MEETING STARTS - 09:30 - SEP 8 th
Come Help and Get Helped!
We have a number of items to cover, plus allow time for a demo or two - that have been promised for some time. but, we never got around to them...
Beginning immediately below is the summary of the results of last month's "survey". We want to take some time to discuss those results and get member input on them.
One of the queries dealt with networking - so we will get a chance to cover this item that is postponed from last month (including reactions to July's wireless demo).
Don't you have a favorite helper (applications, utilities, whatever)? If so, how about sharing that favorite? For example, might we want to "tweak" our system? Microsoft's techies do it with TweakUI. They've put out a version that works with Win9x/Me. You can download it from the BBS, we'll take a look at it. We didn't make it on this one last time.
Another group I have been attending has put out a CD of such favorites. Time permitting, I'll give us a look at what they have come up with. But, how about YOU? Let's hear from you...
See you on the 8th, and don't hesitate to bring a friend!!!
Perennial problems are to decide what the monthly programs should be and how do the members react to what is done? Last month, we passed out some 3x5 cards for attendees to write answers to 3 questions that were posed. Below is a summary of the responses:
#1 - do you have high speed internet (DSL, Cable modem, etc.) at home? If so, any comments?
NO - 11
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IT HAD TO HAPPEN - as we announced at last month's meeting, another of the so-called "free"
internet services, NetZero, had switched to the "pay for service" business model and were
merging with Juno - another formerly "free" internet service. This change has culminated with
the following notice sent to Nelson Schrock, an MLCUG member who has been using NetZero:
In order to keep that commitment, we find it necessary to make a change to our NetZero Free
Internet service.
Beginning October 1, 2001, NetZero will reduce the number of free hours per household to no less
than 10 hours of free access per calendar month. This means that your household will be allowed
at least 10 hours of free access to the internet each month. NetZero users who require more
access will have the option to either sign up for NetZero Platinum at
http://my.netzero.net/nzplat/ptpage.html and receive Internet access with no banner ads for only
$9.95 per month or pay $9.95 for an Extended Access Pass for unlimited access for the remainder
of that calendar month only. Compare that price with AOL at $23."
CMD ANNOUNCEMENT - see p.6 for some details on the next surprising development in the changes
around CMD.
20TH ANNIVERSARY! - in the near future, namely - April 2002 - MLCUG will arrive at the 20th
anniversary of the founding meeting, which took place at the Main Line Computer Center (hence
the source of our name) in April of 1982. At the June Steering Committee meeting, we decided
that it would be appropriate to do something special to celebrate that event. ALL ideas,
thoughts and suggestions will be welcomed and most appreciated!
LUNCH - some of us regularly adjourn after the meeting for lunch at the Villanova diner. Why
not come join us - and continue the converse?
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In the August NL, there was a tip on restoring single files from your Windows 98 CD. It depends
on a new utility that Microsoft included in that version of the OS.
However, I noted in the book "1001 Windows 98 Tips" that they gave a likely erroneous
implementation of that utility.
Specifically, they said to use it: click START, scroll to PROGRAMS, then to ACCESSORIES, then
SYSTEM TOOLS, then click on SYSTEM FILE CHECKER
Unfortunately, it is not likely to work, as you may not find it there!
All the default installations of Win98 I've seen do NOT put a shortcut to that utility in the
System Tools menu. But, the program HAS been installed on your hard drive.
You can access it the way we suggested in the August NL, or you can put it on your START menu.
To do that, you follow the standard procedure:
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Sometimes coincidences are so real that they must be fabricated. But, this time not!!
In July, we published a tip on making sure that Windows knows where you have parked a copy of
the install CD on your hard drive - if you did that when you installed windows. It is a good
idea to do it, as it avoids the "insert your Windows CD-ROM and click OK" message, followed by
your scrambling around for that disk and then having to swap CDs while you're installing
something!!
Then, in August, we published another tip on an easy method - in Win98 - of restoring single,
damaged files that came originally from your CD.
Here's the coincidence: a member with a freshly installed Win98 SE had a funky CD from some on-
line outfit which apparently deleted a key Windows file in an aborted install attempt. The file
is called: OLEAUT32.DLL
After this event, he would get a message on bootup saying the file could not be found. When he
went on-line, his dialup worked, but Netscape would not load and run giving an error message
related to the missing file.
I got called to help.....
When I got to his place, I confirmed the behavior but found that the problem was more profound -
you could not get a directory by opening My Computer, nor would Windows Explorer show you
anything. Never seen anything like that! But, fortunately, the old File Manager worked and I
confirmed that the files and partitions were there, SO windows apps really need that missing
file!!!
Following the tip in the July issue, we edited the registry to point to the copy of the Win98SE
CD (on his E: drive). No problem.
Then, following the tip in the August issue, we restored that missing file - using the SYSTEM
FILE CHECKER, which took only a few seconds!
Then rebooted and everything worked, My Computer, Explorer, Netscape.....
Fingers crossed that no other hidden damage exists, but it was a gratifying few minutes of
work.
So, to reiterate, it's a great idea to read the MLCUG newsletter..
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#2 - do you have a home network? If so, what kind, any comments?
#3 - why did you come to the meeting?
Note: votes can total more than 13 since many had multiple responses.
So, there you have it! Perhaps, it gives some feel for where our members are and provide some
insight for future meetings.
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by Layton Fireng
I had occasion to replace my ink jet printer. I was quite pleased with my Canon 610. The
reason that I liked it so much was that it provided for a separate tank for each ink color.
There are two advantages to this: 1) any color can be individually replaced or refilled 2) there
are inexpensive aftermarket replacement tanks. This means that a good ink supply can be easily
and modestly maintained.
I had the opportunity to acquire a BJC3000 for a modest figure. The ink is held in a removable
head. Three heads are offered. One holds only a black tank. Another is CYMK, with a large black
tank (the same tank as is in the black only head). The third is the photo head. Again it is
CMYK, but the black is less black, and the magenta and cyan, are lighter, while the yellow is
the same as is used in the standard head. Also the black in the photo head is smaller in size.
The heads are shared with several other models, but the newer models use two heads, one for
black and the other for colors. However, the individual tanks are the same.
The printer prints at up to 1400 DPI. It has several different printing modes, depending on the
print medium. On some media, the image is water resistant. One unique feature of the print
driver is the ability to spread the image over several sheets. The application that is running
needs no special adjustments. The printer driver does it all. The feature is called "poster". It
allocates a portion of the image to each sheet, providing cut and paste lines. The quality of
the paper used determines the quality of the poster. The advantage of this is that a poster can
easily be made, from any application. A nice plus, at no additional cost. I do not know how many
of the other Canon's have this feature, but I have reason to believe several others do.
I suggest you take a close look at this printer if you are in the market for a new one.
****************************************
August's meeting had 13 attendees, mainly the usual crowd. Those who did not make it did miss a
quiet tour de force...
The discussions, announcements and some problem solving kept us engaged until around 11:00, when
we had to cut it off to make room for our main event...
During the discussions:
- Layton F mentioned the virtues of the BJC-3000 printer he had acquired (see his summary
elsewhere in this issue)
- Peter W gave us some highlights of his updated personal website. We called it up on the
club computer and Pete pointed out the items key points, as we scrolled thru the page. A brief
summary of his comments AND the URL are elsewhere in this issue. Take a look at the site - Pete
does some neat work (it might persuade you to attend one of the theater productions that his
lighting designs are part of .....
- John M noted that the emulator guys continue their efforts and the WinVICE folks have
released v1.7 their versatile Commodore emulator for the PC.
by Tom Johnson
[Some remarks from Tom on the major project that he told us about in the August meeting - using
the CD that he has built up from only about two months worth of effort!]
Objective: to amass an historical conglomeration of all pictures collected over 50 years, which
covers five generations of my family. Pictures are arranged alphabetically by their titles,
designed to describe the contents of the graphic images. This is an ongoing project, which will
grow and mature over time.
Pictures are kept a on separate drive partition (so C drive knows nothing about it.) Backed up
on CD-RW disk. As of the meeting demo, the CD contained: 2309 picture files (337 Megabytes)
which had been scanned in using a UMax Astra 2100U Scanner, with most of the image work being
done with Irfanview.
The disk contains two folders, a copy of the Irfanview image reader, and a Notepad READ ME
direction file. Tried to make this as easy as possible to use, but the plans of mice and men
can be tumbled by the laws of Mr. Murphy. Sent a copy to my cousin in Indiana - as a test case -
and she could not get Irfanview to run. She tried to download a fresh copy from the Internet,
but could not get that to work either. The problem seems to be with the networking of the two
computers in her house. After a few trials, she was able to open the alpha files and graphic
files successfully.
Old pictures and articles present a treasure trove for the genealogist.
(DEJ Folder - Ashgrove 1 Helfrich) shows Dad's grandmother, my great grandmother, my nephews'
great, great, grandmother.
DEJ Family 1: Several old pictures in DEJ folder.
In the Pictures Folder, the first two files are of family trees. The NOTES & Biog Folder
contains two biographies, about 150 pages, which explain quite a few of the pictures of
relatives & non-relatives.
Historians would profit from this collection. Calf US Naval Hosp - Picture of Naval Hospital,
where wounded troops from the Pacific theater returned.
DEJ's Grandmother Helfrick - This is a picture that was isolated and enlarged. Some of the old
black and white photos enlarged nicely, some fall apart, depending on how much they are
enlarged.
Elnora Johnson 7th grade - shows highlighting.
Ginn, Maggie, enlargement, and Ginn, Robert Obit - from original, almost black with age.
Johnsons, Death of Pearl Graves (grandmother's sister) - Articles preserving history.
Show some of Rose Johnson pictures and articles.
4 or five as Rose Johnson as a child - off a postage stamp-sized picture embossed on cardboard.
Our thanks to Tom for showing off this developing work that represents an incredible amount of
effort in a very short time period!!!]
by: Peter Whinnery
The Web Page Follow up
One of my latest web publishings can be seen at:
dolphin.upenn.edu/~pacshop/Theaters/hh.html
I point this out as an example of "how I use my computer". It contains images created by my
Virtual Lighting Design tools as well as plan, section, and a 3D view of one of our campus
theater spaces. It is a static information type page designed for a high turnover audience
(college students).
A number of different tools went into creating this page.
As a couple of recent notices have made clear, there have been a couple of sea changes in the
Commodore support scene. The most influential new product producer of the last decade - CMD -
has got completely out of the Commodore business in a couple of steps. Software went to
Centsible Software and, most recent and very surprisingly, their hardware design and
manufacturing went to:
"Click Here Software Co (that is Maurice Randall's one-man show!) has finalized a deal with
Creative Micro Designs (CMD) to take over the licensing, manufacturing, and distribution of
their entire Commodore-related product lines. We intend to keep these hardware and software
products available for many years to come in addition to continued support for all the existing
products through new and exciting upgrades.
On July 12, I left Charlotte, Michigan to begin the trip to East Longmeadow, Massachusetts to
visit the CMD facility. I was to spend several days learning everything I would need to know to
continue the production of these products. I arrived home early Sunday morning, on July 22, with
a trailer loaded full of everything CMD had that was Commodore related.
I'll be posting a complete article with pictures here [meaning his website:EJV] as soon as I get
everything organized and laid out. In the meantime, Sean Roe has set up a site with the complete
text of my journey. It contains the messages that I had posted to the Homestead mailing list for
each day while I was gone. You might find some interesting reading there.
Rod and Gaelyne Gasson are currently working on a web site for me also. This will contain a web
store for the CMD products along with all the software products I'll have available. There will
also be tech information about each product and some other stuff. I'll post a link to it as soon
as it's ready.
CMD has provided us with some products that no other company could do, or was willing to do, for
us. I want to personally thank them for that and I plan to continue to provide the Commodore
community with all the support I can.
Here's a look at some of the new products I'll be introducing once I'm all set up and
running..."
Next month's issue will have more details on what Maurice intends to offer in the way of new
products, but the more interesting ones are: A NEW HD-DOS, with many new features; A NEW HD-ZIP
DRIVE, which is based on the CMD-HD design and HD-ZIP KITS, which will be aimed at those
Commodore users who already have a CMD-HD and want to add to its capabilities. Stay tuned!
DIRECTIONS FOR ST. AUGUSTINE CENTER MEETING ROOM
Meetings are in the St. Augustine Center at Villanova University. The 8-bit and PC sessions
will be meeting in Room 110.
[Map goes here]
Enter from the ITHAN AVENUE main gate, then proceed to the 2-level parking building adjacent to
St. Augustine, on the Ithan Avenue side of the building.
NOTE: maps on our webpage - http://astro4.ast.vill.edu/mlcug/
September 8 September 19 **
October 13 October 17
November 10 November 21
* = first Saturday ** = at Tom Johnson's home
***************************************************************************************
EDITOR: Emil J. Volcheck, Jr. 1046 General Allen Lane West Chester, PA 19382-8030
(Produced with C-128D/SCPU 128, RAMlink, HD-40/85, 1571, FD-4000, THE WRITE STUFF 128, XETEC
Super Grafix, Canon BJ-200ex, Swiftlink and Motorola 288 modem)
MLCUG BBS: 610-828-1359 ( 300 --> 33600 bps ), 24 hr/day
WWW: http://astro4.ast.vill.edu/mlcug/
PUBLICITY: Robyn Josephs 610-565-4058
DISK ORDERS: Charlie Curran 610-446-5239
VILLANOVA SPONSOR: Prof. Frank Maloney, Dept. of Astronomy
MLCUG STEERING COMMITTEE:
PRESIDENT: Emil Volcheck 610-388-1581 SECRETARY: Charles Curran 610-446-5239
TREAS/MEMBERS: Dewitt Stewart 610-623-5145 SYSOP/AMIGA SIG: John Deker 610-828-7897
INTERNET/Linux:Peter Whinnery 610-284-5234 DATABASE: Layton Fireng 610-688-2080
AT LARGE: Tom Johnson 610-525-3440 AT LARGE: John Murphy 610-935-4398
ANNOUNCEMENTS & COMMENTS
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"Thank you for being such an important part of the growth ofNetZero. We take our commitment of
providing you with the highest quality services and products very seriously.
WIN 9x TIP FIX
click START,
scroll to SETTINGS,
click on TASK BAR & START MENU.
then BROWSE to the file: SFC.EXE
(in the Windows\System directory)
Select it,
then click OPEN,
then NEXT,
then scroll thru the offered list
to the System Tools directory,
then type a filename like:
SYSTEM FILE CHECKER
and click on FINISH
That should do it, then the program will be in the spot where the book said to look!!
It pays to read the newsletter!
MEMBER SURVEY (Cont'd.)
YES 1 iDSL (Conectiv) 144 Kbps - OK
1 ADSL (Verizon) 384 Kbps
(gets 50K downloads, max.)
[Comment: if this level of penetration is representative of our membership, then ISPs have a LOT
of opportunity ahead of them
NO - 8
YES 3 10BaseT ethernet
(2-6 computers, incl Mac)
1 10BaseT ethernet + wireless
(10+ computers, incl Mac)
1 10Base2 ethernet
[Comment: for folks with more than one computer around the house, some form of networking is
taking hold - even for a C-128...]
Got to! 1
Comraderie 6 (+1?)
Learn 10+
Give help 5
Habit 1
[Comment: hopefully, we can pursue this issue in future meetings: maybe some additional
surveys(?)]
BJC3000 PRINTER
LAST MONTH'S PC/128/64 MEETING
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Notes on Picture Project
Meeting Items follow-up
So here we have a project that involves multiple Operating Systems, html authoring, CAD,
raytracing, programming, and publishing. Fun stuff indeed!
CMD GOES TO MAURICE!!
64/128/PC/Amiga Meetings 2001 Steering Committee Meetings