Newsletter - Internet Edition

For the time being, the Genealogy SIG (Special Interest Group) will not be holding their usual meetings. Tom Stevens, who has been the GenSIG Leader for the past several years, has had employment conflicts with the schedule and time involved in leading the group. Consequently, he has had to cancel the meetings for now. He did tell us that the group's web page is thriving (check http://www.skyenet.net/~stevens/gensig1.htm) and that if members are interested, he is batting around a mailing list and other ways to have the group become more of a "virtual" society.

Those who have ideas on continued work with the GenSIG are welcome to submit suggestions to Tom Stevens.

This month's column is being put together at the last minute since I have been traveling out of town. Between flying and cruising, we traveled about 7000 miles. I hope I live long enough to get the trip paid for.

I'll just mention that we flew to Vancouver sightseeing for five days between there, Vancouver Island and Victoria. I met with the Editor of a 900 member UG in Victoria who uses my column.

We then boarded Holland America's "Noordam" for an unforgettable experience. The cruise took us to Ketchikan, Juneau, Sitka, Valdez and ended at Seward, AK. with a three-hour bus ride, (driven by a college student from BYU working there for the summer) along the most beautiful highway to Anchorage, AK.

The cruise ship has computers everywhere, all networked together. Should you buy anything not included, such as drinks, items from the ship's stores, shore excursions etc., you charge it all to your room number and settle up with the computer when you depart the ship. Drink one of the soft drinks kept available in your room; the computer knows. Your stateroom is always kept supplied with fresh ice and cans of soft drinks.

On the cruise, we were spoiled rotten with wonderful service and great food. That ship was like a floating city with any kind of entertainment, live shows and music, or events you wanted (all included in the price except the drinks, soft or hard, which are entered in the ship's computer). One evening the Chocolate extravaganza was spectacular to see and photograph, then we all ate it.

They said they were on the internet wherever I asked. They also had retirees who said they couldn't wait to retire there in any city we were in. I was in a Tshirt whenever I was in port, and in Anchorage we ate lunch at a sidewalk cafe in 75-degree temperatures. We were stuffed when we finished for just $6.95 each + $1.09 for iced tea (served by a college student from BYU working for the summer). My wife couldn't eat all of hers. We had the air on in our hotel room in Anchorage, and also in our rental car at times. Looked funny to still see daylight when we retired for the night at 11:30 PM.

We spent the last day with friends who took us to see the large jumping salmon and watched a large moose and two young amble through their yard eating the flowers about an hour before we left for the airport that evening. He emailed me tonight to say the weather warmed back up to 80 after we left.

Amazingly, souvenir shopping was very inexpensive. I saw some high prices, but a little shopping soon found very reasonable ones, cheaper than here in Orlando.

Along the way we were able to talk to Editors and Presidents of user groups (arrangements made in advance), some by phone because of the lack of time, and a few in person when their time permitted. I want to thank them all for the chance to visit and compare notes on how user groups conduct their business affairs.

Using a frequent flier trip enroute to and from the cruise made us change planes a few times, creating an opportunity to at least call a user group person from the airport and visit. All these conversations improved my knowledge of how different user groups are managed, their SIGs, and their trials and tribulations. Believe me, you are not alone with any problems you may have. The variety of SIGs might surprise you.

Sometimes I was amazed at how many members user groups had in a certain area, such as Victoria, BC.; and Anchorage, AK that has two UGs. I was also surprised to find many computer users in every port we visited, (but not always a UG), even at one port with just 3400 residents and only 18 miles of road. I heard a universal complaint: the internet is sluggish in the evening when everybody is on it. A connection to the Internet was available by satellite.

I had a new camcorder. Of course it had to break down, so I didn't get all the pictures I wanted, but I did get most of them. Especially of those BIG red King Salmon jumping to spawn.

Enough about that; I could write a book. Here are the deals.

*In review.* The Vertigo "3D words" has expired, but you might call them anyway if you haven't ordered it yet. Call them at 1-888-4-VERTIGO to order. They were good enough to give me a tour of their research and development facilities in Vancouver, BC and hopefully, they will give me another deal one of these days.

The Logicode modems are good until October 31, 1997, so call them at 1-800-735-6442 if you still want to get one. And don't forget about the fantastic Micrografx specials good until Sept. 30, 1997. What a deal those are. 1-800-733-3729 and use your user group name. The "My Software" specials are good until Dec. 31, 1997 so you still have plenty of time. 1-800-325-3508 and give the P9 code.

*Learn from ViaGrafix Corp.* The ViaGrafx discount is back and you can get a 30% discount on all ViaGrafx learning products until Oct. 31, 1997. After that, the discount will drop to 20%.

Their variety of learning products is bigger than ever with many new Office 97 tutorials, Win NT 4.0, CNE certification, Visual Basic 5.0, and many more. Just out from their software division is DesignCAD 97, a very powerful CAD package that can draw just about anything you want, also available at a 30% discount. That's the first I knew they also had software. This company is growing.

For a catalog, call 1-800-842-4723, or to order, call 1-800-233-2332 and use reference code D-2401-7.

*How about a unique mouse pad!* "WebPads" are something that will solve the problem of notepad space on your desktop. Want to jot something down fast, such as when you are on the net. Are you one of those folks like me who is often rummaging through papers for something to write on fast, such as an envelope laying there, and a place to write because your desktop is in disarray? Fear not because I have just the product for you.

WebPad is a nice thick mouse pad with a lift-up lexan cover fastened at the top. You simply lift up the lexan cover and write on the paper tucked beneath it. Your paper sits on a thicker paper so your pen doesn't sink into the foam pad. The pad is approximately 9-1/2" by 7-1/2" and the sheets you place under the lexan cover have six monthly calendars across the top with headings for addresses, notes, appointments and phone numbers under them.

The WebPad MSRP is $8.95, including 25 replacement sheets, but my readers can get them for just $6.95 each + $1.00 shipping. A package of 50 replacement sheets is $4.95 + $1.00 shipping, but I don't know if there is a user group discount on those. Call them at 1-888-216-1090, or write them at MCP, P.O. Box 8649, Rancho Santa Fe, CA., 92067 to order.

These pads are unique and I might suggest they would make a good fund raiser. Ask them about a bulk order for a better price. Who knows, they might give you a deal.

*Want to print what's on your screen?* Lots of people do so here is how you can do it. Just buy a copy of "Print Screen" by JE Software and it will help you do that chore. Print anything you can see on your monitor's screen, except the bugs that accumulate from working into those wee hours. (They are on the outside in case you didn't notice and are not your screensaver). Print all or part of the screen you define.

Features are: Autosave, stretch or squeeze to fit, print in either portrait or landscape, reverse image, and more. Flip, rotate, power zoom - what more could a person ask! What a neat piece of software. Let's you save automatically to a .JPG, .BMP, .PCX or .PNG file.

The street price is already pretty low, but you can buy it for a limit time directly from them for just $25.00, including S&H. Bring your "print screen" key back to life. To order, call them at 1-800-431-1348 and use my deals column as reference.

They sent our user group a copy for review and I had about 40 requests to review it from members, so it has to be popular.

*Almost free scanning software.* I saw this offer in a magazine but you may not read the same magazine. It says free software, the "Scanning OS." Free turns out to be $14.95, but that's not bad for scanning software that will OCR for you. It's the Presto Pagemanager LE.

The description was scant on the page, but they said it will scan text or images and file them for you. The file can then be used in other programs. Your letter can be scanned and turned into a fax and there's more. The $14.95 software is an LE (limited edition) but they said the major difference is in the filing capabilities.

For a better description and to order it at the $14.95 price, call them at 1-800-670-7271. You can download Presto PageManager LE at www.tophat.com/pagemanager if you prefer but I don't know if it's the same.

That should do it for this month. Time to wrap it up. You can contact me at fax 407-382-2781 or dealsguy@aol.com if necessary. I like feedback.

Meet me here next month. Bob "The Cheapskate" Click

ISSAQUAH, Wash. A man was coaxed out of his home by police after he pulled a gun and shot his personal computer, apparently in frustration. “We don’t know if it wouldn’t boot up or what,” Sgt. Keith Moon said Thursday. The computer, in a home office on the second floor of the townhouse, had four bullet holes in the hard drive and one in the monitor. One bullet struck a filing cabinet, while another made it through a wall and into a neighboring unit. No one was hurt.

Police evacuated the complex, contacted the 43-year-old man by telephone and got him to come out. He was taken to a hospital for a mental evaluation.

—The Associated Press

We know how he feels. We’ve met computers we thought of taking out a contract on.

For those who have not had the privilege of reading the full text that is circulating as the "Kurt Vonnegut MIT Speech" I have taken the liberty to reprint it here for you. For those who have seen it, I hope you were not also one of those who believed it. Unfortunately, spotting the real from the hoax is extremely difficult, especially with the Internet making it so easy to publicize something in a way that makes it look like a news story. Another myth that the Internet has recently drudged up again deals with a boy named Craig that had a brain tumor and a wish to receive the most cards. They removed his tumor in 1990. Craig also received his wish that year with more than 16 million cards. The Make-A-Wish Foundation has had to set up a separate phone line just to handle "Craig questions." We just recently went through a period of quieting down virus hoaxes, it seems these things lay quiet for a while, and then someone starts them again.

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. was not this year's commencement speaker at MIT, Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations, had that honor. The speech which Vonnegut was to have made was actually a column written by Chicago Tribune writer, Mary Schmich. It was published in the June 1, 1997 edition of the Tribune. Before you feel bad, if you have been taken in recently by one of these, note that Vonnegut's wife, Jill Krementz reportedly also fell for the email and forwarded it to family and friends.

The following is the content of that supposed speech:

What didn't get reprinted in the hoax was the heading and first paragraph written by Ms. Schmich:

1997 Chicago Tribune Originally published: Sunday, June 1, 1997 Web-posted: Saturday, August 2, 1997 (http://www.chicago.tribune.com/news/current/schmich0601.htm)

Interested in reading about classic legends and myths? Be sure to visit the following for a site dedicated to myths and legends (including "Darwin Awards") and links to other sites. Remember to think twice the next time you receive a chain-type letter or email, or read a far-fetched, astonishing story. Ask yourself,
"Will this be the next legend or is it already one?" http://urbanlegends.tqn.com

"Maybe the Internet is like TV — if people see it there they believe it." — Bob Weide, screenwriter (Mother Night)

"I don't know what the point is except is how gullible people are on the Internet." — Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

"I thought about it and said I didn't think I gave any talk like that, but I wished I had." — Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Road Trips Door to Door is a product distributed by TravRoute Software that can be utilized to plan trips, find addresses and get directions from doorstep to destination. Once information regarding the trip (starting point, ending point, stopovers and trip options) are entered, driving directions are generated. Directions are produced in a narrative format that includes (highway/street name, direction, approximate drive time and distance). A map is also generated that can be expanded or contracted to show more or less detail. The various levels of detail on the map then have multiple zoom levels.

I received my demonstration copy of the software the week of August 4, 1997. On Friday, August 8, 1997, I was planning to take a trip from my home in Shipshewana, Indiana, to my brother's home in Campbellsville, Kentucky. My daughter, my daughter's friend, our neighbor's son and myself were going down to Kentucky for the weekend. My daughter, Julia, and her friend, Sara, are both in the fifth grade. My neighbor's son, Mark, is in the tenth grade. So with visions of having this be part of an education experience combining computer technology (computer generated directions), history (a visit to Abraham Lincoln's birthplace), sports (my brother and Mark love basketball), picnics (snack food was sent by Sara's mom and Mark's mom) and fun, we were off for the weekend.

My first clue that this was going to be an adventure was when the temperature gauge on my car registered hot (in the red), the air conditioner began to blow hot air out of the vents, and I was still looking for the ATM in Ligonier, Indiana. After a brief moment of prayer with thoughtful consideration of each person's safety, we rolled down the windows and continued to press towards our destination following the well documented driving directions. The driving time estimates and mileage statements were very accurate (but then most residents of northern Indiana do not really need a map to get to I-465). In case you were wondering, after a few minutes of having the air conditioner turned off the temperature gauge on the car reflected a normal temperature reading. In fact, we could even use the air conditioner for a few moments at a time before the gauge began to register hot again!

The computer generated direction educational experience was working quite well until we were about an hour away from Louisville, Kentucky. Mark was serving as the direction reader for the trip. We were all watching for road signs. Sara and Julia were continually handing us snacks, including little crackers with squares of cheese and home made chocolate chip cookies (YUM!). To get to the point, we realized that we were in the hills of Kentucky and miles away from any highways listed on our sheet of directions as the sun was setting (about the time that we thought we would be at my brother's house). Eventually (the word eventually does not nearly describe how long this took), we found a place that seemed appropriate to stop and ask for directions. The girls could hardly contained their laughter when a kind, elderly gentleman said in a delightful southern drawl that if we go on a certain highway we will have GOOOOOOOD roads AWLLLLL the way to Campbellsville. We actually did arrive (that same night, even) at my brother's house, and had a wondeful visit with him and his wife. And on the way back to Louisville, Kentucky, we used directions my brothers had scribbled on the back of our church bulletin. In fact, we did not refer to the computer generated directions once!

Even though our "computer generated driving directions learning experience" did not turn out exactly as I had planned, there are many benefits to the software. There is an detailed data available for all areas of the country. The process to "create" a trip is to enter the starting point zip code and then drill down to find the exact location. Then the ending point zip code is entered and the exact destination can be located and highlighted. Stopovers can be specified. Driving options (route preference and driving speeds) can be specified. There was not a location that I looked up by zip code that I could not find. The software leads the user through the process of setting up a trip. Once the starting point and destination are specified, driving directions can be generated.

There were a few things that were somewhat cumbersome with the software product:

1. During the software install process, the unique serial number is requested. With the way the digits of the serial number were recorded on the registration card, it was difficult to determine exactly how the serial number should be entered.

2. Locations are easiest to find when an address with a zip code is available. If a user wants to locate directions to a historic site, for example, without a specific zip code the process is more difficult. An inquiry by state and then city that would list attractions would be helpful. I looked for Trinity Church in Columbia, South Carolina. It is a historic church next to the state capital. Without a zip code, this is accessed by entering "Trinity." Every type of location all across the country that begins with "Trinity" is listed.

3. Driving directions on the main roads seemed clear, however the specifics on the starting point to the main highways and then the main highways to the ending destination should be verified by looking at a road atlas.

4. Proper road names are used in the driving directions. Some of the roads listed around Campbellsville, Kentucky, were not the names that local residents use for the roads or the names listed on the road signs.

5. Turning directions are listed by using north, south, east or west. When it is dark and the driver is confused (this may be from personal experience), an old fashioned left or right is helpful.

6. Getting the appropriate level of detail and correct zoom level to print out on the map seemed awkward. (The online map is easy to use.) An option of printing out a trip package with driving directions and an accompanying map that is about the level of detail shown on an atlas would be a nice feature.

Road Trips Door to Door is an excellent package for getting specific door to door directions. It is really easy-to-use. There are other trip planning products in the Road Trip family of products by TravRoute that offer additional functionality beyond the Door to Door product. For additional information on TravRoute software products, check out the website: www.travroute.com.

I recently received an Email message about getting an evaluation copy of Door to Door from TravRoute. This mapping program also gives road trip directions. Well, I figured that I could give this software a good workout, and then would run some trips for other people to see how they did using the directions without seeing the program.

After I got Door to Door, I ran several trips that I knew by heart. The first trip was from my house in Goshen, to my wife's hometown of Fisher Branch, Manitoba. Well, the map did not include Canada, so the map stopped at the US / Canada border. I thought, "Well, the map does not complete to trip, but will the instructions finish the job?" I was shocked to see that that the instructions completed the trip! Not only did they get me around Winnipeg properly, but the program also used the new highway to Fisher Branch. Score one for Door to Door.

I recently spoke with Don Swift, who was moving his son from West Lafayette, Indiana, to St Paul, Minnesota. He was willing to let me send him a set of maps and directions the night before he left on his trip. Don did not see the program, other than the hardcopy output. When he got back, I asked him how the instructions were for finding a place he did not know. Don's response was the directions were very good. The only problem was an off-ramp that was shown with a street name, given as a distance of .1 miles, or one block. This caused some confusion until they figured out how that the directions included each road segment, no matter how short.

After I had given Don his instructions, I started to play with the custom settings in the program. There are times when I do not want to drive on a toll road, but a multi-lane divided highway that parallels it. An example is using I94 instead of I80/94 to go to Detroit. I can set the kind of road I prefer to use, and I can set the speed limits used to calculate the time on every kind of road. I ran several trips this way and found I could change my routing by changing the settings. Score another one for Door to Door.

It was at this time I when I noticed that Door to Door would route me down one-way streets the wrong way. I thought that it was funny that a program this well written would allow this to happen. Well, by chance, I was talking to a Civil Engineer from the State of Indiana. He told me that cities and counties do not always inform the State that they have made a street one-way. Because they do not know, the State's Department of Transportation cannot update the State's database to reflect the change. The State's database makes up part of the national database of roadways. When companies like TravRoute purchase the national database, the information is missing, so they do not know the road is one-way. I cannot blame the program if the information purchased to make up the database is not correct. It is a minor problem.

At the board meeting, Cindy Oyer needed to know how to get to a customer over in Illinois. She was going early the next morning and needed directions. I got home and waited for Cindy's Email message so I knew where she wanted to go.

I will take you through the program when I made this trip for Cindy. When the program starts, you enter the city name where you are starting. The street address is not required. The software will start from the center of the city. You then enter the destination. If you have the address, you can enter it and it will take you right to the door of the place. You can enter additional stops if you want, which is helpful if you are planning to stop in, say, Chicago while going to St Louis. These extra stops will affect the routing. Cindy did not need any additional stops, so I skipped the option. I selected the quickest option, giving me the fastest routing using major roads. It takes my computer about 5 seconds to figure the route, access the map, mark the route, and display the information on the screen. You see the estimated distance and estimated time of the trip as soon as the calculations are complete. I copied all the information into Word, attached it to an Email message, and sent it to Cindy.

All in all, it took me about 4 minutes to complete the whole process.

I want to discuss the distances used. I have driven the trip from my house to Fisher Branch several times. I know the distance is 1106.4 miles each way for this trip. This includes stops for gas and food. Well, Door to Door is telling me it is 1103 miles between the two doors. Since we never get more than spitting distance off of the highway to get gas and eat, I figure the 3.4 miles is about right for the difference. I also have driven 6 trips that Door to Door figured. I have not been off more by than one mile for distance. Score a third point for Door to Door.

In all, I have figured over 30 trips using the Door to Door program. While it may not know all of the shortcuts around bad traffic intersections, the program is very solid. The off-ramp issue did take me a minute to figure out, but once I knew what it was doing it was not a problem. I own several other mapping / trips programs and have used quite a few more. Door to Door is the best I have used for under $800.00, period. The ability to make custom settings, add additional stops, and to set the speeds I want to drive make the program much better that the others I have used. Score a fourth point for Door to Door.

I will leave you with this information. There is one mapping / trip program that is better than the $50.00 Door to Door Program. The PC Miler program used by trucking companies and other delivery companies to figure routes for the drivers and calculate costs for their customers is a better program. The PC Miler program is considered the best of the best for this purpose. It also costs between $1,200 and $2,000, depending upon the options you select to purchase. One other small point, TravRoute, the company who wrote Door to Door, is a sister company to the company who wrote PC Miler. Are there more questions about how good the Door to Door program is?

Many companies offer little extras that just go above and beyond what is required to sell you their product. ForeFront, a software company whose products include WebSeeker, WebWhacker, and WebPrinter, is one of those companies. The following pieces of information may not seem like much to those who have been using the Internet since its inception, but to newcomers to the Net, they often appear as manna from the heavens.

ForeFront provides free e-mail courses which help "Internet users become more productive." So far they have two courses which are very interesting to those who are not extremely proficient in the covered areas. And who knows, even those 'proficient' persons might learn something new.

Internet Research Course, the first of ForeFront's courses will give you information on:

You can subscribe to this course at: http://www.ffg.com/courses/internetresearch.htm

ForeFront's second course is Offline Browsing. The topics include:

You can subscribe to the Off-line Browsing Course at: http://www.ffg.com/courses/OfflineBrowsing.htm

I am personally enjoying both these courses and hope they will develop others. To watch for future courses from ForeFront check out: http://www.ffg.com/courses/ or subscribe to their newsletter at: http://www.ffg.com/courses/SubscribeNews.htm.

Do you like viewing a page offline every now and then, but don't want to install some "webdownloader" software just for the occasion? However, you then discover, once you reopen the page offline, that it doesn't have any of the graphics or formatting?

Try this trick. Instead of just Save As... Select EDIT. Once the editor is open in 4.0 you can then SAVE to your hard drive and all graphics will come also. In version 3 of Netscape, this is almost automatic; as soon as you select edit, Netscape informs you that it must save the page locally to edit it and asks if you want all the graphics saved, too! Nice.

Anyway, once offline, the page will open in Netscape and look identical, most often, with only a page here and there that doesn't quite save all the stuff. Nevertheless, it's still a good deal.

St. Joseph County Public Library has monthly programs on basic Internet introduction as well as highlighting specific useful techniques, applications, and other special related topics. They are usually 90 minutes with a lecture and an online demonstration. Librarian Michael Stephens is in charge of the Internet training and development for the St. Joseph County Public Library.

All dates, times and topics above are subject to change. For questions about the Internet classes, send e-mail to: m.stephens@gomail.sjcpl.lib.in.us

Main Library 304 South Main St. South Bend, IN Phone: 282-4625

Do you know of a computer related, community event that could be listed in our newsletter? Please submit it to the editor.

Virtual U has announced their Fall 1997 calendar of classes, which is the largest and most eclectic line-up that they have ever offered. There are courses on genealogy, writing, home schooling, Internet Law, communicating in emotionally charged situations, Basic Hebrew, and a long-awaited class on Netscape Communicator for beginners to name a few. Who said the Internet is just for computer nerds!

Virtual U classes have always had global appeal, attracting people from many countries, cultures and walks of life. During the past two years, more than 500,000 people from 128 nations have attended their online classes. This Fall, the VU faculty goes international as well. Eighteen new instructors will be telecommuting to Virtual U classrooms from Denmark, India, Germany, the Philippines, Canada, the United States, and Zaire, Africa!

Fall courses are listed below, with descriptions for each. You can check for last-minute additions and changes at http://www.vu.org/channels.html. Also, be sure to read the Campus Handbook for enrollment instructions and campus policies at http://www.vu.org/handbook.html.

In keeping with their long-standing tradition at the Virtual U, all classes are free and open to the public. Access to the World Wide Web and a desire to learn are the only requirements.

They hope you will have a positive and enjoyable learning experience this Fall at the Virtual U and so does EPCUG.

“So many of us are ‘newbies’ at VU and it would be great to have a place to go for help,” writes Betty, a 73-year-old Net savvy senior from Seattle, Washington. “I don’t ask questions on the classroom bulletin board because I don’t want to look silly!”

Good news, Betty! We have created a “Help Channel” for VU newbies on Channel 2. This area will be under construction for the next few weeks but eventually, students will be able to check here for help on various topics such as upgrading browser software, how to use IRC, and how to find out what time it is around the world (to coordinate study group meetings, etc.) There is a bulletin board where questions can be posted as well as a live chat area where students can get real time answers and practice their IRC skills.

We are now organizing a volunteer team to manage the Help Channel. Familiarity with the “VU experience” and a basic knowledge of HTML are required. If you can devote a few hours a week to this project which will help thousands of future students, e-mail Sara@VU.org

We are also looking for one (or several) VU old-timers who would like to expand the campus “Software Upgrade” page into a valuable resource for students. If you are a fan of free software on the Net and want to help, contact Sara at the above address.

In this 6-week course, instructor Roger M. Moore (not 007) will instruct managers and employees on managing conflict in the work place. Moore, who has 27 years experience forming and managing work groups, will explore practical ways to recognize and manage personality differences, prevent conflicts, and improve creativity and productivity. Class members will learn how to recognize the causes of conflict and manage conflict in group processes. Class starts September 15.

The Internet is a medium where everyone is potentially a publisher for millions of viewers which raises many legal red flags. This class will explore legal issues related to the Internet such as defamation of character, intellectual property rights, and pornography. Nearly every Net surfer and publisher is touched in some way by these issues. Spar Stormo, a practicing attorney in Casper, Wyoming, will also discuss privacy rights, encryption, the legality of spam, and information gathering techniques such as “cookies” during this 5-week course which begins Oct 13.

The ethnic languages, native cultures, and history of South Africa will be explored in this 7-week course. Participants will learn basic vocabulary skills and examine ancient and modern traditions and lifestyles of South Africa. Instructor Jako Olivier is a multi-lingual translator and has published numerous works on the subject. Co-instructor Dries Olivier has been a primary and high school teacher in South Africa for 30 years and holds degrees in history and Afrikaans-Dutch. Class starts Sep 15.

This 8-week course is aimed at ESL (English As A Second Language) students who rely on English to communicate through E-mail, online forums, newsgroups and listservs. Instruction, guidance and an opportunity for practice will be offered. Enrollment is limited and applicants will be screened by the instructor Paolo Rossetti, who has taught English and ESL courses in Canada, Australia, and Thailand for more than a decade. Class starts September 15.

Learn to read the Hebrew alphabet and develop a basic vocabulary of 200 words in this 8-week “World Languages” workshop taught by Motti Pasternak-Hagel, a social worker with degrees in Philosophy and English from Hebrew University of Jerusalem and an M.A. in American Studies and Philosophy from the Wolfgang v. Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany. Starts September 15.

This 12-week class is designed for experienced writers (published or not) seeking to improve their writing and editing skills through structured exercises, interaction, and critical review. Students will take part in writing and editing the “Virtual Spectrum,” the official campus newspaper, and will receive hands-on experience and by-line credit for their contributions. Enrollment is limited and applicants will be screened by the instructor, Bob Faw, who has edited and published various online magazines. Faw holds an M.A. in Interactive Multimedia from California State University and was senior writer and Co-producer/Director for the 16-week television series “Faultline.” Class starts Sep 15. The premiere issue of the “Virtual Spectrum” is due out in mid-October.

This 8-week course was offered last winter to a packed classroom at the Virtual U and proved extremely popular. Dan Glover, a college administrator, professor and motivation expert, will describe a plan of action that participants can follow to achieve their lifelong goals with a positive attitude and the greatest opportunity for success. Course topics include how to develop a “Personal Strategic Plan,” how to become a trend watcher, and turning adversity into opportunity. Class starts September 15.

Become an effective decision maker as you learn to think for yourself. In this 8-week workshop, Dr. Norman Livergood, who holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Yale University and a Ph.D. in artificial intelligence, will teach participants how to distinguish between evidence and mere assertion, how to identify, analyze and counter myths, and how to make effective decisions. Dr. Livergood has taught critical thinking at a number of colleges and universities. Starts September 15.

Communication is so central a part of our lives that a small change of behavior in an area like complaining, message clarification, or anger containment can make a powerful difference in the way we live. In this 8-week course, participants will learn the benefits of “aggressive listening,” conflict resolution and negotiation. Students will also learn how to represent themselves forcefully in tense situations, restrain their own hostile behavior and encourage others to explain what they are thinking so the best course of action can be determined. Instructor Michael Kelemen is a graduate of York University, Toronto, and has taught in the field of personal and professional development since 1979. Class starts Oct 13.

This long-awaited workshop tackles the basics of working with Netscape Communicator 4.0x — how to start the program, open web pages, send and receive e-mail, save and print files, use bookmarks and the history folder, and much more. The class is aimed at beginners, but anyone who is considering or has recently upgraded to Netscape Communicator 4.0x will benefit for this 4-week course. The instructor, Richard Yaneza, is an expert Netscape user and also is Webmaster of the University of the Philippines web site. Starts October 13.

This 8-week course is for the person with absolutely NO experience in HTML or web page design. The goal is to impart a simple working knowledge of HTML tags and the basic steps to build a home page on the World Wide Web. Lead instructor Jean Engel, who holds a degree in Drama/Communications from the University of New Orleans, began her journey on the Web several years ago as a student in an HTML class at the Virtual U. Today, she is an accomplished web designer and graphic artist in New Jersey. The class runs through October 4.

You’ve got a computer on your desktop, a keyboard in front of you, and you’ve found the ON switch. Now what? “PC Basics” will take beginners on an indepth tour of their personal computer. What’s a RAM chip? How does a modem work? What about those weird messages? Instructor Christy McBride is an experienced online instructor and has taught at the Virtual U for several years. She holds a degree in Microcomputer Applications and is on the faculty of a community college. This 8-week program began August 18 and runs through October 11.

A brief and very basic introduction to the Linux operating system and X Windows. The course is designed for those with no knowledge of UNIX, to provide the background for making an informed decision about whether to run Linux and which distribution should be used. Students will not be expected to install or configure Linux during this class. A follow-up course, “Practical Linux Installation and Configuration,” will cover those aspects next month (see below). Instructor Henry White is an expert on the installation and use of Linux operating systems and holds degrees in industrial electronics and computer programming. Class begins Sept. 15.

For those who have successfully completed the companion workshop, “Basic Linux Theory for Beginners” (above), this 2-week intensive workshop continues on to explain how to install and configure the Linux operating system. Instructor Henry White will provide step-by-step instructions to install and configure Linux from any of the various distribution CD-ROMs. Prerequisites: 486 PC (or better) with 16 Mb of RAM, at least 100 Mb of hard disk space and a CD-ROM drive. Class starts October 13 and several lessons will be posted each week.

This workshop will give participants an opportunity to explore the wide world of media from a humanistic perspective. Journalism students will learn how different media are used in very different domestic contexts, and sociology students will gain a more indepth view of how the media can be a powerful force within the social and cultural system of the average person’s daily life. Participants will also explore the question, “What does it mean to use media in education?” Instructor Tem Frank Andersen holds a Master’s degree in communication and qualitative media research. This 5-week class starts October 13.

The goal of this 6-week class is to develop effective strategies for instructing future generations and to build effective schools. The course will examine the face of our 21st century society and tools of distance technology, information age automation, and digital communication. Class members will explore and define what an effective distance education school will need to look and act like in the future. The instructor, Dr. Bruce Alan Niedrauer, is the director of Phinehas College and an adjunct faculty member at Greenwich University. He teaches command and control systems at the U.S. Center for Strategic Leadership. Class starts October 13.

“Urban legends are realistic stories concerning recent events (or alleged events) with an explanation that is either ironic, larger than life, or of an almost supernatural nature,” explains Michael Allen Gates, who has written several books and taught courses on the subject. This fascinating 8-week workshop explores folklore, rumors and hoaxes, and traces the origins of many popular urban legends. Participants will learn how modern-day rumors started, how to recognize urban myths, their dangers, and how to deal with them. Class starts October 13.

Discover a goldmine of home schooling and educational resources on the World Wide Web. Evaluate the pros and cons of home schooling, safeguard your children from harmful influences on the Internet, find valuable educational resources, and learn how to use the Web to save money and time in this 6-week workshop. Instructor Melissa Morgan is co-author of “Homeschool On a Shoestring,” scheduled for release by Harold Shaw Publishers next Spring. Her work appears nationally in Sunday School publications for children and adults — and, of course, she is a homeschool mom! Class starts October 13.

The goal of the class is to help participants get their genealogy and family history on the web. Weekly topics will include HTML basics, how to design a genealogy web page, and how to put one’s family tree online. The class will also discuss where to find genealogy clip art, animated graphics, and audio and video clips; how to create guest books and surname lists, and how to publicize a genealogy web site. Basic knowledge of HTML is required. Instructor Marthe Arends is an author and lecturer with 16 years experience in the field. She is publisher of “Online Pioneers,” a genealogy newsletter. This 8- wk class runs from Aug 18 through Oct 11.

You don’t have to be an advanced Internet user to find out about genealogy in the online world! This introductory class explains how to use Internet tools such as e-mail, Telnet, FTP and search engines to access Usenet newsgroups, online databases, web sites, and various other online resources of interest to genealogists and those who want to learn more about their family roots and history. Veteran genealogists who are new to the Internet will benefit by learning about the many resources available. This 8-week workshop will be taught by Marthe Arends (“Designing A Genealogy Web Page”). Starts October 13.

“You too can make history!” says instructor Susan Chaffin, who has written extensively in the field of genealogy and is currently a staff writer for an online history magazine. Genealogy is one of the hottest topics on the Internet today, and novice and moderately experienced family historians and genealogists who are interested in adding depth, breadth and textural richness to their own or their family’s genealogy can benefit from this 8-week workshop. Class begins September 15.

This course is designed for individuals who wish to create “how to” web sites to enable people with physical handicaps to remain active participants in hobbies and other social activities. Any person who has become disabled and feared that they would have to give up a favorite activity can benefit from this 4-week program. A basic knowledge of HTML and web design is required. Instructor Diana Pederson has a B.A. in social science education, an M.A. in Adult Continuing Education, and an MLIR in Labor and Industrial Relations with an emphasis on training. Starts Oct. 13.

Note from the editor: The July meeting was after the date the newsletter had to be at the printers. Sorry for the delay in the article and keep in mind that this was written just after the meeting, so even tho it may no longer timely it is still interesting.

The nominations for the next group of officers of epcug are to begin at the August meeting. Our current vice-president, Cindy Oyer, will assume the office of president as the bylaws direct. The slate will need members for vice-president, secretary, treasurer, SIG director, program director, membership director, at-large director. For information about the positions or to submit nominations contact Cindy or Brad. The presentation portion of the meeting is scheduled to be Microsoft Office97 by a representative of MapleTronics.

The SIGS are winding down their programs for the time being, leaving only the genealogy group with announced dates on the schedule. Keep an eye on the newsletter calendar for announcements of SIGs resuming meetings. During the break you might consider some of the Internet related presentations at the South Bend Public Library, Main Street building. The times and days are listed elsewhere in the newsletter.

The preparation of the newsletter is made easier by members who submit topic ideas, or even completed articles presenting subjects of interest to them. During the questions portion of the meeting, members brought up the subjects of linking a pair of computers for file sharing, streaming tape backup units, IDE CD-ROM controllers, preparation of common gateway interface routines, the stoned monkey b virus, the loss of RPG training opportunities at IUSB, and difficulties in getting DeLorme Map Atlas to generate a laser print of maps. Each of these could result in an excellent paragraph or two for the newsletter. Don’t be shy about it, the work does not necessarily have to be your own writing, but the author must grant permission for our use.

Jon Slough made an excellent presentation of upgrading existing systems and assembling systems from scratch. During the presentation, he passed samples of the several generations of motherboard designs around so that they would be recognized by members attempting upgrades. By methodically moving from subsystem to subsystem Jon quieted the anxiety of many of those who had been contemplating upgrades of their own systems but delayed the step because it is unfamiliar to them. The material used in the presentation was generously provided by various individuals and organizations and the completed systems were to be donated to the Boys’ and Girls’ Club of Goshen.

A future meeting will continue the subject of upgrades by demonstrating the installation of operating systems and application software.

Windows 95:

I finally made the switch. I had resisted updating from Windows 3.1 because I didn’t feel that my hardware and memory was sufficient. However, I recently found a great price on a hard drive that included 4 Mb of RAM for free. I couldn’t resist. I now have a total of 3 gigabytes of hard drive space and 12 Mb of RAM. I left Windowsÿ3.1 on the C drive, copied everything to the new drive, edited all the ini files to refer to the D drive, and then installed Windows 95 on it. The system boots to a DOS prompt and a menu of bat files which includes choices for Windows 3.1 and Windows 95. So far things have been running smoothly, including the CD-ROM, tape drive, printer and modem. The only program that had to be reinstalled to the Win95 drive was Prodigy.

As far as help goes, I found “Windows 95 Secrets” by Brian Livingston & Davis Straub to be an excellent resource. I like the way Livingston writes; in fact I also have “More Windows 3.1 Secrets” which he wrote. His credentials include writing a column for InfoWorld that addresses Win95 issues. “Windows 95 Secrets” includes a CD ROM that has some interesting programs on it. The price at Staples was relatively reasonable (somewhere in the neighborhood of $33).

There are several .txt files that are plopped onto your drive during the Win95 installation that also contain helpful information. Tips.txt contains a list of keyboard shortcuts (such as Ctrl-Esc to get to the Start Menu) in case you can’t use the mouse. However, I found the best resource to be on the internet at http://www.process.com/win95/. The site contains several pages of tips, tricks, etc. submitted by different users. I’ve already put some of them to good use.

Do you know what a URL is? URL is an acronym for Universal (or Uniform) Resource Locator. It is the address used to locate a specific resource on the internet. A URL beginning with http:// indicates that the site is a World Wide Web resource and can be accessed with a Web browser. Most URLs are case sensitive, and each one contains a domain name. Each computer on the internet must have a unique domain name.

In the USA, the last 3 letters of the domain name indicate a specific type of domain.

http:// is the URL for the Home Page of the Mid-Hudson Regional Computer Center, a part of Ulster County BOCES. http://www.demon.co.uk/circustuff is the address for a site located in England. http://www.vuw.ac.nz/~gthorpe/NZJA is a site in New Zealand.

Domains outside of the USA, generally have a two-letter country identifier.

When experiencing difficulties reaching a site, leave off chunks of the address beginning at the right side of the address. Or just attempt to reach the home page on the first try.

For instance, if there are problems getting to http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/demoweb/url-primer.html, try http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/demoweb/. Or try http://www.Ncsa.uiuc.edu and then take it from there.

When looking for a site when you don’t know the specific address, try http://www.thecompanyname.com

This article was originally printed in the March 1997 issue of microCHIP (micro Computer Happenings In Poughkeepsie), the newletter of the Mid-Hudson Computer User Group. Reprinted with Permission.

First, why do you want to mess around with PKunzip at all? PKunzip is a DOS program and is thus more technical and less user-friendly than Windows-based “unzip” programs such as Winzip.

If, after considering the above, you still wish to learn how to use PKunzip under Windows 3.x, read on. Basically, you need to do five things to unzip .ZIP files with PKunzip and Windows 3.x:

Note: You need only perform the first three actions in the following list ONCE.

1. Download the PKunzip program, pkunzip.exe.
2. Copy pkunzip.exe to your C:\DOS directory (a directory specified in your “path”).
3. ”Associate” pkunzip.exe with all files that end with a .ZIP extension. This will allow you to run the pkunzip program on a .ZIP file just by double clicking on the .ZIP file in the File Manager.
4. Create a new directory for each .ZIP file you wish to unzip and copy the .ZIP file in question into that directory.
5. From the File Manager, go to the directory you created in the previous step and double click on the .ZIP file in question.

1. Download pkunzip.exe, the program that “unzips” (extracts the original files from) .ZIP files. You may also retrieve pkunzip.exe at: http://www.io.com/~bwood/dgn/pkunzip.exe
2. Double click on the File Manager icon in the Main group.
3. Using the File Manager, select the drive and directory into which pkunzip.exe was downloaded. For example, if pkunzip.exe was downloaded to c:\netscape, click on the C: drive and then double click on the netscape directory.
4. Click once on pkunzip.exe to select it. Don’t double click it.
5. Click on File.
6. Click on Copy.
7. Fill in the dialog box with c:\dos and click on OK. (Note: You must copy pkunzip.exe to the c:\dos directory or another directory specified in your DOS “path”.)
8. Still in the File Manager, Click on File.
9. Click on Associate....
10. Click on the Files with Extension: box, delete any text already there, and fill it in with: .zip
11. Click on the Associate With: box, delete any text already there, and fill it in with: c:\dos\pkunzip.exe
12. Click on OK.

    Execute These Commands Each Time You Wish to Unzip a .ZIP File

13. Still in the File Manager, click on File.
14. Click on Create Directory....
15. Fill in the dialog box with the name of the new directory you wish to create and click on OK. For our example, we will create a new directory called: c:\example
16. Click on the drive and directory to which you have downloaded the .ZIP file you wish to unzip. For this example, we will call that file game.zip.
17. Click once on game.zip to select it. DON’T DOUBLE CLICK ON IT!
18. Click on File.
19. Click on Copy.
20. Fill in the dialog box with c:\example and click on OK. This will copy game.zip to its new directory.
21. Click on the C: drive.
22. Click on the example directory.
23. Double click on game.zip to unzip it!

    Windows will “shell” to the DOS prompt. PKunzip will extract the files stored in game.zip. Windows will then return to the File Manager.

24. In the File Manager, click on Window and then Refresh to see the extracted files.

In Windows, you can “associate” a certain file type (files with a particular extension) with a program that runs or opens that kind of file. For example, all .DOC files are normally associated with Microsoft Word. Word makes the association for you when you install it.

If you are running the File Manager and you double click on a file that has an association, the associated program will run and load the file. For example, if you double click on a .DOC file, Word will start and load the file you double clicked on.

If you have the PKunzip program on your computer, you can associate all .ZIP files with the PKunzip program (see my instructions). You only need to do this once.

After that, all you need to do is go into the File Manager and double click on a .ZIP file. PKunzip will run and will “unzip” (decompress) the file and extract the stored files. Since PKunzip is a DOS program, Windows will “shell” to the DOS prompt, PKunzip will extract the files from the .ZIP archive, and then Windows will return from DOS prompt.

Be careful about where the .ZIP file is when you double click it. When you double click on a .ZIP file, the compressed files are extracted into the directory in which the .ZIP file exists. This could be unpleasant if that directory is, say, the C:\WINDOWS directory. All of the extracted files would be placed into the C:\WINDOWS directory and would get mixed up with the (usually) hundreds of files in there. Bummer.

It is best to first make a new directory, copy the .ZIP file into it (again, see my instructions), go into the new directory, and THEN double click on the .ZIP file. This way, the extracted files are all extracted into a directory created just for them - they can’t get mixed up with other files.

Once you have the program files extracted from the .ZIP archive, you can use the Notepad or your favorite word processor to read any documentation that might have accompanied the program. Such documentation is often stored in a text file such as “readme.txt” or “readme.now” or “read.me”.

Also, one of the extracted files should be the actual program you are interested in running (or an installation or setup program). For example, if you downloaded a game about sailing, and there is a file called “sail.exe” among the extracted files, it is probably the program that runs the game. Just double click on it from the File Manager to run the game. Remember, all files that end in .COM, .EXE, and .BAT are programs (in the DOS/Windows world).

The first and foremost order of business at the September meeting will be the election of our 1997-1998 officers. Please try to make it to the meeting and show your support for the candidates of your choice. Also remember, it is not too late to get your name on the slate. If there is a position you would like to fill or assist, be sure to contact Cindy Oyer and let her know.

After completion of the election of officers, the September meeting is slated to be a presentation by The Northern Indiana Independent Living (NIILS). They will be showing how they use computers to help blind or visually disabled people live an independent life. This is everything from large monitors, enlargement of text in books, to speech processors that let a blind person see. Charley Adams will be one of our presenters. If we have time to fill, Jon Slough will do a short demonstration of Door to Door by TravRoute.