VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY, ST. AUGUSTINE CENTER
MEETING STARTS - 09:30 - MAY 8th
NOTE: SECOND SATURDAY!!!
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THIS MONTH'S CONTENTS
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MAIN LINE 64/128/PC USERS - Room 110
Many members have an interest in their genealogies. Some years ago, we lightly covered that in a club meeting. But, since then, a new major source of family information has arisen - namely; the INTERNET. Many people, organizations, even governments, are making information accessible via the World Wide Web.
Member Layton Fireng has been searching out his family very extensively. For our next meeting - assuming the internet holds up - he will give us an intro to the information that is accessible and some hints on how to get it.
If you have an interest in YOUR past, come out prepared to ask and learn, it should be fun! MAIN LINE AMIGA USERS - Room 210
Our April meeting was an ALL SIGS combined meeting in Room 110 in the St Augustine building at Villanova. The Amiga SIG did not meet formally. So, we had very little Amiga specific discussion. Emil led the meeting with several opening remarks. They were followed by the BIG EVENT, namely an introduction to networking over a Local Area Network (LAN) using a PC connected to an Amiga by Ethernet. This is one of the simplest networks that one can create. It also demonstrated cross-platform connectivity between an Amiga and a PC.
Since this was a combined meeting of C64/128, PC & Amiga users, and because many of the 8-bit and Amiga users also
---------------------------------------------------------------- The subject of networking at home for folks who have the dubious
distinction of owning multiple computers (Amigas, PCs, Macs, tho not
fully networkable Commodore 8-bitters) was the subject of last months
meeting. Take a real good LOOK at the very detailed
write up by presenter John Deker.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
NCAUG Cookout at Software Hut
Contacts:
Bill Borsari - tekmage@amiga.org
Mike Skov - skov@moon.jic.com
Software Hut - softhut@erols.com
The National Capital Amiga Users Group [www.ncaug.org] is happy to
announce in conjunction with Software Hut [www.softhut.com] a cookout
for their May meeting. The festivities begin at 12 noon on Saturday
May 1st at Software Hut's West Chester location. Come early, the fun
ends at 3 p.m. Aside from special deals for those who attend, there
will be food, fun, and a surprise or two.
Members of NCAUG will meet at predetermined locations to arrange car
pools to Software Hut. Please consult the NCAUG Web Page and
newsletter, Amiga Intuition, for more information. Amigans from New
York, New Jersey, and surrounding areas are also encouraged to attend,
you do not need to be a member. It is asked that you either call (800-
932-6442) or e-mail Trish at Software Hut if you plan to attend. A map
of Software Hut's location is on their web page.
The National Capital Amiga Users Group has been serving the DC Metro
Amiga user since 1985. Home of the famous Blimp Cam, our group is
world reknown as one of the most active Amiga User Groups there is. We
offer the latest in Amiga developments and informations. SIGS
supporting the Internet, programming, and video production available to
all members. Please come by for an afternoon of fun.
Fabian Jimenez
fabian@cais.com
INTERNET - the 3rd edition of "The Internet for C64/128 Users" by
Gaelyn Gasson has come out. In addition to new information in this
excellent compendium, the cost has been reduced ($29.95, postpaid from
Australia), making it a very attractive purchase. I'll have a copy at
the May meeting for folks to look over.
Even if you are no longer using an 8-bitter, this book has an
enormous amount of platform independent information that any computer
user will find useful. So, PCers and Amigans should give it a serious
look-at, too.
SPEAKING OF BOOKS! - did you order one of the PC Novice booklets on
our most recent "club" order? I appear to have one or two that are
extra copies - but no record of who might have wanted it. I'll bring
to the meeting; so if you did "order", you can retrieve same (cost is
$6 per volume).
YEAR 2000 UPDATES - last month, we mentioned the Y2K update for the
Windows 98 OS. This time, it is to mention that there is a similar
update for Microsoft Works.
MS notes that version 3 is non-compliant and will NOT be updated.
This is the last version of Works that would run on Windows 3.x.
For versions 4 and 4.5, they have issued an update file - about 2.8
MB in size. When the executable is run, it updates either of these
versions to MS Works v4.5a - which is deemed Y2K compliant. I have the
file and used it to update v4 that was on my Win95 desktop and v4.5
that was on my Win98 laptop. Both installs now report that they have
metamorphed to v4.5a!
I also have hardcopy of the Microsoft Year 2000 disclosure on the
updated program. You need to look this over to see how the program
actually does handle dates after 1999. Like many other updates, Y2K+
is manipulated in specific ways that you need to know!
Anyone interested in the update, can contact me - or you can
download it from Microsoft's Year 2000 website, go to:
www.microsoft.com/year2000/
and follow the prompts - carefully.
MEMBERSHIP STATUS - we appear to have stopped at the 41 member
renewal level. So, we urge each of you to keep your eyes open for
possible new recruits - that can be helped by the club - OR who would
like to help the club! Both kinds of folks are more than welcome!
------------------ 3) If the label on the cable on the table at your house, says the
network is connected to the button on your mouse; but your packets want
to tunnel on another protocol, that's repeatedly rejected by the
printer down the hall, and your screen is all distorted by the side
effects of gauss, so your icons in the window are as wavy as a souse,
then you may as well reboot and go out with a bang, cause as sure as
I'm a poet, the sucker's gonna hang!
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ WANTED: cooling fan for 128D computer. If you have one - with
instructions (I hope), please call Emil at 610-388-1581, or leave email
on the BBS. (2)
FOR SALE: do you have a need to replace some ailing Commodore part?
Are you looking for a particular piece of Commodore software? Or do
you need to replace a master disk for Commodore software that no longer
works - but you'd like it to? Contact our inventory manager, Charles
Curran.
****************************** For the April meeting, we had a combined Amiga/PC/64/128 session -
on the subject of multi-computer networking. Emphasis was on cross-
platform connection - Amiga to PC, in this demo. In the Amiga article
on p.4, John Deker provides some of the detailed background on the
topic.
For those of us there (only 14 members showed), it was quite a
spectacle! John lucked out with the hardware and software all working.
So, he could show us sharing of resources across the platforms -
including use of a number of Amiga utilities to scarf up PC-based
info.
The piece de resistance came right at the end when John had the PC
display showing the screen of the Amiga and he could access the
software - running on the Amiga, but appearing on the PC - with either
computer's keyboard or MOUSE! No matter which system he touched, the
software responded! Take a good look at his writeup. If members are
interested in more practical networking info, we should be able to
cover that in a future meeting. Let us know, if you have such an
interest...
Our thanks to John for such a gee-whiz demo (and the effort it took
to pull it off)!
****************************** [by Emil Volcheck]
The problem of getting directory listings in Windows was recently
addressed in the Tech Life section of the Philadelphia Inquirer. I
thought you might be interested in the email message - on the topic -
that I sent to the column's author - John Fried.
"John - this is a followup to your column in Tech Life last week,
regarding printing directories from Windows. I have asked a number of
'experts' before about how to do it - with the general conclusion being
that there is no good way.
However, there is an excellent and powerful way to get the
information in any DOS or Windows system. That is - use the DOS
directory command (which is quite powerful!).
On my desktop PC - running Win95 - the sequence I use is:
Assuming your printer responds properly, you'll get a detailed
listing of the files in the directory, alphabetized, with both the 8+3
and long filenames.
Frequently, I like to have the directory in an editable file; so I
can annotate and file the information. To get that, I use the
following in place of step 6 above:
6. type dir /o > c:\filename.txt
This will put the directory information in a text file in the root
directory of the C: drive (so I can remember where to look for it).
One can then edit that file to your heart's content and file it as
needed or desired.
As you are aware, there are a lot of switches that can be used with
dir - the /s being especially useful as it causes the contents of any
subdirectories to also be listed, not at all easy to do in Windows
Explorer or File Manager.
I would like to hear of a better method, but even Microsoft has no
suggestion on a way. About a year ago - in their Microsoft Insider, as
I recall - they addressed the same question and could offer nothing -
not even the approach I outlined above!!!
I'm still looking, Emil Volcheck..."
HOME NETWORKING...
ANNOUNCEMENTS & COMMENTS
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What if Dr. Seuss
Wrote a Computer Manual!
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$ TRADING POST $
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64/128/PC MEETING
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DIRECTORIES
[where path gets you to the
directory you want to print]
[to send the alphabetized directory
to the printer]
[to get back to Windows]