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Front Range PC Users Group Newsletter k-Byte |
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| v. 19, n. 9/10 September/October 2002 | Users Helping Users |
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Contents 1 State of the Group - Rick Mattingly 2 About k-Byte 3 August/September Meeting Reports - Mike Meyer 3 What's Your Next Operating System? - Scot Finnie 5 Scanner Cleaning - Kris Butler 6 On the Lighter Side - Humor 7 Online Buyer Beware 8 Dubious Distinction - Scot Finnie 9 Being Careful What You Wish For - Humor 10 Windows XP and Private Zip Files - John Moren 11 Scanner Tip 12 My Computer Locks Up When In Suspend 12 Aging Windows 13 What Exactly Are META Files? - Andy Beal 14 Calendar of Events 16 October/November Calendars 18 Membership Application 19 Is Linux For You? - Bryan Lilius 21 Web Page Graphics - Sue Whitehouse 22 Battery Types 23 Trimming and Cutting - Bruce Switalla 24 Never Respond to Spam - Sam Hills 26 Why Won't My 56K Modem Connect at 56K? - Bruce Von Deylen 28 Microsoft Word 2000 & XP Tip 29 Re-Installing Windows 98 - Lowel Shatraw 29 Donate Your Old Cell Phone 30 Trading Post 31 FRPCUG Contacts State of the Group by Rick Mattingly Well, the fall season is actually nipping at our heels. This season will hopefully be a refreshing change after that scorcher of a summer. As outdoor activities wind down remember to plug the FRPCUG meetings and activities into your schedule. We have some excellent presentations lined up for the coming months. Even so, we are always looking out for new ideas. Please let us know what you would like to see. Even better, let us know if you are aware of a person who can provide a related presentation for us. Also, remember that the FRPCUG Board Meetings are always open to all members. We would really appreciate fresh input from the membership to improve group activities for all of us. See you at the meetings! 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 ©2002 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. August Meeting Report by Rick Mattingly No meeting in August due to building maintenance at the Fort Collins Senior Center. September Meeting Report by Rick Mattingly A mid-size crowd was on hand for the September Meeting. Rick Mattingly gave a live presentation of handheld or PDA computing. The unit used for the demonstration was a new Compaq iPAQ 3955 running the Microsoft Pocket PC 2002 operating system. The iPAQ display was displayed on the large overhead screen for clear viewing by the attendees. Rick's presentation covered the history of handheld computing, current make and model options, the Pocket PC operating systems and features of the popular Compaq iPAQ units. The presentation was followed by a lively Open Forum session with numerous questions and answers. by Scot Finnie SCOT'S NEWSLETTER September 18, 2001 -- Vol. 1, Issue No. 12 It's a confusing time for desktop PC power users. I know that some of you reading this newsletter don't consider yourselves power users. But becoming an "experienced" PC user isn't something most of us do with a whole lot of forethought. In other words: It happens to you while you're making other plans (to badly paraphrase John Lennon). If you're reading this newsletter and getting something out of it -- no matter how small -- you're well on your way to being a power user. Or you became one years ago. So, back to the point. What's your next operating system? Windows XP, Windows Me, Windows 2000, Windows 98 Second Edition, and the multiple flavors of Linux -- including Red Hat, SuSE, and Mandrake -- are all viable options. Let me erase one for you: Windows Me isn't worth the trouble of upgrading. If you already have it, and it's giving you no problems -- fine. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. But it's not an operating system worthy of upgrading to. Of the three big Windows versions out there, each one has both a serious advantage and a serious drawback. Windows 98 (Second Edition or original) is the most widely distributed version of Windows, by far. It will have the fewest hardware and software compatibility issues. And chances are, you already know a good deal about its interface and workings. The downside? It's unreliable. It freezes. System resources get used up. A badly written application can make it crash and burn. I'll give you an example: My beloved HomeSite 4.5 HTML editor has a memory leak that causes the program to bring the system down after only two to three hours of use. Eudora Email 5.0, though not as bad, has a similar problem. The two together can bring down my Win98 SE system in an hour or two. Win2K, WinXP, and Linux (assuming you could run these apps under Linux) would all be far less likely to come crashing down. Windows 2000 and Windows XP share opposing weaknesses and strengths. Win2000 was shoved out the door at the last minute without the broad-based hardware and especially software compatibility work it truly needed. Windows XP apparently fixes those errors, but it introduces Windows Product Activation -- the software licensing enforcement code that I believe will make power users' lives miserable. The average Joe will be more or less unaffected by Product Activation. But anyone who will ever likely move his or her XP installation from one PC to another will probably feel like I do. Then there's Linux. Tantalizingly attractive to many of us. But clearly an imperfect OS -- especially for everyday use by average computer users. Most people would rather use their applications, not spend hours tinkering with their OS. Linux is going to require the latter for quite some time. To be fair, a lot of that is just learning a more Unix-like way of doing things. Even so, the Linux user experience currently still needs work. Linux does, however, have a lot of promise. And I don't know about you, but I'm ready for a world where there's competition among desktop operating system makers again. In all seriousness, though, we're still a long, long way from that. Microsoft has a commanding, probably insurmountable (any time soon) marketshare lead. Scot's Newsletter Home Page: http://www.scotfinnie.com/newsletter/ by Kris Butler The following is a common question regarding maintenance of flatbed optical scanners. Q: My scanner seems to get dirty fast and it's hard to get it totally clean; how can I get and keep my scanner clean? A: The best way to get and keep your scanner clean is to use proper optical-surface cleaning fluid along with an anti-static cleaning cloth. It is important to use a cleaning fluid specifically designed for optical surfaces because other types of fluids, such as those used for regular household cleaning, can leave permanent streaks and difficult-to-remove buildup. Specifically designed cloths are best as they don't leave lint behind and have anti-static properties that prevent dust from being immediately drawn back onto the glass. The electrical power source of your scanner generates static electricity that unfortunately draws dust to all surfaces naturally, including the glass. If you have had your scanner for a while, you may notice after cleaning it that it is dirty on the inside. This doesn't usually mean you need to take it for an expensive servicing. If you are can use a screwdriver and are prepared to be careful and patient, cleaning the inside is actually a fairly straightforward operation. To clean the inside of your scanner, simply check for easily accessible screws to remove the top and always remember to unplug it if you decide to go ahead and clean the inside. Don't be discouraged by any small plastic caps that may be covering the screws; these can generally be removed with a thumbtack in seconds. The screw heads themselves may also be a non-standard shape, such as a star; just make a note of the size and shape and purchase an appropriate screwdriver at the local hardware store. Once your scanner is unplugged and open, simply clean the inside of the glass the same way you cleaned the outside. However, before replacing the top, take a blow-dryer or compressed air canister and blow out the excess dust that has build up inside your scanner. This will prevent the inside getting dirty again too quickly as excess dust left inside will quickly find its way to the glass. Scanner cleaning kits should be available at any computer store. ACD Systems http://www.acdsystems.com/ We've all witnessed the appearance and rapid spread of viruses such as the Melissa virus, the Love virus and recently, the W32/Klez worm virus. But here are a few of them that are little known but continue to do their dirty deeds behind the scene: Politically Correct Virus: Never calls itself a "virus", but refers to itself as an "electronic microorganism". Arnold Swartzenegar Virus: Terminates and stays resident. It'll be back! Economist Virus: Nothing works, but all your diagnostic software says everything is fine. AT&T Virus: Every three minutes it tells you what a great service you are getting. Texas Virus: Makes sure that it's bigger than any other file. Airline Virus: You're in Dallas but your data is in Singapore. Freudian Virus: Your PC becomes obsessed with marrying its own motherboard. Oprah Winfrey Virus: Your 200 MB hard drive suddenly shrinks to 80 MB, then slowly expands back to 200 MB. As an online buyer, you need to look out for yourself. Some common sense tips for safe, enjoyable online shopping: Let common sense by your guide. If you're just not sure about spending money at a particular online store, don't do it. Another store online is bound to sell the same thing at about the same price. Don't risk your credit card information at a shaky site just to save $1.50. Use a credit card, rather than money order or debit card, if you possibly can. It gives you one more level of recourse -- the ability to dispute the payment -- if the merchant or merchandise isn't up to snuff. Keep tabs on your order and on your credit card bill. Most sites send you an e-mail notice when you place an order and when your order is shipped. Hang on to those confirmations, and be sure that you get everything you order. Also keep an eye on your credit card bill to be sure that you're charged for only what you ordered. (You'd be surprised by how many people simply send money to their credit card companies without examining what they're being charged for!) Dummiesdaily.com Being first in the nation, not once but twice, should be a great distinction. But not in the following case. Dangerous Roads What causes so many fatal accidents on two lane highways? To find out where some of those treacherous two-lane roads are, NBC's Dateline searched the latest five years of accident records stored in a federal database, looking at nearly every traffic fatality on every mile of road in the country - nearly 209,000 deaths in all, including about 24,000 each year on two-lane roads. First deadly road on the List: U.S. 287 in southern Wyoming, between Laramie and the Colorado border. On this 65-mph stretch, high speeds and heavy commercial truck traffic push the risk even higher to three times the state average. The next most dangerous road on the list is South Carolina's State Route 347, near Myrtle Beach. Here you will find high speeds, trees just feet from the roadway and a fatality rate 16 times higher than on the nearest interstate. Colorado's U.S. 287, near Fort Collins, is another dangerous road. California's U.S. 395 is called “Bowling Alley,” the most dangerous stretch being in San Bernardino county. State Route 308 in southern Louisiana and U. S. 39 in Arizona, between Flagstaff and the Utah border, also made the list." Trailer Life magazine, September, 2002 The old married couple were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. A fairy appeared and said she would grant them each one wish. The wife thought for a moment, then said she wished to travel around the world. The fairy waved her magic wand and - boom! - the woman had the tickets in her hand. The husband paused, then said, "I'd like to have a woman 30 years younger than me." The fairy waved her wand and - boom! - he was 80. by John Moren Windows XP incorporates a file zipping routine similar to WinZip, PKZip, and others that reduces file sizes to as much as 10% of their original size. More importantly, multiple files can be stored in one zip file, which subsequently can be password protected. Windows XP displays a zip file as if it were a compressed folder, using a folder icon with a vise. In rummaging through the bowels of my new computer recently, I discovered that there is a copy of files that have been accessed with the XP zipping routine. This could be disastrous in the case of private files that you thought had been copied to a diskette, locked up, and put away. Have a look in C:\Documents and Settings\User\Local Settings\Temp for these files. They will appear as "Temporary Directory 1 for YourFile.zip". When you search, substitute your logon name for "User" above and note that the Local Settings folder icon is grayed out as if it's not accessible. It is! John W. Moren, President Princeton Investments, Inc. 6225 Eagle Ridge Court Ft. Collins, CO 80525 970-226-2486 Voice/Fax by Rick Mattingly In the past we have discussed the issues created by orphaned temporary files on the hard drive of a Windows equipped system. We also have discussed manual methods of cleaning out these files, as well as the inherent dangers involved in the manual process. The manual process involves booting the Windows system to DOS, maneuvering to the \Windows\Temp folder and deleting the orphaned temporary files found there. This is not an easy process for the casual user. In fact, it can be downright disastrous to the operating system if the wrong files are deleted. And, note that this procedure must not be done while the Windows operating system is loaded as some of the temporary files within the Temp folder are actually in use at that time. Removing active files will likely crash the operating system! G-Lock Software has now released a neat software utility to take the pain out of this housekeeping chore directly from within Windows - G-Lock Temp Cleaner. Even better: this utility is free! G-Lock Software's description of the problem and their free software utility is as follows: "Most of your Windows applications create several temp files on your hard disk when they are running. These files are supposed to be removed but not all programs do it automatically. The temp files may have been accumulated to megabytes since you have begun using your PC, and they can waste large amounts of your hard drive space without you knowing it! It will lead to the reducing of free space on your hard disk, superfluous fragmentation, reduction of the system performance. So it is recommended to clear your hard disk of the temp, junk and obsolete files in order to keep your hard drive in perfect condition. Otherwise as well as wasting space on your system, temp, obsolete and junk files can produce very hazardous results if they are not properly cleaned from your drive on a periodical basis. The symptoms that these garbage files can produce include: · Lost network and Internet connections. · Sudden application lock ups. · Fatal Errors in your applications. · Virus like behavior · Cross-linked drive references · Mysterious Reboots · Lost data · Out of Memory Errors G-Lock Temp Cleaner determines these specific types of files which are missed by common disk utilities such as uninstall, "Disk Defragmenter", "Scandisk", etc. Unlike standard "cleaner" type programs, G-Lock Temp Cleaner also identifies garbage files on the hard drives of the network computers. System Requirements Any of Windows 32 version (Windows 9x/Me/NT/2000/XP) will fit the software requirement to the system. The G-Lock Temp Cleaner uses neither additional drivers, nor undocumented functions. It resorts to only standard Windows API (application user interface)." To download your free copy of G-Lock Temp Cleaner visit G-Lock Software at the following Web site: In response to several recent inquiries at club meetings regarding the optical scanning of 35 mm photo slides, check the following link for a very clever method which results in surprisingly good digital images at very low cost: http://www.abstractconcreteworks.com/essays/scanning/Backlighter.html This is a little known bug in Windows 98 that causes the computer to hang when it is in suspend. This is caused, believe it or not, when a drive letter is lower case in the SYSTEM.INI. You can fix this by doing the following: - Select Start > Run and type msconfig in the Open: box, then press OK - Select the System.ini tab - Click the + sign next to the (386Enh) section to expand it - Select the line PagingFile= and click Edit - Change the lowercase drive letter to uppercase - Click Apply and OK - When prompted, restart your computer Microsoft Windows ages as it is used. As you use it, install, uninstall, patch, save, load, and all the other functions, Windows actually goes through a process that I call 'decaying.' After a point, Windows becomes unusable. Many people misinterpret this as a need to upgrade. Not at all. At this point, there are four steps you need to take: Back up everything. Format your hard drive. Reinstall Windows and your applications. Reinstall your data. Sounds easy? Not at all! This is a long and arduous process that is not for the weak of heart, but nonetheless it may be necessary. - Michael Vincent http://www.eMazing.com by NewMedia Staff-by Andy Beal If you have researched methods for increasing your Web site traffic, there's no doubt you have come across a lot of information on META Tags. You probably know that they are important for search engine optimization and that they need to be included on your Web site. But what exactly do they do? What is their purpose and how exactly do the search engines interact with them? In this summary of META tags, my intention is not to make your head ache with technical details on correct format and content, but simply explain the purpose of META tags. The three components of META tags are: Title Description Keywords The Title tag is very similar to the title of a book, it gives a visitor the first hint as to the theme of the Web site. The Description tag is comparable to the summary found on the back of a book, providing a brief guide to the content of your Web site. The Keywords are similar to the index of a book, allowing anyone to clearly see if the Web site contains the information they are seeking. There you go, META tags explained in just three sentences. I could stop right here and you would have a better understanding of META tags than 90 percent of Web site owners. But let's continue and see how META tags interact with your visitors and the search engines. Title is Everything If you only use one component of META tags, then make sure it is the Title tag. The Title tag is important in so many ways. It is the title of your Web site, displayed at the top of every browser window. It is the Title tag that is referenced when a visitor to your site decides to add your location to their favorites or bookmarks. It is also used by all crawling search engines when displaying a link to your Web site. Without the Title tag, your Web site is as likely to be viewed as a book with no cover, sitting in a bookstore with millions of other books. Description Please Next in importance is the Description tag. The Description tag is often used by the search engines when displaying your Web site listing. You will usually see the contents of your Description tag shown just below your Web site Title. The Description tag is a brief summary of the contents of your Web site and helps both visitors and search engines to determine the relevancy of your Web site. If your Web site does not have a Description tag or does, but it is poorly worded, you could find that potential visitors pass your company by or even worse, the search engines fail to show your Web site in their results. Consider this, would you buy a book if there were no summary on the back cover explaining what the book was about? Don't Forget Keywords Last, but by no means least, you should ensure that your META tags contain Keywords. While not often seen by visitors to your Web site, they are used by search engines when determining whether your business should be displayed in their results. If a search engine user searches for "widgets", your site is more likely to be displayed if you include "widgets" as one of your keywords. If you picked up a book and wanted to see if it included information on "widgets" you would turn to the index. If you couldn.t find what you wanted then you would be unlikely to buy the book. Hope It Helps Hopefully, the above provides a simple explanation of how META tags work. By no means is it technically exact, nor is that what I intnded. In the future, I will go into more detail of how META tags should be formatted and what other factors need to be considered. For now, I felt it important to provide, in laymen's terms, a summary of how META tags interact with your visitors and the search engines. Andy Beal is Vice President of Marketing for KeywordRanking, a North Carolina company that specializes in Internet marketing services for all business types and budgets. newmedia.com Reprinted from internetday (internetday.com). - IMPORTANT NOTICE - FRPCUG meetings are held at the Fort Collins Senior Center. Check below for directions to the Senior Center. October General Forum Meeting We will meet at the Fort Collins Senior Center on Tuesday, October 1 at 7:00 pm. Meeting Agenda 7:00 - 7:30 Announcements 7:30 - 8:30 Microsoft Outlook Express - Charles McJilton will give a presentation on using Outlook Express for all your Internet email needs. 8:30 - 8:45 Break 8:45 - 9:30 Open Forum November General Forum Meeting We will meet at the Fort Collins Senior Center on Tuesday, November 5 at 7:00 pm. Meeting Agenda 7:00 - 7:15 Announcements 7:15 - 7:30 Nomination of Officers 7:30 - 8:30 Morningstar Financial Software - Jim Watt will give a presentation on using Morningstar Financial Software for mutual fund analysis and portfolio building. 8:30 - 8:45 Break 8:45 - 9:30 Open Forum See you at the meetings! Directions The Fort Collins Senior Center is located at 1200 Raintree Drive. This site is situated at the northwest corner of the Shields and West Drake intersection, on the north side of the Raintree Shopping Center. Check the marquee at the main entrance for directions to the specific meeting room. Up-Coming SIG's, Seminars and Meetings Board Meeting FRPCUG's executive board meets on Wednesday of the week following the General Forum Meeting at 7:00 p.m. All members are welcome and are encouraged to attend. These meetings are held at the offices of JYM Information Systems: 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. Upcoming FRPCUG Meetings Along with presentations of new hardware and software, we will certainly continue to present tips, hints, solutions, as well as what is new with Public Domain and Shareware offerings. If you have ideas for presentations which you would like to see at future General Forum meetings or seminars, please let us know. We would appreciate the input and opportunity to improve your meetings. Know of a another computer-related meeting in our area? Please let us know so we can post it here. 1 FRPCUG General Forum Meeting 7:00PM 9 FRPCUG Board Meeting 7:00PM NRFNUG Meeting 5:00PM 14 Columbus Day 17 Telcomm SIG 7:00PM 24 LINUX SIG 7:00PM 27 Daylight Savings Time Ends 31 HalloweenNovember 2002 5 FRPCUG General Forum Meeting 7:00PM Election Day 11 Veterans Day 13 FRPCUG Board Meeting 7:00PM NRFNUG Meeting 5:00PM 21 Telcomm SIG 7:00PM 27 LINUX SIG 7:00PM 28 Thanksgiving by Bryan Lilius, Alamo PC Mandrake 8.1 Review I have been a Linux dabbler since 1993, when I worked in Berlin, Germany with a real programmer, Scott Maley. Our mission there was conversion of the Tempelhof Terminal Radar system to serve as the regional Air Traffic Control System for the former East Germany. Scott was a subscriber to Linux Journal before the Linux Kernel reached version 1.0, and he would let me look at his magazines, which I found to be interesting curiosities. While I could look over his shoulder at his Linux system, I didn't have one of my own until 1996 when I installed Red Hat (4.0?) on a 486 I was retiring from active Microsoft service. Amazingly, I succeeded at getting that old 486 set up as our home file and print server, although it didn't seem the sort of thing that just anyone could do. I had to recompile the kernel to get it to work with my bus mouse and obsolete Western Digital network card. Recompiling the kernel, for me, required extensive reading of kernel cookbook instructions, and resulted in having to start over from initial installation more than once. It was the sort of thing that computer "hobbyists" might enjoy. I stayed with Red Hat through version 6.0, and would probably still be using it but couldn't get network services working on a Toshiba laptop. While this may sound like a criticism of Red Hat, it isn't, as many other people were able to get a configuration similar to mine working, and they were patiently helping me do the same when someone suggested I might like to try Mandrake Who should try Linux Linux is most suited for those with a "sys admin" outlook, who enjoy twiddling with configuration files. Web-site developer/maintainers and software developers must give it a try it a try and see the incredible capabilities available at little or no cost. More and more, though, if you just want to surf the web, use e-mail, and maybe compose your paper for school, Linux may be for you. Mandrake Linux installs easier than Microsoft Windows (98, 2000 or XP), and is at least as likely to recognize all your hardware and work on first boot up. There is the possibility that you may be one of those able to free yourself from the monolith before you get so locked in to applications that demand the Windows operating system. Getting Started While most people I know who use Linux (including myself,) have a dual boot machine, (we want Linux on our best hardware), I think first-timers are better off trying it on the machine they have just replaced. Right now people are giving away old Pentium II's, if you don't have one of your own sitting in a closet, and Linux will run just fine on them. The advantage of this is that you don't worry about messing up your Windows machine and you have the freedom of knowing you can't hurt anything. You should be aware that if your computer is really old (say a P-133 with 8MB RAM) you ought to get an older version of Linux. These older versions are still available for download. Mandrake recommends you have at least 64 MB of RAM for using version 8.1. You should also have at least 2GB of disk space available, and 4GB is better. However, you can still obtain versions that will even run on a 386 with 640kb of RAM from their Web site. If you are not putting Linux on a stand-alone machine, you must make some decisions. Mandrake provides an option of installing itself in your Windows partition, and actually starting up from a windows command. I have never tried this, and wouldn't recommend it. I have heard that it runs slower than native mode. If you have room for a second drive that you can dedicate to Linux, then this is a better option. You won't have to repartition your current, fully utilized Windows partition. If for "some reason" you have just lost all your data and must reinstall Windows, then you have the perfect opportunity to set aside a small portion of that big hard drive, create a Linux partition, and enjoy a dual-boot machine. Before you do any of these things, be sure to read the "install.htm" file in the top-level directory of the first CD. This document tells you everything you need to know to boot from the CD-ROM and install Mandrake Linux. It also shows you how to create a set of boot floppies if your machine can't boot from CD-ROM. Other informative reading about Linux and Mandrake can be found at Mandrake's Web-site. Mandrake's installation is easy and straightforward. From my experience and reading, Mandrake does the best job of recognizing the hardware on your machine and configuring it appropriately of any Linux distribution available. Figure 1 shows what the screen looks like as you step through the installation program. There isn't space in this review for a step-by-step description of all must do, but the installation instructions will be sufficient for most users and systems. When you are finished you will have X-Windows and the KDE environment all configured for you. After you log in you will have a desktop that you could in no time have looking like this screen shot taken from Mandrake's web site. What's included Mandrake 8.1 comes with Linux Kernel version 2.4.8, the KDE Desktop version 2.2.1 with the "dramatically improved" KOffice 1.1. Server features include: support for Journalized File Systems, a special version of SAMBA which allows Windows file sharing with NT-like access control lists, and the Apache web server. Some of the 100's of applications include: * Grio500: synchronize your desktop with the Rio 500 MP3 player * Mozilla 0.9.4: browse the Web and try the new communication module * XMMS 1.2.5: edit and manage MP3 files * GIMP 1.2.2: create and manipulate photos with this powerful graphics software * Gphoto2: manage all your digital photos * Grip 2.96: burn you favorite CDs * KOffice 1.1: perform all your office tasks * Galeon 0.12.1: try this unusual browser for a new kind of browsing experience * Gnomemeeting 0.11: Share good times with family and friends with this full-featured video conferencing software Availability and pricing If downloading and making your own CD is not something you can or want to do, you can order the 3-CD "Download" set from Mandrake for $25 plus $5 shipping, or from If you want to jump in with both feet, Mandrake Linux PowerPack Edition 8.1 features 7 CDs, 2 manuals, thousands of Open Source and commercial applications and installation support. The price of $89 includes shipping and a contribution to Mandrake's Free Software developments. Other more expensive and extensive options are also available. Bryan Lilius is the Staff Elder at Faith Presbyterian Church, 1307 Blanco Woods. If you're new to Web page design, you may wonder whether you should use GIF or JPG graphics. You'll see many examples of both on the Internet. In general, you should use JPG files for photos and full color drawings (JPG allows 24-bit color--16.7+ million colors). However, you can use GIF files when you don't need full color. GIF files only allow a maximum of 256 colors. Animated graphics always require GIF. - Sue Whitehouse http://www.eMazing.com Does it seem like a trip to the battery aisle requires a degree in chemistry? The latest chemical concoctions have long names, but don't tell you much about the battery. Here are explanations of what the different types of batteries can do for your digital camera. Alkaline Alkaline batteries are the classic, popular non-rechargeable. They are inexpensive and widely available, but they are not well-suited to digital cameras. They have a high internal resistance, which means that they will not last as long as a single charge of a rechargeable battery. They are cheaper the first time you buy them, but will cost much more money over time. Be wary of rechargeable alkalines, which are quite expensive, but can only be charged about two dozen times. Nickel Cadmium These are an older technology that is not quite as powerful as Nickel Metal Hydride, but is quite a bit cheaper. While a typical Nickel Cadmium battery may charge your camera for half an hour, a Nickel Metal Hydride battery can up this to an hour. These are a good cheaper, but lower-performance option. Nickel Metal Hydride Many people believe that Nickel Metal Hydride batteries are the best option for digital cameras. They can be re-charged up to a thousand times, will last for hundreds of shots and are available in most popular battery sizes. One limitation is that is you store the batteries for a period of time after charging them , they will lose some of their power. However, they are a powerful, affordable, rechargeable option. Lithium Ion Lithium ion batteries are powerful, long lasting and specifically designed for digital cameras. They can last longer than the other varieties of batteries, and lose no power when stored after charging. The main drawback is that they are not yet available in all of the popular battery sizes. Also, be careful to make sure that the lithium battery you buy is a rechargeable lithium ion battery rather than a one-time use lithium battery. Many manufacturers make custom lithium ion battery packs to fit their cameras, but it is also possible to get a separate lithium ion battery pack that plugs into your camera. They are about the size of a large pager and will last for three or four hours. ACD Systems Ltd. http://www.acdsystems.com Consumer.Gov Federal government Web site to assist consumers with information regarding misleading product advertisement, defective products, health issues, fraud, identity theft, privacy, and more. Check the online database for bad actors or report a bad actor. Web address is: http://www.consumer.gov . For Dummies Like Me by Bruce Switalla, Coastal Area Users Group (CAUG) Since it will be a while before I learn how to get my graphic printouts to line up correctly on pre-perforated paper, I decided to simply save money on mistakes and take matters into my own hands. So, for the Feb. graphics SIG, I briefly demonstrated how I make business cards, greeting cards, and photo prints without the perforated paper that I can't always figure out how to line up. For now, I use Epson Matte Heavyweight paper (52-lb) for everything. It makes a thin but acceptable bus. card, and it doesn't stick to glass photo frames. As shown at the meeting, it yields rich, dark colors too. For business card software, I use Print Artist and can get it to print TWELVE cards per 8½ x11 sheet with hairline crop marks that get split in two and don't show. The pre-perforated bus. card sheets I've seen yield only ten and thus leave wasted paper. For bus. cards, greeting cards, and photos alike, I use the following equipment. I place an 11x15 Good Cook Flexible Cutting Board (about $2.95) from H-E-B's cooking utensils section down on my table surface. Yes, it gets cut marks in it, but that's what its for! I heard at the meeting that a fabric store has more costly cutting mats that “heal” after you cut into them thus preventing the knife from following a previous groove. To cut, I use an Exacto knife (from Hobby Lobby) and keep it covered with its plastic cap when not in use. For the projects without crop marks like photos, I use 2 sharp pencil marks to determine where to cut. I place the knife on the mark first, then slide a cork-backed metal ruler (available cheap at Office Depot) against the knife at my first point. Then, holding the ruler down with my finger out of the way of the cut, I place the knife-point in the other pencil mark, pivoting the ruler this time against the knife. I consistently keep the knife straight up while watching my fingers. I cut 2 or 3 times just past where I need to, so the side cuts will come apart when finished. I got a beautiful 5x7 mahogany-colored wood frame from Dollar General for $2. And 8X10's are $3 and $4. By the way, if you go with glossy paper, you cannot let it touch the glass, so you will need to place a spacer, like a mat, around the photo (a job for the pro's). Advanced Advice If you can control how large your photo prints out, you may opt for 4½x6½ or so with white borders that you leave when you cut to 5x7, since a 5x7 wood frame will cover a quarter inch on all sides, and ink is expensive. Measure the frame's inside dimensions for white border (cutting purposes) and from the front of the frame measure for printing purposes but be sure no white will show after framing. Better to think this all out and practice on Crayola-colored notebook paper than mess up a print. “Measure twice…” One thing I didn't cover at the meeting was folding greeting cards. I place two pencil marks down the center of where I need to fold Then I put the ruler edge over the marks and use a pizza cutter roller to crease neatly the fold I need. Care is needed to avoid rolling away from the ruler's edge. The resulting fold looks professional! E-mail Address: bswit@usa.net by Sam Hills No matter what you do, NEVER respond to Spam! NEVER!!!!! If you respond to the Spam, the spammer will NOT remove you from the mailing list. Instead, you will merely confirm the validity of your e-mail address and thereby invite even more Spam! The correct response to Spam is to forward it to Spamcop at: Spamcop@Spamcop.net Spamcop will respond with an e-mail with a hotlink which you must then click on to display a web page showing the analysis of the Spam's origin. You must then click a button on this page to send the Spam report to the ISPs involved. This will alert the ISPs to the problem so they can cancel the Spammer's account. You should also forward the Spam to the Federal Trade Commission. If they get enough complaints about a company, they will take action. mailto:uce@ftc.gov If the Spam advertises something blatantly illegal (such as a chain letter), it should also be reported to the FBI and the U.S. Postal Service. mailto:internetfraud@ifccfbi.gov mailto:fraud@usps.gov Unfortunately, there is no way to automate this, except to add the above 4 e-mail addresses to your address book. That way, you only have to type a few characters into the To: field when you forward the Spam. You should also take measures to protect your e-mail address(es) from harvesting. If you put your e-mail address on your web pages, encrypt it using Javascript so Spambots can't harvest it. Give the Spambots some bogus e-mail addresses to Spam. I use Wpoison http://www.monkeys.com/wpoison/, a CGI script which generates an unending stream of gibberish e-mail addresses for Spambots. Sam Hills - shills@bbll.com "Spammers are the Internet's undead. Preying upon the innocent and naive, these bandwidth-sucking vampires hope to be network masters hiding in the shadows in cowardice and shame, only to fade to dust when burned by the light of day." - Bill McCarthy, Boardwatch June 2000 How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were? - Satchel Paige by Bruce Von Deylen, EPCUG Member This is perhaps one of the most often asked questions in the PC business. People plunk down their hard-earned cash thinking they will be able to connect at 56K (56 kilobits per second). Several months ago there the Elkhart PC Users Group's general meeting erupted into a sharing of many tales of woe about problems with modem connection speeds. That spurred the genesis for this column. Consumers are, perhaps rightly so, outraged when they discover their brand new 56K modem only connects at 44 or 45K. The short answer is no modem in existence is able to establish a dial-up connection at 56K. Doesn't that amount to false advertising, you ask? It may. This sort of thing is commonplace in the computer business. For example, a hard drive with an advertised capacity of 20 gigabytes (GB) usually can hold only about 19 GB and change. Another example is computer monitors. A recent ad from Best Buy advertised a 17-inch monitor. The fine print in the ad indicated the monitor's actual viewing area is 15.8 inches. Returning to modems, the 56K label refers to the modem's maximum connection speed under ideal conditions. In the real world ideal conditions rarely show up. Blame It On the Feds The first culprit is the federal government. Federal regulations, known as FCC regulation Part 68, limit modem connection speeds over telephone lines to 53K. This rule, in place before the Internet came along, was meant to keep conversations on one phone line from interfering with the line next to it. Though it is outdated the regulation remains in place. The other culprit is the phone lines connecting homes in your neighborhood with the rest of the world. They were designed for voice communication and do quite well at that task. Computers sending data at high speed are something traditional phone lines were never meant to handle. You can try complaining to the telephone company. My understanding of the situation is, in the case of residential phone service, the telephone company is only required to provide good voice communication. Phone lines capable of high-speed data transmission is something the phone company has no obligation to provide. One tactic I have heard some people use is they call the phone company to complain they always hear static over their telephone. A repair crew was sent out and they replaced some telephone wire. The result was the people who complained got faster modem connections after the phone crew left. In my neighborhood, the homes are more than 50 years old. I suspect the phone lines are nearly that old as well. Making matters worse, the squirrels and chipmunks also like to chew on the phone and TV cables. If you think matters in your 'hood are bad, consider the poor weary traveler trying to retrieve E-mail from his laptop computer in a hotel room. Because hotel phone lines are in even worse shape than residential wires, our traveler may think he is having a good day if he is able to connect at 24K. Experience with my clients suggest people living in cities or newer subdivisions tend to enjoy faster modem connections than those living out in the sticks. I know of people living in decidedly rural areas. Even though they have state-of-the-art computers and a top quality modem, they are rarely able to get a modem connection above 33.6K. More often, they are stuck at 24 or 28K. It May Be Your Modem There are two general types of modems in use today. The more common of these is the software-based, or WinModem. Though WinModem is a trademark of US Robotics, a leading modem manufacturer, the term is often used to describe any modem that uses software and cycles of the computer's processor to handle most of the modem chores. In reality, a WinModem is little more than an interface between your computer and the telephone line. Other companies that make modems that might be called WinModems include Lucent, Shark, Rockwell and Zoom. One way to identify a WinModem is, somewhere on the label, it says, “Requires Microsoft Windows.” Most name-brand computers come equipped with WinModems. If you are considering buying a new computer, you might want to see if an upgrade to a hardware modem is available. Hardware modems differ from WinModems in that they have a chip, or chips, built into the modem that handle all the modulating and demodulating work that a modem is supposed to do. A WinModem can slow down considerably if your computer is busy doing something else. One example of doing something else is printing out a Web page while you continue to surf. Because a hardware modem does not use the computer's main processor to handle modem tasks, the transfer speed tends to be the same regardless of how busy the processor is. Hardware modems are also less sensitive to phone line noise than are WinModems. In a fast computer, say one in the 800 to 1,000 MHz. range, you may see little difference between a WinModem and a hardware modem. On slower machines, especially those with less than a 400 MHz. processor, the difference can be quite dramatic. Why are WinModems so common if they have all these problems, you may ask? The answer is cost. An average WinModem can be had for around $20. Hardware modems, on the other hand, can cost $70 to $100. This is probably why brands like Gateway, HP and IBM install WinModems in their computers as standard equipment. Bottom line, if you are able to connect at anything above 40K, you are doing pretty good and should probably leave well enough alone. If you are having trouble getting up to 40K, replacing that WinModem with a hardware-based unit might help. In the end, I'm sorry to say you'll never get to 56K. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Bruce Von Deylen is self-employed as a personal computer repair technician. Working under the name of The PC Guy, Bruce has been helping computer users professionally since 1996. Before striking out on his own, Bruce spent nearly 20 years in journalism, working most recently for the South Bend Tribune. He joined the Elkhart PC Users Group in January 2001. Copyright: Bruce Von Deylen: brucevdcompuservecom Website: http://geocities.com/the_pc_guy_1627/index.htm Message board: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pcguy September, 2001 newsletter of the Elkhart PC Users Group Are you constantly opening the same documents again and again? Microsoft Word provides a neat tool to assist with this task so that you do not need to search out those redundant documents each time: the Work Menu shortcut. To activate the Word shortcut follow these instructions: Choose Tools|Customize|Commands Select Built-In Menus in the Categories list Under Commands locate the Work item; drag and release it on the Toolbar Now, each time you open a redundant document, select the Work shortcut from the Toolbar and choose Add to Work Menu. Your redundant document name will now appear in the drop down menu of the Work shortcut button for quick access in the future. by Lowel Shatraw OK, you did something wrong, or the computer did, and now you cannot run your computer properly until you re-install the OS -- Windows 98. Where do you start, or do you just run SETUP again? To properly re-install Windows 98, or 98SE, you first need to rename IEMIGRAT.DLL in the \Windows\Systems folder. Then, disable any programs that normally run in the background -- like antivirus programs, any specialized programs like those watching what is being done on the system, and screen savers. Next, and not the least important, backup your DATA. With Windows running, insert the Windows 98 CD disk, run the SETUP.EXE from START|RUN|BROWSE. Go to the CD drive and find the SETUP.EXE file and double-click it. After the installation completes you may need to access the Microsoft website at http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com, select PRODUCT UPDATES and download the updates. One last tip. If you were running Outlook Express 5 and version 4 was placed on your system during the re-install, go to Microsoft.com and search for this article (Q186218) on how to remove and re-install Outlook in Windows 98. from June, 2000 issue of CUGG Random Access newsletter It's estimated there are 23 million inactive cell phones. If you have an old one, instead of selling it on eBay, using it as a paperweight, or hoping time turns it into a collector's item like early AOL installation disks (honest), consider donating it to a worthwhile charity or cause. Just about every major city runs at least one (and usually more) donation programs throughout the year benefiting hometown organizations. So do companies like Radio Shack, SprintPCS, and Motorola. You can find out more about their donation programs on their Web sites, or call your provider, local cellular store, or even fire up your favorite search engine and look for "donate cell phone." Finally, the not-for-profit Wireless Foundation (http://www.wirelessfoundation.org) is involved in several worthwhile donation programs. - Michael Cahlin Emazing.com FOR SALE: Gateway 800C Desktop w/Monitor, 20GB Hard Drive plus Epson Stylus Color 777 printer. Less than one year old. Only $600 complete. Contact Frances in Fort Collins at (970) 224-0776. FOR SALE: FUJI MX-1700 Zoom digital camera. 1.5 MP with 3X digital zoom and 2" LCD monitor. Like-new condition in box with manual, cables, software and two Smartmedia cards. This subcompact digital camera has it all and takes gorgeous vivid color photos - $250. Contact Rick Mattingly at (970) 223-6618 or email rmatt@jymis.com. About Trading Post Members: Place your FREE ad here! 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 or email whorton@willsigns.com. Commercial Advertising Specifications (Monthly rate) Full Page (8 1/2” X 7”) $30 Half Page (3 1/4” X 7”) $20 One Third Page (3” X 4”) $15 Business Card (2 3/4” X 1 1/2”) $ 5 We offer a substantial discount for repeat ads and continuing contracts. For additional charge, we will design your ad for you. Contact Will Horton for information on this service at 223-2154 or email whorton@willsigns.com. |