News Common PC Linux Mac Amiga CUCUG
The October 17 gathering will be one of our split SIG meetings. For theLinux SIG, Kevin Waite is going to do a session on "You, Linux and theHandspring Visor." The Macintosh SIG will be doing an informal Question andAnswer session. The PC SIG will be examining the ease of set-up and use ofa wireless access point/broadband router!
There's a replacement for VHS tape coming, say some, and it's called thehard drive.
A growing number of hard-drive manufacturers and start-ups aretouting a new use for the hoary data vault that's been one of thechief PC components for more than two decades. They want to seeit used as a portable storage device for gadgets such as set-topboxes, game consoles and digital stereo receivers.
In this vision, consumers would slide drives containing music,digital photos, or recorded TV programs into an empty bay, similar to thebay on PCs that holds CD drives. Drives could also be linked toconsumer-electronics devices by way of a USB 2.0 or FireWire connector.
These consumer-electronics items could also come with their own internaldrives, but expansion through a portable drive would be inevitable.
"When you start talking about (files as large as an) MPEG-4 video, you needsomething the size of a hard drive," said Steve Wise, senior director of OEM(original equipment manufacturing) marketing for consumer electronics athard-drive giant Maxtor. "There is quite a lot of interest in add-ondrives."
Set-top boxes that could accept hard drives will likely begin to appear nextyear and become a mass-market phenomenon by 2005 or 2006, Wise added. Maxtorrecently came out with a new line of external hard drives for file backup.
Mike Bergkamp, CEO of start-up Toda Citron, agreed with Wise. "If tape isgoing away, we need to have something," Bergkamp said. Toda Citron plans tosell what it calls the HardTape, a durable hard drive that will becompatible with TVs and similar products from major manufacturers.
Hard-drive manufacturers have had some success in recent years moving intothe consumer-electronics market. Both game consoles and digital videorecorders (DVRs), like those used with TiVo's service, contain drives, as domany portable audio players, like Apple Computer's iPod. Helping the harddrives move into the consumer-electronics market is the rapid acceptance ofdigital entertainment and a need to store those files in an inexpensivemedium.
"Digital content will begin to increase as devices like digital audioplayers and (digital video recorders) become more popular and mainstream,and as that happens, storage devices become that much more necessary--andhard drives just happen to be the least expensive of the bunch," JupiterResearch analyst Michael Gartenberg said.
Additionally, the hypercompetitive drive market is constantly improving bothin capacity and price, following a Moore's Law-like curve. The businessincreasingly yields slimmer margins despite rocketing drive capacities, andseveral big-name companies have expressed their disenchantment. Fujitsu hasabandoned the market for desktop hard drives, and IBM has finalized plans tospin off its hard-drive business in a joint venture with Hitachi.
"There are two main reasons hard drives are going into consumer-electronicsdevices," said John Paulsen, a spokesman for drive maker Seagate. "Densitydoubles every year, while the price per gigabyte continues to fall."
Currently, a 60GB drive sells for $75 to $81, according to research firmConverge, and can hold about four and a half hours of uncompressed digitalvideo. Recordable DVD discs cost only about $2, but they can handle just4.7GB of storage--and users have to buy a recording DVD drive, which canretail for $320 to $430.
In the audio world, the contrast between drives and discs is even moredramatic. A 120GB drive holds about as much music as 192 CDs, according tostatistics from Maxtor. Users could either store their tunes on a drive, orcarry around a jukebox worth of discs.
Several hurdles loom for both drive makers and consumer-electronicscompanies, however, and not all drive manufacturers will survive the cut.Reliability and drive life, for instance, will be huge problems.
"Consumer-electronics devices last years, so show me a hard drive that willlast that long," said Dave Reinsel, an analyst with research firm IDC. "Harddrives in TiVo boxes are running all the time. Many drives aren't (designed)to be 24-7 drives."
Seagate says it has steadily improved reliability and acoustics (forexample, the noise created by spinning hard-disk platters) since 1996 whenit began supplying drives for WebTV. The company has opened design centersto work on the early stages of product development with consumer-electronicsmanufacturers to ensure technological compatibility and low-costimplementation.
Similarly, Toda Citron is putting its efforts into producing drives that cansurvive typical household accidents. The portable drives it plans to sellcome in insulated cases that can withstand a drop from a height of 18 feetonto concrete.
Another huge concern will be digital rights management and piracy, accordingto Reinsel.
"Those will have to get resolved before we see the proliferation ofremovable hard drives," Reinsel said. "No one had a problem with VHS,because the quality was degraded. But on hard drives, picture quality ispreserved, and the ability to modify and distribute widely is possible."
The content-protection issue may not be as thorny as it seems, said Maxtor'sWise. Cable operators, film studios and music publishers are all intriguedby the early success of the DVR. Satellite broadcasters find that customerswho subscribe to DVR service tend to re-subscribe more often.
By putting a hard-drive bay into their set-top boxes, cable operators couldgain additional revenue through monthly subscription services withoutraising expenses much, Wise said. TiVo service, for instance, costs $12 amonth.
If anything, the TV and DVR manufacturers will have to allow for expansionjust to keep the DVR market going. Most DVRs come with drives with about30GB or so of capacity. While it sounds huge, one of the chief complaints isthat it fills up quickly.
"There is a whole cottage industry that has arisen around how to upgrade aTiVo," said Wise. "Instead of having a third-party open the box, or evenbreak the box, why not have the customer go to a retail outlet and buy anexternal storage product?"
The current situation
Consumer-electronics manufacturers could also eliminate cost. With aportable drive, manufacturers would only need to invest in a drive bay,about $10, or a connector, a cost low enough to let them make almost all oftheir TVs DVR-ready, asserted Toda Citron's Bergkamp. Stereos could alsoinexpensively be made hard-drive friendly.
"Over 80 percent of the cost (of a DVR) is the hard drive itself," Bergkampsaid.
Consumers could use the same drive, bought independently at retail, in avariety of devices, thereby reducing overall costs.
Drive sizes have also steadily shrunk, adding to convenience. Toshiba makesdrives with platters measuring 1.8-inches across, while many manufacturersmake 2.5-inch diameter platter drives. In volume, these 2.5-inch drives costabout $120 to $150.
Still, there is the question of customer indifference and betteralternatives. For one thing, the idea is quickly being paced by homenetworking, which effectively lets consumers tap a PC's hard drive forstorage.
Sony, for instance, isn't considering portable drives right now at all, saidTodd Titera, marketing manager for Vaio desktop PCs. Instead, the companywill promote its Click to DVD software that will let consumers buildnetworks out of PCs and consumer-electronics products. For archiving data,Sony recommends that users burn DVD discs.
In the end, portable drives might wind up being a niche market, predictedToni Duboise, an analyst at ARS. Still, "it's great that people are stilltrying to pull the two technologies (TV and PC) together. It gives us areason to still watch this space."
Others, though, say the numbers work in their favor. By 2006, one of everyfive drives sold will be into the consumer market, according to statisticsfrom research firm IDC, and the technology to make them portable alreadyexists.
"There is something in each step of the way for everyone," Wise said.
Microsoft has had very few real "wins" in the hardware business but a few do standout: keyboards and mice. MS has done a good job researching how people use their mice and keyboards and have produced products that are priced fairly, include great driver support (for Windows) and sell very well.
The Microsoft Internet Keyboard Pro sells for $33.99 on Amazon.com. Add to that a $10 rebate (good through January 31, 2003) from Microsoft and you have an under-$25 keyboard that works very well for just about any user. It comes with a three-year limited warranty and includes driver software for Windows and Macintosh. I'm sure it can be used with Linux, but the special keys may not function properly.
The first thing I noticed about the Microsoft Internet Keyboard Pro was that it actually has some weight to it--this, combined with the rubber pads on the bottom of the unit will keep it from sliding around on your desk. It also has the usual height adjustments. A detachable light grey wrist rest can be added if you prefer that type of setup.
The keyboard is beige with dark blue-grey accents. It has 104 regular keyboard keys including "Windows" keys with screened labels (not decals). For beginner users, some of the universal ctrl functions are labeled right on the keys (such as cut, copy, paste, bold, ital, new, etc.) The key feel is very smooth and each key press results in a pleasant, soft click that provides just the right audible and tactile feedback. I personally prefer a noisier keyboard (I've got an ancient IBM metal monster at work and love it) but this board's feel is quite pleasing. The layout is very standard and most of the buttons are exactly where you would expect them to be. I prefer a larger enter key, but it's still bigger than some I've seen.
The Microsoft Internet Keyboard Pro has a Y-type cord that can be plugged into a PS/2 or low-speed USB port. If you're low on USB ports, the keyboard includes two USB ports on the keyboard (of course they only works if you choose the USB connection).
The most notable feature of the Internet Keyboard Pro is the inclusion of 15 additional keys for various functions like controlling Internet browsing, playing media and opening various programs. My favorite controls are the volume up/down and mute. Using the mouse to find the volume settings on the desktop takes forever. The keyboard controls are easy and quick to find and operate. There's a nice, custom display of the volume levels, too.
I figured I'd never use the other buttons since I assumed they'd only work with Microsoft programs. Who knew the "Mail" button would automatically open Pegasus (my POP3 mail client of choice) and not Outlook or that the "Media" button would open Winamp, my audio player? I was further shocked that the media player controls (play/pause, stop, prev/next track) also work with Winamp (as well as MS Media Player). Are we finally seeing the "softer side" of Microsoft?
The software that comes with the Internet Keyboard Pro (I was only able to evaluate the Windows software) allows you to reassign any of 19 hot keys to various functions or to execute any program on your computer.
The final verdict on the Microsoft Internet Keyboard Pro is that it's a somewhat deluxe keyboard with a lot of utility at a really attractive price (especially considering the rebate). For under $25 you get a nice keyboard with a lot of extra programmable buttons. I'd recommend it if you are replacing an older unit or building a new machine and want a nicer keyboard than the plain-jane units so common today.
Hello User Group officers.
I try to be extremely judicious about emailing you apart from the Mindshare Monthly, but we're launching a contest that promises to be so interesting for User Groups that I couldn't help but share it.
Basically, we want to showcase some of the really exciting things that User Group members are doing with their PCs. So we have created a "User Group Zealot of the Year" contest, where we ask User Group members to tell us their story. The top three entrants win a trip to New York for the Tablet PC launch and their own new Tablet PC. (There will be lots of other great prizes too, including a Pocket PC and an Xbox autographed by Robbie Bach, the Chief Xbox Officer.) This contest is ONLY for members of Mindshare User Groups, so please consider entering and encouraging other members of your group to do so. Below is the full text of this month's Mindshare newsletter and some info about this contest:
"We're looking for members of Mindshare-registered User Groups who are leaders in pushing the technology envelope. If you or somebody in your group is the kind of person who eats, sleeps and breathes technology, we want to hear your story. Tell us what you're doing with your PC these days and how you're sharing that zeal with others. We're most interested in learning about the interesting, creative, even ground-breaking things User Group members are doing with their computers these days and how you're sharing that passion with others.
The top three entrants-as determined by our panel of expert judges-will be showered with a prize package that includes an exclusive trip for two to New York to participate in the Tablet PC launch with Bill Gates Nov. 7 and their own brand new Tablet PC. Runner ups will receive a Pocket PC or an Xbox system autographed by Robbie Bach with a compete set of Microsoft Xbox games or other great prizes.
To enter, visit http://www.microsoft.com/mindshare/contest.asp and tell us your story in 500 works or less. But hurry, time is short. The deadline for entries is Friday October 18th. After the contest, we'll post some of the best entries to let you see the coolest things User Group members are doing."
Alan
Microsoft Mindshare User Group Program
mindshar@microsoft.com
http://www.microsoft.com/mindshare/
MandrakeSoft has released the latest version of its Linux software,code-named Dolphin.
The new version includes a "supermount" feature that lets programmers skiptraditional commands to access removable media such as CD-ROMs. It also hasintegrated intrusion-detection tools and utilities, encrypted communicationssupport, encrypted file systems and secured authentication features.
A free download edition is available now, the company said this week. Retailversions, which include support, can be pre-ordered at the company's Website for prices ranging from $30 to $199.
The software has been certified to comply with the Linux Standard Base 1.2,a group of guidelines set up by the Free Standards Group to ensure thatdifferent versions of Linux will be compatible with one another.
MandrakeSoft is one of a number of companies that offer versions of theLinux operating system. In general, the OS is available for free, butcustomers pay extra for support and some added features.
MandrakeSoft, which went public in France last year, has suffered a fewfinancial problems. In March, it asked customers to join a "users club" tohelp raise funds.
The company has had success on other fronts, though. MandrakeSoft recentlysigned a deal with Wal-Mart to have a version of its software pre-installedon a line of computers sold at the retail giant.
Aiming to capitalize on growing support for Macs within the open-sourcecommunity, a Mac dealer has started selling Apple Computer systems loadedwith both the Linux operating system and Mac OS X.
For the past few weeks, Moline, Ill.-based QliTech Linux Computers has beenselling PowerBooks, iBooks and Power Macs containing both Mac OS X and oneof several flavors of Linux, designed to run on PowerPC chips used by Macs.
http://www.qlilinux.com/products/apple/index.html
QliTech is capitalizing on newfound celebrity status that the Mac isenjoying within some circles of the open-source community. The trend hasbeen growing since Apple moved to Mac OS X more than a year ago. The newoperating system has an open-source core and a Unix base that shares more incommon with Linux than did prior Mac operating systems.
"It's just kind of one of those things that has been brewing," said QliTechPresident Ray Sanders.
Macs, particularly Apple's Titanium PowerBook G4, have become commonplace atLinux events, such as the recent LinuxWorld Conference and Expo in SanFrancisco.
Sanders didn't say exactly how many Macs he has sold, but indicated that theexperiment was going well.
"I know the products are moving well enough to make it worth our time,"Sanders said.
The company is offering Macs, with standard Apple warranties, pre-loadedwith Linux software from SuSE, Mandrake, Debian or Gentoo, with Mac OS Xinstalled on a separate partition. The machines are sold at Apple's typicalretail prices.
http://www.suse.com/index_us.html
http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/
http://www.debian.org/
http://www.gentoo.org/
Apple also authorized another Linux reseller.TerraSoft Solutions, lastmonth. Like QliTech, TerraSoft sells Macs with both Mac OS X and Linux,though TerraSoft uses its own Yellow Dog Linux distribution.
http://www.terrasoftsolutions.com
Sanders said Apple must be aware of what the company is doing, since the Macmaker approved the company as a dealer knowing it sold only Linux-basedcomputers. An Apple representative was not immediately available forcomment.
Because of limitations from Apple, QliTech says it does not sell thehardware online. Those interested are encouraged to call or drop by thestore. However, TerraSoft said it does offer online sales both in the UnitedStates and internationally.
http://www.qlilinux.com/compinfo.html
Apple Computer has quietly cut $100 from the price of its most powerful15-inch flat-screen iMac.
The version of the lamp-shaped desktop that can burn both DVDs and CDs nowsells for $1,699 after the price drop, which was made Saturday. The modelhad already seen its price trimmed by $100, when Apple introduced a 17-inchiMac with DVD burner in July.
Apple cut the cost of its two lower-priced 15-inch flat-panel iMacs inAugust.
In several overseas countries, Apple also cut the price of the low-end iMacequipped with a CD-burner to $1,199 from $1,299, a representative said. Thatmodel remains priced at $1,299 in the United States.
Sales of the flat-panel iMac fell short of expectations in the June-endingquarter. Next week, Apple reports sales for the three months that ended Sept30.
The flat-panel iMac debuted in January and was initially in short supply. InMarch, Apple hiked prices because of high display and memory costs.
Sales of the iMac began to taper off in June, prompting Apple to cutshipments and eventually drop prices.
Gateway has also been running ads noting that its all-in-one, the Profile 4,is cheaper than the iMac. However, Gateway does not offer a model with a DVDburner.
Apple's price move brings the DVD burner-equipped iMac closer in price to acomparably equipped PC. Although it is not an all-in-one machine, acustom-built HP Pavilion with a 15-inch flat panel display, a DVD burner, a2.4GHz Intel Pentium 4 processor, the same 60GB hard drive and 256MB ofmemory sells for $1,513 after a $150 rebate on the flat screen.
Before you can enjoy the benefits of OS X 10.2, you first need to installit -- which may not be as easy as it sounds. Although you can update yourexisting OS X system to 10.2, you may encounter several problems (includingcrashing applications) after doing so.
To avoid this, we suggest using the installer's new Archive And Installoption, which installs a complete version of 10.2 and saves everything fromyour previous OS X system. (Once you've chosen your destination volume forinstallation, click on the Options button, select Archive And Install, andthen select Preserve Users And Network Settings.) The best part is that,this option moves your Users folder -- retaining your accounts and settings-- as well as the contents of your Applications folder to the new system.There is still work to be done to get everything back to the way it was;however, we're here to help with the manual labor. NOTE: unfortunately, itappears that the Archive And Install option is not available for thoseusers who are installing Jaguar from an 'update' CD -- the CD Appleprovides for those who purchased 10.1 or a new Mac after July 17 but beforeJaguar was available.
After installation, you'll find the following files and folders left overfrom your old system in the Previous Systems folder: Applications, etc,Library, mach, mach.sym, System, Users, var, and possibly Developer. Eventhough you'll eventually throw many of these files away, you may want totransfer some over to their corresponding locations in OS X 10.2.
During this process, if you attempt to move something and get an error thatyou don't have the right privileges, you can use the Finder's Get Infocommand to change them.
Library
The Library is the most complex folder to deal with, because of the mix ofolder Apple-installed files that you don't want to transfer over and neweruser- or application-installed files that you do want to move. The OS X10.2 installer moves the Application Support, iTunes, and PreferencePanesfolders, as well as the contents of the Preferences directory, into OS X10.2's Library folder, so you don't need to worry about those.
However, many applications install other support files in this folder, andother files, such as Contextual Menu plug-ins, browser plug-ins, andServices are installed here for system-wide use. If you don't want tomanually reinstall applications, support files, and third-party add-onsfrom scratch, going through this folder is your only option. Note thatbecause of privilege issues, when you drag files from the archived Libraryfolder to OS X 10.2's Library folder, some files will be copied whileothers will be moved -- this is normal.
The first step is to look for any folders that exist in the archivedLibrary folder that don't exist in the new OS X 10.2 Library folder -- youcan drag all of these over. Dealing with the rest of the folder is a bitmore tedious. You'll need to open the new OS X 10.2 Library folder and thearchived Library folder side by side and compare the contents of eachsubfolder. Files that exist in the old Library but don't exist in the newone can be moved over -- such as Fonts and Internet Plug-Ins. On the otherhand, don't replace files or folders that already exist in the OS X 10.2folder without first checking the version numbers and/or creation dates oneach (use the Finder's Get Info command). A few folders warrant specialconsideration:
Applications
All of your previously installed applications and utilities have been movedby the installer from this folder to the new Applications folder at theroot level of your hard drive (except for older versions of Applesoftware). The lone exception is if you had previously moved files orfolders inside the AppleScript folder in OS X10.1; if you did, they willstill be inside the archived AppleScript folder, and you will need tomanually move them to the new Applications folder.
Users
Although the OS X 10.2 installer kindly moves user folders from thearchived Users folder to its own Users directory, for some reason theShared user folder does not get transferred. If you had previously placedfiles in the Shared user folder, you'll need to manually move them from thearchived Shared folder to the Shared user folder in your new Usersdirectory. (Make sure you copy the contents and not the Shared folder.)
System
This folder can largely be ignored, as it is rarely modified by users orapplications -- and the new Jaguar System folder contains newer versions ofalmost everything. One exception is if you've customized sendmail, Mac OSX's built-in Unix mail server, If so, carefully check the contents of thearchived Library: StartupItems: Sendmail folder. You may need to move someof these files over (and you will probably need to change file permissionsto do so).
mach, mach.sym
These files have been replaced by updated versions in Jaguar -- ignorethem.
Developer
If you've previously installed OS X's Developer Tools, the developersupport files in this folder are not compatible with Jaguar. Leave thisfolder alone, and install the newest version of the Developer Tools.etc, var, usr
These two "folders" are actually aliases to folders within the invisible:private directory in your archived OS X folder. Most users can safelyignore them. However, for a few users (you'll know if you're one of them)there is important information contained in a few subfolders. To view themand move them, you may need to use Terminal or a third-party file utilitysuch as File Buddy:
Kernel Extensions
One other type of file that the Jaguar installer does not move into yournew 10.2 is kernel extensions (located in System: Library: Extensions). Andwith good reason -- since they interact with the OS at a very low level,kernel extension incompatibilities can cause major problem. If you're notconfident about which kernel extensions to move over, and whether or not todo so, a safer approach is to simply re-install them using the originalinstaller. Examples of applications that install kernel extensions includeUSB Overdrive, Kensington Mouseworks, and other utilities that affect inputdevices.
Last Steps
When you're done, log out and then log back in. You'll need to set up yourprinter(s) again, but apart from that there should be minimal additionalsetup necessary. It's also possible that some of the software you used inOS X 10.1.5 or earlier isn't compatible with OS X 10.2. If one of theseapplications was previously set up as a login item, it will launch at loginjust as it did before, which can cause problems. To fix this, you can pressthe shift key just after the login or start-up screen, and hold it downuntil after the Finder loads -- this will prevent all login items fromloading. You can disable the offending login item and then log out and logback in.
Once your Mac has been running smoothly for a few days, you can delete thePrevious Systems folder and its contents.
You'll like this. Cammy's been bugging me to dig up an old form I made her for the hospital six years ago or so. Apparently they lost the original or it got messed up. I scoured all my PC drives and could not find it so I figured it must be Pagestream. I was ready to tell her she'd have to recreate it in Excel but I figured I'd give it a shot.
Booted the old 25MHz clunker and except for some frightening initial monitor glitches, Ami booted up. Forget having the right time and date--I figure my battery probably leaked all its precious bodily fluids long ago. I found the file and loaded up Pagestream. Ah...Pagestream...what an incredible program for its time! I didn't have a long enough printer cable and did not even know if my HP 6L would even work with the Amiga.
I "printed" the document to the harddrive using the HP Laserjet driver. But the Zip drive (needed to get the output over to the PC) was giving me all kinds of trouble--it would not acknowledge any of the PC-formated disks I fed it. And then it hit me--all my PC disks are either NTFS or FAT32. These file systems came out after Crossdos, so they are unsupported. Luckily, Windows XP allowed me to format a disk in FAT16 and that worked like a champ.
I copied the output file over to the PC and dropped to a DOS shell and typed 'copy filename prn' and voila! the 6L lit up and within a few seconds here comes the page--perfectly rendered.
So, here it is about 10 years later and my little Amiga can still be useful and still talks to modern hardware (sort of). Some credit goes to the backwards compatibility of the 6L.
09/20/02 - The meeting started with the usual intros. Vice President EmilCobb was the Emcee as the usual guy, Jim Lewis, wasn't here tonight. Whatfollows is a rough review of the nights events.
News -
Reviewed J. Lewis's departure. The reasons are personal. But most seem tothink it was a plot to give Emil something to do. Emil says his wife giveshim plenty of things to do!!
There was a discussion of the idea of just letting the lack of a Presidentwait until the elections in December. Also discussed was the need forpeople to fill offices. A general call for volunteers was made.
There was another discussion of having a Garage Sale some time soon. Theofficers at the meeting said they would bring it up at the officer's nextmeeting.
Emil talked about some of the new iPod features. He said he'd found somesoftware for writing and backing them up. Talk continued on iPod features,including the iPod for Windows. Emil says he can use his as a beefy Palm. With the large capacity drive, you don't have to worry about running out ofMP3s to play all weekend.
PC news -
The new XP Service Pack is available. Kevin Hisel brought it to the meetingand CUCUG members were offered a copy. All Security fixes so far. It alsoincludes code required by government lawyers that allows customization.Some have criticized Microsoft for how they did it, hard to find thefeature, etc. Kevin didn't think it was that hard to find or use. They,Microsoft, actually allow Java to be installed. The installer may installtwo versions of Java if you have it there already. It was suggested thatyou use the Add/Replace Software control panel to check this.
There are still security holes reported and sometimes it may hang duringSP1 install, but most present haven't had any trouble. There is also afeature of a Restore Backup which Rich Rollins said he has used to goodeffect. The upgrade is fairly automatic. Kevin Hisel recommends a NetworkInstall. Kevin says they will talk more in the SIG that evening.
Mac news -
Jaguar is out. There are three variations of install - Clean, Archive and ?Matthew Skaj said he has had virtually no trouble. The 10.2.1 update is outalready.
Apple has announced that as of January no new hardware they build will bootOS 9. OS 9 will only be available for Classic. All utilities for OS 9should be thrown out.
Matt Skaj said that this would kill the education market. He had contactedApple and they said that there would be a hardware kit offered to allow 9booting for about $25. Most thought this was terribly bogus. (Even Intelwouldn't try to pull this!) General grumbling abounded. Most thought thatit was a method of forcing OS X on developers. But they also thought thatit put too much force on the end user. Apple still has big holes in the OSsupport for print drivers and scanning drivers. Developers and Apple arepointing fingers at each other and users suffer the blues.
There was a question about IBM developing a 64 bit chip and Applesupposedly adapting it in the future. It is just rumor though.
Apple is going to have a 1.25 GB Dual processor machine out soon. There wassome good natured speculation as to whether Jack Melby has ordered one yet.Most think that he is such an Apple freak that he is SURE to have orderedthe newest and fastest available.
X-Box news -
There's a new game coming out soon called Time Splitters. (It's release hasbeen postponed for about 2 weeks.)
George Krumins talked of networking the X-Box.
Mike spoke of generic platforms and Apple. Apple's Super Drive, made byPioneer, is supposed to be suicidal if the new 4x DVD disc is used at it'shighest speed. The laser gets too hot or the new media reflects too muchheat. Either way it means a hot death for your SuperDrive. There issupposed to be new firmware coming out to help solve the problem. There isa great article on this problem athttp://www.macintoshdigitalhub.com/superdrive/index.html#dvdburner.
There was talk of the new 48x Yamaha burner that burns artwork on the disc.Unfortunately, the art takes up info space. So if you want things to lookcute, you have to sacrifice disc space for the artwork. Something comes tomind about cake and eating it. The talk then continued about Fargo printersthat print on CD discs.
The discussion then turned to mutli-system machines. Rich said he'd seen atelevision program with a guy who had a system that booted 39 differentsystems. Quite a few Rich had never heard of before. Is this the story of aman with too much time on his hands?
There was a question about a Dual processor capable board. Mike Latinovichoffered some suggestions.
Norris Hansell was then asked if he had any questions. Norris has alwaysinstigated some intriguing exchanges with his queries. In typical fashion,Norris said he had a question or two about icons and why they are the waythey are. He said his icons are not the correct icons. The icon leads tothe right icon. It was suggested that he rebuild the desktop. He said he hasdone that several times, several ways. Another suggestion was to copy pastea new icon on the item. Norris had done that on the docs, but Emil and allsaid that he needs to do that to the application itself. Several othersthought that he should look up some new utilities. The final thoughts werethat the standard desktop rebuild wouldn't be that effective (he'd done itseveral times already). The thought was that he needed something likeNorton's Disc Doctor, Disk Warrior or TechTool to do a more thorough job ofa desktop rebuild if the system's disc utilities didn't work right.
Kris Klindworth was to have done a presentation on the use of SSH, but wasill, so John Ross stepped in to lead a round table discussion of how peoplewere using Linux and what topics they would like to see covered in thecoming months.
John started with some Linux news from the month. His main topic was theNew York Times staff editorial extolling the virtues of Linux(http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/18/opinion/18WED2.html) both as analternative to Microsoft and as a way to spur Microsoft to continueimproving their products. His other big news item was the new $200 PCavailable from walmart.com. The system comes preloaded with the LindowsLinux distribution. The same system is available for $100 more withWindows pre-installed.
John Ross also started out the round table discussion. He has been usingLinux for two years. He has a vary strong background in Windows networkadministration and was looking for a Windows replacement for the corporateenvironment.
Kevin Hisel, an unusual addition to the Linux SIG, doesn't use Linux but hedoes have a web server that runs Sun Solaris on Intel. He is primarilyinterested in its security, reliability, and keeping the administrativehassles to a minimum.
Jim Huls characterized himself as a hobbyist. He is not actively usingLinux and is interested in it as a alternative to Windows.
Paul Neubauer is a new attendee in the SIG. He has no experience withLinux. His company was recently acquired by another company. The oldcompany didn't use Linux but the new company does. He would like to gainsome familiarity with the OS.
Mark Zinzow has a long history working with Microsoft products and wouldlike to cultivate less expensive options with less restrictive licensingagreements. Mark does not currently have a Linux box, but expects to builda monster Linux server for his home network in the near future. He has someexperience with BSD style environments. Mark is interested in many topicsincluding running multiple sub-nets on one physical net, developingdiskless workstations, booting and running from CDs, and software routerslike the Linux Router Project.
Mike Latinovich uses Net BSD and would like to get away from... ( Wellfolks, the editor's notes stop there and he would prefer not to guess whatMike is trying to get away from. Sorry Mike! )
At this point we were about one-half of the way around the table, but hadto adjourn for the main CUCUG meeting.
Having arrived late from another scheduled event, I came in on Emil Cobb'sdemonstration of "Click"N Design 3D" from Stomp, Inc. The software had beenprovided to the club for review purposes by the comp[any. My notes are verysparse since the demo was very visual in nature, as Emill put the programthrough its paces, creating labels for CDs. That's kind of a cheap way ofsaying, "You had to be there" (which I almost wasn't). But, be that as itmay, I did learn that the labels work out to be about a dollar a piece. Theprogram can be used to crop JPEGs to fit one of the programs manytemplates. It is a WYSIWYG style program. It comes with a ton of pre-madestuff. The program saves in its own format, so your creations aren't easilytransportable.
One of the nicest features Emil liked was that Click"N Design prints outregister lines on your printer so you can get everything lined up in theprogram before you print out the whole job. Other programs he's dealt withrequired a lot of trial and error in this regard, along with a lot ofwasting of paper and ink getting it right.
The program retails for $19.95 at stores like Best Buy, but it can bedownloaded for $14.95 from the Stomp Inc. web site. athttp://www.stompinc.com. Emil concluded his demonstration with a 4 out of5 rating for the program.
The discussion after the formal demonstration turned to Palms. The topicof synching was brought up during that exchange Quentin Barnes recommendedIOGear cables for that purpose.
The PC SIG for September began with a short discussion as to who maypossibly endure through the leadership of our SIG, with Jim Lewis' recentdeparture. After being cornered and prodded into submission, Rich Rollinsvolunteered to take on the position for the remainder of the year.
Kevin Hisel noted that Microsoft has a user group program, which they useto promote Windows and related products, and noticed that we weren't ontheir list. Mr. Hisel read all the fine print and remedied that situation,and virtually overnight Microsoft shipped out a box- at no cost to the usergroup- full of current software in retail boxes. The plans are for us togive away the software we've received at the monthly meetings. The firstsuch giveaway was for Microsoft Money 2003, and of those present who wishedto participate, Kevin Hisel picked the lucky random number and walked awaywith the software.
Following his win, Mr. Hisel presented the group with his review of acommercial CD Labeling software package called "Click'N Stomp 3D" made byStomp, Inc. The software allows you to lay out various aspects of what youwould or could put onto a CD label: graphics, text (in 2D or 3D), barcodes, etc. The package includes templates for many different types ofmedia that you could make labels for, such as audio CDs, photographs, MP3CDs, etc. It was mentioned that the program itself was somewhat sluggishin it's responses, but otherwise ran OK. Some problems Kevin had were inregards to the program's inability to generate an index of album & artisttitles based on the directory names of an MP3 CD. As creating MP3 CDs isfairly common these days, he expected that the program would be able to dothis - several other programs (notably, the disc labeler portion ofAdaptec's Easy CD Creator software) are able to, and it is somewhatsurprising that this wasn't possible.
Here's some notes Kevin had regarding Click'N Design 3D:
Pluses
Minuses
The software is available both in on-line downloadable form (US$15), or onCD in a retail box (US$20). For more information, visit the Stomp/Click'NDesign 3D website: http://www.stompinc.com/cnd3d/cnd3d_retail.phtml
With Mr. Hisel's review finished, the floor was open for discussions.
The $200 Walmart/Microtel PC was mentioned as a possibility for a cheap,quiet PC to run non-demanding tasks on, such as email or web browsing. Itwas noted that the $200 computer ships with the Lindows operating system,which claims to support running some mainstream Windows software, withoutthe licensing burden or evaporating wallets that users of Windows have cometo know and "love." For more information, visit the Walmart website: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/catalog.gsp?cat=86796
The usual CPU Holy Wars were discussed, with the general consensus beingthat despite our loathing and tolerance of the other side's choice of CPU,be it Intel or AMD, we're all still better off than those Mac guys stuckwith Motorolas. :)
Mark Zinzow brought up the subject of "cheap IDE RAID" solutions - he'slooking to put together a cheap Linux box with a lot of disc space to househis personal music collection - but wasn't looking to spend a lot of moneydoing so. No-one had a be-all, end-all answer to the questions that wereposed, but it did light off a lot of discussion of the various solutionsthat are available through both software and hardware RAID implementations.
The SIG closed with discussions of various reliability and throughputpeople were receiving through their local Internet providers, and somehowended up becoming a discussion of wireless Internet access, which leads usto...
...the October PC SIG demonstrating the ease of set-up and use of awireless access point/broadband router! See you there!
The September meeting of the CUCUG executive board took place on Tuesday,September 24, 2002, at 7PM, at Kevin Hisel's house. (For anyone wishing toattend - which is encouraged, by the way - the address and phone number areboth in the book). Present at the meeting were: Emil Cobb, Rich Hall, KrisKlindworth, Kevin Hopkins, Richard Rollins, Mike Latinovich, Jim Huls, DaveWitt, and Kevin Hisel.
Emil Cobb: Emil began by stating that there was no new news to bring up.He mentioned he had demoed Stomp Inc.'s CLick'N Design CD Labeler programin the Mac SIG at the last meeting. He said it sells for $19.95 at BestBuy, but it can be downloaded for $14.95 from their web site. Rating it ona scale from 1 to 5, Emil said he'd give it a 4. Kevin Hisel and Emildiscussed their varying impressions of the software.
Emil reported that there were 23 people at the meeting. Attendance at theLinux SIG had been a little light.
Rich Hall: Rich reported that there was not much new on the financialfront. He said he'd gotten new signature cards for the club accounts. Wewill be waiting until after the upcoming elections to add new names tothem.
Kevin Hisel made the motion and Richard Rollins seconded that we deferfilling the Presidential slot until the scheduled election in December. Themotion was approved.
The Corporate Agent slot was discussed. Kevin Hisel indicated that he mightbe interested in serving in that capacity.
The club accounts were discussed.
Kris Klindworth: Kris let us know he was unable to attend the lastmeeting due to illness. He expressed his thanks to John Ross for takingover conducting the Linux SIG. They had conducted a round table discussion.Kris said he had notes for the newsletter.
There was a discussion of the impact Jim Lewis' departure has had on ourrelationship with the Illinois Technology Center, due to the fact the Jimis no longer around to perform "complimentary" tech services for them. Ourprinciple loss is the use of the video projector. It is still available ifwe absolutely need it, but we will incur a $40 rental fee every time we useit. Kevin Hisel made a motion that we pay next year's room rent. KrisKlindworth seconded. The motion was approved and Treasurer Hall we see thatthis is taken care of. Further discussion of the room situation continued.
Kevin Hopkins: Kevin had no new business to bring up. He did howeverrequest that anyone with notes or articles for the newsletter please senthem in. Mike Latinovich said he has notes from the last PC SIG meeting andwould send them along.
Kevin reported on Jack Melby's health situation and how this would beeffecting his attendance at meetings in the near term.
Kevin Hisel suggested putting a link to the election protocol in thenewsletter this year rather than including the whole thing. Kevin Hopkinssaid it sounded like a good idea.
Richard Rollins: Richard discussed a possible demonstrations for the PCSIG next month: XBox stuff, wireless connections. He will bring in theequipment for the wireless connectivity. Ed Serbe and George Krumins mightdo the gaming stuff at the December meeting.
Mike Latinovich: Mike said the meeting was pretty good. He said it was"interesting" with out Jim. Mike said, "It's so sad we've lost Jim."
Mike discussed alternative meeting sites.
Jim Huls: Jim said he thought the meeting went really well. There was agood discussion of hardware. Jim expressed his regret at the loss of JimLewis. Jim was a real asset.
Jim discussed other meeting room options, but there was nothing definite.
Dave Witt: Dave let everyone know that he had spoken with Jim Lewis onthe phone.
Kevin Hisel: Kevin began his segment of the meeting by stating that weown a copy of the Fred Fish Amiga disk library. He said he had recentlyobserved the Gateway Amiga Club trying to sell their collection on Ebay.There were no bids for it at all. Kevin concluded that the Amiga is deadand gone. He lamented that it was too bad the Amiga hadn't been inMicrosoft's position in the early eighties and everything in the computingworld had been built on the Amiga. How different things would have been.
Kevin discussed his contacting of Microsoft's Mindshare program and all thegoodies that resulted from that. He was surprised that all the software wasnew versions of the titles we received. Kevin noted that he had signed upwith Apple, too, but that resulted in nothing from Apple. The Apple sitedoesn't even list us an Apple support group anymore, after repeatedattempts from various Board members to get them to correct it.
I. Offices available A. The President - basically, the coordinator for the entire club. Appoints committee chairs and presides over the general meetings. B. The Vice President - performs the President's duties in his absence. C. Treasurer - in charge of the financial affairs of the club. He/she pays the bills. D. Secretary - in charge of keeping all of the procedural documentation, e.g., meeting minutes, as well as correspondence with members, non-members and other clubs. E. Corporation Agent - in charge of all matters dealing with CUCUG's corporation status.II. Candidates A. Potential candidates should contact the chairman of the Election Committee prior to the November meeting so that they may coordinate the forum, etc. Kevin Hisel 217-352-1002 B. Nominations will be accepted from the floor at the November meeting. C. Candidates will be given equal time in a forum to express their views or present their platforms at the November meeting. D. The Nominating Committee will verify that anyone nominated is a member in good standing. Otherwise, they will not be allowed a forum. E. Candidates' names will be published in the December newsletter.III. Voting A. Who can vote 1. Every member in good standing (i.e., dues paid) may vote. 2. Must have and present the current (2002) membership card. B. Voting at the general meeting in December 1. Secret ballots will be distributed to each member that presents a valid membership card at the December meeting. 2. The Secretary will prepare the official ballot forms. No candidates' names will appear on the ballots themselves. Candidates' names and the offices they seek will be posted at the meeting place by office and then alphabetically by candidate. C. Proxy voting 1. If you cannot attend the December meeting, you may request a special proxy ballot from Kevin Hisel (217-352-1002) no later than December 9, 2001 (the Monday of the week prior to the week of the meeting). 2. Place filled-in ballot in a blank, sealed envelope. 3. Place blank envelope along with your valid membership card in another envelope. 4. Address this envelope to: CUCUG, 912 Stratford Dr., Champaign, IL 61821, clearly print the word BALLOT on the front and mail it. 5. These proxy votes will be opened and verified only by the Tellers at the December meeting and counted along with the general ballots. 6. All proxy ballots must be received at the CUCUG post office box no later than December 19, 2001 (the day of the meeting). D. Who you may vote for 1. You may vote for anyone. Write-in (non-nominated) votes will be accepted and counted. The candidate with the most votes for a particular position wins that position. In the event of a tie, the Tellers will require a recasting for that position only. 2. To assume office, a candidate must be a member in good standing both in 2002 and in 2003. If a winning candidate cannot be verified, the office goes to the next verifiable candidate with the most votes. If there are no verifiable winners, a second balloting will take place. Proxy ballots will be counted each time.IV. Chronology A. October meeting 1. Announce protocol to general membership. 2. Solicit candidates. B. November newsletter 1. Re-cap the election protocol. C. November meeting 1. The membership will appoint a Nominating Committee. 2. Accept nominations from the floor. 3. Nominations will close. 4. Candidates will be given equal time in a forum to express their views or present their platforms. D. December newsletter 1. Candidates' names will be published in alphabetical order with the offices they seek. E. December meeting 1. Nominated candidates names and the offices they seek will be posted in alphabetical order. 2. The President will appoint 2 or more Tellers to distribute ballots and count the votes. 3. Votes will be taken and counted by the Tellers. Winners names will be announced by the President. F. January newsletter 1. Winners names will be published. G. January meeting 1. New club officers will be installed.ToC
Meetings are held the third Thursday of each month at 7:00 p.m. at theIllinois Technology Center. The Center is located at 7101 Tomaras Ave inSavoy. To get to the Illinois Technology Center from Champaign or Urbana,take Neil Street (Rt 45) south. Setting the trip meter in your car to zeroat the McDonalds on the corner of Kirby/Florida and Neil in Champaign, youonly go 2.4 miles south. Windsor will be at the one mile mark. Curtis willbe at the two mile mark. Go past the Paradise Inn/Best Western motel to thenext street, Tomaras Ave. on the west (right) side. Tomaras is at the 2.4mile mark. Turn west (right) on Tomaras Ave. The parking lot entrance isimmediately on the south (left) side of Tomaras Ave. Enter the building bythe front door under the three flags facing Rt 45. A map can be found onthe CUCUG website at Membership dues for individuals are $20 annually; prorated to $10 at midyear. Our monthly newsletter, the Status Register, is delivered by email. Allrecent editions are available on our WWW site. To initiate a user groupexchange, just send us your newsletter or contact our editor via email. Asa matter of CUCUG policy, an exchange partner will be dropped after threemonths of no contact. For further information, please attend the next meeting as our guest, orcontact one of our officers (all at area code 217): Visit our web site at http://www.cucug.org/, or join in our online forums at http://www.cucug.org/starship/index.php . President/WinSIG: Jim Lewis 621-2343 lewisj@pdnt.com Vice-President: Emil Cobb 398-0149 e-cobb@uiuc.edu Secretary/Editor: Kevin Hopkins 356-5026 kh2@uiuc.edu Treasurer: Richard Hall 344-8687 rjhall1@uiuc.edu Corporate Agent: Jim Lewis 621-2343 lewisj@pdnt.com Board Advisor: Richard Rollins 469-2616 Webmaster: Kevin Hisel 352-1002 khisel @ kevinhisel.com Mac SIG Co-Chair: John Melby 352-3638 jbmelby@johnmelby.com Mac SIG Co-Chair: Charles Melby-Thompson 352-3638 cmelby@princeton.edu Linux SIG Co-Chair: John Ross 469-0208 hurricanejohnn@prairieinet.net Linux SIG Co-Chair: Kris Klindworth 239-0097 kris.klindworth@Carle.com
912 Stratford Dr.
Champaign, IL
61821