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Contents
1 State of the Group - Rick Mattingly
2 About k-Byte
3 December/January Meeting Reports - Mike Meyer
3 Automating the Knowledge Base
4 Digital Photography Clinic
5 'Carnivore' a Piker - Reagan Andrews
6 Controversial Cue-Cat - Barbara Kreiss
6 Windows 98 Update
7 Surge Protection Tip
8 Windows Hidden Settings Menu
9 Defrag Tip
10 Postal Service Plans E-Projects - Ken Fermoyle
11 Used Computer Equipment Needed
12 County Code Domains
14 Calendar of Events
16 February/March Calendars
18 Membership Application
19 Virus Myths - Bob Rankin
20 The Broadband Report
21 Merger Rumors from Wall Street - Humor
22 Microsoft Publisher 2000 - Irene M. Kraus
24 Windows Start Menu Tip
24 Free Internet Discussion Group
25 Worse Jobs
25 A Microsoft Resource
26 Printing To A File - Irene M. Kraus
27 Bush Site Closes
28 Lowell's DSL Experience - Lowell Shatraw
30 Trading Post
31 FRPCUG Contacts
Genius is 99 percent perspiration and 1 percent inspiration.
Thomas Alva Edison
State of the Group
by Rick Mattingly
Now that the hectic holiday season is behind us, we hopefully will have time to put together some training clinics for members only. The first in this series, “Digital Photography,” will be held on Saturday, February 24 (see page 4 of this issue for details). Several other clinics which we are planning are “Advanced Microsoft Windows” and “Web Page Preparation with Microsoft Office.“ The schedule for these clinics will be announced in the next newsletter issue. Please contact me with your suggestions for clinic topics. Also, if you would like to provide instruction for such a clinic it would be much appreciated.
We have some very interesting presentations planned for upcoming General Forum Meetings. I'll see you at the meetings.
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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
December Meeting Report
by Rick Mattingly for Mike Meyer
Boy, talk about second hand information! Neither Mike nor Rick were able to attend the December meeting. Election of officers for 2001 took place at this meeting and the existing slate of officers (including Mike and Rick) were retained for the coming year. See what happens when you miss a meeting and can't defend yourself!
The topic of the presentation for the December Meeting was “What's New in Printer Technology.” I understand that the presentation was very informative and many questions were answered. We did hear from numerous people that Jim Willard did an excellent job with his presentation on the issue of inks and papers to consider for long life of the resulting hard copy.
January Meeting Report
by Rick Mattingly for Mike Meyer
The topic of the presentation for January was “Broadband Internet Access Options.” Rick Mattingly led this discussion on fast Internet options available in northern Colorado. Many questions were answered on this confusing topic.
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Automating The Knowledge Base
You're probably aware of Microsoft's Knowledge Base--a huge online database of technical articles. Now, you can receive these articles automatically by simply sending an e-mail. Here's how it works. First, to receive an index of articles, send e-mail to
Mshelp@microsoft.com (<-Click here and SEND)
and enter the word
Index
in the Subject line. Once you've received and reviewed your index, send another e-mail to
mshelp@microsoft.com
with an article's ID number in the Subject line. Microsoft will e-mail an electronic copy of the article to you. To request more than one article at a time, separate ID numbers with a comma.
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Digital Photography
A Free Clinic For FRPCUG Members
Rick Mattingly will lead a clinic on digital photography on Saturday, February 24-9:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Items of discussion will include digital camera options and file transfer/storage techniques. We will also discuss tips on taking digital photos and manipulating the graphic file output for best results. The various graphic file format options will be explained. And finally, we will learn how to display the images on the Internet and output them to printer.
This clinic will be held at the offices of JYM Information Systems, 311 South College Avenue in Fort Collins. This location is directly across the street from Perkins Restaurant, at the rear of the Aggie Travel lot. JYM's offices are situated in a separate building behind Aggie Travel.
Space is limited for this clinic. Sign up at the February 6th General Forum Meeting or contact Rick evenings at 223-6618.
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'Carnivore' a Piker
'Echelon' Reigns As US, Britain, Canada, Australia & New Zealand Form UKUSA System
by Reagan Andrews
If the FBI's "Carnivore" didn't make you paranoid, then "Echelon" should. Echelon? Echelon is a global network of computers that automatically search through millions of intercepted messages for pre-programmed keywords or fax, telex and e-mail addresses. You can probably include most if not all forms of voice communications here as well.
In the past, mention of Echelon was pretty much reserved for the intelligence gathering industry watchdogs such as the Federation of American Scientists (FAS). Not anymore. Mathew Schwartz reported on Echelon in the August 28 issue of COMPUTER-WORLD (pages 48 - 49) in an unusually detailed look at the giant intelligence system-and its potential impact on corporate/industrial IT security.
According to the article (and others) Echelon monitors copper and fiber-based telecommunications, undersea cables, satellite-based communications via large ground dishes and satellite-based radio communication via intelligence interception satellites.
At the heart of this network is America's National Security Agency (NSA) headquartered at Ft. George Meade, MD, and the Central Intelligence Agency, in association with Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, all English-speaking nations. The last part, all English-speaking, appears to be what's so upsetting to the European countries now looking at Echelon quite suspiciously.
It's an outgrowth of cold-war intelligence seeking efforts actually begun by the US during WW I., resurrected for WW II and honed to ?perfection? in the late 20th century. If you look at intelligence gathering, you'll see "COMINT," "SIGINT" and "HUMINT" mentioned copiously. COMINT stands for communications intelligence, SIGINT for signals intelligence and HUMINT for human intelligence. Best examples of the last are 007, James Bond, and George Smiley, John LeCarre's creation, or traditional spies. Replace these cold warriors now with ordinary businessmen and assorted technicians bent on gathering corporate/industrial intelligence.
There is an excellent article on Echelon at the FAS Web site, www.fas.org, as well as links to several European sites that are investigating Echelon. If you have high-speed access to the Web, checkout the section on COMINT. It's a 49-page PDF file that's approximately 2.1 MB in size.
Back to IT and why we should be very concerned. NSA is a very pervasive fact of life for the IT community. In addition to Echelon, NSA is the major agency dealing with Cryptography in the US, and has massive influence on American Cryptography policy. NSA's major goal is to be able to break any encryption scheme available to anyone.
Mathew Schwartz's COMPUTERWORLD article reported several sources who felt that NSA also is highly concerned with commercial software including possible influence in Windows NT and non-US versions of Lotus Notes, but added that "Any involvement between the NSA and software makers is rumored at best."
North Texas PC NEWS, September 2000
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Controversial Cue-Cat
by Barbara Kreiss
excerpted from Seen In The News, Amador Computer Users Group's Bytes & Bites Online ©2000 Barbara Kreiss. Reprinted with permission.
There is a catfight going on about a cat-shaped scanner called a "CueCat", being given out by companies such as Radio Shack, Forbes and Wired magazines to their customers. The maker, Digital Convergence, began shipping more than 1 million of the scanners in hopes of introducing customers to a new technology that bridges the printed word with the Web. By installing the little hand scanner to your computer, customers can swipe bar codes either on products or within printed ads in magazines or catalogs to go to related Web sites with more information. Users must first go to the Digital Convergence Website and register personal information such as name, email address, gender, age range and ZIP code. "Whenever you scan something, your browser will make a connection with Digital Convergence's site, reports the bar code, your device number and a token that identifies you as an individual", a spokesman at an Internet security consultant group called Interhack said. Privacy advocates have expressed concerns about the possibility.
Recently a security breach at Digital Convergence caused 140,000 consumer names, email addresses and zip codes to be exposed. "For the people that registered via our Web site...a hacker exploited a known error in the data script and was able to look into the data file," said Dave Mathews, vice president of new product development at Dallas-based Digital Convergence. "From there, they could extrapolate the name, email address, age range, gender and Zip code of new members." DigitalConvergence took immediate steps to close the hole, and sent details about the problem and $10 gift certificates to the compromised customers. Similar problems at companies such as Eve.com, IKEA's catalog order site and Amazon.com have occurred within the last few months.
The fact that data has been compromised due to security breaches and the "appearance" of customer tracking by Digital convergence has some privacy groups concerned. Researchers say each scanner's unique ID number could be used to trace the actions of an individual user and create a detailed database on what the consumer is interested in, along with their email address and personal information they have registered. A Digital Convergence spokesman said however, that the company is not tracking this type of information. He said customer registration information is retained only for the purposes of general demographics. "There is a unique ID within the CueCat so that we can see that some Cats came from Forbes and some came from Wired," said Dave Mathews, vice president of new product development at Digital Convergence. "(But) individualized serial numbers are not designed to track individual behavior." Privacy advocates counter that the company has not adequately disclosed its practices.
Meanwhile, inventive programmers have found a way to use the CueCat without registering. One way is not to use the Cat's software. Cat Kit 32 at http://members.aol.com/powercntrl lets you download free software that decodes the output of the scanner into any 32-bit windows application. Or check out http://www.readerware.com, where you'll find a product that can catalog your book library by swiping the bar codes on your books. And because you don't have to use the software that comes with Cue Cat, privacy issues aren't a concern. Readerware has been around for a while, and they now support Linux. (This software is $40, but you can try it free for 30 days.)
Get your kitty-cat when you ask for a catalog at your local Radio Shack.
(This article is brought to you by the Editorial Committee of the Association of Personal Computer Users Groups (APCUG), an international organization to which your user group belongs.)
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MICROSOFT WINDOWS 98 UPDATE
Want to update your Windows operating system manually? Check for the latest updates of Windows 98 modules at : http://www.microsoft.com/windows98/downloads/corporate.asp.
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Surge Protection Tip
by Rick Mattingly
In the past we have talked plenty about the importance of protecting your computer system from damage with a quality surge protection device. However, one thing that is often overlooked it the issue of power surge damage originating from a phone line connection to a modem. A damaging power surge, most often generated by a lightning strike, can enter your system not only through the power cable, but through the phone line as well. A power surge entering your system through the phone line will almost assuredly result in a fried modem and can also pass through to fatally damage the motherboard itself. Many new surge protection devices are equipped with a shielded phone line connection -- use it! If yours does not, consider purchasing a new model surge protection device that does, or pick up a separate inexpensive surge protection device made specifically for phone line connection. Close that back door!
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Defrag Tip
It is very important to regularly defragment the file structure on your hard drive to insure maximum efficiency. However, a common complaint when running Disk Defragmenter, and similar utilities, is the where the operation never completes. Disk Defragmenter appears to be caught in a loop and restarts over and over. This typically is caused by a write to disk operation which alters the file structure causing the defrag operation to reset. Common culprits in this scenario are programs loaded and operating in the background, such as screen savers and virus protection applications. Before running Disk Defragmenter, close these types of applications first, then run Disk Defragmenter. While at it, it is also a good idea to close as many other open applications as possible from the Task Bar as well. With these applications out of the way, Disk Defragmenter should run a continuous defrag operation and complete normally.
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POSTAL SERVICE PLANS E-PROJECTS
by Ken Fermoyle
Source: SWIPCC Throughput, September 2000, El Paso, TX
Anticipating that electronic bytes wilt take bigger and bigger bites out of first-class mail in the future, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is readying new and varied electronic mail services for Americans. A major one would assign e-mail addresses to most people.
One of the new services could notify customers by e-mail about an incoming bitt or package, which they could then reroute to another address. Another proposal, set to begin a three-year consumer test in September, would allow customers to send e-mails to a post office to be printed and delivered as first-class mail. A third program, already available, lets customers pay bills online through the Postal Service's Web site.
Postal Service spokeswoman Sue Brennan called the e-projects “a way for customers to choose how they want to get their correspondence.” The new services will be added to Internet-oriented offerings the Postal Service already has in place. It began testing a kind of certified e-mail service in 1998. Called PostECS, it sends electronic receipts for contracts and other important documents transmitted over the Internet.
Online Stamps Popular
Last year USPS rolled out its heralded system that makes postage available online. The Postal Service says 280,000 customers have printed $22.6 million worth of “online stamps" since July, 1999, but the service has yet to make a profit. Both of these existing services do show promise for future growth, however, which may be critical to the USPS in coming years.
Considering that e-mail will soon take huge bites out of USPS first-class business, these moves and more, are needed to move postal service into the 21st century. The post office itself predicts that in 2003, first-class mail service, now a $35 billion business and its top revenue producer, will begin an unprecedented decline at the hands of booming e-mail and online billing services.
Benjamin Franklin, our first postmaster and a great innovator himself, would surely applaud these new efforts, but probably would be critical of the Postal Service's slowness in facing up to challenges of new technologies. Banks, credit unions and many other private services already offer bill-paying services, and have for some time. Is it too late for the USPS to capture a piece of the pie? Judge for yourself.
Under its own online billing system, the Postal Service charges customers $6 per month to send 20 electronic transactions, or $2 per month and 40 cents apiece for unlimited transactions. How does that compare with bill-paying services already available to you? The e-mail to paper system would cost about 41 cents per message - eight cents more than current 33-cent postage. Is it worth it? My personal opinion is that it might be in some instanc-es, but it would depend on how much faster the Postal Service can get time critical correspondence to recipients than would be the case with normal first-class mail.
Mail2000, a Bethesda, MD company (mail2kinc.com) already offers a service that translates e-mail messages into first-class mail, plus a variety of other mail-related services. Aimed more at businesses and other volume mailers than individuals, it claims it can save time and money compared to the USPS.
Your Own Mailbox
The e-mailbox proposal, whereby virtually every American would be assigned a free e-mail address corresponding to his or her street address shows more promise. Under this system, customers could simply link the service to any present e-mail address they have, or opt for a special online postal box. Customers could then get an e-mail address using their initials, followed by their nine-digit ZIP code and the last two numbers of their Street address -, with “usps.com” tacked at the end. For instance, John Doe, 1234 Main St, Los Angeles, CA 91365-4004 would get the e-mail address: jd91365400434usps.com. I know, it's cumbersome and tough to rattle off from the top of your head! But ft also is unique enough to minimize duplication problems. This would eliminate the need to change addresses when you change Internet Service Providers, but using e-mail services such as Bigfoot, Hotmail or Altavista mail provide a similar benefit.
It's no news that Americans are avid e-mailers. A new study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that more than 90 million people have Internet access. Of those, about 84 million use e-mail regularly, while 16 million have used some sort of online banking service. E-commerce gurus have mixed feelings about the postal e-mail proposal. “They're in catch-up mode,” was a typical reaction. Several experts I talked to pointed out that most people apt to use the service already have e-mail - and that many of the rest probably wouldn't log on for the tracking service. “As schemes go, this one isn't bad,” said one representative of a Santa Monica, Calif-based technology research firm. “It absolutely makes sense - the Postal Service's business, and expertise is mail delivery, and e-mail is just another form of mail. If the USPS ignored this new mailing technology it would ensure that it would become obsolete eventually. Any steps it can take to work within the new framework should help it survive.”
Certified Engineering Technician Magazine, November/December, 2000
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USED COMPUTER EQUIPMENT NEEDED
Put that old computer equipment to good use by donating it to the GIVES Foundation (Gives Incentive for Various Educational Services). GIVES matches used computer equipment with needy individuals and agencies. In the Colorado Front Range area, contact Annette Johnson in Denver at 303.525.6204 to make that old computer equipment come alive again for a worthy cause.
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Country Code Domains -- Preserving Your Identity
In addition to the popular generic .com, .net and .org domains, there are 243 country-specific domain extensions (like .de for Germany, .fr for France, .jp for Japan, etc.) known as "country-code top-level domains (ccTLDs). Total registrations in country-specific domains have increased from just under 1 million in early 1998 to over 5 million in mid 2000, a stunning increase which until last year had gone relatively unnoticed.
At www.idnames.com, you may search for free and register online with Registration Plus™, in as many as 101 ccTLDs in over 50 countries. Registration Plus removes the complexities of language, currency, and legalities associated with overseas transactions and offers a turn-key solution to registering domain names globally.
The country-code domains can be classified as follows:
Of the 243 assigned country codes, 184 are actively registering names.
Of the 184 active country-codes, 100 are classified as "restricted" and require a local presence and/or specific legal documentation in order to register (China, Japan and France, for example).
The remaining 84 are classified as "unrestricted"-anyone from anywhere can register, just like in the .com, .net and .org domains. No local presence is needed. Examples include the United Kingdom, Mexico, Denmark, Israel and South Africa.
Some countries require that applicants register in specific sub-domains. In other words, in the United Kingdom, one must register as "name.co.uk"; the ".co" being reserved for commercial interests in the United Kingdom domain. It would not be possible to register as "name.uk." In other countries, like Mexico, one must register as "name.com.mx", the ".com" part having nothing to do with the well-known ".com" generic domain. In Germany, there are no sub-domains, so all must register as "name.de." These naming conventions have not stopped an onslaught of registration and marketing activity in these domains.
Generic Domains (gTLDs):
End with .com, .net, or .org
Are not affiliated with any country
Are 'Unrestricted' -- anyone from anywhere can register
Country-Specific Domains (ccTLDs):
End with two-letter extensions like .au (Australia), .cn (China)
Include examples like your name.de (Germany)
Are operated by separate registry authorities in each country
There are 184 active country-specific domains
Of these, 100 are restricted and require a local presence and/or specific legal documentation
84 are unrestricted -- anyone from anywhere can register, just like in the .com, .net and .org domains. Remember, at www.idnames.com you may search for free and register online in many of these unrestricted domains with Registration Plus™.
LESSER-KNOWN DOMAINS
.cc
You may have heard about the .cc domain. The .cc country-code is officially delegated to the Cocos and Keeling Islands, located about 1,000 miles northwest of Australia in the Indian Ocean.
Contrary to some reports, it is not new. It has been around for years, just like .com and the other 242 domain extensions. What is new is how it's being marketed-as an alternative to .com for those that could not get their choice of names in the .com domain. We recommend registration in the .cc domain in addition to registration in the .com domain, but not as an alternative to .com. Consider that the .cc domain does not appear to currently enjoy the same market penetration and general public awareness, especially outside the United States, in comparison to .com. Any customer confusion in understanding the difference between .cc and .com could result in lost sales or misdirected email.
.us
We receive many inquiries about registering in the United States (.us) domain. Note that the.us domain is among the least marketing-friendly domains on the planet. All domains registered must be "geographically specific." It is not possible to register "name.us". One must register as "name.city.state.us." Obviously this type of address would be certainly hard to market and remember. Thus the .us domain is seldom used by serious marketers and has little commercial value.
THE FUTURE OF NEW DOMAINS
Multilingual character-set domain name registrations will be offered very soon for .com names- domain names using Chinese, Japanese or Korean characters. VERY IMPORTANT: Even though you may have registered your name in English characters within .com, you will want to protect your good name by registering in the available multilingual character sets once they become available, especially if you do any business overseas. Also, the much publicized new top-level domains like .web, .shop, .eu have not been approved and are not yet available. Stay tuned to www.idnames.com for the latest information.
BOTTOM LINE: Find out now if your domain name is available globally and register today. Search for free in over 50 countries at www.idnames.com.
Dotcom.com
http://www.dotcom.com/news/cctld.html
Internet Chamber of Commerce
Northern Colorado Chapter
Contact Matt Tracer at 970.484.8102 or mtracer@ncicc.org
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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.
February General Forum Meeting
We will meet at the Fort Collins Senior Center on Tuesday, February 6 at 7:00 pm.
Meeting Agenda
7:00 - 7:15 Announcements
7:15 - 8:00 Open Forum
8:00 - 8:15 Break
8:00 - 9:30 Help With Windows-Rick Mattingly will provide a presentation on where to find help with Microsoft Windows, along with selected tips and hints for getting along with this popular operating system.
March General Forum Meeting
We will meet at the Fort Collins Senior Center on Tuesday, March 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 1DISK-A presentation on a great new software product which tames the “lost file” animal.
See you at the meetings!
Directions
The Fort Collins Senior Center is located at 1200 Raintree Drive. This site is situated at the northwest corner of the Shields and West Drake intersection, on the north side of the Raintree Shopping Center. Check the marquee at the main entrance for directions to the specific meeting room.
Up-Coming SIG's, Seminars and Meetings
Board Meeting
FRPCUG's executive board meets on Wednesday of the week following the General Forum Meeting at 7:00 p.m. All members are welcome and are encouraged to attend. These meetings are held at the offices of JYM Information Systems: 311 S College Avenue 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. These meetings are held at the offices of JYM Information Systems: 311 S College Avenue 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 at the offices of JYM Information Systems: 311 S College Avenue 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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February 2001
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
19 Presidents Day
22 LINUX SIG 7:00PM
24 Digital Photography Clinic 9:00AM
28 RIBUG Meeting 7:00PM
March 2001
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
17 St. Patrick's Day
22 LINUX SIG 7:00PM
28 RIBUG Meeting 7:00PM
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VIRUS MYTHS
by Bob Rankin
Source: Internet Tourbus, Vol 5, No 98, 20 June, 2000
For all the talk there is about computer viruses, few people understand how viruses actually work and are spread. This lack of understanding has fueled an environment of panic and fear among otherwise rational people. Someone makes up a story about how there is a new computer virus being spread by #2 pencils and people - especially the media - fall for it hook, line and sinker.
One of the people leading the movement to change this environ-ment of fear and misunderstanding is Rob Rosenberger. Long-time netizens will remember that Rob used to run the Computer Virus Myths homepage at kumite.com. Well, I'm happy to announce that Rob has a new Website at www.vmyths.com. According to Rob, the goals of the vmyths.com site are to “dispel computer virus myths, misconceptions, urban legends and hoaxes,” as well as to improve your “knowledge of lesser-known, technically oriented, and/or controversial issues in the virus research field.”
What I like the most about Rob Rosenberger is that he doesn't pull any punches. For example, some bozo recently created a warning saying there is a new virus that affects cell phones. Rob's response? “Put fresh batteries in your clue meter. Don't get swept up by this hoax.” With all of the “OHLORDYLORDY, THE SKY IS FALLING” warnings out there, Rob's terse and sometimes sarcastic approach is a breath of fresh air.
The vmyths.com site has five major sections:
HOT NEWS - this is the vmyths.com main page and it shows you some of the latest virus warnings, hoaxes and industry news.
HOAXES (www.vmyths.com/hoax.cfm) - this is a HUGE encyclopedic collection of virus hoaxes that have circulated around the net and in the media.
RESOURCES (www.vmvths.com/resource.cfm) - this section points you to resources that will give you information about real viruses, teach you how to tell if a virus is a hoax, and so on.
RANTINGS (www.vmyths.com/rant.cfm) - Rob doesn't suffer fools gladly and, in this section, Rob presents his latest essay or open letter about viruses, hoaxes, and the public's reaction to both. A lot of gray beards pay attention to Rob's Rantings, so this section is a must-read. Don't forget to check the archive on the left-hand side of the Rantings section.
ABSURD (www.vmvmyths.com/absurd/index.cfm) - currently, this section contains excerpts from the Kevin & Kell comic strip. Maybe the fact that my hand hurts is clouding my judgement, but I didn't find the comic strips to be all that amusing - or absurd. While you are at vmyths.com, I strongly recommend that you read the site's FAQ at www.vmyths.com/about/fag.cfm. This one page will tell you more about computer viruses and virus hoaxes than any book or Internet newsletter ever could.
While you are at vmyths.com, I strongly recommend that you read the site's FAQ at www.vmyths.com/about/faq.cfm. This one page will tell you more about computer viruses and virus hoaxes than any book or Internet newsletter ever could.
Certified Engineering Newsletter, November/December, 2000
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The Broadband Report
Are you interested in speeding up your Internet access? Today's answer is Broadband service: such DSL, ISDN, Cable or Satellite, to name a few options which may be available at your location. However, there are plenty of questions regarding the pros and cons of available Broadband options. An excellent resource for all the very latest information on the subject of Broadband Internet service options is The Broadband Report, edited by Scot Finnie at Winmag.com. Scot is blessed with the capability to report on and answer questions on this topic in a way that is understandable by the average computer user. Check out the free Broadband Report at http://www.winmag.com/columns/broadband/2001/01.htm. You can view the current issue and back issues at this site. You may also subscribe so that each issue is emailed directly so you don't miss all that hot news. An excellent resource.
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Merger Rumors from Wall Street
In the wake of the AOL/Time Warner deal, here are the latest mergers we can expect to see:
Hale Business Systems, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Fuller Brush, and W.R. Grace Company merge to become Hale Mary Fuller Grace.
Polygram Records, Warner Brothers, and Keebler Crackers merge to become Polly-Warner-Cracker.
3M and Goodyear merge to become MMMGood.
John Deere and Abitibi-Price merge to become Deere Abi.
Zippo Manufacturing, Audi Motors, Dofasco, and Dakota Mining merge to become Zip Audi Do Da.
Honeywell, Imasco, and Home Oil merge to become Honey I'm Home.
Denison Mines, and Alliance and Metal Mining merge to become Mine All Mine.
Federal Express and UPS merge to become FED UP.
Xerox and Wurlitzer will merge and begin manufacturing reproductive organs.
Fairchild Electronics and Honeywell Computers will merge and become Fairwell Honeychild.
3M, J.C. Penney and the Canadian Opera Company will merge and become 3 Penney Opera.
Knott's Berry Farm & National Organization of Women will merge and become Knott NOW!
If stress burned calories I would be so skinny I could fall through my zipper and hang myself!
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Microsoft Publisher 2000
beview by Irene M. Kraus
Microsoft's newest version of this desktop publishing program has improved greatly from its initial version. With it, you can easily create newsletters, brochures, business & greeting cards, flyers, posters, banners, and many other printed publications. It can also create web pages, though not with the precision and control you would find with a real web development program. If you combine the power & creative possibilities of this program with a good quality inkjet or laser printer, you can create remarkable publications!
Potential Stumbling Blocks
Every program has limitations, however. I'm going to spend more time talking about those as I think those are more important for prospective buyers to be aware of. For example, if you plan to use Publisher to create a publication that will ultimately be handled through a Service Bureau or Printer, difficulties will more than likely occur! The problem is not so much within the program, but that very few of them are willing to work with Publisher created files. A situation, I should add, not isolated to Publisher by any means!
Sometimes the challenges in creating certain types of publications are more a matter of figuring out the tools of the program itself. A case in point would be in using purchased business cards with 10 cards per page. Start by using one of the wizards within the program for one of Paper Direct specialty papers even though you may not be using that company's stock. This way, the program automatically sets the Page Options found in the Print menu to print 10 cards per page! Otherwise, the program will only print a maximum of 5 cards per page. (Don't forget to adjust the layout and margins to match those needed for the stock you are using!)
Other situations simply don't have a solution! One example of that would be using purchased greeting card stock such as that found in craft stores. These are often slightly different in size than ordinary letter-sized sheets of paper. Even though you can enter the actual dimensions of the paper in the Page Setup, it will probably not print correctly. Further, there is no way within the program to control two-sided printing (duplex) if using a printer that can only print one side at a time.
Unique Tiling Control
Putting the program's limitations aside, let's talk about some of the neat things you can create! Say you need to create a sign that will measure 15" by 24", but you know you're printer can only print letter-sized sheets. Use the poster wizard and enter the size (in inches) that you want. When you're ready to print, open the Print menu and click on the Tile Printing Options. Here you can control how much of an overlap on the paper edges Publisher will create. The default is ¼ inch, but I think using ½ inch makes it easier to match up the edges. Once all the pages are printed, trim the empty margins from only one of the overlapping edges. I put a dab of the removable glue from a glue stick on the back of that edge that's the same kind of glue found in Post-It note pads. Working on a large, flat surface, you can then move and adjust each of the pages within your 'poster' until you get a perfect match. If using something like magic transparent tape to hold them together, don't forget to 'burnish' it by rubbing over the top of the tape with something hard like the back of a spoon. The tape will virtually disappear and help make the paper edges nearly invisible. Wait until you have the whole thing assembled before you trim off the outside edges, and true it up to the size it should be. Back your finished sign with regular poster or foam board for added rigidity.
I'll close with some suggestions for those who feel they must use wizards in designing their publications. One of the hazards of relying too heavily on them is that your creation will end up look very much like a host of others! Avoid this by using the program's tools to experiment with other choices. Trying alternative color schemes really easy, and can help you shift the tone of your publication too! There is a nice selection of clipart supplied with the program, but don't limit yourself. Collections on CD are very economically priced. Or, make use of the Internet to search for free or low-cost images you can use. Just remember to look at the guidelines the artist should have posted or included that say how their work can be used without violating their copyrights.
Summary
I can't close without mentioning the importance of the printer used in connection with Publisher. Without a doubt, I consider it to be one of the best low-cost desktop publishing programs currently available! However, the quality in printing is controlled more by actual device used than anything else. Nothing can make up for the deficiencies of a printer that can't create decent output. With the low cost of today's inkjets and the fine detail they are capable of, there's no reason why anyone can't obtain high-quality results!
About the Author...
Ms. Kraus has some 18 years of computer experience, including 13 years as a computer user group officer. Her computer related interests include writing, graphics & page design, and on-line messaging. She is the owner of Design COMP, and works as an Internet Marketing Consultant based in Erie County. E-mail: ikraus@accsandusky.com
This article is copyright by © Irene M. Kraus, and was first printed in The CEBUG Swatter in October 1999. Author may be contacted via CEBUG, PO Box 1461, Sandusky, OH 44870-1461; or at e-mail address listed above.
This FRPCUG k-Byte is published using Microsoft Publisher 2000 - FRPCUG Ed.
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ANOTHER WAY TO OPEN THE START MENU FROM THE KEYBOARD
You can access information from the Start menu at any time by using your keyboard; simply press the Windows key. Older PC keyboards don't have a Windows key. Those with older hardware can access the Start menu by simply pressing Ctrl-Esc.
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FREE Internet Discussion Group
JYM Information Systems and the Barnes & Noble Book Store on South College Avenue in Fort Collins are sponsoring a monthly "Internet Safari" discussion group. This group meets at 7 PM in the Barnes & Noble Book Store the first Monday of each month.
This is an open discussion and we examine current issues involving the Internet, how to use the Internet and subjects raised by those present. This group is open to the public without cost or obligation. This is a good chance learn how others are using the Internet.
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Worse Jobs
The San Francisco Zoo has an elephant named Calle who has a chronic illness, requiring medication. The zoo people couldn't get Calle to take her dose orally, so a California pharmacologist developed a suppository.
The 10-inch-long, four-pound, cocoa-butter bullets are crafted by the good folks at Guittard Chocolates in Burlingame. Administering the DAILY medication takes five zoo workers, including one person to distract Calle with treats and one person who wears full-arm glove to "deliver" the medicine.
FIVE people have jobs worse than yours!
Now stop bitching and get back to work.
Thanks to Brad Kell
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This is an excellent resource from Microsoft technical support on how to prepare your machine for upgrading to Windows Me as well as troubleshooting when things go wrong. This 8 page document also lists our web sites for verifying software and hardware compatibility and known hardware issues. Or, users can go to
http://search.support.microsoft.com/kb/ (Knowledge Base) and put in article number Q272156.
Also, check the following information.
Q272156 - Tips Before Purchase, Setup and After Setup of Windows Millennium
Edition at:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q272/1/56.asp?LN=EN-US&SD=gn&FR=0
Theresa Jacobs
Channel Marketing Rep
Microsoft Corporation
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Printing to a File
by Irene M. Kraus
Being able to redirect various information that would normally be displayed on your screen to either your printer or a f ile is an old trick in DOS. I'm sure all of us remember typing in c:>\ dir c: > prn (c:>\ dir c: > lpt1 depending on the version of DOS you used) to print the contents of the root directory, or c:>\ dir a:*.gif > c:\temp\pics.txt to save a directory listing of just the GIF files on a disk to a text file. These tricks were also handy at times when you needed to redirect the output from a program that would normally send it to the printer to a file. However, things don't work this way in Windows, so how do you print to a straight text file?
Using the printer driver you all ready have installed on your system, and simply redirecting it's output to go to a file doesn't work very well. All of the codes needed to either print in graphics mode, or font information is included in the file. Finding the actual information within the file created is difficult!
Fortunately, Microsoft had created a solution for this problem of printing to a text file, and it's available regardless of what version of Windows you are using. The solution is a special printer driver called, Generic/Text Only. The first thing you will need to do is install it from your Windows installation disk(s). Open Control Panel, Printers and either click the Add Printer button, or double-click on the Add Printer Wizard in Win95/98. You should see a list of available printer drivers that came with your version of Windows. Scroll through the list and find the Generic/Text Only driver and click Install or Okay to add it.
You should now double-check to make sure this printer driver is setup to redirect output to a file. How you do this is a bit different in each version of Windows, so I'll tell you how to do this for each one. In Win 3.x (all versions), highlight the printer driver and click on Port. Make sure it is going to FILE and click OK. In Win95/98, highlight the printer icon and open the properties box.
There are many ways to do that, here are my favorite two: right-click on the icon and choose Properties in the menu available, or highlight the icon and click the Properties icon (the one that looks like a hand pointing at a box). Click on the Details tab, and make sure the Print to Port is set for "FILE: (Creates a file on disk)" and then click okay. The icon for this printer driver should also look a bit different than your normal one in Win95/98. In addition to the printer icon, there should be a red arrow pointing to what looks like a disk if you have this set up proper.
I do not advise making this your default printer! In most cases, you can switch to this printer driver when you need it without any need to change your default printer settings. Okay, everybody has the driver installed; now how can you use it?
Here are some examples of when I've found this driver to be useful. In one case, I was testing out a font management program that was printing several lines of information at the bottom of each sample page it printed in a font size so small I couldn't read it. So, I had it go to a file instead, and could then read the message just fine (the e-mail address for the program author so I could complain about the program!).
If you are working with any of the many diagnostic software available, you can often print information about your system to your printer. Some don't offer to save that information to a file for you, so you can use the Generic/Text Only driver to send it there yourself. Then you can pass that on to the technical support staff for a product or hardware either in an e-mail message or in a fax message.
While this will not be something you need to do everyday, knowing you can do it when you have to can be a life saver!
The CEBUG Swatte newsletter
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MICROSOFT WINDOWS 98 UPDATE
Want to update your Windows operating system manually? Check for the latest updates of Windows 98 modules at http://www.microsoft.com/windows98/downloads/corporate.asp.
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Bush Site Closes
Hey, why don't I ever think of these little money-making schemes!
Profitable Web Company To Close
WhatPresident.com founder John Fischer said Tuesday he will close the virtual doors on WhatPresident.com (http://www.whatpresident.com/) the minute after George W. Bush completes his inauguration. Fischer, of Boulder, Colo., founded the site during the Thanksgiving weekend while at home fighting the flu. It sells coffee cups, golf balls, caps and other trinkets monogrammed with the words "He is not my President."
Fischer said profits from the site have been sufficient "to send my three small children to the college of their choice some day." He describes himself as an Internet marketing consultant. To promote the venture, he e-mailed friends, alerting them to the site, and asking them to e-mail their friends about it. "Orders began coming in within a day," he said. Fisher was a supporter of Al Gore, but has become more confident with the prospect of a Bush presidency after seeing some of the Cabinet nominations. He says he will close the site out of respect for the presidency.
Topica TipWorld
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Lowell's DSL Experience
by Lowell Shatraw
Lowell Shatraw of Greeley, Colorado shares his broadband experience.
Lowell Shatraw is the founder of CUGG. He has worked in computer support call centers supporting Macintosh and PC environments; has developed and taught computer troubleshooting and repair; and is currently a UNIX system Administrator who also works with WINDOWS 9x, NT and WINDOWS 2000.
Well, it's been a little over 2 months since I've installed my DSL service through US West. Remember the article I wrote last November (1998) that I was TWO BLOCKS short of the service area, 15,000 feet from whatever building they use to supply the service from, so I couldn't get it then? Must be they stretched the phone lines some because now I'm in the covered area.
I ordered the MegaBit Deluxe Service, which is 256K, not the MegaBit 256 Service--Dedicated connection while working online--where you click on the ICON to "dial-up" and the line MAY be busy and only TWO HOUR sessions. Deluxe is ALWAYS ONLINE, never busy, and is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
I also opted for the EXTERNAL CISCO 675 'modem' with the internal 3COM network card. If in the future I decide to network my wife's computer to mine so she has internet access through my PC to DSL--networking not supported by US West--I can do it easily. The other option is to get an internal modem, no network card, and less hardware and hassle on the install and no networking.
It took me about 1/2 hour to install the hardware, following the instructions that came with the equipment. I didn't want to pay US West $99 to do the install when I felt comfortable doing it myself. If you know me, I consider myself hardware oriented anyway. Of course, you may not feel the same way and decide to have US West install it. But really, it's not that hard of an install.
US West is not the only supplier of DSL services in the area. You can get a list of other ISPs that support DSL, even if they are in Denver. It WILL NOT cost a long distance call to connect to a Denver area ISP for DSL, it's a local call. At this time I know of a couple other companies that supply DSL to the end user. Remember all you need is an SIP that supports DSL, even if they are in another town in the US West area.
A+Net
Anaheim/Carlsbad/San Diego
Sales: (888) 301-2516 or (619) 558-8449
Tech. Support: (619) 458-0490
http://www.abac.com/dsl/dsl.html
Tri Valley Internet, Inc.
4713 First Street, Suite 275, Pleasanton, CA 94566
Tel: (925) 417-7600; Fax (925) 417-7601
info@trivalley.com
http://www.trivalley.com/services/dsl.asp
1ST Connect
http://www.1stconnect.com/dsl.asp
The following URL lists several Denver area DSL providers; I've listed a few also.
http://www.x-changemag.com/articles/i9a1p58.html
Covad Communications Co.
8400 E. Crescent Parkway, Suite 600
Greenwood Village, CO 80111
(303) 785-2000
FirstWorld Communications Inc.
8390 E. Crescent Parkway, Suite 300
Greenwood Village, CO 80111
(303) 874-8010
And others.
My previous download speeds were between 3 and 4 Kbps; now I download between 19 and 25 Kbps. A significant increase. I have not had ANY problems; the service, the ISP (US West) and my system have NOT crashed/hung/become disabled/bugged out/gone-out-to-lunch while connected to the Internet. And I leave my PC on ALL THE TIME. (I only turn the monitor off when not in use.)
BLURB from US West DSL page ://www.uswest.com/features/megabit/Now a 256 Kbs MegaBit Deluxe Connection Is Only $29.95 a Month! Order by December 18 and receive a $100 rebate after 90 days in service.
With MegaBit Deluxe, you'll never experience busy signals or hang-ups, because you're connected to the Internet 24 hours a day. No more logging on and off.
MegaBit Deluxe turns your current phone line into an ultra-fast Internet connection. You'll be able to talk on the phone and surf the Web on a single phone line, saving you the need to pay for additional phone lines.
You can get a MegaBit Deluxe connection for just $29.95 a month. Combine MegaBit Deluxe with unlimited Internet access from U S WEST.net and pay just $47.90 a month — a 20% savings over standard pricing.
Plus, you can save money and the need to wait for a technician by installing MegaBit Deluxe yourself. Or, if you prefer to have a
U. S. WEST technician install MegaBit Deluxe, you'll pay only $99 (a savings of over $50) during this promotional period.
CUGG NewsLetter-January, 2001
Don't forget to take advantage of those USB ports when considering the addition of new peripheral equipment to your system
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About Trading Post
k-Byte runs classified ads in Trading Post for three consecutive issues. Trading Post ads up to 10 lines (or 70 words) long are free to FRPCUG members: $5 for non-members. To place an ad in Trading Post contact Will Horton at 223-2154.
Specifications
Full Page (8 1/2” X 7”) $30
Half Page (3 1/4” X 7”) $20
One Third Page (3” X 4”) $15
Business Card (2 3/4” X 1 1/2”) $ 5
We offer a substantial discount for repeat ads and continuing contracts. For additional charge, we will design your ad for you. Contact Will Horton for information on this service at 223-2154.
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