in this issue Views From the Top From The Font Upcoming Meeting Topics FROM THE HELPDESK Special Interest Group (SIG) September Board Minutes An Essay - our visit to Washington, DC The tale of the tape (er, disc) Web Potpourri

Our speaker is:
Richard Kinkel,
Photographer and Digital Imaging Specialist
We will also have an open Q&A session to deal with PC problems. Club members, their guests and the public are welcome.

Views From the Top

Richard Kinkel, President

Can you believe it, its fall already and we're talking about the Christmas Party? Time fly's when you're having fun. I don't know what Einstein would think about "time flying" but I hope you get the point. Two things:

1) Have you noticed the recent trend in computing? It's digital photography. The last issue of PC Magazine devoted its cover and almost the entire magazine on digital cameras. No one is talking about computers, it seems, any more. Is that good or bad? I think it's good. Computers are just a tool to achieve an objective. The objective: good pictures, the tool a computer. Just like we use the alphabet to write, we use computers to process our pictures. So when you hear someone saying computers are dead, tell them: as a means yes, but as a tool definitely not.

2) Point one is a round about way of introducing our general meeting program this month. I will give the program on digital cameras. The emphasis will be on the type of digital camera I would like to receive and what camera should I give for Christmas. So bring your shopping list and we will be checking it twice at the next meeting.

One more point, our Christmas party is approaching soon, and everyone agrees that it's a great social event, and a good way to talk with like minded people. So I'm asking for your help. If you plan on going to the Christmas party, please buy your tickets now instead of waiting for the last minute. Its helps tremendously if you buy them now. Thanks.

Go to the PC Club's Website

	From The Font
Keith Wales, Sr. Here it is October already and we are about to lose Daylight Savings Time. Does that mean we will go to Daylight Spending Time, just a thought. But with more darkness after we get home we will probably all be spending more time on our computers and many more of you will have time to write that article for Bytes & Bits that you have wanting to do. As Richard mentioned it is also getting closer to Christmas Party time. Remember it is December 9th at St. Gabriels Catholic Church. We will have the same excellent caterer that we have had in the past. The board will make a final decison on the menu and cost at the October Board Meeting. But make plans now to attend!! I am happy to have an article from Don King in this months newsletter, about his trip to Washington, DC but I am sure as you read it you will join me in telling Don that we are happy he and his lovely wife are all right. Well that is it for this month. See you all at the October Meeting. Editor Bytes & Bits »

	Upcoming Meeting Topics
October What's Hot in Digital Photography Richard Kinkel, Photographer and digital imaging specialist November Jack Lapointe is arranging December Annual Christmas Party

	FROM THE HELPDESK
Bill Barnes, PCCC Upgrade Windows From: L I am interested in purchasing a copy of Windows 98 second addition upgrade.......... From: B Good luck. Your best bet is probably eBay. It looks like they're going for $50-$60. If you have an absolute minimum of 128 MB RAM and a 400 Mhz CPU, think seriously about getting Win2K. It's got all the stability of XP in a cleaner interface. ---- From: L Thank you for the suggestion. How do I install it in place of my current Windows 98 OS? From: B If you're running relatively well, just stick the CD in and it should pick up most of your settings and programs. If you've got significant problems now or are tight for disc space, you may want to consider installing on a new hard disc as they're dirt cheap now. Don't get a 160 GB disc just because it's $99; your computer might have problems if you go over 80 GB (or it may have no problems at all). Remove your old disc and replace it with the new one, boot to the CD and install the new Windows. If you bought an upgrade, you may have to show it your old Windows CD to prove you're entitled. Now reinstall all your programs from their original CDs to the new C: drive. Finally, reconfigure your old drive (if necessary) to run as the second HD and put it back in. You can either copy your data to the new drive or keep the old one as a data only drive. The hardest thing about doing a new install will be getting all the drivers for your on-board hardware, especially if it's a Compaq Presario or a budget no- name. I've had most difficulty identifying and updating the video and sound drivers. Network cards and most modems are not a problem. I've actually given up and bought a new video card to get a rebuilt computer past VGA. An upgrade-in-place should be able to start off with the old drivers and give less trouble there. When you're finished, the first thing you want to do is reinstall and update your antivirus, spyware, and firewall software. Then go to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com and install all the critical updates as there have probably been 50 updates since the CD was published. If you bought Win2K, Service Pack 4 is current. You may also want to check your computer manufacturer's site and see if they have any updates. Microsoft Update Site »

	Special Interest Group (SIG)
Special Interest Group Next week will be our SIG week and we will have several during that week. The schedule is as follows: Office SIG Monday, October 18, 2004, 7:00pm CompUSA, South Boulevard and I-485 The Topic is Macros (Part 2) with Guest speaker Frank Hargrave. Digital Camera SIG Tuesday, October 19, 2004, 7:00pm CompUSA, South Boulevard and I-485 The Topic is Selections Web Design Wednesday, October 20, 2004, 7:00pm CompUSA, South Boulevard and I-485 The Topic is Servers and Code Internet SIG Thursday, October 21, 2004, 7:00pm CompUSA, South Boulevard and I-485 The topic will be posted on PC3 Web Site SIG Calendar »

	September Board Minutes
Pat Rogers, Secretary   IN ATTENDANCE Richard Kinkel President Paul Riess Bill Barnes Bob Carraway Dewey Williams Pat Rogers President Richard Kinkel, called the meeting to order at 5:49PM 1) Richard Kinkel made a motion to approve minutes, Bill Barnes seconded the motion 2) President's Report: Topic for October General Meeting (Digital Camera). Everything you wanted to know about Digital Camera , but were afraid to ask 3) Publicity Report: none 4) Treasury Report: See Below 5) Membership Report: Bill Barnes will make name tags for Board Members, to be use at meetings and SIG's 6) Newsletter Editor Report: Articles needed to be in by 1 October this month. 7) Web Master Report: Dewey states that there are some kinks to be work out with new server SPECIAL INTERST GROUP REPORT 1) Microsoft Office: Sig. Director Bill Barnes, stated topic for Oct. will be presented by Frank Hargrave (Macros)Part 2 (Reminder: Monday (10/18/04) 2) Digital Photography: Sig. Director Richard Kinkel, Topic for October, Selection (Reminder Tuesday (10/19/04) 3) Web Design Sig.: Aug. Topic. Host, Server & codes (Reminder Wednesday 10/20/04) 4) Internet Sig.: Topic for October.Check club website for topic Thursday 10/21/04) OTHER BUSINESS 1) The Board will be discussing how to best spread the SIG's meeting, after meeting with CompUSA for availability of training room. 2) "Patrick Powers of Citrus _Inspired Design offered the club some new logo designs on spec.,which can be seen at the link below. The Board wishes to thank Mr. Powers for his efforts. It was decided that we would stay with our present logo. If any club member after looking at the logo's has a strong opinion that differs, please contact the board at board@pc3.org. 3) Next Executive Board Meeting (Monday 10/25/04) will be at a new location Gus's Sir Beef Restaurant, located at 4101 Monroe Rd. Charlotte, NC (Tel. 704- 377-3210) at 5:30PM 4) Bill Barnes made a motion to adjourn and Paul Reiss seconded September Treasurers Report Beginning Balance...................$2819.83 Current Balance.....................$2870.27 Submitted By Pam Wales Join the Forum! »

	An Essay - our visit to Washington, DC
Don King WarII Staff Sgt. US Marine Corps About six weeks ago we made a conscious decision to use up some of our US Air ways Frequent Flyer Points before something happened to US Airways. I went on line and made reservations to leave Charlotte September 22, 2004.My reason for choosing Washington was selfish. I saw the dedication of the WW II Memorial on TV and just decided I needed to be there and see that. Equipped with my Marine Corps Veteran's cap, we flew out on Wednesday the 2nd as scheduled, and the flight to Reagan National was uneventful. We had reservations at the Hampton in Arlington, Va., about a 20min ride from the airport. Prior to leaving Charlotte, I had purchased two tours, a popular bus tour through all four quadrants of Washington, and a Duck tour of memorials in the Chesapeake basin. On Thursday September 23rd, we took the Metro in to pick up the tour at Union Station. Entering the Metro from the Motel was no problem, because the Hampton provided Vans for transporting guests to the Metro and the Airports. Once in the Metro, it's another matter. Like everything else these days, it's 'do it yourself'. There was a booth with pricelists to each destination, with two fare structures. Rush hour and non-rush hours. We were just two minutes into the non rush period, so we chose the non rush rate, which became a problem later. The huge machine spits out tickets in two languages, and we were fortunate to obtain the English. A very kind gentleman in a booth walked over to help, and he actually inserted my money and we finally obtained two tickets that you stuck in slots at the gate. On the fist try we did not get the arrow right side up and it didn't open, much to the annoyance of the individuals behind us. It is not lonesome on the Metro, and people are constantly around you. Down on the train platform you have to decide which side to get on because it is very easy to get on the wrong train. At the start it was a no brainer because we were at the end of the line, but we asked just to be sure. Generally people wanted to help, probably just to get us out of their way. We were on the yellow line and we preceded ten stops to the red line at Galleria. We transferred to the red line, but this involved a complicated walk across the yellow line. You have to choose the right stairs and read the right signs to accomplish the transfer. Well, we found the red line platform, but then we had to decide which train to ride into the Union station. At this point they had green trains and red trains with different signs. After asking around, we managed to get on the right train into Union Station. This was only two stops, and it seemed like we were in there in a flash. Once in Union station we made our way to the ticket office and picked up our tickets for the two tours purchased ahead of time. There was a long line, and I saw a lady on one side of the open booth, and I told her I had E tickets, and did I need to stand in line. She simple gave us tickets, and we received some glares from the long line of non computer people who would rather wait. E tickets also provided a 15% discount. We proceeded out and boarded a bus immediately, and I was happy they moved out before any of those people in line made it to this bus. We were on the right side of the bus and it seemed like everything of interest was on the left side. So, when I had a chance, I moved to the left side, and if you review my pictures, you will find that everything of interest shifted to the right side. We toured the four quads of Washington and our objective was to get off at the new Indian museum that opened two days before. Our grandson Dan is doing a special study of Indian Culture, and we wanted to visit the gift shop to obtain some books on the subject that might be of value to Dan. This museum is well done. The architecture is simple and fits Indian design in every respect. We passed a tribe on the way in and saw a small portion of an Indian dance. With this being the newest museum, it was crowded and this took extra time, especially in the gift shop. We saw an excellent show that was projected on Indian mats. We saw some Indian art and sculpturing enroot to the movie. We left there hoping to still do the duck ride at 3:30 PM, only to find that the last duck ride had been chartered. We walked back into Union Station and rescheduled our trip for the next day and then decided to find a restroom. We found one in a Bar, and after the restroom break we enjoyed refreshing drinks. We then retraced our steps on the metro, and everything went well until we got back to the red line. We thought we had checked and double checked everything and we got on a green train. A gentleman saw me looking at the map and he asked where we were going and I told him Hamilton. He said we were on the wrong train. We made our way to the door and got off, and then after asking several people for directions, we made our way back to the yellow line. We made it back to Hamilton with no further mistakes, and low, the tickets we had would not open the gates to let us out of the Metro. I thought we might spend the night there. Keep in mind, this was rush hour, and home bound yuppies are in no mood to deal with senior citizens caught short in the Metro. Finally one guy yelled out that we needed to run our tickets thru the ticket machines, which we did. The same kind fellow who assisted us in the morning helped us get the tickets and the money in the right slots. We owed 25 cents on each ticket. After getting off of the train I hauled out the cell 'phone and ordered the shuttle. Before we made it out the shuttle left and we had to call again. After returning to the Hampton, we had a nice dinner at a very nice clean diner next door. The next morning we left a little earlier and purchased rush hour tickets, to avoid any further rejections. The same nice man helped us get going. We proceeded to the yellow red transfer point and found our way to the proper platform. Entering the car Florence was on my left and after the passengers exited, she got on, but I was delayed by a person dropping stuff in front of the door, and he backed into me. I said excuse me, and worked my way around him as he kept shoving me into someone else. I got on the train and sat next to Florence two stops into Union Station. We went to the ticket counter, only to find that we had a 45 minute delay. We saw some marble benches around a planter and sat down. We just sat down and I saw a Starbucks coffee sign and said I thought I needed to get a cup of coffee while waiting and watching the people go by. As I stood up I reached for my bill fold to get out a couple of dollars for drinks, and low and behold, no bill fold. I retraced a few steps and tried to think when it was last used, and that was back in Hamilton. Before going back and retracing our steps, I cancelled the Duck trip. I went to the nearest Metro office near the lobby and made a report to a very patient lady, who helped me recall my steps and stops riding in to Union Station. The incident at the yellow/red connection still didn't dawn on me. We went back to Starbucks, had my coffee. With no Billfold I asked Florence to pay by credit card (visa), which we did and the waiter returned and told us the card was declined. I immediately called Visa by cell 'phone and they told me someone tried to use the card at an ATM but they didn't have the PIN. We had them cancel the card before they tried again. This was the only card we were carrying beside Credit Union debit card that we do not use. I immediately called the Credit Union to alert them about the problem. I think one thing I did right was not to immediately retrace our steps to find the billfold. I had a button on the pocket and couldn't figure how someone could lift it out without feeling it. It happened fast at the door to the train and I'm glad I didn't feel it happen, because they may have been carrying weapons. The rest of Friday, and over half a day Saturday I was making phone calls from the Hampton Inn Hotel. They had a good breakfast and Florence brought me Saturday lunch from the diner because I didn't want to miss any calls. Consider this. In my bill fold was my social security card, and NC puts your social security number on your driver's license. With the help of the credit union, I contacted the three major credit reporting agencies to issue a fraud alert. My license was my ID used for the airport return trip, and Reagan National has probably more security than any other airport. I alerted US Airways in Pittsburg and the Transportation Security folks in Washington. I was advised to bring the police report that I had filed on Friday. I had that faxed to the motel late Friday afternoon. We determined that we would soon run out of cash and we arranged to have the credit union wire transfer funds on Friday afternoon. This was timely because many offices are closed on Saturday. I found out that NC DMV are closed on Saturday. I sent them an Email. Also in the bill fold were my parking ticket at Charlotte Douglas, and my Medicare Medical Card and private insurance cards. About 2:00 pm Saturday, I decided there was nothing further I could do, and we decided to take a cab into the WWII memorial. It was a pretty afternoon, and we also saw the Vietnam memorial. I took about 75 pictures, and we'll share them as time permits. I met and talked to veterans on the same mission. It brought tears to my eyes and it brought back visions of boots sticking out from under blankets of buddies that didn't make it. I also talked to an Air force pilot who flew missions out of Okinawa at the same time I was doing fire control on Marine Corps artillery. We had some nice thoughts about the Memorial. He is a retired Doctor from Indiana. His daughter, also a Doctor, was visiting Washington with him. The trip home was stress filled, but actually went well. The plane was full because of delays on flights to Florida on Saturday. We found the car and armed with my plane ticket, I paid for the storage with no problem, except for the impatient guy behind me. His or her screeching by me added to the stresses of the day. Today we cancelled our Shepherd Center day trip and I used the time getting a drivers license (it took about an hour), a hair cut, gas, and picked up my trousers without a ticket, in alteration. Tomorrow I need to get into replacing Medical Cards, and then we'll see what happens next. The thieves have our cash amounting to $400, but I'm hoping I have covered the bases so they will do only minimum damage. I have insurance and I need to call Liberty Mutual tomorrow. This essay is to remind my friends to be aware of your surroundings, and as I found out, something can happen to you. I thank the good Lord we are still alive, and we have some celebrating to do.

	The tale of the tape (er, disc)
Bill Barnes, PCCC My laptop died on me suddenly. I didn't need any diagnostic tools beyond my ears. It was definitely a hard disc failure. After uttering an oath, I started looking for whom to blame. This is the computer I ordered and waited for so it could come with Windows XP factory installed. I knew that the one-year system warranty had long since expired but I also knew that most hard drives come with an independent, manufacturer 's warranty; traditionally 3 years or more. So, I pulled the hard drive out to see who made it and look up its actual warranty. The first thing I saw stamped on the label was a great big "SEP-01". looked at the newspaper and it said "October 1, 2004." This might require some whining, arguing, or creative reading of the calendar. Hopefully, it would be in my favor that the computer was not actually ordered until November 2001. Also prominently on the drive is "IBM(R) Travelstar(TM), www.ibm.com/harddrive." That website told me that IBM has transferred that product line to Hitachi, click here. That's fine. After finally finding that my model had a 3-year warranty, I wanted to check on my exact drive. I punched every number on the label into their serial number finder and kept getting an "invalid" response. Time to go for human help. I filled out the form for both Dell and Hitachi support. Lo and behold, by Monday afternoon, I had a response from both of them. Dell said: "If you have installed IBM hard drive on Dell system you will require contacting IBM for technical assistance on hard drive." Hitachi said: "If there is a DS/N# on the drive, the warranty would go through Dell." Catch 22. The good news is that a laptop hard drive is not proprietary, is widely available, and easily replaced. The march of technology means my new hard drive is faster and has twice the capacity of the old one. Although I will have to reinstall Windows and all of my programs, I do have the original CDs and there was no irreplaceable data on that computer. The bad news is that I now have one less excuse to replace my 3-year-old laptop with one that maybe has a DVD burner and a 4-hour battery.

	Web Potpourri
Keith Wales, Sr., PCCC Every month or so I get a request via email from some company or individual offering to give a member of our organization a free copy of their Program of the Month if we will review it in Bytes & Bits. I forward these request to the board to see if anyone is interested in trying and writing a review. If their is someone who likes to try out new thngs with all their possible rough edges email me at link below and I will forward to you as well. Send me your favorite sites and you to could be in the spotlight next month. Editor Bytes & Bits »

Support Our Club and Its Members

Club Officers Internet Backup Service

Member's Network Lower Prices on Internet Phone! CompUSA - Hosts our SIGs

Powered by