that provides information in plain English about prescriptions, over-the-counter drugs and vitamins.

Onhealth
http://www.onhealth.com/
This site provides articles on many health issues. It also provides links to live chat programs on health topics. There is an option to sign up for a free newsletter about health topics.

National Institutes of Health
http://www.nih.gov/
This government site provides information on NIH's ongoing research projects. It includes links to clinical trials and other medical resources at sites nationwide.

Personal MD
http://www.personalmd.com/
This site includes a variety of health related articles. It also allows you to sign up for pager reminders to take medication and on-line medical records storage.

Health Central
http://healthcentral.com/
This site contains links to information on thousands of diseases and conditions. It also has links to chat communities and drug information.

Health Library
http://health-library.com/
This site contains links to other sites sorted by topic. The links include links to directories of medical professionals, insurance companies, news sources, and consumer information.

Your Health
http://www.yourhealth.com/
This site is like a weekly magazine. It features an article each week on a health topic. It also includes links to pass articles, current medical news items, and reference information. This site also sponsors daily on-line “Ask the Doctor” sessions where each day a different doctor is on-line to answer questions. The doctors change daily and come from different specialties. Transcripts of past sessions are posted for reference.

John Hopkins
http://www.intelihealth.com/
This site is a joint venture of Aetna U.S. Healthcare® and Johns Hopkins University and Health System. It contains links to all kinds of medical information including free health emails, health assessments, drug information and health resources.

R. Glenn York is a partner in JYM Information Systems LLC a local Internet Service Provider. His has been working with the Internet and data communications for over 15 years. If you have a suggestion for this column please e-mail Glenn at rgyork@jymis.com

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ANDY ROONEY QUOTES

Never raise your hands to your kids It leaves your groin unprotected.

I'm not into working out. My philosophy: No pain, no pain.

I am in shape. Round's a shape!

Ever wonder if illiterate people get the full effect of alphabet soup?

I always wanted to be somebody; I should have been more specific.

Did you ever notice when you blow in a dog's face he gets mad at you? But when you take him in a car he sticks his head out the window.

Have you ever noticed? Anybody going slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster is a maniac.

You must stay in shape. My aunt started walking five miles a day when she was 60. She's 97 today and we don't know where she is.

The reason most people play golf is to wear clothes they would not be caught dead in otherwise.

Anytime four New Yorkers get into a cab together without arguing, a bank robbery has just taken place.

I have six locks on my door all in a row when I go out, I lock every other one. I figure no matter how long somebody stands there picking the locks, they are always locking three.

Now they show you how detergents take out bloodstains; a pretty violent image there. I think if you've got a T-shirt with a bloodstain all over it, maybe laundry isn't your biggest problem. Maybe you should get rid of the body before you do the wash.

I ask people why they have deer heads on their walls. They always say because it's such a beautiful animal. There you go. I think my mother is attractive, but I only have photographs of her.

Future historians will be able to study at the Gerald Ford Library; the Jimmy Carter Library; the Ronald Reagan Library and the Bill Clinton Adult Bookstore.

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A Web Site for Everyone!
By Steve Morgan

Isn't it incredible? The number of Internet users is growing by 20-30% per year. In just a few more years, the industrialized countries will have 80-85% of all their citizens connected. But with all the excitement over the number of people joining the Internet, it is easy to overlook the gigantic number of web sites that are being created!

Personal home pages, business home pages, news articles, retail sites, government sites, the figures are mind-boggling! From November of 1997 to November of 1999, total web pages grew from 320 million to 830 million! And the number will continue to grow exponentially as more people gain Internet access. One of the reasons for this vast increase is because people are creating their own personal web pages like there is no tomorrow! I believe that within 3 years, most people connected to the Web will have their own personal website. Admit it, haven't you at least thought about having a web page with your name on it? Imagine it, big as life! .org>, your portal to prestige, convenience and networking possibilities!

Personal web pages can be used for current addresses, resumes, life history, goals, pictures and any other information that you want others to have. Or create an extended family website that would be a 1-stop information resource where all family members could keep information current, show their pictures, tell what they are presently doing, show where they are living and talk about what they are working on. Each family member would have a subdirectory linked to the main page, such as .com/, along with an email address @.com. Privacy can also be assured by requiring a password before anyone can view your site.

But think, what is the one thing that every one of these web pages needs? Bingo! A unique address! And this is where trouble appears. Believe it or not, your name is probably already registered to someone else! While there may be thousands of John Smith's, there are currently only a few easy ways to set up a web page called Johnsmith. The main ways are with a .com, .net and. org. Additionally every nation has its own designation such as .uk for the United Kingdom, or .to for Tonga. Some countries require that you live there in order to use their designation, while others see it as a lucrative revenue stream to sell the designation to people desperate for an easy to remember address.

Finding a good web address is made even more difficult since many organizations will register all permutations of their name to prevent imitators and gripe web sites. I first came to grips with this when I tried to register Morgan.com. It seems that the J.P. Morgan Corporation has taken all of the morgan.com, net, and org site names out of availability. And let's face it, look in the phone book and there are hundreds of families named Morgan in there. Based on how hard it is to find any available name with Morgan in it, these people are gobbling up web addresses like there is no tomorrow! And who can blame them? Once someone registers a web address, they can keep it as long as they keep on paying the yearly registration! They do not even need to have a web site up!

But cheer up! If you are flexible, there are other ways to get a good web address. Your Internet provider will often host your web page and include 5 to 20 megabytes of web space as a member benefit. The downside is that your name is just a part of the provider's name, such as users. .com/. If you belong to a smaller provider, you will be able to get a name that is very similar to your own. As the provider becomes larger, the competition for popular names gets fierce. There are also several commercial web sites on the internet that provide up to 20 megabytes for storage of your personal web site, but they will force anyone browsing your website to look at the floating advertising box that is on every page. Another problem is that your web address will have about 10-20 subdirectory names, which is too many for people to easily remember.

OK, you are now in a panic to find out if someone out there is using your name. How do you find out? ICANN, or the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, is the official non-profit corporation that keeps the Internet naming system in order. But they let other companies actually do all the work. There are hundreds of companies that will check out the names you want and tell you if they are available; most of them also offer web-hosting services for your newly acquired web name. One of my favorite's is a Canadian Company called Net Nation at , There you can find out if any of the .com, .net, .org, .to, .nu and .cc suffixes are available, just by putting in the name you would like to search for. If the name you want is taken, it will even tell you who currently owns it! Once you have decided on a name, registration cost varies depending on what country you are registering with, and what company is registering your name. I have seen a low of $17.00 per year and a high of $50.00 per year. The site you are registering with might also charge an additional fee.

So go and register your name now! With 20,000 domain names registered every week, you can't afford to wait! Next Month we will talk about some great low-cost companies that will host your web site, and also examine the different ways to create your very own web site!

This article is furnished as a benefit of our membership in the Association of Personal Computer User Groups (APCUG), an international organization to which this user group belongs. The author, Steve Morgan, is a member of the APCUG Board of Advisors. He represents Region 5, which covers AK, ID, MT, OR, WY, ND, SD and WA. Steve is also a member of the APCUG Editorial Committee. He's one busy guy!

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More on the Power of Microsoft Word
Make Any Scanned Document an Interactive Form
by Mike Alcorn

I am not a Word power user by any stretch of the imagination. I learned a lot from Jill Levine's presentation on Word Tips and Tricks at the October CTPC meeting. Then, I just happened to run across a how-to that takes Word to a whole new level: how to create interactive forms based on scanned documents.

Almost everyone has used Word's abil-ity to insert graphics into their documents. Many fewer of us may have actually cre-ated an interactive form in Word. This is a Word template with form fields (text boxes, drop-down lists, check boxes, etc.) embedded in it. What we are taking about in this how-to is scanning a form, import-ing it into Word and then making it inter-active. You may not need this capability very often, but it is a powerful tool

The techniques discussed here assume you are using Word for Windows 97. It is my belief that they should work in Word 6, Word 95 and Word 2000 with minor changes in how certain tasks are accom-plished. With this document as a road map, you should be able to figure it out.

In the Beginning

We will assume the following:

1. You have a letter-sized or smaller form to be scanned.

2. You have scanned your form and saved the image file in a format that Word understands (pcx, tif, gif, bmp, etc.)

3. You have opened a new Word docu-ment and are ready to execute the In-sert|Picture|From File commands. Be sure the Float over text box is checked.

4. You know how to set margins in Word and how to move your graphic im-age around on the page.

You should give some thought to the following.

1. Assuming your form is letter-sized, Word will shrink an 8.5”xll” image to fit. Word complains but does let you set 0” margins (and headers/footers too. If your image lacks a border, then in Word set the margins of your document to .25” on all sides. Word will shrink the image to fit.

2. I found it very helpful to go to Tools|Options|View and turn Paragraph Marks on. Before inserting your graphic, press [Enter] once and then return to the first paragraph on the page and insert your graphic.

3. Before you can type text in a layer over your graphic you need to set Format |Picture Wrapping to Through. For reasons that are not clear to me, you then need to set it to None on this same screen.

Now you have your form showing up in your document. If you have followed each step above and the gods are smiling, you should see two paragraph marks in the up-per left corner of your form. I suggest a quick test to ensure that you can actually type (and see) text over your form. My test was simply to type a series of a's and [En-ter] combinations. If you don't see the a's, you need to go through these steps again.

Create a table

The standard way of creating a form in Word is to put the fields in a table. This ensures that things stay put on the page.

But wait - things to do before inserting the table:

1. Select Tools|Options|View and make sure there is a check beside Object Anchors.

2. Click on your graphic to select it. You should see an anchor Format|Bor-ders and Shading.con next to the first paragraph mark on the page. If it is any-where else, drag it up to that first para-graph marker.

Now move your cursor to the second paragraph marker and draw the overall outside border of your table (click Ta-ble|Draw Table and make sure the Draw Table pencil is selected). Make sure your table starts below the scanned image. If your table is too high on the page, delete it, add some carriage returns and recreate it.

Success will be the border of a table around your form. Failure will likely be your form disappearing (on to page 2). If failure was your lot, simply go back through these steps, carefully - this really does work

Note that you are drawing a table not inserting one. We will assume you know how to do this. If not, it is not hard to learn. You use the Draw Table tool to draw row and column lines sufficient to hold the fields on your form.

Finish the Table

Close the Tables and Borders toolbar. Click anywhere in the table and select Table|Select Table then select Format|Bor-ders and Shading and set the style to none so that they do not print.

Next, move the cursor to the first row in the table and select Table|Select Row|Cell Height and Width and in the Height of Cell 1 combo box choose Exactly. Then se-lect Next Row and work your way through each row in your table (the quick way is to press ”e.e. (Enter]” for each row). This will lock your row heights and keep your form fields from “wandering.”

Finally, select Table and make sure Show Gridlines is showing. If Hide Gridlines is showing simply click it to tog-gle. You want to be able to see your table grid so you can properly place your form fields.

Insert Your Form Fields

Choose View|Toolbars|Forms to open the Forms toolbar. Move to a target cell. Use spaces, tabs or returns to position your cursor where you want the field. Select a Text Box, Check Box or Drop Down Box field. Continue until your form is com-plete.

I would offer a couple of formatting suggestions:

1. If you use carriage returns to position your fields you can change the font size of some of them to more precisely position your field.

2. There is a button on the Form Field Tool bar called Form Field Shading. I suggest you turn this on, at least during the design phase, as an aid to more pre-cisely positioning your fields.

3. There are a number of things you can control when you create a form field. Have fun experimenting.

When your form is complete, select Tools I Protect Document Forms. You can password protect it if you feel so inclined.

Finally, save your file as a Document Template. Word should save the file with your other standard templates (typically c:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Tem-plates\). If so it will show up as one of the template choices when you create a new Word document.

Choose File I New and select the form template as the basis for your document. Fill in the form fields using the Tab key to move from field to field.

Conclusion

This sounds complicated. I first saw this concept in an article by M. David Stone in PC Magazine. I walked through David's how-to and couldn't. I went to the library and looked through all of the Word books. None discussed this specific concept though several had good sections on creat-ing forms. I worked through each piece of the puzzle some more with David and a couple of books as guide's and was able to make it work using the sequence of steps outlined above.

I have created a form template that you might be interested in downloading and looking at. It is located on the CTPC web site as http://www.ctpc.org/nltr1199/SoloApp.dot. You might be able to use it to help you over any rough spots in develop-ing your own. Based on personal experi-ence, the second template is much easier to get right than the first so don't give up hope.

Good luck.

November 1999 Digital Viking newsletter

Internet Chamber of Commerce - Northern Colorado Chapter
Contact Matt Tracer at 970.484.8102, mtracer@ncicc.org, or http://www.ulltra.com/icc

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Calendar of Events
- IMPORTANT NOTICE -
FRPCUG meetings are held at the Fort Collins Senior Center. Check below for directions to the Senior Center.

June General Forum Meeting

We will meet at the Fort Collins Senior Center on Tuesday, June 6 at 7:00 pm.

Meeting Agenda
7:00 - 7:15 Announcements
7:15 - 7:45 Open Forum
7:45 - 8:00 Break
8:00 - 9:30 Windows 2000 - Jeff Gilbert, Engineering Computer Consultants, will give a presentation on Microsoft Windows 2000.

July General Forum Meeting

We will meet at the Fort Collins Senior Center on Tuesday, July 11 at 7:00 pm.
Special Date!
Meeting Agenda
7:00 - 7:15 Announcements
7:15 - 7:45 Open Forum
7:45 - 8:00 Break
8:00 - 9:30 Hardware & Software Zoo - A round-robin display of interesting hardware and software applications.

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 the Thursday immediately 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 Poudre Fire Authority administrative meeting room which is located in the parking garage building, at the corner of Remington and Mountain in Fort Collins.

LINUX SIG
This SIG, supports LINUX and other non-Windows operating systems for PC compatible hardware. This includes all distributions of LINUX, the BE Operating system, and OS2. The meetings are held at 7:00 PM on the fourth Thursdays of each month in the Poudre Fire Authority meeting room at 102 Remington (In the parking garage on the corner of Remington and Mountain in Fort Collins). For more information contact Chuck McJilton at 493-2987 or email linuxsig@jymis.com.

Northern Front Range Netware Users Group
NFRNUG meets at 5:30 pm on the second Wednesday of each month at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife building, 2101 Oakridge Drive in Fort Collins. NFRNUG meetings are open to any users that are involved with Novell networking products and integration of other networking products into the Novell environment (Unix, NT, Mac, etc.). Contact Jim Stephens at 303-541-3376 or jcsteph@concentric.net or contact Chuck Kluko at 970-663-4770 or c.kluko@ix.netcom.com for further membership information. Yearly dues are $000.00 (yes, FREE) with pizza and pop served at 5:00 pm prior to meeting. Saturday labs and training sessions open to NRFNUG members only, space is limited.

Rocky Mountain Internet Users Group
Meets on the second Tuesday of 'odd' months at NCAR in Boulder. Meetings start at 7:00 pm, but members are encouraged to arrive at 6:30 pm for informal networking and refreshments. NCAR is located in Boulder at 1850 Table Mesa Drive. For more information see the RMIUG Web site at: http://www.rmiug.org/.

Telecommuncation SIG
The Telecommunications SIG covers topics related to computer communications hardware and software including modems, xDSL, networking, ISDN and the Internet. The meetings are held at 7:00 PM on the third Thursdays of each month in the Poudre Fire Authority meeting room at 102 Remington (In the parking garage on the corner of Remington and Mountain in Fort Collins). For more information contact Chuck McJilton at 493-2987 or email telecomsig@jymis.com.

Web Design SIG
If you're an HTML author/WEB page designer, or would like to learn, contact SIG coordinator Doug Boicourt at 495-6949 or e-mail db@jymis.com for the date and location of the next SIG meeting.

RIBUG Meeting
The Regional Internet Business Users Group (RIBUG) deals with issues of business utilization of the Internet. This group meets the last Wednesday of each month. Contact Will Horton in Fort Collins at 223-0330 or e-mail whorton@jymis.com for details.

Internet Safari
This free Internet discussion group meets the first Monday of each month at the Barnes and Noble book store 4045 S. College. This group covers any topics and questions relating to using the Internet and is open to beginners and experienced Internet users. Meetings start at 7:00PM. For more information call JYM Information Systems at 416-9286 or email info@jymis.com.

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.

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June 2000

6 FRPCUG General Forum Meeting 7:00PM
12 HTML SIG Meeting 7:00PM
14 FRPCUG Board Meeting 7:00PM
NRFNUG Meeting 5:00PM
15 Telcomm SIG 7:00PM
28 RIBUG Meeting 7:00PM
29 LINUX SIG 7:00PM

JUNE DOOR PRIZE
The Door Prize Program for the June 6 General Forum Meeting will feature a brand-new 58K U.S. Robotics modem, compliments of JYM Information Services. Bring some dollar bills to the meeting!

July 2000

4 Independence Day
(FRPCUG Meeting on 11th!)
10 HTML SIG Meeting 7:00PM
11 FRPCUG General Forum Meeting 7:00PM
12 FRPCUG Board Meeting 7:00PM
NRFNUG Meeting 5:00PM
20 Telcomm SIG 7:00PM
26 RIBUG Meeting 7:00PM
27 LINUX SIG 7:00PM

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Jasc's QuickView Plus Version 5
By Ten A. Sorgatz, IBM/PCUG

There are times when the Windows Find Utility just doesn't do the job. It works fine if you know the name of a file (or something close to it), and it works OK on those types of files that can be scanned internally for text strings; but what if you are looking for a graphics file? You know that you put it in a certain di-rectory, but you can't remember if you saved it in TIF format or JPG or BMP (or then again, maybe it was a WMF vec-tor file), let alone the filename.

Win95/98 also has its QuickView accessory that will allow you to right-click to view a file, but it never seems to have a filter for the file types you are trying to peruse. And then there are those “thumbnail” programs that allow you to catalog and annotate files, but the thumb-nail databases take up multi-megabytes of disk space, and need to be updated every time you move or remove a file. (Sigh.) If you could just thumb through the files, without having to open them one at a time in the appropriate application, and take a quick peek, you'd know the file when you see it .... You can!

JASC's Quick View Plus (abbreviated to QVP) not only gives you instant right--click viewing access to over 250 Win-dows, DOS, Macintosh, and internet file types, but also gives you a speedy way to print them. You don't even need to have the application that the file was created in installed on your system!

Just right-click on a filename and choose Quick View Plus from the context menu. Then if you want to thumb through an assortment of files, all you have to do is drag and drop them one after the other onto the open QVP win-dow. If the program encounter a file that it doesn't support, it asks you if you want to view the file as a text or hexadecimal file or open it in its native application.

Versatility plus!

QVP supports a wide variety of for-mats, text, spreadsheets, graphics, data-base, presentation, compressed, and html. You can view files and attachments with true display of formatting, including embedded graphic and OLE objects. Once viewed, you can use the QVP search function to find text strings within the document.

Graphics can be zoomed, rotated, and copied (all or a selected portion of the image) to the Windows clipboard for past-ing into an application. QVP can even make Windows wallpaper from a graphics file.

If you select a compressed file to view (seven different formats), the QVP shows you the files contained in the archive, and you can extract them by dragging and dropping them wherever you want them to be. Files embedded within UUencoded files can be decoded when viewed and saved as separate files.

Printing from QVP is quick and easy:

Right-click on a file and choose Quick Print from the context menu. QVP does not need to launch the application in which the file was created.

QVP can save a copy of a file in the format in which it was created, and can also save embedded objects separate from the file that contains them. While viewing a file you can choose to open the file in the native application by simply clicking on the Open for Editing button of the context menu.

A very useful helper

QVP works either as a stand-alone operation or integrates as an add-in helper application to several Groupware, email, and Browser applications. It lets you view attachments without opening applications or executing macros, thus preventing your computer from catching or spreading macro viruses.

I tested this in Eudora v.3.0, which does not display attached images inline, but rather as an icon at the end of the message. When I clicked the icon within my test message, QVP immediately launched a helper application and dis-played the attached .JPG file.

Currently, QVP integrates with these applications: AOL, Corel Perfect Office Eudora, Lotus:cc Mail, Lotus Notes, MS Exchange, MS Outlook, Outlook Express, MSIE, Netscape, Norton Navigator, and SPRY Mosiac. QVP can also supply support for several file types through third-party plug-ins like the Corel CMX Viewer and Adobe Acrobat.

QVP even supports hyperlinks! You can read about its many other features by visiting the JASC website , where you can download an evaluation copy (Win95/ Win98/NT) or order the product. The CD-ROM comes with versions for Win-dows 3.x as well as Win95/Win98/NT, and well-written and illustrated manuals are supplied for either version. The program requires 15 MB of disk storage space for a full installation. The price is $59.00 with full technical support and downloadable up-grades when available.

Quick View Plus has the distinction of having won the PC Computing “MVP," the Windows Magazine “Win 100,” and the PC World “Best Buy” awards. This is an excellent basic file viewer that does a good job of extending the usability of the Windows interface.

Contact Info
Quick View Plus 5.0
JASC Software, Inc.
7905 Fuller Road
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
1-888-387-7578
www.jasc.com

Reprinted from HardCopy, newsletter of the Sb Bytes PC User's Group [Arroyo Grande, California], July 1999. Originally published by the IBM/PC User Group, Redding, California.
Contributed by Dan Jerome.

 Looking for that hard to find book? Check out Bibliofind where you can quickly search through a worldwide database of sixteen million old, used and rare books. Place your order on the secure server and the book is on your doorstep like lightning. Book lover's paradise!
http://www.bibliofind.com
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Do it with Word "Style"
Styles Simplify Formatting
By Thomas Fischer

Styles simplify formatting. Do you find yourself repeatedly highlighting text, indenting text, changing fonts and font sizes? And then, a little further down the document-like the very next paragraph-doing it all over again?

You don't need to...if you use Microsoft Word's "Style" feature found in Word 2.0, 6.0 and 7.0.

What is a "Style"?

A "style" is simply any combination of fonts, font attributes (e.g. font size, color, emphasis, capitalization), and paragraph formatting (e.g. indentation patterns, justifications, bullets, etc.) that a document may require.

By default, Word has several built-in "styles". "Normal," "Heading 1," "Heading 2," and "Heading 3" are just some examples of Word styles. Any user can change these styles or make their own depending on the need. Though there are several methods by which to make or change styles, perhaps the easiest is the "Highlight-The-Text-The-Way-You-Want-The-Style-To-Look-And-Type-It-In-The-Style-Box" ("HTTTWYWTSTLATIITSB") method. Though remembering the "HTTT..." acronym is not so easy (and frankly, totally useless), the steps for making and changing styles are quite easy.

Perform Magic With Five Easy Steps

Step One: First highlight a section of text in a document.
Step Two: Give the highlighted text any attributes you want. Italicize it, bold it, small cap it, put a bullet at the beginning of it, change the font-whatever-just make it look like you want it to look.
Step Three: Think of a name for your newly-created style.
Step Four: With the chosen text still highlighted, click the Style Area on the formatting toolbar. When the entire text in the Style Area on the toolbar is highlighted, type in the name of a new style and press "Enter".
Step Five: Enjoy using-and applying-your newly-created style in your document.

Want To Try It? Go Ahead!
It's Easy...And Fun!

First, open a document in Word. Then, highlight any portion of any sentence in the document (Step One) The portion can be as long as an entire paragraph or as small as a space within a sentence.

Next (Step Two), give the highlighted text a special format. For example, bold and italicize the text by using the mouse to select the "B" and "I" on the Formatting Toolbar. Then, increase the font size to 20.

Now (Step Three), give this special format a name such as "Title". Move the mouse to the Style Area on the Formatting Toolbar (Step Four). The name of the existing style will be displayed and highlighted by this action. Type in the name of the new style, in this case "Title" and hit "Enter" on the keyboard. Congratulations! You have just made a new style!

Step Five is the fun part. Go to another part of the document and insert your mouse anywhere in the chosen paragraph or sentence (You don't have to highlight anything!). Now go the Style Area on the Formatting Toolbar, hit the drop-down arrow and select "Title" with a single-click of the mouse. All text within the selected paragraph will then change to conform to the "Title" style.

Are You Panicking???

Upset that all the text changed???? No Problem!!! Just put your cursor anywhere in the same paragraph, go to the Style area and select "Normal." The paragraph will conform to the "Normal" style.

What if you don't like something about the "Normal' style. What if you want "Normal" to be "Arial-10" instead of "Times New Roman-12"? Just change it! How???

First, select the "Normal" style in the Style Area on the formatting bar. Then highlight a portion of text. Next, change the text font to Arial and the font size to 10. Then go to the Style Area and select (and highlight) the "Normal" style. Hit "Enter" on the keyboard. A special screen will appear asking you two things.

The first asks if you want to modify the style highlighted in the Style Area box (this is the default option). The second asks if you want to undo the modification and revert to the original style before you changed it. Since you want to change the attributes of the "Normal" style to Arial-10, select the first option. All text in the document that shares the same style name will now change.

Now that you can make styles, what can you do with them? There are many applications for styles. If you like and use a particular combination of font characteristics-size, color, capitalization, justification, etc.-make it a style!

An example of styles that you might create might be a "Title" style. Just type a title, insert your mouse pointer into an area of the title text, select your newly-created "Title" style, and-presto-your text conforms to the title. The same can be done for paragraph text, quotations, even bulleted items-numbered, lettered, or with customized bullet symbols. The possibilities are endless!!!


From the "Blue Chip News" a publication of the Saginaw Valley Computer Association Saginaw, MI

How fast is your Internet connection really? Check here:

http://computingcentral.msn.com/topics/bandwidth/speedtest.asp

This site will poll the live connection and display your actual connection speed.

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FlashPath
by Rick Mattingly

Digital camera technology is growing by leaps and bounds. Capability is going up and the price is going down, which is good news for us consumers. However, one issue that remains is a convenient method of getting the images from the digital camera into the computer.

The majority of digital camera models come with a serial cable interface. Another popular interface has been the card media readers, also serial. To further complicate matters, most of these solutions also involve a specific software interface as well. Serial connections are not very convenient, as this interface is now at a premium in many cases with other serial devices taking up the serial port connections on our systems. And, if you are on the move away from your computer you are faced with needing to remember to pack along the special serial cable, software and/or card reader to allow you to connect to another computer to access your images and clear the cameras memory.

Many of the new digital camera models are using SmartMedia wafer media cards for image storage. If your new camera uses SmartMedia you are in luck. Do not even bother to unpack that serial cable and special interface software. Leave it in the box and immediately purchase a FlashPath floppy disk adapter. The FlashPath is a 3.5" floppy disk look-alike which is read by the standard floppy drive. Pop your SmartMedia card into the FlashPath, insert into the 3.5" floppy drive and copy the image files into the computer just as you would any other file. Super simple!


The FlashPath floppy disk adapter was developed by Fischer International Products and is sold under a multitude of names. For example, Olympus sells the FlashPath marked with the Olympus name, as in Olympus FlashPath. You will also find this product sold as the Smarty Smart Card Reader, SanDisk SmartDisk, FP Adapter and others. Be aware that, labeled with any name, these are all the same product and more expensive definitely does not mean better! For example, you can find the same FlashPath product labeled with the Olympus name at retail prices of $130 or more.


The FlashPath is powered by two tiny lithium coin batteries (readily available) which allows the adapter's internal circuitry to imitate a standard floppy disk (refer to the internal view). This means that the FlashPath requires no special software driver! However, it does come with a small graphical software interface and a utility to read the lithium battery condition (a single floppy disk). The software interface does provide a convenient way to access images from the adapter and display thumbnails for viewing or printing. But, neither the software interface or battery status utility are actually required to access the FlashPath. To the operating system the FlashPath is simply another floppy disk, allowing the user to access image files from the adapter using any software utility or application. Note that the FlashPath will not function with externally attached floppy drives or non-standard, high capacity floppy drives.

By the way, the FlashPath is a read/write device which allows you to write images back to the SmartMedia if you desire. Can't be more convenient or easy to use than that. The FlashPath is a very simple and efficient solution to accessing SmartMedia equipped digital camera images. Now all you have to pack is one little floppy disk look-alike. I highly recommend it.

Product: FlashPath Floppy Disk Adapter
Manufacturer: Fischer International Products (sold under many names)
SmartMedia Compatible: 8MB -64MB
Operating System Supported: Windows 95/98/NT4.0 and Power MacIntosh with PowerPC 601 or later CPU.
Street Price: $60-$90 (Don't fall for higher prices than this range!)

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Inkjet Printer Tip

Inkjet printers should always be turned on and off using the printers own power switch. If you have the inkjet printer plugged into a power strip or surge protector, do not turn use the external power switch to control the printer.

Turning power off with an external switch will result in the inkjet printhead not parking correctly, resulting in clogged ink nozzles. In addition, any manual settings made to the inkjet printer will only be saved when the printer is turned off using the printer's own power switch.
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What Your Computer Is Trying To Tell You

It says: "Press Any Key"
It means: "Press any key you like, but I'm not moving."

It says: "Fatal Error: Please contact technical support quoting error No. 1A4-25465123430E."
It means: "....where you will be kept on hold for 30 minutes only to be told that it's a hardware problem."

It says: "Installing program to
C:\"
It means: "....and I'll also be writing a few files into C:\WINDOWS and C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM where you will NEVER find them."

It says: "Please insert disk 11"
It means: "....Because I know darn well there are only 10 disks."

It says: "Not enough memory"
It means: "I don't CARE if you've got 64MB of RAM, I want to use the bit below 640K."

It says: "Cannot read from drive D:"
It means: "....However, if you put the CD in right side up...."

It says: "Please wait"
It means: "....Indefinitely."

It says: "Directory does not exist"
It means: "....any more. Whoops!"

It says: "The application caused an error. Choose Ignore or Close."
It means: "....Makes no difference to me, you're still not getting your work back. Kiss your afternoon goodbye."

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Will CD-R and CD-RW Become the "Floppy of the Future"?
by Surya Singh

Ten years ago the common method of sharing files was via a square piece of plastic, five and a quarter inches in diameter. This "floppy" disk held either 360 kilobytes or 1.2 megabytes depending on which type was being used. With today's ever increasing need for removable storage however, CD-R and CD-RW, may become as popular as the floppy disk was in its heyday.

CD-R and CD-RW are acronyms that stand for Compact Disc-Recordable and Compact Disc ReWriteable respectively. Both CD-R and CD-RW drives are extensions to the standard CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory) drive format found in most every computer. These two systems are related to each other and present the consumer with a wide number of upgrade choices in this brave new world.

The key feature of CD-R and CD-RW drives over their now commonplace relative the CD-ROM drive is their ability to write data to a disc. CD-R media can be written once only to any particular area on the disc. CD-RW drives build on the CD-R standard and allow the user to write and rewrite to any particular area on a CD-RW disc many times. Most CD recordable drives available today have rewriteable features and can process both CD-R and CD-RW media. However, a CD recordable must have rewriteable features to rewrite CD-RW discs. In other words, a CD-RW drive can only rewrite CD-RW media (not a CD-R discs) and a CD-R only drive can not process CD-RW media.

One of the caveats with CD-R media is that once its has been written or marked it can never be erased. Thus, working with CD-R media is quite similar to writing everything with a permanent ink pen: Nothing can ever be erased. Moreover, if a mistake is made, the whole process must be restarted and the erroneous disc is simply trashed. It was because of this vexing problem that CD-RW technology, using phase-change media was developed.

CD-R and CD-RW drives, unlike most drives, can record in a variety of formats, each of which effects the final utility of the finished disc. The most common CD-R and CD-RW formats are discussed as follows:

1. The Packet Writing Format - This means of using the disc allows for the disc to easily act as a removable media drive. If CD-RW media is used, the drive responds and acts as a diskette or Zip drive would. However, the disc first needs to be formatted to the UDF format style which reduces the storage capacity to approximately 550 MB. CD-R packet written discs can be read by any CD-ROM drive as long as they are at least "temporarily closed." If the UDF drivers are installed on a PC, a CD-RW packet written disc can be read by most modern CD-ROM drives as long as they support packet reading.

2. Standard Data Track Format - This means creates a CD data disc similar to most CD-ROM disc distributed with software. This format allows the user to store the full 640 MB that the disc can hold; however, the disc data must processed using a CD recording application (e.g., Adaptec's CD Creator) and can not be written to directly.

3. The Audio Track/Multisession Format - This is the standard means that digitized forms of audio are added to CD discs. However, each time a series of songs are recorded, a new session is created. For a "multisession" to be read, the CD player must support the multisession format

Why is CD recording such a complex system? Basically, it stems from the history of CD technology. CD technology was invented by Phillip's Electronics and others almost two decades ago. The original CDs started out as an optical incarnation of long-playing vinyl records (LPs). For this reason CDs, unlike diskette and hard drives, read/write along a continuous, spiraling track instead of sectors. This causes the drives to vary their speed as data is read at various points on the disc because on the outside, more "media" goes by for a given angular velocity. However, data storage is best done using a sector or packet based approach and not the spiral-track approach of CDs. To accommodate data, CDs often place all their data in the first "track" along with a Table of Contents that stores information about all the files and where they are located. Even the speed ratings of most drives are a product of CD history as drive multipliers (e.g., 8x) are in proportion to the speed of the first drives that operated at a rate of 150 kilobytes per second.

Another reason for the great popularity of CD recorders is their economies of scale, which makes them extremely cost competitive for the storage of a large amount of data. CD-R discs or media cost about one dollar per disc and CD-RW discs are approximately $5 dollars a disc. This results in exceptionally low unit costs, or cost per megabyte (measured in ¢/MB). CD-R discs have a unit cost of less than 1/6 ¢/MB and CD-RW disc have a unit cost near 1 ¢/MB. In comparison, hard drives have a unit cost ranging between 3 and 6 ¢/MB and Iomega Zip disks have a unit cost almost 100 times greater than CD-R (i.e, 12 ¢/MB). In addition to cost, CD-R and CD-RW are gaining popularity because of their backward compatibility with the CD-ROM standard. This allows distribution of data on CD-R discs to a wide number of users without having to worry if the user has the right drive to read the media.

CD-R and CD-RW systems however, are not perfect. One key disadvantage is that CD-R and CD-RW drives can be somewhat expensive. For example, CD-RW drives range from $200 to $400 depending on the drive's speed and interface. A second disadvantage with CD-R and CD-RW drives is that they are relatively slow. Most of these drives operate only two or four times the speed of the original CD-ROM specification. Thus, even the fastest CD recorders are 10-15 times slower (while writing) than a hard drive and 2-3 times slower than CD-ROM readers.

In terms of marketability and support, CD-R and CD-RW have not seen a major advertising campaign (excluding a small campaign by Philips electronics) nor have they been endorsed by any major computer vendor. Nonetheless, CD-R and CD-RW drives have generated a great deal of end user support and are increasing tremendously in popularity. Since CD-R and CD-RW are not proprietary standards, there is a great deal of competition between a number of CD-R and CD-RW manufactures. This competition should not only lower the prices on the drives, but may help CD-R and CD-RW become more widely accepted in the computing industry.

In summary, the complexity of today's software and the data files associated with it, has grown exponentially. One of the most promising and cost effective solutions could be the CD-R and CD-RW system. However, for this technology to "replace the floppy" the price of the drives must come down and performance must be increased.

This article is brought to you by the Editorial Committee of the Association of Personal Computer User Groups (APCUG), an International organization to which this user group belongs. Surya Singh is a member and SIG leader of the East Tennessee Computer Society in Knoxville Tennessee.

Surya Singh, 600 Fernwood Road, Knoxville TN 37923 - spns@utk.edu

I drive way too fast to worry about cholesterol

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FRPCUG CONTACTS
Telephone Area Code 970


          FRPCUG Officers         Name            Work        Home      e-Mail 

          President               Rick Mattingly              223-6618  rmatt(at)jymis.com 

          Vice President          Don Anderson    498-3534    482-0943  dona(at)jymis.com

          Treasurer               Dennis Nimetz               686-2212  nimetz(at)ibm.net

          Secretary	          Mike Meyer      482-5600    223-0919  mmeyer(at)holnam.com




          k-Byte Staff

          Editor-in-Chief         Open - We need a volunteer!  Contact Rick Mattingly in interim.

          Features Editor         Open - We need a volunteer! 

          Calendar Editor         Rick Mattingly	      223-6618  rmatt(at)jymis.com

          Review Editor

          Advertising Coordinator Will Horton     223-0330    223-2154  whorton(at)will-design.com

          Team Member OS/2 Column Brad Kell	              495-1184  bkell(at)jymis.com

          Nuts & Bolts Column     Chuck McJilton  416-9286    493-2987  cdmcj(at)jymis.com

          On the Web Column       R. Glenn York   493-1895    224-5266  rgyork(at)jymis.com




          Other Contacts

          Membership Coordinator  Jack Linder                 663-2151  jack(at)frpcug.org

          Telecommunication SIG	

             and RMIUG	          Chuck McJilton  416-9286    493-2987  cdmcj(at)jymis.com  

          NRFNUG		  Chuck Kluko     663-4770 x224         c.kluko(at)ix.netcom.com

          Door Prize Coordinator  Will Horton     223-0330    223-2154  whorton(at)will-design.com

          HTML SIG		  Doug Boicourt   495-6949    495-6949  db(at)wwwdata.com

          Programmers SIG	    

          FRPCUG Fax Line	                  493-1408

          FRPCUG Home Page w/E-Mail               http://www.frpcug.org

          FRPCUG Officer E-Mail		          frpcug-offer(at)frpcug.org

          FRPCUG Discussion List		  frpcug-discuss(at)frpcug.org

          FRPCUG Announce List			  frpcug-announce(at)frpcug.org

          To subscribe to these lists send email to majordomo(at)jymis.com with

          the following in the body of the message: subscribe frpcug-discuss 

          or subscribe frpcug-announce.




          k-Byte

          Front Range PC Users Group

          PMB 152

          305 W. Magnolia

          Fort Collins, CO  80521-2804
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