The Champaign-Urbana Commodore Users Group

The Status Register - November, 1997


This newsletter will never appear on CUCUG.ORG before the monthly CUCUG meeting it is intended to announce. This is in deference to actual CUCUG members. They get each edition hot off the presses. If you'd like to join our group, you can get the pertinent facts by looking in the "Information About CUCUG" page. If you'd care to look at prior editions of the newsletter, they may be found via the Status Register Newsletter page.

November 1997


To move quickly to an article of your choice, use the search feature of your reader or the hypertext directory above. Enjoy.

November News:

The November Meeting

The next CUCUG meeting will be held on our regular third Thursday of the month: Thursday, November 20th, at 7:00 pm, at the Bresnan Community Center. Direction to the Bresnan are on the back of this newsletter.

The November 20 gathering will be a combined meeting of CUCUG's Amiga and Macintosh SIGs on the common topic: favorite non-computer related web sites. Everyone is encouraged to come and share some of their favorites.

ToC

Welcome New Members

We'd like to welcome our newest members, joining us in the last month: John N. Smyth (A1200), Rosie Sandifer (Mac 6500/250), Bill and Suzanne Jean (Mac 5400/200), Bertha Jean Berger (Mac 6500), Gerald Hamilton (C64, C128, A2000, Clone PC), Jeanne Mc Murray (PowerMac 5400/180), Jan Patrick Baker (A500/600/3000/4000, Clone PC), Matthew J. Barrett (A500/2000/2500), Bolton A. Peck (C64, A3000/CD32/CDTV, Mac 68K), Dennis McCormick (A1000/1200/3000), Jeff Vandenberg (A500/1000/2000/2500/3000), Michael K. Apo (A1000/1200), John G. Carver (A1000/1200), Domingo Rositas (A500/3000/CD32, Clone PC), Gene Himelick (PowerMac), Scott A. Pistorino (C64, A1200/2000/4000, Mac 68K, Clone PC), and Donald Siegel (A2000/4000, Clone PC).

We'd like to welcome back returning members Ellard Forrester, Steve W. Degler, David L. Stevens, Tony L. Belding, Robert G. Craft, Jack Erwin, John Herzfeld, Bill Goran, Robert A. Miller, Jeremy Turner, Harold C. Walker, Roger Franklin Curtis, Arlin T. Larson, James Paul Church, Michael J. Cook, Sr., Shane L Cracknell, and David W. Ferguson.

We welcome any kind of input or feedback from members. Have an article or review you'd like to submit? Send it in. Have a comment? Email any officer you like. Involvement is the driving force of any user group. Welcome to the best.

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Rachel Nicole Huls

from Sue huls and Jim D. Huls ()

Well it finally happened. At 5:39am Wednesday Nov. 12 a little baby girl was born by the name of Rachel Nicole Huls. She was 7 lbs. 14 oz. and 20.5" long. Everyone is in good health although a bit tired. All of Rachel's fingers, toes, and everything else is where it belongs and Dad (that's me) made it through everything without passing out.

The event was pretty exciting yet went smooth and quick which was nice after hearing other's stories of painful after painful hour of being in labor. Lastly I have to say that she'll likely be hacking away on a computer long before she even knows how to count to 5. With that I have a feeling I'm going to learn a thing or two about what the latest Barbie, Seseame Street, and Beanie Baby fad is. :-)

[Editor's Note: Our congratulations and best wishes go to Jim and Sue Huls. Jim is a former President of CUCUG and is currently the Webmaster of CUCUG's "The Macintosh Web Directory" at http://www.cucug.org/mac/ ]

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CUCUG to Offer New Member Benefit

from Kevin Hisel, CUCUG Webmaster

CUCUG is happy to announce that it will soon sponsor a member-only classified advertisement service on its popular world wide web site. This space will be provided FREE to CUCUG members to allow them to buy/sell, trade/swap computer-oriented hardware, peripherals and software. You must be a member of CUCUG to post your classified ads on this page (http://www.cucug.org/classifieds.html). Of course, anyone may read these CUCUG classified ads.

To submit your ad for posting on this page, simply send e-mail to or just reply to the notice you were sent. Ads will run for 60 days or until we are notified that you would like your ad discontinued.

Here's a great opportunity to turn some of that old computer stuff you have lying around getting dusty and taking up space into cash!

Send us your classified ad today, before you forget!

Non-commercial ads only. You must provide a working e-mail address for others to respond to your offer. Web addresses may also be included. CUCUG is in no way responsible for these offers or consequences arising from them. Buyers and sellers should be aware of the risks and challenges associated with doing business in this manner. Please limit your ad size to less than 150 words. We reserve the right to reject any ad for any reason or no reason. We also reserve the right to modify these policies at any time.

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CUCUG Announces New Mirror Site in the United Kingdom

October 30, 1997 - The Champaign-Urbana Computer Users Group (CUCUG) announced today that UK Online, Britain's leading family-oriented Internet Service Provider, would be hosting its popular World Wide Web site. UK Online joins a coalition that now includes six active Internet service providers worldwide which are hosting the Central Illinois user group's site.

A process known as "mirroring" makes a nearly identical copy of a Web site available to users closer to their own connection on the Internet. This usually results in more reliable connects and faster response.

Other CUCUG mirrors are currently located in Australia, Italy, Greece and Poland. The primary CUCUG site is maintained at Champaign, Illinois in the United States.

UK Online representative Matt Heathcote said, "CUCUG has been one of my most used sites since I found it over a year ago. I check it every day for the new links and latest news. It is the most comprehensive Amiga site I have found to date. I personally wanted it on our servers because it will supply our users with very fast access to the latest news and links without having to look to America or Europe to supply it over the ever busy Internet. Having it here will ensure optimum download times for our users."

In terms of the Amiga scene in the UK, Heathcote added, "We have quite a large base of Amiga users in the UK. Most of them started with 500s and upgraded to a 1200. These 1200s have been upgraded and upgraded to meet the demands of the users. The 4000 is not such a common machine as it is in the States purely because of its cost. Most users use their machines for 3D or graphics and accessing the Internet more as a hobby than anything else. We don't have the level of professional users that the States has. The Amiga over here is kept alive by enthusiastic hobbyists."

The founder of UK Online, Tim King, was reportedly responsible for the first version of Amiga OS. According to Heathcote, King took the portable OS from Cambridge University (TriPOS) and ported it to the Amiga and that was what was used by the original Amiga team in Silicon Valley years ago.

CUCUG maintains the award-winning Amiga Web Directory and Agnes, an advanced Amiga WWW search utility. Both have become very popular with Amiga users throughout the world.

The address for the new CUCUG mirror site in the UK is:

http://cucug.ukonline.co.uk/amiga.html

CUCUG's main site can be found at:

http://www.cucug.org/

[Source: Amiga News Index (http://www.cucug.org/aminew.html) of the Amiga Web Directory (http://www.cucug.org/amiga.html). ]

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New Spanish Amiga mailing list

from CUCUG member Mikel Arzak (marzak@readysoft.es)

I send you this to inform you that we have created recently a new mailing list dedicated to the Amiga in Spanish. The mail list is supported by New House Amiga Supporter (www.readysoft.es/home/newhouse) and ReadySoft Internet Service Provider (www.readysoft.es). This list is dedicated to write about the Amiga, and get informated about this computer in Spanish.

For more information and subscribe, the Spanish users can visit the IberAmiga mailing support page at:

www.readysoft.es/home/newhouse/iberamiga.html

Mikel Arzak, IberAmiga moderator
Miembro de CUCUG
EL AMIGA ESTVO!!!

ToC

Turtle Lightning Amiga Software Announces Specials and CUCUG Member Discount

From CUCUG member Terry L. Fike (turtleguy@apex2000.net)

In an effort to bring a little attention to the new Turtle Lightning Amiga Software (TLAS) web site (http://www.ole.net/~chaos/tlas) we have started a 'Specials' page. This contains even lower than normal prices for our web site visitors. Some are even below our cost. We will change some of these each month.

TLAS also has started a 'Download' area where folks can dowload a few freebies. These are mostly things that were once in the TLAS Licenseware but are now released to us to freely distribute. We will be adding to this area from time to time.

We would also like to offer a 1O% discount on all purchases of software from TLAS to all CUCUG members who have joined your group. We do this in an effort to help increase your group membership as well as making our site a bit more attractive to members. They could indicate that they are a member as the first item on the site's order form. This offer cannot be used in conjunction with other offers of % discount.

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Amiga Forever 1.0 Preview Edition Shipping

from "M. C. Battilana" (mcb@cloanto.com)

Given the strong interest expressed by users after the original announcement of Amiga Forever, a special "Preview Edition" of Amiga Forever, with a version number of 1.0, has been released, slightly ahead of the planned schedule. This version allows the more technically-experienced users to immediately explore many of the features of the final release, without paying an additional price (the list price of the upgrade from the preview version to the final version will not be higher than the difference between the two).

For additional information please refer to the Amiga Forever Home page at http://www.cloanto.com/amiga/forever/. The page has been recently extended with a Frequently Asked Questions section.

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New ICOA URL

From Colin Thompson (colin@znet.com)

Fleecy Moss (fleecy@netreach.net) has put up a new ICOA public site. I used to host the old one, but now there is a bounce page to this new URL: http://www.netreach.net/~fleecy/icoa/

This is the Official new home of the ICOA. I would appreciate it if you would update your links and maybe give this a bit of exposure.

ToC

DCE GmbH to Make Amiga-based Computers

Langen/Oberhausen, Germany, October 24th, 1997 - Following on from AMIGA International's recent announcements about an open licensing policy for the Amiga, an agreement has been reached which licenses DCE Computer Service GmbH to manufacture and distribute its own range of Amiga motherboards and computers.

DCE Computer Service GmbH, based in Oberhausen, Germany, have developed a new advanced board based on Amiga A4000, on the Amiga Chip Set and the OS 3.1. The agreement with AMIGA International, Inc. allows the use of the Amiga OS 3.1, supply agreements on Amiga proprietary chips and the use of the "powered by Amiga" logo on all its products.

"As promised we continue an open license policy, to broadening our Amiga market. DCE Computer Service GmbH is well known in Europe for advanced technology developments. This new developed board in standard ATX, with a modular system, MPEG, ZORRO 2/3 is another milestone for the future of our Amiga technology", said Petro Tyschtschenko, President of AMIGA International, Inc. in Langen, Germany.

Mr. Thomas Dellert, Managing Director of DCE Computer Service GmbH, "I believe that this new board development based on Motorola CPU 68030/50 MHZ and 68060/50MHZ; 64 MB/128MB Ram, a standard PC Keyboard, 1.44 MB floppy disk, 1.7 GB IDE HDD, 10 - 24 speed IDE CD Rom, AGA Chip Set, scan doubler and HF modulator optional BU LD in an standard ATX comfort tower case is one of the steps for Amiga to be back for the future."

About DCE Computer Service GmbH

DCE Computer Service GmbH was founded 1987 in Oberhausen, Germany. The service company is wholly owned by Thomas Dellert. The company started as a service shop for wholesale dealer and consumer markets. Since now the company became one of the leading available Amiga repair shops. In 1993 DCE was nominated to the European Amiga Repair Service Centre by Commodore. Since that time DCE is in charge of the Amiga Service. Since 1995 DCE is working on developments and productions to make the Amiga expansible. DCE's standard of performance is underpinned by an own production line of the highest standard of production engineering to create complex sophisticated conductive plates. Several successful tests in Amiga Magazines have furnished the proof of high efficiency of the goods produced by DCE. The consequent development of their own products underlines the position of DCE as an innovative company, which has the opinion that a successful future can only be achieved by the permanent seek of the optimum and by market adaptation of their own products. Currently DCE has 12 employees, and it is one of DCE's fundamental policy to support them with further technical education.

Contact:
DCE Computer Service GmbH
Kellenbergstr. 19 A
46145 Oberhausen, Germany

Phone: +49 208 660673
Fax: +49 208 630496
WWW: http://www.dcecom.de/html/index.html
E-Mail: dce@ruhr-net.de

[Source: Amiga News Index (http://www.cucug.org/aminew.html) of the Amiga Web Directory (http://www.cucug.org/amiga.html). ]

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Netscape Communicator 4.04

This week up-to-date Web users are going to have to download the Microsoft IE 4.0 security patch (a mercifully small 600K) and the new Netscape Communicator 4.04 update (a whopping 16MB in its full version).

The big deal about the new Netscape Communicator 4.04 is that it includes America Online's Instant Message software for quick, real-time text chat with your online buddies. Version 4.04 also has improved Java performance, a bunch of tweaks that will please corporate users, and fewer bugs. For details, check out our timely "just in" review:

http://www.cnet.com/Dispatch/0%2c118%2c272%2c00.html?dd

The direct link to the download is right here:

http://www.download.com/PC/Result/TitleDetail/0%2C4%2C0-17290-g%2C501000.html?dd

(You may have to cut the pieces of these long URLs and paste them into your browser.)

[Source: CNET Digital Dispatch, November 13, 1997. http://www.cnet.com/Community/Welcome/Dispatch/?dd ]

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Apple reports $161 million loss

By Dawn Yoshitake and Jim Davis
October 15, 1997, 4:30 p.m. PT

Apple (AAPL) today missed analysts estimates for its fourth quarter loss, citing sluggish demand overseas, especially in Japan and to a lesser extent in Europe.

The company reported a net loss of $161 million, or $1.26 a share, compared with a profit of $25 million, or 20 cents a share, last year. However, Apple took a $62 million restructuring charge for its reserves, and a $75 million write off for acquiring Power Computing's Mac business.

Without the charge and write-off, the company posted a loss of $24 million, or 19 cents a share. That's still more than the loss of 14 cents a share that analysts expected, according to First Call.

However, the company narrowed its loss from the previous two quarters, in which it posted a loss of 44 cents in the third quarter and a loss of $5.64 in the second quarter.

Revenues, meanwhile, fell to $1.6 billion in the quarter ending September 26, down 30 percent from a year ago. Revenue fell 7 percent from the previous quarter fell as well.

Despite missing earnings estimates and the sequential decline in revenues, Apple chief financial officer Fred Anderson said the company remains focused on returning Apple to sustainable profitability and reducing its break-even point in fiscal 1998.

[Editor's Note: for the complete article check out http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,15281,00.html. ]

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Gateway posts $107 million loss

By Dawn Yoshitake and Jim Davis
October 23, 1997, 3:50 p.m. PT

Gateway (GTW) today posted a third-quarter loss as the company was hit with excess inventory and charges.

The mail-order computer maker posted a net loss of $107.1 million, or 68 cents a share, for the quarter ending September 30, compared with net profits of $60.7 million, or 39 cents a share, a year ago.

Gateway also took a onetime charge of $113.8 million for its acquisition of Advanced Logic Research, for the assets of Amiga Technologies, severance costs from its recent round of layoffs, as well as the canceling of one software project and spending on certain computer equipment.

Gateway was expected to post a revised net profit of 11 cents for the quarter, according to First Call's consensus of analysts' estimates. But analysts said the company missed the mark "moderately."

The computer maker cited excess inventory and significant declines in the market value of its inventory of components as the reason for lower profit margins. The company's gross margin in the quarter fell to 13 percent of sales, compared with 18 percent a year ago.

Revenues for the quarter reached $1.5 billion, up 25 percent from the same time last year. This came as unit shipments increased 31 percent, to 622,000 in the quarter, up from 474,000 a year ago.

"We continue to gain market share, but our growth in the quarter wasn't what we expected," Gateway chairman and chief executive Ted Waitt said in a statement. "We took aggressive action on our inventory issues and remain focused on reducing overhead costs. We ended the quarter with accelerating demand, which contributed to our backlog growing by nearly 40,000 units over last year."

Last month, the company issued a preliminary warning that its quarter would fall short of expectations, which at the time pegged profits at 47 cents a share.

Meanwhile, Gateway's anticipated sluggish performance comes at a time when other major computer makers are surpassing analysts' expectations. Compaq, for example, posted record third-quarter sales, and IBM pulled in strong third-quarter results as well. Dell, which reports next month, also is expected to post an improved third quarter over year-ago figures.

Gateway is currently undergoing a restructuring, which to date has resulted in trimming at least 2 percent, or 300 employees, from its worldwide workforce of 12,000.

Late in the quarter, Gateway made a number of product introductions, in response to the needs of corporate customers. But analysts have said Gateway may have overestimated sales to enterprise customers.

"They are seeing unit growth, but not the kind of ASPs or profitability that they thought they would," Daniel Kunstler, a technology analyst for J.P. Morgan Securities, said in an earlier interview.

During the latest quarter, Gateway introduced its first server computer products based on systems designed by ALR, which Gateway bought earlier this year. It also introduced new high-power personal workstation computers. In May, the company rolled out its E-series desktop computers for corporate customers.

Analysts note that it will take some time to get corporate buyers to pay attention to market newcomers, so it is too early to tell whether Gateway's foray into enterprise will work over the long term.

Despite the company's falling performance, however, talk of Gateway being an acquisition target helped bolster the stock last July. The stock hit a 52-week high of 46-1/4 last summer, but has since trended down, closing at 31-1/4, down 1-5/8 from yesterday.

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The Humor Section:

Top 10 Signs the New Mir Computer is Running Windows 95

by Mike Popovic (carpediem@locnet.com)

10. The computer keeps asking you to "Insert Setup Disk #3 to continue".
9. There is no space left on the hard drive to store mission data.
8. The computer refuses to interact with the Mir's "Mr. Java" coffee maker.
7. Millions of dollars are traced to phone calls to a Redmond, WA 900#.
6. Mir astronauts are caught stealing RAM from other satellite's computers to keep their system running.
5. The Space Shuttle can no longer dock with Mir since "the proper driver cannot be found".
4. The system locks up whenever the astronauts try to run life support, the solar panels and thrusters at the same time.
3. The astronauts spend three days looking for cyrillic version of the CTRL-ALT-DEL keys.
2. Alien ships secretly observing Mir flee in terror.

And the number one sign the new Mir computer is running Windows 95....

1. You start receiving welcoming e-mail from the Borg.

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Insects and Apples

from CUCUG member Gary R. Bernstein (bernsteg@uiuc.edu)

I saw this comment on the bottom of an e-mail and thought you might enjoy it....

"DOS/WIN based computers manufactured by companies such as IBM, Compaq, Tandy, and millions of others, are by far the most popular, with about 70 million machines in use worldwide. Macintosh fans, on the other hand, note that cockroaches are far more numerous than humans, and that numbers alone do not denote a higher life form." (New York Times)

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Microsoft to buy the U.S. Government

REDMOND, Wash. - Oct. 21, 1997 -- In direct response to accusations made by the Department of Justice, the Microsoft Corp. announced today that it will be acquiring the federal government of the United States of America for an undisclosed sum.

"It's actually a logical extension of our planned growth", said Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, "It really is going to be a positive arrangement for everyone".

Microsoft representatives held a briefing in the oval office of the White House with U.S. President Bill Clinton, and assured members of the press that changes will be "minimal". The United States will be managed as a wholly owned division of Microsoft. An initial public offering is planned for July of next year, and the federal government is expected to be profitable by "Q4 1999 at latest", according to Microsoft president Steve Ballmer.

In a related announcement, Bill Clinton stated that he had "willingly and enthusiastically" accepted a position as a vice president with Microsoft, and will continue to manage the United States government, reporting directly to Bill Gates. When asked how it felt to give up the mantle of executive authority to Gates, Clinton smiled and referred to it as "a relief". He went on to say that Gates has a "proven track record", and that U.S. citizens should offer Gates their "full support and confidence". Clinton will reportedly be earning several times the $200,000 annually he has earned as U.S. president, in his new role at Microsoft.

Gates dismissed a suggestion that the U.S. Capitol be moved to Redmond as "silly", though did say that he would make executive decisions for the U.S. government from his existing office at Microsoft headquarters. Gates went on to say that the House and Senate would "of course" be abolished. "Microsoft isn't a democracy", he observed, "and look how well we're doing".

When asked if the rumored attendant acquisition of Canada was proceeding, Gates said, "We don't deny that discussions are taking place". Microsoft representatives closed the conference by stating that United States citizens will be able to expect lower taxes, increases in government services and discounts on all Microsoft products.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers, and democratic government. The company offers a wide range of products and services for public, business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing and free society every day.

About the United States

Founded in 1789, the United States of America is the most successful nation in the history of the world, and has been a beacon of democracy and opportunity for over 200 years. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the United States is a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation.

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The Macintosh Section:

G3, Build to Order, and The Apple Store

From: Brighid Brady-de Lambert (usergroups@apple.com)
User Group Program Manager, Apple Computer, Inc.

I was asked to share this information with you PDQ:

Apple Really Thinks Different

"Apple has always provided tools for people who think differently, but now it is also doing business differently. The company is unveiling a new line of Power Macintosh G3 and PowerBook G3 computers that achieve the biggest performance leap in Macintosh history. With these new systems came a new manufacturing process: build to order. That means that Macs will be more affordable, more available and exactly right for your needs. And, Apple is introducing The Apple Store, a new distribution system that lets you browse over the Internet, customize your product, and have it shipped directly to your doorstep. "

Today will go down in Apple history as one of the company's most important, pivotal moments. As many of you are already aware, Steve Jobs invited 2,000 press, analysts, developers, customers and staff to join him for an announcement at Flint Center in Cupertino, the site of the PowerMac launch a decade ago.

I want to be sure that you have the release and the appropriate links to additional information on all of today's announcements (11/10/97) so that you can share this information with your groups as soon as possible.

I also wanted to share details of the event itself with you, to try to convey the spirit of the day along with the facts and announcements. I gathered shoulder to shoulder with some 2,000 others this morning outside Flint Center waiting for my chance to get into the auditorium and get a good seat! No worries there, I was early enough to nab a seat in the orchestra with full view of two gigantic "Think Different" images, one of Einstein, the other of Picasso. The event that followed was a seamless display of Apple's new products, a new way of doing business and a renewed pride in the leadership role Apple plays out there in the high tech world. After an hour of presentation, demos and tons of applause, we staggered out into the sunlight. I am still digesting all of the news, and I think you'll agree that this is BIG news.

The announcements today, focused on these three areas. You'll see a reference to all three at the NEW Apple web site: www.apple.com

A Very Different Chip (Introducing the new G3 driven products):

With the release of the new PowerMacs and PowerBooks built with G3 technology, Apple again affirms its commitment to superior technology and to pushing the envelope on speed, ease of use and innovation so that Apple users can be free to create. Phil Schiller, VP of Product Marketing ran a live, side-by-side comparison of the new PowerMac G3 and the fastest PC out there (I won't name it, but it runs on the Pentium II/300 chip). Phil ran two demos on the PowerMac, first using a scripted Adobe Photoshop application and finally the creation of a QuickTime movie using AfterEffects -- I know it will sound like cheerleading, but the crowd was stunned and burst into spontaneous applause. Most impressive was the QuickTime movie: the G3 ran the animation and created the movie and then Phil played it back lapping the PC, still ticking away on the animation.

Price performance on the G3's is going to be terrific too. These new machines are faster than the fastest, most costly Intel boxes and PowerMacs will retail for almost half the price, starting at $1999!

Sites to check out:

Power Macintosh G3: http://powermacintosh.apple.com/

PowerBook G3: http://powerbook.apple.com/

A very different store (Introducing new strategies to improve customer buying experience):

I've heard a lot of different reports and analyses these past few months (not to mention your comments) begging Apple to lower the barriers customers encounter when they want to buy a Mac. Chief among these barriers was a lack of visibility and the new Think Different Campaign is targeted at lowering this barrier. A close and critical second barrier has been finding a purchasing products. I passed information along to you in our last Bulletin on the restructuring of the sales channel and the clean-up of Apple's distribution channels. These efforts are now being complemented by two new Apple sales mechanisms:

One: The "store within a store" that creates an Apple store within a CompUSA store. Hal Compton, President and COO, of CompUSA personally announced this new program with Steve and made public plans to have 54 Apple shops open at CompUSA's across the country by Thanksgiving with another 100 to be added by the end of January. We all watched a QuickTime VR of the first "store within a store" at the Pleasanton CompUSA and it looked like a dream to me. Just what I've always wanted to see at a retailer: live Apple machines, tons of software and accessories -- up and running and staffed by a knowledgeable Apple professional.

You can take a look at this press release for more details:

http://product.info.apple.com/pr/press.releases/1998/q1/971104.pr.rel.compusa.html

Two: The Apple Store

Apple launched The Apple Store (LIVE TODAY at http://store.apple.com/) as part of its new distribution strategy that utilizes the Internet, along with the Company's existing retailers and resellers to sell products and increase customers access to Apple technology. The new distribution model makes Apple the only computer company to make all its core products available through retail stores, resellers and the Internet. Now customers will be able to choose from almost 400 different Macintosh configurations, Newton mobile computers, accessories and some software products, and order directly from Apple 24-hours-a-day. I've visited a lot of e-commerce sites and Apple's stretches the model and out does even Dell's, WebObjects based, site. Take a look and see what you think.

A very different factory (Apple makes build to order computers available starting with new G3's)

And, as if that wasn't enough to talk about, Steve Jobs announced a new manufacturing model too that will make built to order, custom machines available starting with the G3 line up. For customers interested in ordering customized Macintosh G3 minitower and desktop computers, they can choose the processor speed, RAM and video memory, hard-disk capacity, monitor size and more with Apple's new build-to-order capabilities. The first build-to-order computers available from The Apple Store are the new Power Macintosh G3 desktop and minitower systems. Other systems may be added in the future. The new Apple Store makes it possible to configure a computer that suits your individual needs, and boy is it tempting. I just paid a visit to the Store and tried out the build to order function on a new PowerMac -- very nice, now if only I can convince my husband that I need one at home.

Check out the details in the Build to Order press release:

http://product.info.apple.com/pr/press.releases/1998/q1/971110.pr.rel.applestore.html

These announcements put quite a lot of kick back in Apple's punch and the talk afterwards centered around the fact that Apple is not going quietly into 1998, we're roaring in and fighting back with new directions and new strategies. Whether or not you love every different strategy, I hope that you'll consider these closing remarks from Steve Jobs:

"Now Apple not only has the world's fastest computers, we have the world's most sophisticated ways of building and selling them. We have fundamentally changed the way we do business -- to make the best tools for people who think creatively."

Read all about "Apple's New Direction" at: http://product.info.apple.com/pr/press.releases/1998/q1/971110.pr.rel.direction.html

Please spread the word about these changes to your members as soon as you can.

Many thanks in advance!

Brighid

[Source: Apple User Group Leader Bulletin "Special Release", Mon, Nov 10, 1997. ]

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Apple's Online Store Brings In a Half a Million Dollars in First 12 Hours

Apple just reported that its new online Apple Store received over 4.4 million "hits" and accepted over $500,000 of orders during its first 12 hours of operation.

(http://product.info.apple.com/pr/press.releases/1998/q1/971111.pr.rel.onlinestore.html)

(http://store.apple.com)

[Source: Apple Developer News, Issue 83, November 14, 1997 ]

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Quicken Tips - Secrets you can bank on (Part 3)

by Gregg Keizer (4/17/97)

[Editor's Note: This concludes the Tips begun two months ago.]

Go Online

Tip 41 - sign up for online banking (Q6)

Quicken 6 makes signing up for electronic banking a snap. To check if your bank offers such services, either give them a call or select Features/Online/Online Banking Setup/Financial Institutions from the main menu. To sign up by modem, select Get Started from the Financial Institutions submenu, choose a bank or other financial institution from the list, and fill in the forms that appear.

Tip 42 - pay as you go (Q6)

The smartest way to pay bills electronically is as they arrive in your mailbox. Because most electronic bill-paying services (whether associated with your bank or not) build in a preset lead time between when you transmit the payment and the authorized pay date, it's wise to make the transactions as soon as possible, rather than let the bills pile up. This method ensures that you won't miss a payment date and thus incur finance charges. You're not penalized for setting up future payment dates -- even weeks in advance -- because the bill isn't paid, nor the money withdrawn from your account, until the date you specify.

Tip 43 - check the newsstand (Q6)

The Live Update feature in Quicken 6 pulls down financial articles from several news sources -- including Money, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, CNNfn, and The Motley Fool (an irreverent investing Web site) -- then places them in the Financial Newsstand for your offline reading. To reach the Newsstand, select Read Personal Financial News and Articles from the Online icon in the Activity Bar. You'll need full Internet access, not the partial access that Quicken includes for free, to use the hyperlinks posted in this news.

Tip 44 - update in a single step (Q6)

Since transactions downloaded from a credit card account come with preset categories, you can save some time by clicking Accept All in the Compare To Register window after you've grabbed the data from your bank or credit card company. Every transaction lands in the register. Credit card transactions aren't always categorized properly, however, so spend a few minutes looking them over and making any necessary changes. (Quicken 6 marks recently downloaded transactions with a c in the Clr column.)

Tip 45 - yell at your bank by email

When you don't feel like punching through voice mail hell but still want to give your bank or credit company a piece of your mind, send email instead. The menu choices differ from version to version; in Quicken 6, head to the "Online banking center & investment center" (move your cursor over the Online icon in the Activity Bar, and select "Online banking center & investment center"). Then select your bank from the Financial Institution list, click the E-mail tab, and click Create to write a message. To send it, simply click the Go Online button.

Tip 46 - dial a different Net connection (Q6)

Quicken 6 lets you choose one of your Windows 95 Dial-Up Networking connections when it sets up its Internet link, but it won't let you temporarily switch later. (You must run the Internet Connection Setup wizard again to swap connections.) For those times when you want to dial in to another ISP -- perhaps because your primary provider's line is busy -- you can make the connection manually. Click the Windows Start button, select Programs/Accessories/Dial-Up Networking, and double-click the appropriate Dial-Up Networking icon. Then use Quicken Live to update stocks or gather news or program upgrades (select Features/Online/Quicken Live from the main menu; then select a category such as Best of the Web or Newsstand). Quicken is smart enough to recognize that you're already connected to the Net, so it doesn't try to dial on its own.

Tip 47 - stay online (Q6)

Normally, Quicken 6 automatically opens a connection to the Internet, does its business, and then logs off. If you want to stay online after Quicken has downloaded stock quotes -- perhaps to check out some financial Web sites -- you'll need to make a small change to the quicken.ini file. (You might want to consider backing up the file before opening it.) Launch Notepad by clicking the Windows 95 Start button, selecting Run, and typing notepad. Then open the quicken.ini file in the c:/windows directory, and look for the [Internet] section. Change the Stay_Connected line so that it reads Stay_Connected=True. Save the file, and close Notepad. The next time Quicken logs on to the Net, it will stay connected until you manually log off.

[About the Author: Gregg Keizer, an Oregon-based writer, regularly covers personal finance software for CNET. He has relied on Quicken to watch his money since 1989.]

[Source: http://www.cnet.com/Content/Features/Howto/Quicken/index.html ]

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The Amiga Section:

Petro Tyschtschenko's Speech at the Midwest Amiga Exposition

[AWD Note: A BIG THANK YOU to Amazing Computing/Amiga publisher Don Hicks for transcribing this speech and posting it to his magazine's web site.]

The following speech was delivered by Petro Tyschtschenko on Saturday, November 1, 1997, on the show floor of the Midwest Amiga Exposition in Columbus, Ohio.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Amigans,

I'm very pleased to attend the Amicon which is indeed my first big convention after Gateway 2000 Inc. acquired Amiga.

This year on May 31, I was invited by the Amiga Atlanta User Group. Out of this potential User Group, I met people who are attending the Amicon today. Thank you very much for this invitation and for your time to listen to me.

As you know yesterday was Halloween and I was very pleased that nobody beat me up, because I will not bring any "Sweets" - like news from our Research & Development department.

As you noticed already, Mr. Jeff Schindler, the general Manager of our new founded Research & Development department, is not available today. At the moment he is preparing a strategy road map which will be announced at the Cologne fair.

Today I do not intend to talk a lot about our history, because everybody knows what had happened, how exciting and how glamorous and sometimes how sad and negative our history was designed.

You may remember my speech at the World of Amiga in London with Dr. Jim Taylor, world-wide President Global Marketing of Gateway 2000, Inc. on 18th May 97. In his speech, Dr. Jim Taylor pointed out that Gateway 2000, has not bought Amiga to make is smaller. Gateway 2000 want the Amiga to grow.

And indeed, at AMIGA International, Inc. we registered already growth. We founded AMIGA International Inc. in Langen which is under my direction and we are responsible for the Sales and Marketing world-wide.

In Germany we are in total 7 people. We are very successful in selling our existing products world-wide. Besides Europe, we have tremendous improvements regarding the sale in India and in Australia, but our North American business is also increasing.

Good news are that we will have for our A1200 Amiga Magic Pack, which was until now only available in PAL, an NTSC version for the North American market available beginning December 97.

We also cut down our prices dramatically to build up the market for our future products and to find new clients -- it's to convince by our fantastic Amiga technology.

We have negotiated with Quikpak about a license agreement, and it is already signed a few days ago.

As I already mentioned, it was founded a new company - Amiga Inc. in South Dakota, close to Gateway 2000. Amiga Inc. is responsible for the Research and the Development of new Amiga products, as well as hard and software.

The company is managed by Jeff Schindler. Currently in South Dakota at Amiga Inc. there are working 5 people:

     Jeff Schindler, General Manager
     Darreck Lisle, Event coordinator
     Marylin Flint, Operations manager
     Joe Torre, Senior engineer
     Kelly Newby, Bookkeeper

Coming back to AMIGA International world-wide sales and Marketing activities out of Europe, they are as follows:

Since March 97, I have visited and supported world-wide Amiga activities to keep up our community. In Europe I was attending the following conventions:

AMIGA International has reached many license agreements. They are:

  A1200
     Micronik (Germany)

  A4000
     Nova Sector (USA)

  Amiga OS 3.1
     Software Hut (USA)
     Power Computing (UK)
     Vesalia Computer (Germany)

  Software Application
     Epic Marketing (UK) - Image 3.1 KS Rom
     Cloanto (Italian), Amiga forever

  Merchandise Product (for example T-shirts)
     Vidamus (Sweden)
     Robert Hamilton (USA)
     Triple A (France)
     Logica (Italy)
     Randomize (Canada)
     Amiga Plus (Germany)

  For new hardware based on Amiga OS 3.1
     Index (UK), Access
     DCE GmbH, Germany
     Quikpak (USA)

  Spare Part distribution
     Paxtron (USA) 

Further license contracts are in sight:

  For A1200
     Elbox (Poland)
     Intrinsic (UK)
     Professional Support Service (South Africa)

  New hardware based on Amiga OS 3.1
     REC (USA) China/Europe, with their Wonder TV  

The next big convention is coming soon which will be the Cologne fair called "Computer 97" starting 14th to 16th November 97.

For years, the fair was called, "The World of Commodore" and than after Commodore's bankruptcy it was changed into "Computer with the current year". It was the largest Amiga fair world-wide. In 1995 there were more than 60,000 people attending the show.

Last year when Amiga Technologies was under bankruptcy protection, there was no fair booth and I was sitting around like an refugee and I tried hard to represent Amiga outgoing from foreign booths. This situation affected also the figures of visitors. The figure dropped to only 35,000 in 3 days.

During the opening ceremony last year, I promised to be back in 1997 -- and indeed I achieved this goal. AMIGA International will have a big fair booth with about 2,000 square feet. AMIGA International will not sell any products during the fair. We will represent the Amiga technology and the licensed technology.

In our booth, following companies are exhibiting and demonstrating their products - powered by Amiga:

The biggest enrichment is that we can show the new designed boards by DCE Computer Service GmbH. This board is based on the A4000 with following features: There will be 2 versions available

  A5000
     CPU 68030/50 Mhz
     Up to 64 MB Ram
     Standard PC Keyboard
     1.44 MB Floppy Disk
     1.7 Gbyte IDE HDD
     10 - 24 Speed IDE CD ROM
     AGA Chipset
     Scan Doubler
     HF Modulator optional

  A6000
     CPU 68060/50 Mhz
     Up to 128 MB RAM
     Standard PC Keyboard
     1.44 MB Floppy Disk
     1.7 Gbyte IDE HD
     10 - 24 Speed IDE CD ROM
     AGA Chipset
     Scan Doubler
     HF Modulator optional  

I think this product will be very successful in our near future. It will help us to keep the market alive and growing. For further information, please watch http://www.dcecom.de/.

This year in Cologne we expect more than 60,000 visitors, 80% of them will be Amiga fanatics. In well organized workshops, the following companies will be represented through News and Information.

Due to the world-wide shortage of Amiga video monitors, AMIGA International will also demonstrate how to use a standard PC monitor with our beloved Amiga.

I think it is very important, that we explore an open Amiga platform, use industry standard components to reduce the production costs, to make it faster to develop and easier to upgrade. I will try to reach this goal in a very managed fashion.

Highlights of the Cologne fair will be the long expected announcement about the Future of Amiga. Which will be stated at the developer conference on Friday evening at 7 p.m.

Jeff Schindler will explain the strategy and roadmap for our future.

Now, my friends, I'm already at the end of my speech and Today I had the great pleasure again to stand here and to give you a short up to date. I'm convinced that we will meet each other several times within the next years.

My personal opinion is: Amiga has a bright future ahead!

Thank you for being here And many thanks to the people who organized this big and successful event.

Petro Tyschtschenko, AMIGA International, Inc.

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Cologne

First Report from the Cologne Computer '97 Show

By Joachim Sondermann-Bieker (jsondermann@netcologne.de)

Hi all! I was able to have a little chat with Petro Tyschtschenko during the Computer 97 Amiga fair in Cologne. Here's what he said in brief:

Besides, Tyschtschenko said pretty good about the work with Gateway executives. Amiga sales were going up. All in all he displayed lots of optimism though he didn't disregard possible dangers. AI stated earlier that new Amigas were not to be expected before sometime late in 1998. Maybe OS 3.5 will be out in the middle of the year.

[Source: comp.sys.amiga.misc ]

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Amiga SA - Cologne

15th November 0:00am GMT Well, today was the Big day for the Amiga. The Computer 97 show held in Cologne, Germany started today. Unfortunately it seems that if you were expecting Amiga Inc to release the specs and info about the Next Generation Amigas, then you are out of luck.

With regards to the future Amiga's it was a bit of a disappointment, but there was loads of other news. From reports I have heard, Jeff stated that unfortunately Amiga Inc. are unable to release detailed plans as of yet because Jeff and Amiga Inc. are having a meeting with the GW top notches and Ted Waitt to discuss and finalize all the various details this weekend. Jeff said that Amiga Inc. will be spending "millions" on Advertising for the new Amigas as well as they are in talks with some influential companies. Also Amiga Inc's 3 year budget plan has been approved, money money money!

OS3.5 is still on track for spring 98 and perhaps sooner but don't hold your breath just yet. Joe Torre also mentioned that he is in talks with Ed Hepler (of the AAA fame) which is very good news. Also NewTek are back on track with Amiga Development (very good news).

This is just some of the news so far, expect more detailed news and info as soon as I get it.

[Source: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Heights/9781/mainpage.html ]

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Power PC - Sinking Ships

by Carl Sassenrath

So, I see the PPC continues to screw things up. Intel and Microsoft must laugh all the way to the bank as the PPC continues to generally erode the Motorola based CPU marketplace. Have any companies come out ahead on this venture? Certainly not poor old Apple Computer, whose sinking ship I think can be partially attributed to the PPC which drained the critical development away from more important tasks (like multitasking, TCP/IP support, Internet).

Although I understand the intended benefits of PPC architecture and its contribution to computer engineering, I do not understand why Motorola had to drop the 68K line of CPUs. I would have much preferred that Motorola put their energy into creating a 200-300 MHz 69040 CPU for a reasonable cost.

Nothing beats CPU speed! That was a lesson I learned back in the late 1980s while working for Apple on its "supercomputer on a chip" quad parallel processor project from some of the world's leading CPU designers. Raw speed can make up for many other CPU inefficiencies. Think about it: if raising the clock speed can benefit the obscenely ugly architecture of the 80x86, just think what it would have meant for the 68K CPUs. Would you want to upgrade your Amiga to, say, 250 MHz for $200? I would.

Motorola gave up on the 68K much too early! It was not such a bad design! And, certainly the shift was not worth the marketplace that has been lost. What, now with 20/20 hindsight, has the PPC really bought the Macintosh? Loss of market share. Do you know how many people stopped buying Macs when the PPC version was introduced (with all of their associated problems, broken software, slow performance, etc.) I own five Macs, all 68K based. The downside of moving to a PPC Mac was not worth the gain. Do you think end users care about CPUs? They don't! Proof: Intel.

So... how much time have we all wasted here dealing with the PPC? Perhaps it would have been better worth our while to convince Motorola to simply build a 400 MHz 68030 or 68040! Perhaps we still should?

That's what I told Ted Waitt last May when we talked. It seemed that if anyone had the clout to make Motorola wake up, it would be Gateway. Ted seemed to like the idea. Where has it gone from there? I don't know.

Perhaps some of you think that I am old fashioned and need to get with the CPU bandwagon. Hey, I don't care if my car's engine is piston, rotary, or electric... what I care about is end performance, its acceleration, torque, and top RPM. And, if I'm going to be the one who opens the hood, I also care about its simplicity and elegance of design. (My usual plug for better OS design.)

Yet one more opinion for you.

As always,

Carl Sassenrath, Author of Amiga's OS Kernel
(Please post to related groups as and where appropriate.)

[Source: The National Capital Amiga Users Group newsletter, "Active Window" November, 1997. NCAUG's address is P.O. Box 12360, Arlington, VA 22209. On the web it's http://www.ncaug.org ]

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NewTek's Tim Jenison Speaks

from Joe Tracy (envisage@du36.con.ptd.net)
Date: 14 Nov 97 01:32:30

This is a short update on Tim Jenison's speech at the San Diego Professional Video Toaster Users Group. First let's get right to everyone's immediate concerns:

Mr. Jenison was very relaxed, honest, and open at the meeting and answered every question posed to him by the users. It was very refreshing and the atmosphere was very positive.

Tim Jenison and NewTek are still VERY MUCH behind the power and technology of the Amiga. Jenison even stated:

"On the sixth floor [NewTek's Research and Development Labs] there is a hardcore Amiga contingent and they look at me funny if I don't have them working on something with the Amiga." He hinted that practically daily the staff is looking at not just updates, but new products for the Amiga.

Jenison was not at the dealer meeting where the "on hold" announcement was made and said that it was "probably an unfortunate choice of words" that were made. Had Jenison been there, he would have stated it as "The Flyer team, having just completed 4.2, is working on another project not related to the Flyer." This is not a permanent situation. It was obvious, from his talk and answers, that the ball is really in Gateway's course and that isn't just an excuse. For example:

1. When Gateway took over the Amiga technology, NewTek phoned them numerous times to work something out, but their calls were never returned.
2. When Mr. Parscale (President and CEO of NewTek Partners, LP) took time out of his busy schedule to fly to Gateway, the person that was suppose to be there, who can make and influence all decisions, had to go to another engagement instead leaving others (who didn't have decision-making power) at the meeting.

With that said, Mr. Jenison did state three important points:
1. The licensing of QuickPak was a huge step in the right direction because it ensures that in the short term, Amiga units will be available.
2. NewTek is actively pursuing an agreement with Gateway.
3. There is not a day that goes by that NewTek does NOT discuss future developments and video solutions on the Amiga platform.

Other quick and interesting developments that happened:
1. Jenison showed a PAL version of Calibar (it does both PAL and NTSC).
2. NewTek has created a Serial-digital Calibar with imbedded audio tone.
3. Jenison confirmed (as is also confirmed in the next NewTekniques) that they have been actively working on HQ6 and it will soon go into beta testing.
4. In regards to the article on PlayableTV in The Amiga Informer about NewTek not being cooperative, he stated, "I was very perplexed at what this was about. Nothing could be more further from the truth." More on this in a later post.

Joe Tracy, Editor in Chief of NewTekniques
this has been a NewTekniques "breaking news" bulletin... :)

ToC

The CUCUG Section:

October General Meeting

reported by Kevin Hopkins

The October 16th meeting began with President Richard Rollins' traditional introduction of officers. Richard then made the announcement that the time had come to begin the club's renewal process, so we would be accepting membership renewals at the break. He also reminded everyone that club officer elections would be held in December. Kevin Hisel explained the protocol for the candidate and election process. The floor was then opened up to a Question and Answer Session.

The Question and Answer Session drew to a close with Richard Rollins announcing that the Amiga SIG would be watching Bill Zwicky working with the Vista PRo landscape generator and that the Macintosh SIG would be discussing OS8. No crashes yet, Richard threw in as an aside.

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The Amiga SIG: Bill Zwicky shows Scenery Animator 1.0, and Vista Lite 3.0

reported by Bill Zwicky (wrzwicky@pobox.com)

For the Amiga SIG, Bill Zwicky gave a presentation on rendering scenery with the Amiga. Two packages were shown: Scenery Animator 1.0, and Vista Lite 3.0 with some add-ins. Each package has its strengths in rendering certain aspects of scenery. Bill preferred Vista Lite for color quality and ground detail, while others preferred the clouds drawn by Scenery Animator. The presentation also included occasional commentary on how "real" rendering software provides better control and quality, but are MUCH harder to use.

While Bill's computer busily rendered a short animation, the discussion drifted to other topics, including general discussions on Amiga hardware, software, and the Future of the Amiga and Society. (No decisions were made; the world is safe for another month.)

Our resident Video Toaster guru brought the discussion back to reality by asking what practical value these scenery programs might have to a video business. Bill pointed out that the presented programs could be used to generate backdrops for other graphics, but since the programs lack export facilities, the Toaster's power cannot be used to render better pictures. For that, Bryce is available for both the Mac and PC.

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The Mac SIG: Richard Rollins Installs MacOS 8

reported by Kevin Hopkins

Richard Rollins began the Mac SIG by saying he's been very happy with OS8. No crashes. He said an application may hang, but you can out of it cleanly.

He then prepared to do an installation of OS8 on the club's machine. Under 7.5.5 the System on the club's machine took up 7,771K. The process begins with MacOS Install. Richard said he always recommends doing a clean install. Doing so will require a lot of updating to get your machine back the way you want it, but that's still the safest route.

If you do decide on the other route, to "upgrade" your machine, be sure to boot from the CD. You can't modify a System that is being used, so you must use one other than the one on you hard drive.

Another of the recommendations Richard made was to run Disk First Aid on your hard drive to clean up any problems it might have before you install the new system software. We didn't do that on the club's machine for time considerations, but were forced to stop and go back and do it when it turned out that we had a bad block or some problem with the B-trees.

When asked about how the new System software would effect a user's stable of applications, Richard said that very few applications will need to be upgraded due to OS8. It is mostly Extensions that have become incompatible. If you use Ram Doubler, you'll have to get an upgraded version.

As the demonstration progressed, Richard commented that OS8 has a very good installer. It checks out what you have pretty well. The installation of just the System takes about 8 to 10 minutes, but as we found out, the entire process runs closer to an hour. An impromptu question and answer session occurred while the install churned away. At one point during this exchange, Norris Hansell talked about UltraFind, a standalone shareware find program, which he found very useful.

Discussing some of the new features in this version of the System software, Richard said you can now put a picture as a background on your Desktop. There are web sites that have many selections for these.

He noted that since OS7.6 there has been no choice. You must use OpenTransport. This lead to a more general discussion of modems and our local Internet Service Providers. Our ISPs have been making some choices in 56K technology. PDNT uses 2x modems. Net66 uses KFlex. Advancenet uses KFlex.

Returning to OS8 Richard said he had noticed a considerable decrease in response time. Things seem to work better. However, Jim Huls noted that there is word of certain machines actually taking a performance hit. He said the 7200/120 at work runs considerably slower. Look for the fix in OS8.1.

Richard noted that a lot more PowerPC code has been incorporated into the System and the Finder. He said that the new contextual menus are very neat. He also talked about the Internet Address Detector.

Richard discussed MultiFinder, live scrolling, the new drag indicators, drag and drop, aliases, and spring loaded folders. He said the OS8 Demo Tour is good documentation of all this stuff. He also mentioned the new Assistants such as the Mac OS Setup Assistant.

Richard demonstrated live scrolling. He also showed how the spring loaded folders work. Do a click and a half and you get a spyglass that lets you negotiate down through your folders.

If you do an Option Apple key combination while clicking on an application then drag away, you can create an alias for it. Doing a Control click and hold brings up contextual menus. Richard demonstrated pop up windows. Just drag a window off the bottom of the screen and it becomes a tab which can then be used to quickly recall that window. Richard also show us the new View as Buttons option.

After the new System was installed on the club's machine, it took up 9.3 MB. Richard concluded his demonstration by saying that there would be a free patch for OS8 available by mid November.

ToC

October Board Meeting

reported by Kevin Hopkins

The October meeting of the CUCUG executive board took place on Tuesday, October 21, 1997, at 7PM, at Kevin Hisel's house. (For anyone wishing to attend - which is encouraged, by the way - the address and phone number are both in the book). Present at the meeting were Richard Rollins, Jim Huls, Dave Witt, John Lynn, Kevin Hopkins, Emil Cobb, Kevin Hisel, and Jim Lewis.

Richard Rollins: Richard launched a discussion about the new Mac machine he wants to buy to up grade the club's equipment. A discussion of the type of modem to buy and what local providers are implementing followed.

Next month, Richard said, we will be having a joint SIG meeting in which the common topic of "favorite web sites" will be discussed. Richard asked the Board members to provide two of their favorite, general topic web sites for the discussion. Members who wish to submit sites ahead of time can, along with the Board members, email their favorite site links to Kevin Hisel (khisel @ cucug.org) and he'll make up a web page containing them all for everyone to access.

Richard said he enjoyed doing the presentation on OS8 at the last meeting. He apologized for the install taking so long, but it had its value in hands-on showing how it goes. He's had calls from several people who have tackled the upgrade since the meeting.

Jim Huls: Jim said the meeting was good. He felt there were a lot of good questions while the OS8 install was running its course.

On a personal note, he said it is cool having a new job. Jim is now a Micro Computer Specialist at Parkland College.

Dave Witt: Dave had nothing new to discuss.

John Lynn: John said Bill Zwicky did a real good job on the demonstration of the Vista Pro landscape generation.

John informed everyone that he now has email. Anyone wishing to contact our intrepid Amiga SIG chairman can email him at jlvideo@pdnt.com. As a neophyte to the Internet, John needed some help contacting Software Hut. It was discovered that he had aimed his web browser at an email address. For all our users just starting out, if an address has an "@" in it, it is an email address and can only receive mail. A browser like IBrowse or AWeb are used on addresses that contain something like http://www.....

John said he has plans for the January Amiga SIG meeting in which he will set up an entire studio, fully edited on the fly. He will set up four cameras and demonstrate the power of the Amiga and the Video Toaster. He needs a volunteer to do a program that can be filmed.

John closed by reporting that the clubs A3000 has experienced a hard drive failure and that the drive will need to be replaced. Several options were discussed.

Asked if his plan for the January meeting implied that he would be willing to remain Amiga SIG Chairman for next year, John said it did.

Kevin Hopkins: Kevin presented the usual exchange newsletters, and mail. Kevin reported that with the addition of a new member given to him by Emil this evening, CUCUG membership now stands at 400. Kevin Hisel added that in this last month we have broken 1000 applicants via the web site. Kevin Hopkins continued, reporting that this month was a little heavy in email members bouncing. Seven addresses have gone back and he has sent out requests that these be updated. (Anyone changing their email address, please keep us informed.)

Kevin brought up the need for 1998 membership cards again. Kevin Hisel will take care of this.

Kevin also brought up the need to review our election protocol and by-laws in light of the way our club have evolved in the last year or two.

Individually, Kevin said he had been playing around with OS8 on the club machine, trying to return it to the "look and feel" it had before the meeting. He'd gotten several programs he used acclimatized to the OS change. He'd gotten his printer to work again. And, he'd gotten back online, using OpenTransport PPP as opposed to using FreePPP. His impression was that the machine may be one of those that experiences a slow down with the new OS. Netscape scrolls very slowly now. The first night of use, OpenTransport PPP seemed to have great difficulty in connecting, but this may have just been the phone lines. The next day, launching it by having the particular application call it up versus starting it from the Control Panel, it never missed a beat. Several Board members offered suggestions that might help with the speed problem. Set the Disk Cache - in the Memory Control Panel - to at least 512K. The default is something like 92K. The club's machine was set at one meg - no help there. Also, turn virtual memory off. It was on. One other thing that Kevin did notice was that the volume of sound under OS8 is remarkably louder than it was under 7.5.5.

Emil Cobb: Emil discussed ways of handling the renewal of memberships. He will make sure we get email addresses for everyone that has one. Kevin Hopkins stressed the importance of everyone filling out a new membership form in order that we get new, updated and current information on everyone.

There was also a discussion of how to handle a person repeatedly "visiting" meetings without becoming a member. The policy is that a person is allowed one free visit a year, but must become a member to attend further meetings. The person in question will be inform, he must join or he will be barred admittance.

Kevin Hisel: Kevin reported that we have absolutely retired to BBS this month. He MP3ed the old BBS ZIP disk backups.

There was a discussion about where Jon Sago has gone. He's moved to Texas.

There was a discussion about one of our banner ad sponsors.

There was a discussion about the election protocol and by-laws. As their author Mr. Hisel said he would take a look at them.

Kevin concluded by suggesting a drawing in January for the four remaining power backup systems for those who rejoin the club.

Jim Lewis: Jim said he couldn't comment on the last meeting as he was unable to attend. He did bring up a couple of advertising issues, one concerning the AWD and the other QuikPak.

Richard Rollins: Richard's final item for the evening was one he expressed in quite forceful terms. He said he is sick and tired of people talking in the back of the meeting room while the Question and Answer Session is going on or while presenters are trying to give demonstrations. He said it is extremely distracting. He stated that he has been attempting to deal with the problem for four months, having approached several people privately. It has now come to the point where he will have the violators ejected from the meeting. He said, if you must carry on private discussion, take it out into the lobby. Your consideration of others can either be freely given or compelled. This should not have to be a continuing issue.

ToC

CUCUG 1998 Election Outline


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 217-406-948-1999
     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 (1997) 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 217-406-948-1999 no later than
              December 8, 1997.
           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 18, 1996 (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 1997 and in 1998. 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 Commitee.
           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.

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The Back Page:

The CUCUG is a not-for-profit corporation, originally organized in 1983 to support and advance the knowledge of area Commodore computer users. We've grown since then.

Meetings are held the third Thursday of each month at 7:00 p.m. at the Bresnan Meeting Center in the Champaign Park District Headquarters (398-2550). The Center is located at 706 Kenwood, 1/2 block south of the corner of Kenwood and John Street, in west Champaign. Kenwood is the fourth north-south street off of John as you are going west, after crossing Mattis. The Center is in the northwest corner of Centennial Park, northwest of Centennial High School.

Membership dues for individuals are $20 annually; prorated to $10 at mid year ($25US outside the U.S. and Canada; prorated to $15 at mid year).

Our monthly newsletter, the Status Register, is delivered by the postal service or email at the member's choice. All recent editions are available on our WWW site. To initiate a user group exchange, just send us your newsletter or contact our editor via email. As a matter of CUCUG policy, an exchange partner will be dropped after three months of no contact.

This newsletter was prepared with PageStream 2.22 on an Amiga 3000 25/100 and output to an HP Laserjet IIP plus. Pagestream was donated to CUCUG by Soft-Logik Publishing Corporation.

For further information, please attend the next meeting as our guest, or contact one of our officers (all at area code 217):

President:         Richard Rollins     469-2616
Vice-President:    Emil Cobb           398-0149               e-cobb@uiuc.edu
Secretary/Editor:  Kevin Hopkins       356-5026                  kh2@uiuc.edu
Treasurer:         Mark Landman        398-2910        mlandman@earthlink.net
Corporate Agent:   Jim Lewis           359-1342              NOSPAMlewis_j_e@yahoo.com
Board Advisor:     Jim Huls            892-8730
Webmaster:         Kevin Hisel         406-948-1999              khisel @ cucug.org
Amiga SIG:         John Lynn           586-3555              jlvideo@pdnt.com

Surf our home page:

http://www.cucug.org/

To get on the net free, call Prairienet at (217) 255-9000. Login as "visitor". Once you're on, just type "go cucug" for a good place to start.

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