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THE BUG REPORT
A monthly publication of
GS-BUG Inc. (c) copyright 1996.
Reproduction of any material herein by any means is expressly prohibited
unless written permission is granted. Exception: Articles may be reprinted
by other users groups in unaltered form if credit is given to the author
and the original publication.
STAFF
Editor - Kay Burton
IT'S USELESS TO RESIST TECHNOLOGY
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PERSPECTIVES
By Dr. John Hanson |
Topics for March
1. Battery Caution
2. Smart Computing Magazine
3. Shuttle Disaster
4. Software Anger
5. Value Computer
6. RF Keyboard is Great
1. Battery Caution: Lithium batteries can be very dangerous
as they can explode if not treated with complete respect and electronic
knowledge. One member was trying to rejuvenate a rechargeable Lithium
Ion for his notebook computer and could have been in grave danger.
Lithium batteries have had a number of chemistries over the years.
In the early days the military needed them for their portable computers
and were willing to lose a few soldiers in order to gain the benefits of
lots of power with minimum weight and volume. Things have improved
but still they are so dangerous legitimate battery companies are not allowed
to sell them to anyone except OEM companies who know how to build the precise
chargers required. Some Lithium batteries are available at the TRW
Ham swap meet so use them at your own risk. Not only can they explode
when charging but also if discharged heavily such as shorting.
One serious weakness about wonderful Lithium
Ion batteries is that they only have a life of about three years, whether
used or not. digital camera I only bought one replacement Lithium
Ion and even then I don’t know how long ago it was manufactured.
So far I haven’t figured out how to determine if a battery is fresh so
you take your chances. If I am lucky they won’t both go bad at the
same time. This member, who was trying to rejuvenate his old Lithium
Ion battery, had no idea that no amount of effort would bring that battery
back to life. My suggestion to him was to make an external NiCad
battery pack that he can plug into his notebook, even if that means running
out a couple of wires. An important lesson to remember if you are
buying a used notebook is not to get one with a Lithium Ion battery if
the computer is more than three years old. Replacement batteries
are very expensive and since the computer is old it is likely that replacement
batteries might be just as old as manufacturers are constantly changing
the form factor so a new battery won’t fit your old notebook.
Lithium Ion batteries are the best for
digital cameras but because the charging circuit has to be so precise it
elevates the cost of the camera significantly so you may have noticed the
trend to using replaceable NiMH cells which are charged outside the camera
with relatively unsophisticated chargers. Even then there is danger
of fire and explosion if you don’t unplug them after a few hours as instructed.
Another problem with NiMH batteries is if you charge batteries that are
already charged as the charger is usually not sophisticated enough to know
the battery is already charged and they could be easily overheated.
If you have several sets of NiMH batteries
for your camera be aware that you should not let them go below 1.0 volt
per cell. That is one reason I like NiCad batteries as they can go
all the way to zero and still be rejuvenated provided you can get to the
individual cell. In general, you should also stop discharging NiCads
when they approach 1.0 volts per cell as well. At the moment NiMH
chemistry has improved so much that they have about twice the power of
NiCads.
Non rechargeable lithium batteries have
a different chemistry and are safer if not shorted. If you stay within
their disharge limits they are marvelous but very expensive for digital
cameras. On the other hand the small button 2032 cell that powers
your CMOS has a shelf life of about ten years and probably five years in
your computer. I don’t know of any motherboards that still use rechargeable
NiCads.
2. Smart Computingt Magazine: We were so lucky to have those
three lovely girls come and give us an update on their magazine and how
useful their web site can be for subscribers. It is hard to believe
that the publishers actually followed my advice I gave them during the
San Diego computer meeting called “Sandex” run by Judy Taylour and Pat
Hill. I was so furious and disgusted that I canceled my subscription.
What good are terrific articles if you can’t read them because some dumb
artistic type thinks that gray print on black looks good or yellow print
on white or printing lots of text over a picture. Many current publishers
fall into this trap like National Geographic and Time, etc. so I have canceled
them also. It would be useless to write and complain but at Sandex
the big wig publishers were right there so you could talk to them in person.
That is one of the great things about Sandex is that Judy and Pat bring
in lots of high powered talent to tell us about their products.
I would encourage you to subscribe
after seeing how useful the sample issue is that they gave each of the
members. I signed up for two years. There was only one article
that was not up to par and that was the one on power supplies on page 94.
It looks like they assigned someone who didn’t know much about electricity
to write it and the data in his table seems old and not very accurate.
That would make me suspicious of any future articles written by him.
3. Shuttle Disaster: Bob Rupkey, a former military pilot,
sent me a marvelous URL preared by USA Today newspaper. This really
shows the benefits of being on the Internet. You could see
a drawing of the left wing and where the various temperature sensors were
located. A time line was available to click on and with sound and
a flashing spot you could see minute by minute how the temperatures were
rising and so high some of the sensors were failing. This information is
telemetered back to Houston and is possibly available to the crew but of
little use as there was nothing they could do about the impending disaster.
Since I worked on the very first rockets we used to send things into space
this was very important for me. Search the USA Today web site as
the display is very impressive.
4. Software Anger: The hard disk crashed on the computer my grandchildren
use so I was reinstalling the drivers for the Epson C-80 ink jet printer.
I had forgotten what a miserable installation procedure it was and even
tho it said the drivers were installed it would not print because it was
using LPT1 instead of USB. No wonder people get angry at companies.
That is probably why DBase IV failed after being top dog. They were
so arrogant as were the Word Star people. Word Star finally noticed
Word Perfect was so nice to the users they started being nice and I was
able to get lots of good advice from their experts before they closed.
Unfortunately, even tho they had a great program, their arrogance lasted
too long.
Do you hate it when you are forced to register
and if you don’t they remind you every two weeks? Why not be nice
to customers and suggest they register or not? Registering just makes
difficult installations even more painful.
5. Value Computer: Advanced Computer on Western Ave.
is still doing a good job providing the Dr. Hanson Special for about $300
and perhaps even less by now. Check their various offers and let
me know if you find an even better deal close by. There are some
good deals way across town but the convenience of having them close by
outweighs any slight price reductions and you might not get as good a quality
as Advanced provides.
6. RF Keyboard is Great: I have been using mine for about
a month and Carl Warner has one for the schools for several months.
My goal was to use it in DOS for Word Star but the box said it was only
for Windows so I was frustrated for awhile but didn’t give up and finally
got it to work. The key contacts are not the best if you are a fast
typist and the first one had a defective “I” but the supplier was kind
enough to give me another. I did have another serious problem and
a new keyboard would not help. That was because the spacebar
was poorly designed so I had to make a modification to get it to
work reliably. I added a screw and bracket at the left side so now
that side doesn’t go up when I press the right side as in normal fast typing.
On better keyboards the long keys have special designs so that they work
wherever you press them. It is so convenient not to have a wire to
get in my way and to have a built in mouse when I need to use Windows.
Editor’s Note: John Hanson is the inventor
of Tooties, a superb self-teaching system used by millions
in schools, homes, and by eye doctors around the world to improve
vision. He also invented a new form of psychology called
QET (Quick Effective Therapy) which transforms poor students
into good students, almost overnight, usually in 5 to
15 days. He has also had outstanding success
in helping brain damaged people, even years after their accident.
Why go to therapy for years and spend lots of money when
you can improve quite fast with QET? He uses computers to document
his cases for his books so that others may benefit and improve
their vision and other skills. Visit his web site
at www.tooties.com
for more information
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INTERNET TALK
By Frank Chao |
This 55th article in the “Internet Talk” series is part of the twelfth
newsletter that is being produced by Kay Burton.
Liz and I hope that you are having as much fun with your computer(s)
as we are with ours.
BOOKS ON LINE
The Website of the Los Angeles Free-Net has a great Web page of
links to free books online at
http://www.lafn.org/literature/index.html
The Internet has become a great repository of books, short stories,
and poems that are in the public domain. Enjoy.
TRW SWAP MEET
Liz and I appreciate seeing some of you at the TRW Swap Meet each
month, especially since both of us continue to be meeting-challenged.
The official information about this Swap Meet can be found at http://www.w6trw.com/swapmeet/w6trw_arc_swapmeet.htm
Also, a good map of the location of this Swap Meet can be found
at http://www.qsl.net/iecaro/maps/trw_swap_map.html
If you attend this event and do not buy anything, you will still
learn a lot by keeping your eyes and ears open.
AT&T PREPAID INTERNET SERVICE
If you are a light user of Internet access, you might consider AT&T’s
prepaid dial-up Internet Service. I recommend this option for folks who
do not live within an local phone number for the free service options of
Netzero or Juno Web.
You can learn about it at:
http://www.consumer.att.com/prepaidcard/prepaidinternet/free_trial.html
You can try their service for free for 30 minutes by downloading
their free trial at this Website.
Current prices for 8 hours are approximately 10 dollars,
20 hours for approximately 20 dollars, or 30 hours for approximately 30
dollars.
Your minutes expire 12 months after either first use or after the
most recent re-charge. Hence, if you put 30 dollars into your account,
you have 12 months to use them approximately 30 minutes of dial-up Internet
access. Whenever you add more time to your account, the old minutes get
extended to the new expiration date of 12 months from the date that you
add the time.
UNITED ONLINE
United Online, provider of Juno and Netzero Internet services, starting
making a profit last year. With this milestone, they have proved that free,
advertising-supported Internet service is financially viable. Since the
middle of 2001, United Online is the third largest Internet Service Provider
in the United States.
According to ISP Planet’s Website AOL has 38,100,000 subscribers,
Earthlink has 4,830,000 subscribers and United Onine has 1,850,000.
See http://www.isp-planet.com/research/subvalues/index.html
for details.
You can help keep the only remaining free Internet service a financially
viable option by using the free service options of Netzero or Juno,
as your main or backup means of connecting to the Internet.
COMPUTER HUMOR
Kostek Haussman recommends that you look at the following:
http://users.chartertn.net/tonytemplin/FBI_eyes/
CITY SERVICES
In the City of Torrance, we noticed that it is getting harder and
harder to obtain paper copies of the refuse collection schedule.
It is located online at
http://www.torrnet.com/streetsvcs/2003_Holiday_Schedule.htm
If you are having similar challenges where you live, try using your
city’s Web page. It might save you a lot of hassle.
For your information, the city Web pages for various cities are
as follows:
http://www.torrnet.com/
http://www.ci.gardena.ca.us/
http://www.cityofinglewood.org/
http://www.ci.manhattan-beach.ca.us/
http://www.redondo.org/
http://www.hermosabch.org/
http://www.lomita.com/
If the city where you live is not listed above, go to : http://www.altavista.com
(or any other search engine site) and search for it.
WAYS TO CONTACT ME:
If you have any questions or problems, I can be contacted by the
following methods:
1. Send me e-mail at: fchao@pacbell.net
2. Leave me a voice message at
(310)768-3896.
3. Send “snail” U.S. Postal Service mail to:
Frank Chao
PO Box 6930
Torrance, CA 90504-0030.
Or sell your computer and take up golf!
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SOFTWARE LIBRARY NEWS
By BOB HUDAK |
I spent some time working with TaxACT Deluxe 2002 this month. It
is a easy to use tax preparation program that I and a number of other members
have been using for several years. I believe it is the best priced program
on the market. Until March 17 you can order the Ultimate Bundle for only
$16.00.
This includes the federal and state programs plus you can e-file
your federal form free. If you do not need all this then just the standard
program might fill your needs. Get a copy of it on the CD in the library.
You can always upgrade from this program to get the rest of the benefit.
I have a few handouts left that explain all the features. Using this tax
program does all the math correctly for you and prints out a really neat
form to send in. Make a extra copy for your records and also keep the digital
file stored on removable media for safe backup. What else can I tell you.
It installs without a problem. You can use the interview method that asks
you questions and puts the data into the forms automatically or you can
type directly onto the forms yourself. The forms look just like the IRS
forms. All computers users should be using their computers for putting
together this yearly report for the IRS. Give it a try.
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IT'S USELESS TO RESIST TECHNOLOGY
According to a recent study by Morgan Stanley, U.S. companies wasted
$130 billion on techno gizmos, gadgets and software the past two years
that it turns out, they didn’t need, didn’t like, couldn’t use, didn’t
know how to use or that flat-out didn’t work.
I can relate.
As someone who has never seen a techno gadget or software he didn’t
like, I’ve wasted hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars and plenty of
time on stuff I didn’t need, didn’t like, couldn’t use, didn’t know how
to use or that flat-out didn’t work.
And the thing is, I think I’m pretty typical. Most people I know
— (OK, guys, because guys are, by and large, the gizmo freaks;
women are just too sensible) — have a tech Titanic or two in their
past.
When Web TV first made its appearance, my friend Skitch was among
the first on his block to sign up. After all, the concept seemed so cool.
Use your TV as a Web surfer/e-mail program? Excellent! As a devout sports
junkie, he figured he might never have to move once his twin passions —
watching sports on TV and reading about sports online — joined as one.
The reality, of course, was different. He found Web TV screens difficult
to scroll around (no mouse). The pages were too small. He didn’t like,
as it turns out, sitting in his La-Z-Boy and typing e-mails across the
room on his awkward little keyboard. Not that the experience was horrible.
It just wasn’t the same as using a dedicated computer. So within a few
months, he was back to sitting in front of his Dell.
And me? I have tech disasters too numerous to mention, from early
digital cameras that, well, sucked, to the Great Printer Cartridge Replacement
Kit Disaster of ’98. (But that’s another column. And a new bathroom floor.)
Here’s one, though. I’ve had a little Web cam staring at me from
atop my monitor for two years now. It’s not hooked up, and hasn’t been
for a few weeks shy of two years.
I bought it after seeing one in action on Tech TV’s “Screensavers”
program. (Damn it’s siren-like allure!) Sure, the images of audience members
reciting the lead-ins for the program from their home computers looked
grainy and awful. And sure the images faltered, skipped and stalled so
badly that most of the people ended up looking as if they were broadcasting
from Mars. But, man, how cool would it be to sit in your bedroom (which
is where my computer is) and beam your face ... anywhere! Visions of Jetsons-like
videophone conversations with web-cammed uddies danced in my head.
So I plunked down my money, brought home my Web cam, loaded the
software and ... nothing. Turns out that to have a videophone conversation
with your buddies online, your buddies also have to have Web cams and know
how to use them.
Few of my friends did. And the ones who did were too stupid to figure
out how to get them working reliably. (If your friends are anything like
my friends, you know exactly what I’m talking about.)
Once and only once, a buddy and I got our Web cams correctly linked
through Microsoft’s Netmeeting. Here’s what transpired:
Me (looking at his image): “Hey, is this cool or what?”
Him (looking at my image): “What?”
Me: “I said is this cool or what?”
Him: “Totally. Can you-you-you-you be-be-be-believe how advanced-vanced-vanced
technology has be-be-be- (image freezing, long moments of fiddling, reboot)
I haven’t used it since. Nowadays, if I want to communicate with
someone, I send that person an e-mail. If I need to talk to them, I use
what we like to call a “telephone.”
Useless to Resist........
Ease and reliability are slowly becoming my watchwords when it comes
to tech toys.
I still get all trembly when new products come out. And occasionally
I still jump in before something has proven its worth. For instance, I
was one of several hundred thousand people worldwide who were there Day
One last year when World War II Online debuted, which means I was also
one of hundreds of thousands who spent that day and many moons thereafter
rebooting, re-signing on and re-cursing the makers of that sorry, sorry
piece of computer hell. (Although I hear these days it’s working fine.)
(Must. Resist. Temptation ...)
But I’m getting better. I’ve summoned all my strength not to sign
up for a cable modem, not because cable connections don’t work reliably,
but because I know, deep down, that the price will eventually come down
to a sane level someday, and I can wait.
I’ve also resisted flat-screens (my beige box still works fine),
instant messaging (again, if I want to communicate instantly with someone
I use the telephone), blogs (I don’t want to know your innermost thoughts
and you DEFINITELY don’t want to know mine).
I’ve resisted, to my utter amazement, PDAs. (I’m too disorganized
to use an organizer.) And I’ve even held off getting myself one of those
neat-o handheld computer/cell phone/PDA/microwave ovens (hey, it’ll happen
— trust me).
But it hasn’t been easy. Ha ha. Just the other day I noticed an
especially cool one at Best Buy. A good bargain, too. It had this cool
interface and a digital screen that ...
THWIP!
by Andrew Heller
Columnist for Tucows.com
(Editor’s note: The column ends there. Apparently the writer’s wife
was once again forced to resort to the tranquilizer gun that she bought
for just such occasions.)
We welcome feedback on this article. Please e-mail your comments
to the newseditor@tucows.com. Thanks!
If you wish to see your response reprinted, please include your
phone number and address so that we may verify your writing. Your contact
information will not be published.
All opinions expressed in this editorial article are the opinions
of the author, and not necessarily those of Tucows.
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VIRUS WATCH
Sludge in your Computer!
VBS_SLUDGE.A (Low Risk)
VBS_SLUDGE.Ais a Visual Basic script worm that spreads using the
peer-topeer file sharing application, Kazaa Lite.
Upon execution, this worm drops a cop of itself in the Windows temporary
folder using the file name “_uninst12vbs.” It then adds a registry
entry so that its dropped copy is executed at every Windows startup.
This virus crates copies of itself using one of 12 specific file
names. These copies are dropped in %Program files%\kazaa lite\my
shared folder, a common shared folder of Kazaa Lite.
This worm is intended to also propagate through Kazaa, Bearshare,
Edonkey2000 and Morpheus, but fails to do so due to flaws in the existance
of the shared folders of these peer-to-peer, file-sharing applications,
it incorrectly copies the dropped files to Kazaa Lite’s shared folder.
The folders checked are:
%Program Files%\bearshare\shared
%Program Files%\edonkey\2000\incoming
%Program Files%\kazaa\my shared folder
%Program Files%\,morpheus\my shared folder
When the infected user’s system date is March 3, this worm displays
a message box with the following text:
Address violation at 030303x03/03/03 exception error. Please reboot.
If you would like to scan your computer for VBS_SLUDGE.A or thousands
of other worms, virses, Trojans and malicious code, visit HouseCall, Trend
Micro’s free, online virus scanner at:
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/
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REQUIEM FOR A
MOUSE
It had served me faithfully, that little mouse, for at least
a year. And in this time and place of throwaway societies one year is considered
a long long time as far as faithful service, rendered by a mechanical device
is concerned. That little mouse was of the bobtail variety. It was referred
to as wireless and could travel quite a distance from that desktop village
of mine. Of course sometimes the cats thought of making off with it, but
I usually discouraged that. That little mouse died quietly. It just left
that little cursor stranded in the middle of the monitor and nothing short
of crashing the computer could persuade that cursor to move. When Faye
called I was just about in the middle of a temper tantrum. I hate it when
mechanical devices get the best of me.
“Did you say the mouse is wireless?” Faye asked.
“Yes, “ I responded.
“Did you check the batteries?”
Of course I hadn’t. Bright and brilliant Mensa person that I am,
whatever made me think that the wireless mouse and keyboard needed some
source of energy, like maybe a few batteries. I thanked Faye for that helpful
assist. Then I called the Guru just in case it could be something more
serious. He agreed with Faye. He did, however, remain on standby just in
case something else was wrong. I had promised Faye to have my column in
and in order to do that, I had to have access to my village.
“How long have you had that wireless set,” Clarence inquired. By
now I was beginning to be sort of hesitant about giving out any more information
about my latest debacle.
When Clarence asks a question, a truthful answer seems to be well,
shall we say mandatory? Lies, even little white lies are not the stuff
that good relationships and solid friendships are made of. I value Clarence
as a friend as well as a computer guru.“Since Christmas,” I said.
“Since Christmas and you never once wondered where the energy for
that mouse comes from?”
He didn’t say anything about that Mensa thing but I could read his
mind even from a distance.
“Where did you buy it?”
Actually I hadn’t bought it, it had been a Christmas gift from my
son; a totally unexpected Christmas gift. I hadn’t been unhappy with my
long_tailed mouse. I set out the following morning to purchase batteries.
The mouse wasn’t the only critter at this establishment dining on batteries.
Faye and Clarence had been correct about pointing out to me the importance
of changing batteries. As it turned out, batteries could not resuscitate
my bobtailed mouse. something more series was wrong in that entire wireless
set up. “Where is that old keyboard and mouse?” Clarence ask as he was
about to attempt to get things straightened out again. “I think I might
have accidentally sort of given it away,” I replied. That was a lie; accidentally
was stretching the truth a little. And now it was time for another lesson.
That lesson is clearly imprinted on my mind:
ALWAYS KEEP A BACKUP HANDY.
I’m writing this column on Clarence’s backup device. I still have
another lesson to learn, like how to purchase the kind of device most suitable
for my own personal computer needs. But in the meantime, I’m having to
compose a proper requiem for my fallen comrade. “Whoever heard of a requiem
for a mouse, and a mouse as a sidekick is laughable,” Nor was it thinkable
that I should get by with anything here without Grandmama putting in her
penny’s worth of opinion. But this time I had her. “Walt Disney died a
rich man because of a mouse in his desk drawer.” “I don’t see you
getting rich with your mouse!” “That’s a different mouse!” “A mouse is
a mouse is a mouse; a mouse is a varmint and the only good mouse is a dead
mouse.” As far as Grandmama was concerned, that was an absolute. Mice usually
ate in to the profit as far as the farmer was concerned. I conceded. Grandmama
would always be right. Still, there was that brave little mouse that responded
to my every click.
“Last time it was that brave little Umax. Now it’s that brave little
mouse. Maybe you starved it to death when you didn’t provide those ‘batteries.’
Any plans for some demise next month?” I took a moment before I responded.
“I’m thinking of having my office exorcised to keep the spirit world away.”
“Didn’t I tell you I had myself immunized against exorcisms? “ There seemed
to be a gentle breeze and she was gone. I could have sworn it was a kiss
on the cheek. I could never bar her from own private little kingdom. Life
would be so terribly dull with out her. Of course, there was still the
matter of a requiem for my bobtailed mouse. A few bars of Beethoven entered
my mind. And as I hummed along I thought; Why not. I’m certain Beethoven
wouldn’t mind.
by E. M. Hazell
From “The ICON” Online Newsletter
Interactive Computer Owners Network
There is no restriction against any non-profit group using
the article as long as it is kept in context, with proper credit given
to the author. This article is brought to you by the Editorial Committee
of the Association of Personal Computer User Groups
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Well the prices are coming down, now under $300 and as low as $220,
for a DVD recorder. The blank disks are now under $2.50 each in lots of
ten or more. But beware, the great decision as to which format is still
under debate, DVD-R or DVD+R! If you just wish to make videos either one
should work in most DVD players made after the year 2000, but not all.
Cheaper DVDR disks and players will not work.
Support out there is very weak to almost NONE! Much time is needed
to be invested like 4 to 10 hours to make a 2 hour video DVD, of which
several programs require you to sit in front of your computer.
Most of the software is over priced and does not work without many
problems and no support like “Video Studio 6” by Cyber. The best so far
has been “MyDVD” by Sonic. Some of the suggestions listed below came from
them.
The best input devices are: “USB Instant DVD” by ADS ($160), “Bungee
DVD” by Pinnacle ($150), “DCS 100” ($170) and “DCS 200” by Dazzle ($230).
They all come with software that have individual problems, and advertise
“Fast, Easy & Fun”, boy that is a huge JOKE! It’s Slow, Hard, &
Will drive you nuts.
If you can not provide all of the suggestions (really necessary
evils) below then don’t get involved. I became one of their guinea pig
and I am about to throw it all in the circle file and call it a lost.
My ASUS computer is an Intel P3 @ 866MHz, 256MB RAM @ 133MHz, 60GB
Hard Drive @ 7200rpm ATA100, ATI Radeon 32MB video card, with the
“USB Instant DVD” input device (I tried out the DAZZLE equipment, but it
had big noise problems and they had NO support at all), VIVASTAR (LF311)
DVD-R recorder. I have tried two operating systems such as Win ’98SE and
Win’ME and saw no difference, went back to Win’98SE.
For Windows ’98 ‘XP users start off with these suggestions
on getting ready to record a DVD:
*Install at least 256 MB of RAM
*Disable the Screen Saver
*Disable the Turn off Hard Disks option
*Disable the Hibernation option
*Disable the Network Time Server (Win’XP)
*Disable Text to Speech (Win’XP)
*Disable any scheduled tasks (for example, virus scan)
*Do not increase Virtual Memory beyond Windows’ recommended setting
*Close any other running applications
*Do not copy any large files while capturing
*Do not allow any remote activities, such as PC Anywhere or Timbuktu
connections
*Your hard drives are formatted to NTFS (which as no files size
limitations Win’XP)
*You have at least 21 gigs available on a single drive
*You have the latest drivers for the following: DVD Rom, burner,
CD-ROM and burner.
*Your hard drives have been defragmented.
*In particular, while capturing video, do not use your PC for any
other activity. Video capture requires all your PC’s processing power,
and any action such as inserting a disc or receiving e-mail may cause errors
in the captured video files.
*Your monitor resolution must be set to 1024x768 16 or 32 bit color
*You are running ASPI driver 4.6. No higher, no lower. If you are
unsure, you can go here to find out and/or download the appropriate driver:
http://aspi.radified.com
*You are not running you machine/session of a network/RAID configuration
*Make sure you have the latest version DirectX (a must), WMP (a
must):
*If your “Input digital device” is on USB, then remove all other
USB external equipment.
*You may also find it beneficial to enable DMA for all your drives.
There are DVD-RAM and DVD+RAM which allows you to save up to 9.6GB
of Data, but hard drives are much cheaper, like 20GB for $69.00 or lower.
It is just not FAST and EASY as they have stated in their advertising!
By Bob Elgines, elginesz@rraz.net
There is no restriction against any non-profit group using
the article as long as it is kept in context, with proper credit given
to the author. This article is brought to you by the Editorial Committee
of the Association of Personal Computer User Groups (APCUG), an International
organization to which this user group belongs.
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WINNING TIP
Reduce deletion steps
When you delete a file or folder, Windows gives you several opportunities
to change your mind. First, a confirmation dialog box displays asking if
you are sure you want to delete the item. If you click Yes, Windows places
it in the Recycle Bin. To permanently delete the file or folder you must
remove it from the Recycle Bin. When you do this, Windows displays another
confirmation dialog box before permanently deleting it.
If you wish, you can eliminate the initial confirmation dialog box.
To do so, right-click the Recycle Bin icon on your Desktop, click Properties,
deselect the Display Delete Confirmation Dialog Box checkbox in the Global
Tab, and click OK. Now, a confirmation only displays when you delete items
from the Recycle Bin.
Another suggestion is to simply drag files and folders directly
to the Recycle Bin icon on the Desktop. This eliminates the initial confirmation
dialog box, even if the Display Delete Confirmation Dialog Box is enabled.
NEWS BLURBS
SpySites allows you to manage the Internet Explorer and Restricted
Zone settings and easily add entries from a database of 1500+ sites that
are known to use advertising tracking methods or attempt to install third
party software. You can select the sites from the list, or optionally add
all of them, or only the “worst offenders.” The program then adds the URLs
to the IE Restricted Zone settings. Once configured, there is no need to
run the program again, unless you want to add sites.
http://camtech2000.net/Pages/SpySites_Program.html
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ON THE INTERNET
Be Ready~The Department of Homeland Defense kicked off a $100 million
campaign in the form of print, radio, direct mail and outdoor advertisements
that will feature the ready . gov. site. The site, whose motto is
“Don’t be afraid. Be ready,” offers informantion, tutorials and checklists
on how to protect one’s self in the event of biological, chemical or nuclear
threat. Go to: http://ready.gov
Local Preparedness~Californians concerned about local emergency
services, public emergency information, plans and publications can go to:
http://www.oes.ca.giv/Operational/OESHome.nsf/1?OpenForm.
This Stuff is Stickey~Would you like to know what to
do with all that duct tape you bought last week, besides sealing yourself
into a dubiously safe plastic bubble? This duct tape fashion site
displays and sells hats, belts,wallets, guitar straps and even, roses,
all made from duct tape. Go to: www.ducttape fashion.com
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