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Official Newsletter

SouthEastern Michigan

Computer Organization, Inc.

Volume 26 MAY 2001 Number 5

IN THIS ISSUEMEETINGS SCHEDULE............................................................................... 3

PRESIDENT’s Column, by Gary DeNise ................................................... 3

Publisher for Windows, book review, by Jean Blievernicht ................... 3

Big Deals, by Bob (the Cheapskate) Click ................................................ 5

DSL Better Than Cable? Not Always!, by Phyllis Evans ......................... 8

Tim’s Top Tips, by Tim Thomas ................................................................ 9

Is Your Win98 Worn Out? Rod Beam to Rescue, by Rod Beam .......... 13

Cable vs. DSL, What You Need to Know, by Bruce Pechman .............. 14

Trying to See Where the Future Is Headed, by Dennis Stacy ............... 16

Linksys Etherfast 4-Port Cable/DSL Router by Annonymous .............. 21

USB, Unofficially, Could Mean ‘User’s Super Buddy’ by Ken Fermoyle 25

We Get Letters (from Parents), by Steve Bass ...................................... 27

The Need for Speed or Internet Speed(s), by Harold Balmer ............... 29

Board Minutes, by Carol Sanzi, ............................................................... 30

SIG-MAC, Novice-IBM, SIGS IBM, Advanced, Intermediate, ................. 31

DATA BUS Deadline (10th day after meeting); Other Groups Calendar 31, 32

Tax Deductible Donations & Resource Persons ................................... 33

SEMCO CALENDAR OF EVENTS ............................................................ 34

MAP, OAKLAND UNIVERSITY, ROCHESTER ......................................... 35

PHOTOS pages 17–20

DATA BUS Addendumpage 36

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SEMCO OFFICERSPresident Gary DeNise (248) 634-7514Vice President Phil “Vic” Charns (248) 398-4465Secretary Carol Sanzi (810) 739-7256Treasurer Roger Gay (248) 641-7799

NEWSLETTER STAFFEditor Beth Fordyce (248) 626-5105Editorial Assistant: Bob Clyne (810) 387-3101Publisher Phil “Vic” Charns (248) 398-4465Calendar—Other Groups Chair needed

SIG (SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP) CHAIRPERSONSSIG-IBM: CoChairman Tom Callow (248) 642-1920 (9-5)

CoChairman Warner Mach (313) 326-0733SIG-IBM INTERMEDIATE Position OpenSIG-ADVANCED Franz Breidenich (248) 398-3359NOVICE-IBM GROUP Rotating Hosts

APPLE: SIG-MAC: Chrmn Harold Balmer (248) 682-2335

The SouthEastern Michigan Computer Organization, Inc. (SEMCO) is a non-profitgroup dedicated to providing information, education and a forum to computer users(professional and amateur) and other interested individuals. Membership in SEMCO isopen to all individuals 18 years or older. Persons under 18 years may become membersthrough the sponsorship of a parent or guardian. Dues of $30/year include monthlyDATA BUS, access to SEMCO’s Message Service, and free personal ads.

All SEMCO correspondence should be addressed toSEMCO - P.O. Box 707 - Bloomfield Hills, MI 48303-0707

Web site: http://www.semco.orgE-mail: semco@oakland.edu

General information: (voice) answering device in Royal Oak (248) 398-7560

DATA BUS is published monthly by SEMCO as its official newsletter. Mail DATA BUSnewsletter copy to: Editor, 29823 Fernhill Dr., Farmington Hills, MI 48334; 0r e-mailbeth_fordyce@macgroup.org. Editor is responsible for contents and control of theDATA BUS. Materials published herein may be used for non-commercial purposes only,without further permission of SEMCO or the authors, except as noted & including authorand source, i.e. DATA BUS, and issue date. Entire contents copyright © 2001,SouthEastern Michigan Computer Organization, Inc.

SEMCO does not condone in any way the illegal copying of copyrighted computerprograms and will not tolerate such practice at any club function.

Your mailing label and membership cards list the month and year your membershipexpires. A DUES DUE message may appear on the newsletter back cover page twomonths before your subscription expires. Newsletters will not be sent after the month ofexpiration. Back issues may not be available. Renew your membership as early aspossible to avoid missing any newsletters.

This publication was created using Adobe PageMaker 6.5 & Photoshop 5.0, donated by AdobeSystems, Inc. Other Macintosh technology used: Apple LaserWriter Select 360 and Power MacG3; Microsoft Word 5.1; Iomega ZIP Drive; Epson ES600-C Scanner; Visioneer PaperPort Vxscanner, Casio QV-11 & Mavica FD81 digital cameras.

NOTICES, ARTICLESand Other Neat Things

Gary DeNiseSEMCO President

25th Anniversary CelebrationThe sign-in list included thirteen

guests and twenty-two members. Sixtywas a more accurate count.

The meeting was a Twenty-FiveYear History Review of the SEMCO or-ganization from 1976 to 2001. JimRarus, the Main speaker, offered theoriginal sign-in list and other memora-bilia from the first meeting with the aidof a slide projector. National Geo-graphic could not have done better.

Dick Weir, SEMCO’S first presidentand one of our founders took the floor.Dick’s input and views of SEMCO’shistory as well as that of the computerindustry as a whole was greatly appre-ciated.

Warner Mach, a continuous chartermember for twenty-five years, helpedto fill in some of the empty spaces onour journey to 2001.

Richard Jackson, Warner Mach andJim Rarus were presented with CharterMember 25-year awards. Many thanksfor their years of service.

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SEMCO MEETINGSSunday,

MAY 13, 2001Board Meeting 12:00pmGeneral Meeting 1:30pmSIGS IBM/MAC Mtgs1:45pmSocial Period 3:15pmSIG-IBM Novice 3:45pmSIG-IBM Intermediate 3:45pm

SteveYuhasz furnished us with acollection of early Macs and other PCequipment for viewing. There may besome video forthcoming at a later date.Thank you Steve.

The door prizes were the result ofCarol Sanzi’s thoughtfulness and ef-forts. Thanks for the time and effort youextended.

Wednesday (4-12-01) Microsoft BigDay, Hilton Hotel, Novi, MI theSEMCO display was staffed by Phil”Vic” Charns and myself. We handedout numerous past newsletters and theoverall interest appeared “High.” TIMEWILL TELL!Looking forward to the next meeting! √ √ √ √ √

Publisher for Windows,Visual Quickstart Guide

by Gillian HallBook Review

by Jean Blievernicht

I like the Peachpit Press VisualQuickstart Guide books, having read anumber of them. They give valuable in-formation in an understandable format.They’re well organized. They have ex-cellent screen shot type graphics. Theyhave a very good table of contents anda decent index. They cover the mostused features and give good tips. Andthey are reasonably priced. While stand-ing in a bookstore aisle you can easilydecide whether the book will actuallyhelp you. Once you get it home you canfind the answers to your questionsquickly without having to read thewhole book.

Publisher for Windows is no excep-tion. In the introductory chapter you’llfind out that Microsoft Publisher is agood lightweight program for flyers andbrochures, but not really suitable forprint professionals who must outputfiles to imagesetters. If flyers and smallbrochures are what you’ll be doing, pro-ceed with the book. On the plus side,Publisher gives you lots of automatedtools which you will not find in high-end publishing programs since thepeople who use those want full controlover the features they use.

Most people can skip the Basicschapter since it deals with opening theprogram, toolbars, menus, mouse usageand like information common to mostprograms. However, you’ll note thatthere is a catalog list of prepared publi-cation designs organized by Wizard (ex-amples: newsletter, brochures, post-cards, signs, Web sites, letterheads,greeting cards, etc.) Or you can get alist of designs by look rather than func-tion such as a business card, companyletterhead, and company brochure, allof which share the same design. Handy!

Also in the Basics chapter are 2pages depicting and explaining thetoolbar options. I especially like this asI get very frustrated wondering whatsome icon represents. The book asksyou to think about some issues beforeusing the program, and then suggestshow to proceed.

Now that you’re actually into thecreating process, the book explains howto work with pages, objects, rulers, rulerand layout guides, and text frames. Ob-viously you’ll be dealing with a lot oftext, so there are 3 chapters dealing withediting text and formatting charactersand paragraphs.

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Sometimes you’ll have a need towork with tables. This chapter coverscreating a table, selecting cells, enter-ing, formatting, and editing table text,inserting and deleting rows and col-umns, resizing rows and columns,merging cells, and dividing cells diago-nally and more.

Most people want some graphics intheir document. Publisher encouragesthe use of WordArt, pictures, and givesyou the opportunity to draw objects.The book tells you how to include, ma-nipulate, and embellish the artwork.How to use Publisher’s own DesignGallery is a separate chapter.

It’s all nice and well to create a mas-terpiece, but sometimes getting it off thecomputer in the form you want is a frus-trating job. One chapter deals with print-ing and another with creating publica-tions for the Web.

Besides the usual printing instruc-tions, Publisher for Windows coversprinting to odd sized publications, us-ing mail merge, printing envelopes,printing color, using the print trouble-shooter and design checkers, discussestrapping considerations, and how to usethe Pack and Go Wizard (Pack and GoWizard collects all the linked and em-bedded graphics, OLE objects, andTrueType fonts together with the pub-lication file and compresses all of it forefficient transport to another computeror service bureau).

Printing or publishing to the Web isdifferent from regular printing soMicrosoft allows you to create a Webpublication from scratch or to converta print publication for use on the Web.You’ll learn how to use the Web Publi-cation Wizard, add hyperlinks, usegraphics, add sound and video, set abackground, and create a form. How to

convert a print publication has somewarnings you might want to check out.Once you are this far you’ll learn howto set properties for individual Webpages. Finally you’re told how to savea Web publication as a Web site, how topreview it, and how to publish it.

In short, this is a book that does agood job of clearly explaining the mainaspects of a popular program. The priceis a reasonable $17.99.Peachpit Press1249 Eighth StBerkeley, CA 94710800 283-9444√√√√√

DEALS COLUMNfrom the Deals Guy

Greater Orlando Computer UGby Bob “The Cheapskate” Click

I often write about things I don’tlike, but I also don’t hesitate to writeabout something I do like. When look-ing for a CD-RW drive for a new com-puter a friend just assembled for me, Ichose the Iomega CD-RW drive be-cause it was the best deal I saw at thetime and I respected the brand, but I amVERY impressed with Iomega’s techsupport.

I had minor questions and a slipincluded in the package with tech sup-port information urged me to call if Ihad any problems. It was a free call andin spite of heavy traffic, I only waited10 minutes to have three questions an-swered quickly by a very friendly andknowledgeable person. What a niceexperience. They’ll get my business thenext time, even if the product is a bitmore money.

On the other hand, I bought a LinksysRouter with a four-port hub to use fornetworking my computers, and for the

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DSL I’ve just subscribed to. After get-ting the DSL up and running on it, I hadproblems uploading my e-mail and anynew files to my Web page. I ended upusing the old dialup connection for those.Earthlink’s tech support first asked if Ihad a Linksys router (yes) and sug-gested that I should get help updatingmy router’s BIOS from Linksys. Hesaid it is a known problem with Linksysrouters. I called Linksys tech supportand was eventually asked to leave myname after waiting 20 minutes. My re-turn call came from Linksys four dayslater when I wasn’t home. Great! MaybeI’m lucky they even took my call, but onthe other hand, it was a free call to them.But, my router still isn’t working prop-erly and a second call is fruitless so far.Am I expecting too much these days?Still Good

The Pockey drive should still begood this month so call 1-877-7POCKEY (1-877-776-2539) and men-tion “Bob Click.” Also, the LaplinkPCsync deal should still be good thismonth. Call LapLink at 1-800-343-8080and tell them you are an APCUG mem-ber.

Last month, a few people wished Ihad included short descriptions of theMGI products, so I’ll do that now:

PhotoSuite 4.0 certainly makes iteasy to edit, organize, enhance and shareall of your photos. When I say enhance,I really mean it. Dave’s enhancementshad us rolling in the isles at his presen-tation. UG price – $30.00.

VideoWave 4.0, the complete PCand Web video experience. Capture,edit, produce and share your video. Allyou need to create professional-qualityvideos with powerful editing and “spe-cial effects” tools that are easy to use.UG price – $50.00.

PhotoVista 2.0 creates the mostimpressive 360-degree Web Panoramas,something a viewer will “experience”rather than just look at. I was impressedwhen I saw it. UG price – $25.00.

SoftDVD Max 4.0, a DVD playersoftware delivering maximum perfor-mance, total Web integration and supe-rior audio, all with an easy-to-use inter-face. UG price – $20.00.

You may order by US mail if youpay by check, or by fax or mail if youpay with VISA or MasterCard. Pleaseprovide your name, complete mailingaddress, phone number, and e-mail ad-dress. Then list the product(s) orderedand the prices. Total it all up and in-clude your check, or credit card numberwith expiration date and signature. Sendyour order to:

Webworking Services653 North 600 EastSpringville, UT, 84663

Or fax your order (only credit cardorders) to 1-801-489-0609. Don’t missthis great opportunity.

Now let’s get into the deals:Aladdin Closeout Sale (Both Mac

& Windows)I’ve had this posted on my Web

site’s Announcement page because ofthe time frame, but I’m repeating it herebecause that page hasn’t had much traf-fic. Aladdin is having a closeout saleuntil April 30, which means it will beover when you read this. However, Italked to them at the FACUG Confer-ence and they said if an order was notvery late, they would probably honor it,so don’t delay. Here are the items:

The following Aladdin products areon clearance:

IntelliNews 2.0 (Mac) only $4.95MacTicker 1.6.1 (Mac) only $4.95

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Sundial California 2.0 ANDSundial Hawaii 2.0 (Mac). Both only$9.95 – dazzling desktop scenery thatmoves with the time of day.

DragStrip 3.7 (Win) only $9.95 –One click launches applications, files,Web sites and more.

Aladdin FlashBack 1.1 (Win orMac) only $9.95 – Add unlimited undosto all your favorite software.

Private File 2.0 (Win) only $9.95ShrinkWrap 3.5.1 (Mac) only

$19.95I don’t have all the descriptions, so

visit their Web site <http://www.aladdinsys.com>.

How do you take advantage of thesegreat deals?

Go to: <http://www.aladdinsys.com/support/usergroups/> and look for the“UG Clearance Sale Order Form” link.Please download the PDF order formand make as many copies as you need todistribute to your members. Or, you candirect your members straight to this siteto download their own order form. Allorders must be mailed in using thisorder form.

Fund-raisers!! User group officersshould be aware of Aladdin’s 5% rebateprogram to an “affiliate” user groupwhich gets you a 5% rebate for all ofyour member’s purchases. I doubt thisapplies to the closeout items though.Get more information on the Announce-ments page on my Web site, or checkthe Aladdin Web site.Help Yourself To A Little ExtraDiscount

O’Reilly Publishing is offering usa little bit extra off the price of certainbooks until May 13, 2001. Here is whatDenise says:

“In celebration of the 1-year anni-versary of the O’Reilly/Pogue Press

collaboration on the best selling ‘Miss-ing Manual Series,’ O’Reilly would liketo extend a special discount to usergroup members: Order direct fromO’Reilly and receive 25% off all booksin the ‘Missing Manual Series.’ Inparticular, your members might be in-terested in:

Windows Me: The Missing ManualWindows 2000 Pro: The Missing

ManualThis is an extra 5% saving above the

regular UG discount of 20%!Offer expires May 13th, 2001. To

order, call: 800-998-9938 — ask forCustomer Service.

When ordering, be sure to give thecustomer service representative this dis-count code ‘UGMM.’

For product info, go to<www.oreilly.com> (this discount notoffered on orders placed online). Pleasesend this message to your UG members.Thanks, Denise.”An Old Buddy (Software) CapturesYour Screen

Many of you have used “SnagIt” inthe past and liked what it does. I talkedto the “TechSmith” user group coordi-nator recently who offered this discountfor my column. There are many uses forcapturing all or parts of a computerscreen, such as an instructive review ofa product, or detailed instructions.SnagIt does all this with ease and out-puts it as a graphic, text or video file,and will send the information to theprinter, the Clipboard, a file, or as an e-mail attachment from any MAPI en-abled e-mail client. A wizard will helpif necessary. Retail price is $39.95, butthe user group price is $35.95

TechSmith’s “Camtasia” is harderto describe since it does so many tasks.Camtasia’s suite of tools produces a

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video of anything you see on your screenand makes it easy to record, edit andpublish high fidelity videos. Use themfor computer-based training, productdemonstrations, presentations, onlinehelp, tech support solutions, sales dem-onstrations, Web site content and muchmore.

You can move in closer with zoomand pan the capture frame across thescreen for more detail. Use ScreenPadto easily annotate your video with text,arrows and callout boxes. Even “brand”your video with a watermark if you like.Yes, you create standard AVI files orbroadcast your screen live over theInternet.

I’m enjoying my review copy andmay be a bit over-exuberant, so checkthe TechSmith Web site yourself forbetter descriptions. <http://www.techsmith.com> Camtasia nor-mally retails for $145.95, but the usergroup price is $134.95. You can orderthese fine programs by calling the salesdepartment at 1-800-517-3001, or faxto 1-517-333-1888. Mention your usergroup’s name. If you want better sav-ings, order the SnagIt/Camtasia Bundlefor just $152.95. Sorry I don’t havemore room for descriptions.Hey Folks, How’s The Ol Ticker?

If you’re into stocks, this programputs a stock ticker across the top of yourmonitor with only the stocks you wanton the ticker. Joe Issac wrote about thisone in The Computer File, newsletter ofCentral Kentucky Computer Society.

WinStock is a powerful stock ticker,client designed with the serious onlineinvestor in mind. US stocks, Canadianstocks, mutual funds, bonds, marketindex quotes, options, commodities,foreign exchanges and money-marketmutual funds can all be tracked and

monitored by WinStock, Use it free for30 days. If you like it, send the guy $20.No special offer here, I just liked it. See< h t t p : / / c w s . i n t e r n e t . c o m /coolapp.html> to check further and lookin “Previous Coolapps” for it. Full timeDSL or Cable would make this workbest.

That’s it for this month. Meet mehere again next month if your editorpermits. This column is written to makeuser group members aware of specialoffers I have found or arranged, and mycomments should not be interpreted toencourage, or discourage, the purchaseof products, no matter how enthused Imight sound. Bob (The Cheapskate)Click <dealsguy@mindspring.com>.Visit my Web site at <http://www.dealsguy.com> for past columns.Also, I keep adding to my “articles ofinterest” page. √√√√√

DSL Better Than Cable?Not Always!

by Phyllis Evans

The article last month from MikeLanzarotta needs to be taken with agrain of salt. Whether DSL is betterthan a cable modem connection dependson a number of things. Location is aprime factor. DSL is only as good as thephone lines you are using. Those of usin older areas have a definite problemwith phone systems that have beenpatched over and over again.

When Earthlink and Covad tried toset up DSL at our home, the lines fromthe pole to the house were great, as werethe first set of lines coming out of theswitching center. By rights, we shouldhave had no problem. Unfortunately,there was a problem somewhere betweenthe two points. Ma Bell either couldn’tpinpoint the problem or decided it would

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take too much to fix it, so after twomonths of waiting, the service wasfinally cancelled.

At about the same time, Time Warnerwas bringing their RoadRunner serviceto our area. At the appointed time, theirtechnician arrived, modem and newcable in hand. He was happy to learnthat there was already a fast 10/100Ethernet card in my Mac (standardequipment for several years now) andthat I could handle the softwareinstallation. His Macintosh experiencewas very limited. The hardest part of theinstallation was running a new coaxialcable into my office to replace the oldone.

I don’t know what brand of cablemodem Charter uses, but Time Warneruses new, sleek looking MotorolaSurfboard modems which generatealmost no heat. Additionally, they comewith both USB and Ethernet connectors.I set the TCP/IP control panel to connectvia Ethernet, popped their CD into thedrive, then let the software negotiate theconnection. It was great. No fuss, nomuss, and no hassles. And I didn’t haveto install their proprietary software toset up the connection. It used my currentbrowser and e-mail software.

After the tech left, I added a routerbetween the modem and my computer,then transferred the settings from thecomputer to the router using MicrosoftInternet Explorer. As with mostbroadband subscriptions, networks arenot supported unless you paycommercial rates. Fortunately,networking is easy these days. Mydaughter has both her iMac and iBookconnected.

In the time that we’ve beenconnected to the cable system, I’ve onlyseen one brief outage, and that was dueto work to fine-tune the local equipment.

The speed is terrific compared to the45K dialup I was getting. Better yet isthat the connection has never dropped.It’s always there. I couldn’t tell youhow the Time Warner tech support is, asI haven’t had to use it. As for Earthlink,it took me an hour-and-a-half and adropped connection to even cancel myaccount (which is still operating as ofthis date). A friend in Farmington Hillswho has an Earthlink/Covad DSLconnection has been out of commissionfor almost three weeks. Tech support?The first call got him the informationthat there was a three-state problem andthey were working on it. Later callsonly resulted in too long on hold anddropped connections. Web-basedsupport had no knowledge of problemsand suggested — you guessed it — calltech support.

I guess what I’ve been trying to sayis, no one system is always better thananother. Factors such as location, phonecompany, cable company, ISP, allcontribute to a good or bad connection.Most of the time, there is no choice.When you are fortunate enough to havea choice, check with friends andneighbors to see what experiencesthey’ve had. As in the case of the Macvs Windows debate, what’s best dependson your own needs and experience. √ √ √ √ √

Tim’s Top Tipsby Tim Thomas

tim_thomas@cmug.comMouse Droppings

(RAM; Tiff; Force restart; Sherlock;First, do no harm; Natural Disas-ters; All the Rest; Do-it-yourself

Repair; Backups; ContextualMenus; Epson Printers)

More RAM savingsDesktop pictures might be pretty.

But if you are running short of RAM, or

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just want to speed up the startup pro-cess, turn them off.

Desktop pictures is an application,as far as RAM is concerned. Do youreally want to give up a big bite of RAMjust for that picture you probably don’teven notice anymore?

Open the Desktop Pictures controlpanel in OS 8 or 8.1. In later OS ver-sions, open the Appearance controlpanel and click the Desktop tab. Clickthe “Remove Picture” button and closethe control panel.

In OS 8 or 8.1, you can then disablethe Desktop Pictures control panel, forfurther savings. In later versions, it’spart of the Appearance package, andcan’t be disabled.Tiff Jaggies

Got jaggies from a TIFF file, eventhough you set it to a proper dpi (dotsper inch)? Check your background! No,don’t call in the FBI. Just make sure thatfor a TIFF scan, the background color isset to fill with white. If not, you mightget some jaggies no matter what theDPI! (San Diego Mac User GroupMacInTouch 09/99)Force Restarting iMac

If Command/Control/Power doesn’twork, try Command/Shift/Power. Ifthat doesn’t work, try pressing thepower button on the front of the com-puter. And if that doesn’t work, whipout that paper clip.Sherlock

If you use the Internet at all, youhave a great search tool built right intothe Mac OS 8 (or higher). Sherlock is anamazing tool if you give it the rightplug-ins to work with.First, Do No Harm…

I attended a conference hosted byDriveSavers Inc., the data recovery com-pany. John Christopher, a data recovery

engineer for the company, shared sometips about how to proceed once youencounter a damaged drive.

According to Christopher, users tendto cause more problems as they try onething and then another to resurrect theirdrives. His rule of thumb is, “Do noharm.” If you really need that data,especially if you need it badly enoughto consider the significant expense ofsending the drive off to a professionalservice to recover your data, then don’tdo anything that will make the dataeven more difficult or utterly impos-sible to retrieve.

That doesn’t mean you have to throwup your hands and ship off the drive atthe first sign of trouble. You do haveoptions that won’t necessarily do anyadditional damage.

First of all, if you have a good sys-tem of backups, a drive failure becomesa much less traumatic affair. If you havedata that you cannot afford to lose,backups are your best defense. Andbacking up is far less expensive thandata recovery. Remember, there are onlytwo kinds of computer users; those whohave lost data, and those who will.

There are six ways to lose data:1) Hardware Failure, 2) User Error,3) Software/Directory Corruption,4) Computer Virus, 5) Theft or Inten-tional Destruction, 6) Natural Disas-ters.Hardware Failure:

Physical damage is one potentialcause of drive failure. Head crashes,when the heads actually come in con-tact with the platters and gouge outmicroscopic particles, are a commoncause of failure. If your drive beginsmaking unusual noises, noises that youhave never heard it making before, don’tignore it and hope it’ll go away. Drives

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don’t just start making noise and thenquit. They won’t heal themselves.

Immediately begin copying yourdata to a safe place. Don’t waste timewith applications or your System folder.You can always reinstall those from theoriginal discs. Grab your files. And ifyou finish those and the drive is stilloperational, get your preferences fromthe system folder. They could help yourecover more gracefully if you have toreinstall all your software onto anotherdrive.

And the noisy drive? Turn it off assoon as you’ve copied any data filesfrom it that you could. If you didn’tmanage to copy your files from thedrive, you don’t want to do any moredamage to your data by continuing to letit run. Likely it’s suffered terminal dam-age, and data recovery will only beaccomplished by professionals, like thefolks at DriveSavers.

A drive’s life span is measured inMean Time Between Failures (MTBF),and you can find that average in thedrive’s specifications, which may beavailable on the Web site of the manu-facturer. At any rate, all drives will faileventually, and any drive over three orfour years old should be considerednearing old age and a candidate forfailure. To be safe, replace that drive.

I’ve got drives that have been run-ning for over ten years, and I’ve haddrives fail in less than two years. But theMTBF is a good indication of what youshould expect from your drive.Natural Disasters:

Natural disasters, like floods, light-ning, and other acts of god, may leaveyou with damaged equipment, but datarecovery is sometimes possible, if verycostly. DriveSavers can disassemblea drive and remove the platters. It is

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possible for them to recover data fromthe platters, bit by bit, but this isa tedious and extreme method. If youhad a set of backup data stored at alocation away from where the disastertook place, you could save yourselfthe trouble and expense.All the Rest:

User error, software/directory cor-ruption, and computer virus damage areall similar, in that the hardware itselfis seldom damaged, but your data is lostnonetheless. Again, backups couldsave your sanity and allow you to re-cover and get back to work in the leastpossible time. But assuming you don’thave those backups, data recovery isyour only hope.Do-it-yourself Repair:

Fortunately, we have a number ofutilities at our disposal for dealing withthese problems. They all work differ-ently and have different strengths, andalso different weaknesses.

The first utility to use when you de-tect a problem is also a free utility thateach of us already has; Disk First Aid,which is installed in the Utilities folderupon system installation.

Christopher said that Disk First Aidhas the reputation of not doing furtherdamage to an already damaged direc-tory or data. And the most recentversions are much more robust and ca-pable of fixing more problems.

Drive Setup, another free utility sup-plied by Apple, is also a powerful tool touse during data recovery. However, becareful, because if misused, Drive Setupcan make recovery impossible.

The trick to remember is, if yourdrive refuses to mount, start up DriveSetup and see if it can find the drive. Ifthe drive appears in the Drive Setupwindow by its name, and not as an

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unknown device, or some other badsign, you might be able to recover eas-ily.

First, use Drive Setup to force thedrive to mount, then immediately copyyour important data from the drive. Ifthe problem drive is your only drive,start up from a CD or other removabledrive. And of course, save the data tosome other drive than the one youare trying to recover data from.

If you were unsuccessful with DiskFirst Aid or direct copying, you mightwant to try Norton Utilities, but notNorton Disk Doctor. Disk Doctor isa good tool to use for preventive main-tenance, but not for data loss.

In this case you want to use UnErase.No, you needn’t have been using FileSaver in order to use UnErase for datarecovery. With UnErase you can usethe Customized Search function to lo-cate files and save those files to anotherdisk.

But watch out, Norton Utilities hasan Undo option, which takes a snapshotof the drive before any recovery takesplace. The problem is that Norton willallow you to save that Undo file to thevery same drive you are attempting tosave data from. This is a very bad idea.Never allow anything to be written to adrive that has data on it you hopeto recover. You could write over thevery data you want to save.

Alsoft Disk Warrior is also a goodtool to use for data recovery. It hasa more limited array of tools, but thoseit has, work well. Again, be sure to startup from another drive, and don’t writeanything to the disk you are tryingto recover data from.

Disk Warrior is also a good preven-tative maintenance tool. It does a greatjob of rebuilding directories, and comes

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on a CD complete with system foldersfor OS 7.6.1, OS 8.1, and OS 9. It canstart up just about any PPC Mac.Tips for Good Backups:

1) Use tape backups for big disks(want to try backing up six gigs tofloppies?) 2) Make multiple copies ofyour backups if you use Zip or Jazz(these formats tend to be the least reli-able) 3) Take your backups off site.(Your backups won’t do any good ifthey are also damaged in the flood.) 4)CDR is a great archiving tool, but lessuseful for backups.

Oh, and one more thing. Have youever wondered if a SCSI address con-flict (having two or more SCSI devicesset with the same address on the samebus) could cause physical damage toyour drive? The answer is no, hard-ware damage is not likely. However,it is conceivable that the directory datamay be damaged as a result of thisconflict.Contextual Menus:

If you are running Mac OS 8 orhigher, you really should be taking ad-vantage of contextual menus. If youhold down the Control key as you clickan item on the screen (such as an icon,window or some text), a menu appearsdisplaying commands you can apply tothe item. The items contained in themenus change according to the “con-text” of the item selected. The menuchoices are specific to that item. Eachitem has a different context. A folder isdifferent from a file, which is differentfrom an alias, which is different froma window, etc.

Contextual menus work especiallywell for folks who use a programmabletwo-button mouse. You can programthe second button to perform a control-

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click. This way, you don’t have to useboth hands.

Although the built-in options arepretty simple, you can download a boat-load of pretty good additions from anumber of sites. <www.control-click.com/> This site is a great resourcefor contextual menu plug-ins. It’s up-dated regularly with notices of new andupdated releases.

Just drop the new plug-in on yourclosed system folder, and you’ll re-ceive a prompt asking if you want themput where they belong. Uh, yes.

Speaking of contextual menus, oneof the selections I find very useful isthe “Move to Trash” command. I useit in the finder when I have a bunchof windows open sorting files and thetrash can is covered.

Instead of messing about trying toclick on the right window, reposition it,and then select the window I wasin before, then dragging the unwantedfile to the trash, I just control-click onthe file and select “Move to Trash” fromthe contextual popup menu.

But I recently realized that there is akeyboard shortcut that is actually faster.Just highlight the file and press com-mand-delete. The file is instantly movedto the trash.

In fact, one of the best ways toincrease your productivity on the Mac,is to use keyboard shortcuts. Thisreduces the number of times you’llhave to remove your hand from thekeyboard and reach for the mouse.

And if you have Action Menus,part of the Action Utilities suite, whichI highly recommend, you can set yourown keyboard command combinations.You just click on the menu which con-tains the item you want to assign akeyboard equivalent to, slide down to

2

the item and while it is highlighted, typethe keys you want to assign to the com-mand, and presto—it’s done. You caneven change the standard keyboardequivalents if you like.Epson Printer Nozzles Guzzle Dollars

Your Epson printer prints such beau-tiful documents with stunning colorgraphics that you may want to use iteveryday. A good idea, according to thediscussion at a recent EMUG meeting.Daily use keeps the Epson’s ink-jetnozzles clean flowing. And perhapsmonthly, you might find it to your ad-vantage to run the option in the Epsonprint dialog boxes that lets you clean thenozzles.

Unlike the Hewlett-Packard ink-jetprinters, the Epson ink-jet cartridge onlyholds ink. When you buy an HP car-tridge, you buy both ink and a fresh setof nozzles.

With regular routine use, yourEpson keeps clean nozzles. But letink sit on the printhead for some daysand it can corrode, jamming up theprint head. Replacing the print headcan cost about $200. (Eugene MUGMacNews 01/00) √√√√√

Is Your Win98 CD Worn Out?Don’t Fret!

COMPUTERGURU ROD REAM

COMES TO THE RESCUEby Rod Ream

Pasadena IBM Users Group“Hey Rod,” the e-mail started, “have

you any suggestions how to get theoriginal Windows 98 CD replaced?The darn thing no longer will installbecause of an ‘error’ caused by cor-rupted CAB file.”

“I’ve had to reinstall Win98 too manytimes to count in the last year,”

1

the e-mail continued, “and the CD seemsto have a scratch or fault on it. I triedto clean it with a little rubbing alcohol.I would try Old Crow but I have con-sumed all that in the endless struggles(in lieu of pulling my hair out—’causethere ain’t any left anyhow…). Thanks.”

Rod’s reply is the sort of thingyou need to cut out and paste on theside of your monitor. It has vital infor-mation you’ll need if you bump intothe same dilemma.What’s the CD Problem?

The message about corrupted CABfiles can have several meanings; noneof them mean the files are corrupted.* The CD is damaged. Not likely un-less it’s badly scratched, cracked orsomeone wrote on the face with aballpoint pen.* A timing issue. Some CD playersmay be too fast and the data is beingcorrupted as it’s unpacked. You canwork around this in a couple ways:From the DOS prompt type setup /?.You’ll see an option to run Setup with-out using SmartDrive. Turning thisoff prevents file caching for the CDand although considerably slower, mayprovide a more reliable file transfer.Disabling L2 and perhaps even L1caching in the BIOS will slow thingsdown even more.* AntiVirus software running. Turnit off! If you are using McAfee, youmay have to uninstall it to kill it.* An out of balance CD. Just like anew tire. Rotate it 1/4 and put backinto the drive. You’ll hear or feel thevibration if this is the case.The Cab Folder

If the original installation of Win-dows 98 (or any other version of win-dows) was performed by a manufac-turer, you should already have the CAB

3

files on the hard drive. The usual loca-tion would be \windows\options\cabs.If these files exist, you can run setupfrom that folder, either from Windowsor by booting to the command promptand changing to that folder.

If the contents of the CD \WIN98folder are not on the hard drive,I’d certainly want to put them there.Aside from not having to hunt forthe CD at times like this, Windowswill automatically look there wheneverit needs a file and will stop asking youto insert the CD.

The best way to copy the files is toboot to the DOS prompt and then useXCOPY, because it has the ability to“retry” difficult files. In your Windowsfolder, create another folder namedCAB. Copy all the files (not thesubfolders) from the CD from withinthe Win98 folder.Here’s How

Since the normal DOS promptdoesn’t access the CDROM, you’ll haveto either re-enable the CD drivers inboth config.sys and autoexec.bat oruse the W98 boot disk.

Here’s the process if you use theboot disk—C: is assumed to be the drivewhere W98 is installed and we’llassume that the folder named abovedoes not exist: Use the boot disk andselect “with CD support.” Note thedrive letter that’s assigned (I’ll use “E”here) E:DIR WIN98 (This checks to see if theCD is readable) C:CD WINDOWSMD OPTIONSCD OPTIONSMD CABSCD \WINDOWS\COMMANDXCOPY E:\WIN98\*.* C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS\CABS /S /E /V

1

When the file copy process is fin-ished, remove the boot disk and CD,then reboot to the command promptagain. You can then run the SETUPfrom the cabs folder. If you still receive“corrupted” messages, it may be dueto bus mastering and you’ll need toslow the machine down with one ormore of the steps above.Rod Ream is senior tech support forPIBMUG and president of PCConsulting,626/280-6850 RodReam@techie.com. √√√√√

4

Cable vs. DSLWhat You Need To Know

by Bruce Pechmanbigbruce11@hotmail.com

Decisions, DecisionsWhat a conundrum; she loves me she

loves me not, caffeinated ordecaffeinated, paper or plastic, and nowCable or DSL. For many of you, thechoice of DSL may be determined bythe proximity of your residence to yourISP’s telephone junction switch. Therule of thumb is if you live more thanfive miles from your telephonecompany’s junction switch, DSL prob-ably won’t be available to you. Basedupon your address, ISP providers ofyour area will determine the availabil-ity of Cable, DSL, or maybe both. Toget a brief idea of what broadband ser-vices are available in your specific area,I have provided some links at the end ofthis article under the Resources section.I would still recommend checking themajor players in the Atlanta metro areaby consulting the “Personal Technol-ogy” section in the AJC.The Many Flavors of DSL

Let’s get into DSL first. Digital Sub-scriber Line (DSL) is a high-speedInternet connection through the tele-phone line. What many of you might not

know is that there are eight subtly dif-ferent types of DSL permutations. I cre-ated the table below for easy explana-tions:

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Depending on the age of the tele-phone equipment in your home, it mayneed to be updated. Remember whenyou contact various ISPs to inquire aboutthe specific type of DSL for which youare being quoted. Just a little advice—avoid IDSL like the plague. It will costas much as ADSL per month, but willbe a poor performer. ADSL is what youwant in the DSL game and representsthe best value on average (for the record,the “A” in ADSL stands for asymmetri-cal).The ABCs of DSL

DSL utilizes digital technology tosend heaps of compressed data over tra-ditional phone lines. How do they dothat? This little trick involves using spe-cial modems at both ends to encode thedata, and then transmit it over an un-used frequency on the line. On your endyou will need an Ethernet network cardin your PC that in turn is connected toyour DSL modem. Don’t worry if you’reunsure about this, your provider will

1

take care of the whole ball of wax.The Fable of Cable

Despite that I spent more time ex-plaining and sorting out DSL technol-

ogy, don’t overlook the power of Cable.The fact is Cable modem and DSL ser-vices are not only very close competi-tors, but also share similar elements. Youwill need a similar Ethernet networkcard, Cable modem (instead of DSL mo-dem), and a professional to do the ini-tial installation. Cable modems do haveone distinct advantage over DSL in thatCable service is very accessible. If youhave Cable TV, chances are high you cansubscribe to the Cable modem serviceor it will be available in your areashortly. In terms of speed and cost bothDSL and Cable are similar. I use Cableand can tell you first-hand that the speedof downloads is awesome. I download10MB files in one minute (that equatesto downloading a 100MB file in about10 min)! My average download speedis about 100KB to 177KB. By the way,AT&T Broadband took over MediaOneand they are the dominant Cable pro-vider here in the Atlanta area.

5

Wrapping up and Pros and ConsFirst let me state this: whatever ser-

vices you choose make sure you get amoney-back guarantee from the pro-vider. Most will give you a 30-dayMBG. This way you not only protectyourself, but if you are fortunate enoughto have both DSL and Cable serviceavailable, you can sample each then de-cide for yourself. Some providers alsohave minimal standards of speed theywill guarantee; ask about this up-frontor get it in writing. Yes, both are consid-ered “always-on” connections so secu-rity is always an issue. Do these twothings if you are a concerned home user.Obtain a good grade personal softwarefirewall such as ZoneAlarm (Free at

1

<www.zonealarm.com>). Second, dis-able “File & Print Sharing” from yourNetwork control applet. Note that Cableis a shared bandwidth, so in theory youwill receive diminished performanceover time as more users are added toyour node. I find this to be greatly over-exaggerated. In my subdivision, for ex-ample, we have over 500 homes. I did asurvey talking with neighbors over theyear on the prospect of getting Cable.The bottom line is 10 out of 100 wouldwant to shell out the extra $40 to $50per month to receive a broadband con-nection. Remember, unless your com-pany will pay for it, or you are a trueenthusiast, you will probably pass untilthe prices get much lower.

Resources<http://www.speedus.com/UpdateISP3.asp> Broadband availability guide<http://www.zdnet.com/special/isp/simplesearch/> Broadband availability guide <http://www.2wire.com/dsllookup/finddsl.asp> DSL availability guide<http://www.catv.org/index.html> Cable Modem Resources<http://www.speedguide.net/Cable_modems/cable_patches.shtml> Cable/DSLtweaks & patches

Continued on page 28

Trying To See WhereThe Future Is Headed

by Dennis StacyComputer predictions used to be

easy. Time was when you could predictthat processors would get faster, harddrives bigger (even as they gotsmaller), and laptops lighter and behailed as a visionary.

No more. Trying to see where thefuture is headed now is as fruitless astrying to predict where the chad willfall in Florida. Remember thepaperless office? We’re still waitingon that one.

Nevertheless, here are a few, nottoo far out on the l imbprognostications.

You’ll begin having conversationswith your household appliances. I talkto my VCR now, but it doesn’t talkback. Considering what I call it, that’sno surprise. But in the future you’ll beable to voice-activate and instruct yourTV, VCR, and no doubt your ice boxand microwave oven, too. And they’lltalk back. It’l l be a l imitedconversation true, but a conversationnonetheless. After you tell your oven“high heat for two hours,” for example,it might reply, “Hey, dude, this is onlya package of popcorn. Are you sureyou don’t mean two minutes?”

Or you might look yourrefrigerator right in the ice dispenserand ask, “I’m going to the store now,

6

17

5 of SEMCO’s 7 presidents,Gary DeNise, Chuck Moery, Steve Yuhasz, Bob Clyne, and Jim Rarus

SEMCO’s first two presidents,Dick Weir (right) & Jim Rarus

SEMCO 25th Anniversary Cake

Charter members Warner Mach,Jim Rarus & Richard Jackson with

plaques for 25 years of service

Bob Clyne taking a picture withJohn Lodden on the left

18

Steve Yuhasz adjusting video camera

Apple Macintosh Plus (on left) &Apple III with hard drive & monitor

on top (on right)

Apple IIe with an Apple MacintoshPlus on top and door prizes on the

right

Members enjoying the refreshments

Some circuit board from the earlydays of personal computing

An 8” disk drivewith power supply at the rear

19

The refreshment line!

Tom Callow reading door prize ticket

Warner Mach

Tom Callowadjusting

videocamera Vector

computer,S-100 Bus,

& Z-80processor

20

Refreshment line

Linksys Etherfast 4-PortCable/DSL RouterModel # BEFSR41by: Anonymous (so the cablecompany does not charge me extra)

Co: Linksys <www.linksys.com>Price $199System Req: An Ethernet Network In-

terface Card in your computer, Cableor DSL modem, high speed – Broad-band internet connection, the instal-lation sheet from your ISP.

Summary: A hardware device, whichis installed between your computerand the Cable/DSL modem, whichacts as a firewall and allows mul-tiple computers to connect to thesame modem.The Internet is getting more and

more demanding of high-speed accesslike DSL or a Cable Modem. All thosegraphics, moving animations, Flash andRealPlayer movies and Internet Radioare making a 28.8K or slower modemobsolete and pushing even a 56K to thelimit. To really enjoy the Web, youneed speed, and with the prices of highspeed access dropping to almost rea-sonable levels, (around $40/month vs$22/month plus another phone line fordial-up) more and more people aremoving over. A simultaneous event: ascomputers are getting less expensive,people are upgrading and giving theolder box to another family member.Unfortunately, they both usually wantto share the resources (Internet, printer,scanner) at the same time.

A Local Area Network (LAN) is aninexpensive and relatively easy way toconnect and share these resources.

After installing the Ethernet Net-work Interface Card (NIC) or setting upa USB connection, Windows will guide

2

you through the connection protocols.If you connect more than two comput-ers in a “Peer-to-Peer” network, youwill probably be getting an inexpensivedevice called a Hub to create a “Star”network with the connections all goingthrough the hub via a NIC installed ineach one.

Enter the Broadband connectionwith its expensive modem and the fearsof someone on the Internet hacking intoyour always-on connection and you seethe virtue of a router like the LinksysEtherfast 4-Port Cable/DSL Router.While I already own a simple Linksyshub, which I could have used with the$150 Linksys 1-Port Cable/DSL Router,I elected to go with the 4-port model toeliminate one of the ever-growing num-ber of devices on my overcrowded desk.(I also found this model on sale atCompUSA for only $160 so there wasno real price advantage to the less ca-pable unit.) There is also an 8-Port unit,but I considered that overkill for any-thing but a small-office-home-office(SOHO).

In a “normal” LAN, each computerhas a preassigned I/P address and is amember of “Workgroup.” This allowsother computers in the workgroup toshare files, printers, etc. When you goBroadband, like the @Home cable sys-tem in our area, the Cable company-ISP assigns these numbers to the ONEcomputer that must be used to log intothe system. If you want to hook up a

1

second computer, you pay an extramonthly fee for a second I/P address.The seven e-mail addresses you getwith your @home account must all beon the same computer according to thefine print buried in the contract. (It ispossible to avoid the extra expense ifyou figure out how to get around thiswith internet sharing – but the maincomputer must be on.) A Router is anintelligent Hub where you can load theISP supplied information so the outsideworld sees only that device and not yourcomputer. The router can then dynami-cally assign an I/P address to each com-puter as it logs on (similar to a dial-up

connection) so thenetwork set-up is ac-tually easier. Becausethere are no diskdrives in the routerand you can nameyour own Workgroupand don’t have to usethe one supplied bythe ISP. This is veryeffective in mitigat-ing exposure tointernet hackers. Thisbuilt-in Network Ad-dress Translation(NAT) technologyacts as a firewall pro-tecting your internaln e t w o r k .Configurable as aDHCP server, theEtherFast Cable/DSLRouter acts as the only externally recognized Internet deviceon your LAN.

You will need the installation sheetthe company should have given youwith all of those mysterious numbers onit like DSN Server, DSN Name, and

2

Gateways, etc. If you are using Comcast@Home in the South Jersey area, theseare the numbers on the bottom of theInstallation Form. Just follow the easydirections on the Quick installationguide and make all of the connections.You then load your Internet Browser(Netscape or IE 5) and type in the ad-dress of the router in the Address (IE5)or Location (Netscape) bar area. Theaddress is in the instructions and willchange with the manufacturer and modelnumber. After you type the suppliedpassword, a Setup screen will appearlike the one in illustration #1 below.(Note: These are not my real numbers.)

Illustration #1

2

Type in the information carefully orit will not make a connection. I reversedtwo of the numbers initially and even avery patient person at Linksys’s Techsupport could not help me. The RouterName is your DSN Name. I had to add

the Subdomain Address after the DSNName because it is needed in my localarea. (I need it in my e-mail program’sSMTP server name so that was a bighint.) My host name looks somethinglike cx12345-a.adubn1.nj.home.com.You may not need all of this but it couldnot hurt. The Domain Name is @home.The WAN IP Address area gets a checkin the Specify an IP Address and typeyour information. The Subnet Mask isyour Netmask Address. Everything elseis the same name. I selected DisablePPoE and did not fill in a user name orpassword as these are handled by my e-mail program. Click on Apply and closethe browser.

Now right click on Network Neigh-borhood (or My Network Places in WinME) and Select Properties. Highlightyour TCP/IP network card and selectProperties. (Illustration #2)

Make sure the Obtain IP AddressAutomatically is selected (Illustration#3) and click OK all the way back to thedesktop. This allows the router to as-sign the addresses.

After you finish installing the routerand inserting your numbers, you rebootand then click the Start button and se-lect RUN. Type winipcfg and click OK.Click on Release and then Renew All.

Illustration #2

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One final reboot of everything and youare set.

The instructions are clear and docontain most of this information withscreen shots, but I had trouble becauseof the @Home connection. (Anotherbrand router I saw actually contained aspecial @Home appendix in the in-structions.)

I should also mention there are sev-eral other settings like DMZ and Port-Forwarding (useful if you run your ownWeb-server) and filtering (to limitInternet activity from a specific com-puter) but these are features only theadvanced user will use so I will not goover them here.

For those interested in the technicalinformation here it is from the box:Features· Connects to a Broadband Modem

(Cable or DSL) or to An EthernetBackbone

· Equipped with full duplex 4-port10/100 Switch (connection ports for4 computers)

· Expands up to 253 users

Illustration #3

3

· Connects All of Your PCs to theInternet With Only One PurchasedIP Address

· Supports Dynamic and Static IP Ad-dresses

· Supports PPPoE (Point to Point Pro-tocol over Ethernet – used in dial-upand some Broadband systems)

· Creates a Firewall to Protect Your PCsFrom Outside Intruders

· Configurable Through Any Net-worked PC’s Web Browser

· The 100MB speed, speeds up yourgaming and multimedia connections

· Can Act as Either a DHCP (DynamicHost Configuration Protocol) Serveror Client

· Compatible with All Standard Inter-net Applications

· Administrators Can Block SpecificInterior Users Internet Access

· Technical Support - 24 Hours a Day,7 Days a Week

· Full 1-Year WarrantySpecs:

Standards: IEEE 802.3, IEEE 802.3uCertifications: FCC Class B#L2115639Protocol: TCP/IP, RIP1, RIP2,PPTP(VPN)Ports:· 4 10BaseT/100BaseTX RJ-45 Ports· One 10BaseT Broadband WAN Port· One 10BaseT/100BaseTX RJ-45

Uplink PortCabling Type:· 10BaseT: UTP/STP Category 3 or 5· 100BaseTX: UTP/STP Category 5

or Better· Topology: Star

Speed:· WAN Router: 10Mbps (10BaseT

Ethernet)· LAN: 10Mbps (10BaseT Ethernet)

or 100Mbps (100BaseTX FastEthernet)

2

· LEDs: Power, Ready/Test, Linkand Activity for both WAN andLAN port(s)

· Partition and Collision for LANports

Any downside? Yes. You must openthe computer box to install the NIC butthat is easy to do. The only other short-coming is I wish the Router had one ortwo printer ports on it also. (Linksysdoes sell a Printer equivalent whichhooks into the network with two paral-lel printer ports, but that is an additional$150 dollars, so perhaps after the holi-days if I win the lottery.) We testedanother brand, which had one printerport, but while the router worked well,we could not get the printer to install onthe router’s printer port so that unit wasreturned. Why would you want a printerport on the router or the network? I havea Laser and a Color Inkjet printer anduse both according to the job require-ments. Right now, each one is con-nected to its own host computer. (Un-fortunately, most computers only haveone printer port.) To print on the printerattached to the other computer, bothcomputers must be on which is a nui-sance. A print server would be nice.Linksys also offers a wireless networkrouter, which I would love to have so Ididn’t have to string wire upstairs, butagain, I have to win the Lottery first.

The bottom line: it is a convenientway to allow multiple computers toshare the Internet at full speed withoutrequiring the “master” computer to beon. You also get firewall protection andhave the full benefit of a high speed100Mbps LAN with file and print shar-ing. I am very happy with this unit andhave convinced three other people topurchase it. Is that recommendationenough! √√√√√

4

by Ken Fermoyle

Unofficially, USB CouldMean ‘User’s Super Buddy’

Officially, USB stands for “Univer-sal Serial Bus.” Unofficially, I think itcould translate to “User’s Super Buddy”for PC and Mac users. Anybody whotried to install and configure a periph-eral device in the old pre-USB dayslikely will agree. Back then, the chorewas a major one, especially with PCs.

It required a ton of computer savvyand no little amount of luck.

First, you had to figure out whichport to use from a bunch of confusingpossibilities.

Then in most cases, you had to pullthe cover off your computer (alwaysscary, for either Mac or PC) to installan add-in card. For PCs, this often re-quired setting pesky DIP switches.Next came the job of finding and con-figuring an available IRQ, not alwayseasy. Basic system components usedup some IRQs; serial devices alreadyinstalled used up still more.

It was a fun job, yessir! I can recallblowing the better part of a day tryingto install a single new peripheral incomputers ranging from the venerableXT through a variety of X86 machines,even into WinTel systems of the ’90s.(Mac users had it easier but USB hasbeen a boon for them, too.) WindowsPlug’n’Play eased the problem, whenit worked, but it took USB to solve itcompletely.

With USB, a computer automati-cally recognizes the device connectedand installs the appropriate drivers. Itenables computer users to “hot-plug”computer peripherals to their PCs.(“Hot-plugging” means you can plugin and unplug peripherals without

2

having to power down and then rebootyour computer, no small benefit.)

Not that there weren’t difficulties atfirst. I heard many complaints frompeople who tried to install USB portsand devices in the early days of thetechnology. The problems usuallyarose from trying to use USB in hard-ware or software systems that weren’tready for it; i.e., older systems thathadn’t been built with USB compatibil-ity in mind. I do not recall getting anysimilar complaints during the past year.Lack of USB devices was a problem atfirst but now they’re everywhere.

USB offers many more benefits thansimple installation.

First, USB (Version 1.1) cancarry data at up to 12 megabits persecond (Mbps), 100 times faster thanany serial port. This broad categoryincludes digital cameras, modems, key-boards, mice, printers, digital joysticks,some CD-ROM drives, tape and floppydrives, digital scanners and specialtyprinters.

USB’s data rate also accommodatesa whole new generation of peripherals:MPEG-2 video-base products, datagloves, digitizers and computer-tele-phony, expected to be a big growtharea for PCs and Macs. (In addition,USB provides an interface for such busi-ness-oriented technologies as IntegratedServices Digital Network (ISDN) anddigital PBXs.)

The latest version of USB, Version2.0, introduced late in 2000, offerseven faster communication, with band-width up to 400 Mbps. It easily accom-modates high-performance peripherals,such as monitors, video confer-encing cameras, next-generationprinters, and faster storage devices.

5

Happily, USB 2.0 is backward-compat-ible with Version 1.1

Next, one or two USB ports cansupport many peripherals. In theory,up to 127 devices can be “daisy-chained” from a single port. There arepractical limitations, power suppliesamong them, and most of us willnever use anywhere near that number.The ability to plug a USB hub intoa USB port and then connect fouror more peripherals to it is a realconvenience. You can place a hubanywhere on your desktop for easyaccess; no more crawling under thedesk to connect or disconnect a mouse,digital camera or any other USB-com-patible device.

Frosting on the cake comes in theform of an impressive hardware pack-age from Belkin: the USB BusStation.This versatile docking station not onlyserves as a hub that gives you up toseven USB ports. Using optional adapt-ers, it can accommodate many non-USB peripherals. It also offers alaundry list of other features:

• Innovative modular tower withthree slide-out modules that fit into thepalm of your hand.

• Configure your own low-cost uni-versal docking station; choose what-ever module combination is right foryou, whether you are a PC or Mac user.(Compatible with Windows® 95 rev.B, Windows® 98, Windows® 2000,Mac® OS 8.1 or higher)

• 7-port hub (standard configura-tion) connects seven devices to a singleUSB port on your PC.

• Freedom to Connect keyboards,mice, joysticks, speakers and more toa single USB port on your computer.

• 4A (Ampere) power supply pro-vides true 500-mA (milliAmp) power

2

to each port.• Modules available for Ethernet,

SCSI devices, serial, parallel, PS/2and additional USB ports.

• Illuminated green LEDs for easyaccess to port status.

• Supports all high-speed and low-speed USB devices.

• Includes a Belkin Pro Series 3 ft.USB Device cable for a quality connec-tion, lifetime Belkin warranty and USBWizard to make configuration eveneasier.

I’ve been using a BusStation formany months now and find it invalu-able. (Faithful readers know I don’treport on a service or product until it hasproved itself over a reasonable lengthof time and I have become thoroughlyfamiliar with it.) Even before installingit in my main computer, I vowednever to buy another non-USB periph-eral again.

With BusStation, I’ve found it easyto connect some of my older devices,including one of my several scannersand a digital camera with only a serialinterface. This rates as an especiallyvaluable feature for those of us whocan’t afford to replace all of ourcurrently owned peripherals with newUSB products.One caution: The BusStation UserManual clearly states that the 4Apower supply is more than enough tosupply adequate power to all portsin normal configuration. At 500mAper port, the power draw would be 3.5A.Low-power devices such as mice andkeyboards draw only about 100mA.However, adding a 4-port hub as one ofthe modules would overtax theBusStation. In such case, the 4-porthub must have its own 2.1A power

6

supply, supplied with optional 4-porthub modules.

I like the fact that the BusStationincludes built-in “Overcurrent Protec-tion,” which shuts off a port if itdraws too much current, protectingboth the connected device andBusStation from damage.

At the usual price of $79.99, Iconsider this Belkin product a goodvalue. The cost is higher than twostandard 4-port USB hubs, but youget more versatility. The price is com-petitive with multifunction hubs, evenwhen you add in the cost of an adaptermodule or two (adapters range fromabout $50 and up.) and, again youhave greater choice in integrating USBinto your system.Copyright 2001 by Ken Fermoyle. Mr.Fermoyle has written some 2,500 articlesfor publications ranging from Playboy &Popular Science to MacWeek & PC World.Ken’s Korner, a syndicated monthly col-umn, is available free to User Groups andother non-profit or educational organiza-tions. For information or permission toreprint, contact kfermoyle@earthlink.net.√√√√√

We Get LettersDoes this Sound Familiar?

By Steve BassPasadena IBM Users Group

Steve,I just read your column in July’s

PCWorld about printer problems. Youwill probably enjoy this story.

A while back, I got a call at about10:45 pm. It was my mother. She had avery worried tone of voice. “Bob,” shesaid, “we have a problem here. I don’tthink it’s serious but I thought I’d bettercall you.”

My parents are in their 80’s andtheir health is not the best. When I get a

2

call like that at that hour, I start reachingfor the 911 button and my car keys.

Then she said, “It’s this damnprinter.”

Ah, parents...

From: . PIBMUG’s Karl Kasca’sParentsDear PIBMUG,

It is laughable, I guess, but then I amone of the 80-year-old mothers whoseson believes I have the aptitude to as-similate computers, and therein is adivergence of opinion.

Your son unpacks 6 huge boxes ofequipment for you, does his magic stuffin assembling it all, turns on the elec-tricity and says, “Now you have a com-puter.” Never once does he mentionthat the hours of utter frustration onesuffers after he leaves the premises arebound to take their toll on one’s pa-tience and nerves.

So “poor computer-alert neighbors”have to fill in and tell us why the darnthing won’t close when you are inWorks, or writes strange messages inGrey boxes that don’t make sense, orthe abandon one feels the first time youget sick of the whole thing and press allthe buttons. That gets immediate re-sponse, also alerts from the ipo or ipsoor whatever telling you your computerwill be shut off if such and such happensagain, most of it in algebraic language.

At that point you call your son in apanic thinking you are going to be hauledoff in a paddy wagon for some obscurereason.

It is supposed to be very simple, saythe articles I read, and it is if you havebeen to computer school and been usingthe machines for several years. But evenafter one year of practice, loads of books,studying computer books written by a

7

Continued from page 16

is there anything we’re out of or lowon?” To which your Kenmore willreply, “We’re low on milk and out oforange juice altogether. I don’t detectany tomatoes or onions in thevegetable tray, either.”

“Is that all?”“Well, I didn’t want to nag, but the

lettuce has gone bad and the Roquefortexpired two months ago. And whilewe’re at it, do I have to refrigerate thegarlic? Can’t you just keep it outsidein one of those little hanging baskets?”

“You do what I tell you! Now,how are we on Budweiser?”

After a long, pregnant pause, yourepeat your question. “I do not detect

2

any Budweiser, nor do I detect anyforeign imports, which I continue torecommend.”

“(Expletive deleted)!” youexclaim. “That’s the third time thisweek we’ve had this conversation!How many times do I have to tell you:warn me when the Budweiser dropsbelow a six-pack.”

“Yes, master.”Your car will want to chat with

you, too. “Good Monday morning,master. Are we off to your son’s schoolas usual? If so, I should warn you thatthe traffic satellite shows Highway281 backed up from downtown beyondBasse Road. Do you mind if I goHildebrand to McCullough?”

“That’ll be fine. I could use anothercup of coffee, too. Anything else?”

“Wash me.”“Wash yourself!”“You haven’t refilled my water

reservoir, master.”“After school. I need to talk to the

gas pump, anyway.” At the Shamrockstation you pass on gas, but have theself-washing water reservoir filled andthree pounds of pressure added to theleft rear tire. While this is taking place,you ask “What’s up?”

“The Dow is holding steady, theNaz is down three points after AT&Tannounced a fourth-quarter shortfallon earnings,” it replies. “Oil andtransportation stocks look good.”

“That’s what you said last week.Your weather forecast was wrong,too.”

“Sorry, sir. I’m only a machine.”“Tell me about it. What’s the latest

on Mary Higgins?”“She was in here yesterday with a

slightly senior gentleman I didn’t

Bill Gates neophyte, only E-Mail hasbeen comprehensible and Word writesnice letters, but it is still a bit of amystery.

However, I can hunt out health is-sues and some info like that and even getdirections for a road tour, but there Istop. I figure in 20 years I will have thewhole thing solved but then my belovedcomputer will be out of date and I willhave been buried for several years.

I thoroughly agree with Steve Bass’sparents. Life was so much simpler witha good radio broadcast, an interestingbook and a letter written in pen and ink.

Sincerely, Another Parent.Steve Bass is a Contributing Editor withPC World Magazine, frequently writes forForbes ASAP, and is the president of thePasadena IBM Users Group. He oftenwrites with his tongue in his cheek. Writeto him at stevebass@earthlink.net

This article is brought to you by the Edi-torial Committee of the Association ofPersonal Computer User Groups(APCUG), an International organizationto which this user group belongs. √√√√√

8

recognize. She voted Republican inthe election.”

“Really. How could you tell?”“Sir, I may be a machine, but I

know chad when I see i t . Herfloorboards were littered with it.”

After dispensing several otherjuicy tidbits of neighborhood gossip(the Sorensons, it seems, drove up innew, matching His and Her ToyotaSequoias, while the divorce of Samand Sarah Jenkins has finally beenrealized), the gas pump asks if youwould like the latest version of MSInternet Explorer downloaded to yourflash card.

“Thanks,” you demur, “but I didthat on the way to school already. Abit bulky, as usual.” You slip thetransmission into drive and start topull away, when the gas pumpsuddenly shouts out:

“Sir! Aren’t those Firestones?” √√√√√

2

SEMCO’sSpecial Thanks

toKay Johnson

andGary DeNise

for theBeautiful

and Delicious

25th AnniversaryCake

The Need for Speed or

Internet Speed(s)by Harold Balmer

You go on line with your dial up56k modem, connect to the internet andthen surf the Web, looking for informa-tion to finish your report for work. Youwait as pages download, only to findthat this is not the page or informationyou wanted. On to the next page, stillhunting and waiting.

So what options are available for theaverage(?) person. How about a DSLphone line, an ISDN phone line, a CableModem, or a Satellite Connection. Howabout a wireless connection? Of coursethe ultimate connection is a T1 line, butthe cost is much too high for most of us.If we set these options out as for speedfrom slowest to fastest we get: 56Kmodem, ISDN phone line, wireless con-nection, cable modem, DSL phone line,satellite connection and finally T1 line.

The first question is where will I bewhen I want to use this connection.Only wireless connection is portableand can be used at home, at work, out inmy fishing boat, and if you are so in-clined (or ride in a car pool) out on theroad. They claim that you can stay con-nected at up to 70 mph , within theservice area. If you have a home desktop computer and want to use yourwireless connection, a wireless modemis available. The Detroit/Pontiac area iswired for wireless at 128K speeds <http://www.wwc.com>, and you don‘t haveto worry about that pesky squirrel thattries to eat the phone cables causingstatic and bad connections.

But if you never take your computeranywhere, then the other options areavailable. So since all these other meth-ods require special phone lines, cables,or satellite dishes, trying to take them to

9

work will pose special problems. Simi-lar to the guy who developed an electriccar. Drove the car across the country andit only cost him about twenty dollars forelectricity. The expensive item was theextension cord. Extension cords are notan option for most of these items.

Distance from the provider is a majorfactor if service is available. For theISDN line distance is not as much of afactor since they are using two lines backto the phone company, each with a 56Kmodem to make the 128K speed. DSL islimited to about 2 to 3 miles from thephone company wire office (where theswitching takes place). A cable modemis only available where the local cablecompany is hooked to the internet andoffering the services. If you live out inthe country then satellite connectionmay be the only option you have.

In the May-June 2001 of “My Gen-eration” magazine (AARP), there is anarticle by John Quain that tells of hisexperiences of trying DSL service inNew York. Started out great, but thenran into problems with outages and otherstrange problems that seem to be com-mon across the nation. Finally went toTime Warner cable and even though itis slower it is better for him. His finalnote in the article is that Road Runner(cable modem software) keeps track ofyour surfing habits and shares the infor-mation with other companies.

The rooms in the Science Buildingat Oakland University are wired with aT1 line. But at home or at work, you areon your own. I will be demonstratingthis wireless communication in the nearfuture at a meeting. I will use both myApple G3 Powerbook and my HewlettPackard portable for the demonstration.The modem I will be using is a wirelessusing the PCMCIA slot on each com-puter. √√√√√

3

BOARD MEETING4/8/01

Carol Sanzi

Board Members Present: PresidentGary DeNise, Treasurer Roger Gay,Secretary Carol Sanzi, SIG-AdvancedChairman Franz Breidenich, SIG-IBMCo-Chairman Tom Callow, and SIG-MAC Chairman Harold Balmer. Alsoattending were Past President BobClyne and SIG-IBM Co-ChairmanWarner Mach. The meeting was calledto order at 12:05 PM.OLD BUSINESS: After a review of theApplication for Recognition of Exemp-tion Under Section 501(c)(3) of the In-ternal Revenue Code, Roger Gaymoved to authorize filing the applica-tion and paying the $150 fee for pro-cessing. Carol Sanzi seconded the mo-tion and it was carried.

Tom Callow moved to reimburseWarner Mach $13.06 for refreshmentsand Gary DeNise $44.45 for trophies.Franz Breidenich seconded the motionand it was carried.

Treasurer Roger Gay reported thatthe balance on hand is $2866.66. Themembership is now 123 with Edward V.Dolikian and Henry Langberg’s mem-berships expiring. Roger Gay mailed 239invitations for SEMCO’s Anniversarymeeting to former members. 27 of thosewere returned with invalid addresses.NEW BUSINESS: Gary DeNise an-nounced that he has obtained a table toadvertise SEMCO at Microsoft’s BigDay, “Solutions for Small Business.” Itwill be held on April 12 at the NoviHilton. Volunteers will be requested atthe general meeting.

In the absence of Beth Fordyce, BobClyne agreed to edit next month’sDATA BUS.

The meeting adjourned at 12:34 PM.

0

31

May 2001 DATA BUS DEADLINE (10th day after meeting)SEMCO & SIG DATA, & MEMBERS’ ADS - Deadline: Wed, May 23, 11:59pmMembers’ personal ads free. To mail, use Editor address on Page 2; e-mail addressbeth_fordyce@macgroup.org PLEASE send to arrive sooner than deadline if possible.BUSINESS ADS - Deadline: Second Friday monthly. Mail unfolded camera-readycopy; payment in full made out to SEMCO, to the Editor (address Pg 2).

Ad Rates and RulesFull pages are 5-1/2" wide x 8-1/2" tall; Make allowance for 1/2"margins;Halftones to be screened at 85 dpi; Offset press used; No agent pricing;

Full-page/1-issue=$30;Full-page/6-issue=$150;Full-page/12-issue=$240Half-page/1-issue=$20;Half-page/6-issue=$100;Half-page/12-issue=$160

Qrtr-page/1-issue=$15;Qrtr-page/6-issue=$75; Qrtr-page/12-

May 7, Monday: Meetings held firstMonday 6:45pm at Troy Public Library.TOPIC: Wide ranging discussion ofcomputers & computing. √√√√√

May 13: A Spectacular Computer Tourof the Universe presented by BillAgnew. Joint meeting with SIG-MAC.√√√√√

May 13: The Future of Windows: Co-Chairman Tom Callow will discussWindows XP, the upcoming versions ofWindows which will finally replaceWindows 95, 98 and ME, and providehome and professional versions of Win-dows based on the reliable WindowsNT/2000 code base. √√√√√

SIG-MACHarold Balmer

May 13: A Spectacular Computer Tourof the Universe presented by BillAgnew. Joint meeting with SIG-IBM.√√√√√

May 13: Q&A, member directed dis-cussion. √√√√√

NOVICE-IBM GROUPRotating Volunteer Hosts

SIG-IBMTom Callow

Warner Mach

SIG-IBM INTERMEDIATEPosition open?

SIG-ADVANCEDFranz Breidenich

SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS (SIGs)

32

CALENDAR-OF-EVENTSOTHER GROUPS

Beth Fordycebeth_fordyce@macgroup.org

(to post monthly computer group info)

AAIICI (Amer. Ass’n. of Ind. Investors, Computerized Invstrs), May 26 - Saturday, 10am-Noon (Meet 4th Saturday) (not December); W. Bloomfield HuntingtonBank, Orchard Lk Rd., S.of Maple Rd. Info: Jack Lockman at 313-341-8855 or thunder@tir.comCOMP (Computer Operators of Marysville/Port Huron) May 2 - Wednesday, 7pm (Next Jun 6)(Meet 1st Wednesday): Rm 201, Clara E. McKenzieLibrary-Science bldg, 323 Erie St, Port Huron. Ron Walters, 810-679-4144. Web: http://dns.advnet.net/comp/ TOPIC: The Family Tree MakerDCOM Computer Club May 11 - Friday 6:30 - 8:30 pm (Meet 2nd Friday); Henry Ford C.C., Patterson Tech Bldg, FordRd/Evergreen, Rm T143, Parking Lot C. Info: Doug Piazza 313/582-2602Delta Computer Club May 31 - Thursday, 7pm (Meet last Thursday) (not Nov/Dec); Bay de Noc C. C., Escanaba. Info:Gordon Nelson, Pres & Editor at gnelson@bresnanlink.net or 906/428-1014.GDOUG (Greater Detroit OS/2 Users Grp) May 10 - Thursday, 6:30pm (Meet 2nd Thursday) (not July); Stardock Systems, Farmington Rd,N. of 6-Mile, Livonia; Info: Carolyn Kolaz, Pres at 76460.3040@CompuServe.COM. Map on Web:<lookinc.com/gdoug>.MacGroup Detroit May 20 - Sunday, 3pm-5pm (Meet 3rd Sunday); Southfield Civic Center, 26000 Evergreen Rd.,Room 221. Info: Terry White, terry@macgroup.org or 313-571-9817. Web: www.macgroup.orgTOPIC: "Makin' DVDs"MacTechnics, (MAC user Group), Coffee 9am, SIGs 9:30am, Main meeting 11am. May 19 - Saturday, 9am-1pm (Meet 3rd Saturday); U of M, No. campus, EECS Bldg. & DowBldg. (see map on Web: mactechnics.org). Info: Cassie at cassiemac@yahoo.com or 313-971-8743.MCUG (Michigan Computer Users Grp) May 17 - Thursday, 7pm (Meet 3rd Thursday); 35271 Rockingham Dr, Sterling Hts., MI 48310-4917; Info: Jerry Zinger, Pres. kahunazing@netscape.net 810-792-3394.Michigan Apple Computer User Grp May 10 - Thu 7pm (Meet 2nd Thu) MAC: Troy Library, I-75 at Big Beaver; May 16 - Wed 7pm(Meet 3rd Wed) IIGS, Apple II/Apple-Works, Parent/Teachers Ed, PC, Internet: St Bede School, 12& Southfield; May 17 Thu 7:30pm (Meet 3rd Thu) MAC Media Arts, Programmers: St. Bede.Info: Carl Pendracki 248/647-8871 or carlpen@aol.com. Web: <http://www.michiganapple.com>.SHCC (Sterling Hts Computer Club) May 1 - Tuesday, (Next: Jun 5) 7:30pm (Meet 1st Tuesday: not July/Aug); Carpathia Club, 38000Utica Rd, Sterling Hts, Pres. Don VanSyckel at Don@VanSyckel.net, 810/731-9232 ; Web:<member.apcug.org/shcc>.SVCA (Saginaw Valley Computer Assoc.) May 10 - Thursday, 6:39-9om (Meet 2nd Thursday); Saginaw. Info: Kay Engelhart programchairperson at kengelhart@hotmail.com.Wayne State U. Mac User Grp May 12 - Saturday 10am-Noon (Meet 2nd Saturday); at Mich.com, 21042 Laurelwood, Frmgtn.Info: Lorn/JoAnn Olsen 248/478-4300 or Denny MeLampy 248/477-0190, denny@mich.comTOPIC: Questions, Shortcuts, Tips and The Internet.

33

COMPUTER RESOURCE PEOPLEThis is a list of members willing to be resources for

other members to call when they have hardware or soft-ware questions. Are you willing to help members learn?Which software programs are you familiar enough with?

It is not necessary to be an expert, but just have somefamiliarity with the program and be willing to help someone

starting to learn it. Please give this some thought andvolunteer at the next group meeting.

AutoCAD: Comptois, GayGenealogy: CookIBM PC Hardware Issues: Clyne, Gay, Grupido, YuhaszIBM Windows Operating Systems: Clyne, Grupido, YuhaszInternet (browsers and mail): GrupidoLotus 98: DillerMAC Hardware and OS Issues: YuhaszM.S. Powerpoint: DillerM.S. Word: Clyne, Diller, GrupidoNovell Netware: Grupido, YuhaszQuicken: Clyne, Gay

APRILREFRESHMENT

DONATIONS

Warner Mach, CoordinatorGary DeNiseBert Farmilo

Kaye JohnsonBetty MacKenzieAnita MacSorley

Roland MakiChuck MoeryAllan PoulinCarol SanziDawn Sanzi

TAX DEDUCTIBLEDONATIONS

SEMCO MembersHelping the Community

Art Laramie is acceptingcomputers, computer components, manuals

and software for theRochester Hills Lions Club

program that supplies computersto disabled people.

Contact Art at 248-398-7191

Beth Fordyce is acceptingMacintosh computers, components,peripherals, manuals and software

(working or broken) forImmaculate Heart of Mary SchoolPreK–8th grade, 175-200 students

for computer science classes.Contact Beth

248-626-5105 7pm–10pm orbeth_fordyce@macgroup.org

You may also contact the church directly:Maurice Roberts or

Sister Mary Stephanie Holub19940 Mansfield

(Greenfield/8-Mile area, Detroit)313/835-0258

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

If you want to use your donation as a taxdeduction, make an itemized list (with one

copy for yourself) of items you donate, and attachit to your donation. Include on the

list the full name or description of eachitem, and the cost of its fair market value.

Also make sure your full name, address andphone number are on it. The donatee will see that

you receive a receipt. (Be advisedthat no one will make these lists for you.)

Your SEMCO membershipcard is good for a $1 discount (not

valid with any other offer) onadmission to

Super Computer Salesshows. See

www.a1-supercomputersales.comor www.a1scs.com for show schedule.

Clyne, Bob—810/387-3101. 9a-10pComptois, Jerry—248/651-2504, anytimeCook, Steven—313/272-7594 evesJohn Diller—248/540-4382, evesGay, Roger—248/641-7799, 9am-10pmGrupido, Larry—810/664-1777 Ext 151Yuhasz, Steve—734/953-3794 eves

34

SOUTHEASTERN MICHIGAN

COMPUTER ORGANIZATION, INC.

SEMCO CALENDAR—MAY 2001SCIENCE BUILDING, OAKLAND UNIVERSITY in ROCHESTER

May 13 - SUNDAY (Meet 2nd Sunday)SEMCO Board Meeting at 12:00 pm, Room 172. For Officers and SIGChairpersons. Other members are invited to attend.SEMCO General Meeting at 1:30 pm, Room172.

Special Interest Groups (SIGs)SIG-IBM 1:45 pm, Room 172. Pgm: A Spectacular Computer Tour of the

Universe presented by Bill Agnew. Joint meeting with SIG-MAC.

SOCIAL PERIOD, 3:15 pm, Room 164. Refreshments! (Reminder: Wemust maintain a neat environment.)

NOVICE-IBM GROUP, 3:45 pm, Room 164. Pgm: Q&A, member directeddiscussion.

SIG-IBM INTERMEDIATE, 3:45 pm, Room 172. Pgm: The Future ofWindows: Co-Chairman Tom Callow will discuss Windows XP, the upcomingversions of Windows which will finally replace Windows 95, 98 and ME, andprovide home and professional versions of Windows based on the reliable WindowsNT/2000 code base.

SIG-MAC (All Apple Macintosh products), 1:45 pm, Room172. Pgm: ASpectacular Computer Tour of the Universe presented by Bill Agnew. Joint meetingwith SIG-IBM.

SIG-ADVANCEDMay 7 - Monday, (Next: Jun 4) 6:45 pm (Meet 1st Monday), Troy PublicLibrary, 510 W. Big Beaver Rd in Troy, at I-75 exit. See the sign in the lobbyfor room assignment. Info: Franz Breidenich 248/398-3359. TOPIC: Wideranging discussion of computers & computing.

SEMCOJUNE 10, 2001 - SUNDAY (Meet 2nd Sunday). Topics to be announced.

PUBLIC INVITED(Please copy this and the next page to post on your bulletin board)

35

INTERSTATEMICHIGAN

75

SEB

PL

Driv

e

University Drive

Lonedale Road

Libr

ary

Dri

ve

City ofAuburn

HillsWalton Boulevard

Meadow Brook Road

Ravine

Drive

Varner Drive

Wilson Blvd.

West Campus

Wes

tO

akla

nd D

r.

Eas

t O

akla

nd

ToCity ofPontiac

3 Miles

Squ

irre

l Roa

d

Pioneer Drive

Pioneer Drive

DHE

KL

38

Exit #79

HHS

Mea

dow

Bro

ok R

oad

PSS

28635 Southfield RoadLathrup Village, Michigan 48076

(248) 559-2230Fax: (248) 559-8510

N

S

MAIN CAMPUS of OAKLAND UNIVERSITY

The meetings at Oakland Universityare sponsored by OU’s Academic Computer Services(ACS), and the student chapter of the Association of

Computer Machinery (ACM).SEMCO thanks OU, ACS & ACM for their assistance.

Member of

MAP LEGENDSEB Science and Engineering BuildingDHE Dodge Hall of EngineeringKL Kresge Library

Note: SEMCO meetings are in the Science (west) wing of the Science and EngineeringBuilding, hence the “Science Building”

DIRECTIONSDriving north on I-75 (from Detroit and suburbs), take Exit 79 (University Drive), stay tothe right on University Drive to campus entrance. Turn right (south) on Squirrel Road (attraffic light which is just outside campus), turn left on Pioneer Drive (next street to left).Turn left off Pioneer Drive onto Library Drive (second left) toward Kresge Library. Turnleft before you get to the buildings, into parking lot 38 on the left. Proceed to the far endof the parking lot and up to the next lot. After parking, enter the first set of glass doors(at the SE corner of the building).

36

DATA BUS ADDENDUMTHESE ARTICLES DID NOT APPEAR IN THE PRINTED

DATA BUS

The Beginnings of Computing, by Major Keary ........................ 37

Entangled Photons, from Jet Propulsion Laboratory ............... 41

The Beginnings of Computingby Major Keary

From time to time discussion arisesabout the first computer, who deservescredit for what, and the watershed be-tween analog and digital computers.

The word, compute, is a verb thatmeans reckon a number or amount, de-termine by calculation. Devices to dothat have been around for over fourthousand years.

Not as ubiquitous as it once was,the abacus dates back to 2200 B.C. andis still used. In the early 1950s TimeMagazine carried stories of annual com-petitions between human-with-abacusand the latest calculating machinery ofthe day; the abacus won hands downeach time.

Mechanical calculating machineswere invented in Europe during the 17thcentury. In Germany WilhelmSchickard invented a mechanical devicec.1623; then followed Pascal’s addingmachine. There seems to be some vari-ance in the details; one source (Fuori,Introduction to the Computer 3rd edn.,Prentice Hall, 1983) says it was built in1647 and known as the MachineArithmetique and its design, using geardriven counter-wheels, was used for thenext three centuries. Elsewhere his ma-chine is said to have been known as ThePascaline and built in 1642. It was re-stricted to addition and subtraction, butcould handle eight columns of digits.Some twenty-five years later (1673)Leibniz constructed a more powerfulmachine with the capacity to multiply,divide, and derive square roots. It wasnot until 1820 that a machine was manu-factured in commercial quantity; it wasthe arithmometer, the work of Charlesde Colmar.

3

Enter the Punched Card/Tape EraThe binary era goes back along

way. Remember, binary arithmetic in-volves two digits, zero and one, and isnot reliant on computers for its exist-ence. The concept existed in China asearly as 800 B.C.

Apart from the early appearance ofa binary system in China, punched cardsand punched tape have a long historyin the West. The punched hole systempresents one of two states: hole, or no-hole. Its use dates back to 1725 whenBasile Bouchon invented a weavingloom that used punched paper tape tocontrol the pattern. The paper tape waslater (1728) replaced by rectangularperforated cards. In 1745 Jacques deVaucanson made substantial improve-ments to the design, but the most sig-nificant advance was achieved by Jo-seph-Marie Jacquard.

Commissioned to further developthe Vaucanson machine, in 1801, jac-quard exhibited what became known asthe jacquard loom. On his machine thecards were made of metal and con-nected in an endless belt. TheSmithsonian Institution’s computer ex-hibit includes a family tree of comput-ers that shows the jacquard loom as theprincipal seminal invention.

Charles Babbage used the punchedcard concept (known as Jacquardcards) in the Analytical Engine, whichwas the successor to his Difference En-gine. The Analytical Engine was de-signed to be programmed; as matter ofinterest, Ada Augusta Byron (daughterof Lord Byron and a mathematician)collaborated with Babbage and is cred-ited with being the world’s first pro-grammer. Her name was later given tothe ADA programming language. It wasAda’s efforts that preserved Babbage’s

7

work, leading to the eventual (1960s)construction of a working model of theAnalytical Machine by IBM. The workwas done from Babbage’s originaldrawings and the machine was foundcapable of being used with then (1960s)modern programming techniques.

None of Babbage’s machines wereever made operational in his lifetime,but a working Difference Engine wasconstructed by a Swede, whose workwas later copied and put to use by theBritish government to calculate life in-surance tables (Fuori). FollowingBabbage were some notable designersof so-called analytical machines:Ludgate, Torres y Quevedo, andCouffignal.The Hollerith Machine

It is generally accepted thatHerman Hollerith, a statistician, em-ployed the jacquard card concept whenhe invented his system for the 1890 U.S.census. What is not generally known isthat the machine did not compute orcalculate, but simply recorded non-nu-merical data (gender, marital status, andso on). However, what he did introducewas what we know as database recordsand fields. In 1896 he established theTabulating Machine Company to applyhis punched card method to statisticaland accounting applications. The com-pany later (1911) became the Comput-ing-Tabulating-Recording Company,and in 1924 changed its name to Inter-national Business Machines Corpora-tion.

Hollerith Tabulating Machineswere manufactured in the UK by theBritish Tabulating Machine Company,which suggests that IBM had kept acompany with the original name (Tabu-lating Machine Company) in the UK to

3

protect its use along with that of thename, Hollerith.

As a matter of interest, essential de-vices - known as bombes - forcryptanalysis in the Ultra project weremanufactured by the British TabulatingMachine Company at Letchworth (Pe-ter Jensen, in Electronics Australia ,April and May 1997).

After Hollerith left the U.S. Bureauof the Census, the Bureau undertook de-velopment of a new machine for the1910 census. James Power, the engineerin charge of the project, later establishedRemington Rand (the Bureau seems tohave had a staff retention problem).

The Hollerith model dominatedcommercial automated systems into the1930s, and punched cards remained incommon use until the 1970s. Keyboardswere a later development, and the onlymeans of input for many machines wasby way of punched tape or punchedcards.Beyond Hollerith

In the late 1930s HarvardUniversity undertook developmentalwork in the computer field, and in 1937Professor Howard Aiken collaboratedwith IBM to build what became knownas the Automatic Sequence ControlledCalculator or, more commonlyHarvard Mark 1, which used punchedcards for input. The project began in1937 but Mark I did not becomeoperational until August 1944. It wasover 15 metres long and 2.5 metreshigh, some 5 tonnes in weight, andrequired a 4 hp, 25 kW motor to drivethe counters and relays.The Analog-Digital Watershed

The ISO defines analog as“Pertaining to data that consists ofmeans of continuously variablequantities”, and defines digital as

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“Pertaining to data that consists ofdigits” (Nader, Dictionary ofComputing). Gilbert Held’s Dictionaryof Communications Technology definesanalog as “Continuously variable asopposed to discretely variable”, anddigital as “Discretely variable asopposed to continuously variable”. Ifthat is more confusing thanenlightening, join the queue. Earlycomputers and calculating devices wereanalog, and current computers aredigital. The watershed is not clearbecause the designs and technologiesmerged.

The binary concept is very old; theI-Ching exhibited binary properties asfar back as 800 B.C., and in 1050 A.D.Chinese scholars arranged the I-Chinghexagrams in a 6-bit binary order(Encyclopedia of Computer Science).

The Harvard Mark I has beencredited with having launched thedigital computer era. However, theBritish machine known as Colossus wasoperating for some two years beforeMark 1, but its existence was kept secretuntil many years after WW Il.

The Encyclopedia of ComputerScience says, “The earliest knownelectronic digital calculating device wasa machine for solving up to 30simultaneous linear equations, initiatedin 1938 at Iowa State College by JohnAtanasoff and Clifford Berry”. It wasnot until 1972, after protractedlitigation, that Atanasoff was creditedwith having created what has beendescribed as “the first true electroniccomputer” (Fuori).

Also from the Encyclopedia ofComputer Science is the informationthat the “earliest known efforts atapplying electronics to a general-purpose program-controlled computer

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were those undertaken in Germany bySchreyer and Zuse in 1939”.Fortunately for the WW II Allies, theGerman military considered KonradZuse’s research as a side show anddeclined to support it. His work, whichdid not become generally known untilafter the war, was of substantialsignificance in the history of computerdevelopment; it is interesting that his Z1(1936) is now described as the firstbinary (albeit mechanical) computer,the Z3 (1941) used binary and floatingpoint computer arithmetic (it employedtelephone switching components), andthe Z4 (1950) - an electronic machine -had floating point arithmetic operationcapability.

While the German military wasdismissing Zuse’s work the British weremoving in the opposite direction. It islikely that they, too, would have ignoredany proposal to develop computers hadit not been for the Ultra project.Information had come their way aboutGerman rotor-based encryption devicesand a decision was taken to find meansof cracking the ciphers. The firstGerman machine was named Enigma,but there were later, more complexdevices, with the impressive names,Geheimfernsschreiber andSchlusselzusatz.

Colossus was developed for anessential part of the task of attackingthe new German cryptosystems. LikeZuse’s Z3, it used telephone systemswitching devices. There is was nodoubt it was the first such device appliedsuccessfully to a real, ongoing task. Oneof the curious things about thedevelopment of Colossus was that noneof the people involved seems to havebeen aware of the work of Babbage,

who had already solved many of theproblems they had to overcome.

Immediately after the war theColossus machines were destroyed.Several had been constructed, no twoalike, and there was at least one inAustralia. They weren’t reallydestroyed, but dismantled and most ofthe components recycled back to theBritish telephone system. Since thenBletchley Park (home of Ultra) has beenturned into a museum and now housesa working replica of Colossus.Machines Of The 1945-1950s Period

The development of Harvard MarkI was delayed because of America’sentry into WW II, but later regenerated.Alan Turing, a key figure in the Ultraproject, visited the U.S. on severaloccasions to discuss Ultra. I suspect thatwithout his influence Mark I might haveremained on the shelf. In the event,Mark I was commissioned and put towork for the U.S. Navy under thesupervision of Commander ( previouslyProfessor) Howard Aiken, USNR.

It is not coincidental that post-warcomputer development in Britain wasled by people, such as Alan Turing, whohad worked on Ultra. It is likely thatthe same knowledge base helped thedevelopment of the ENIAC machine,work on which began in 1943 at theUniversity of Pennsylvania. The projectwas led by Mauchly and Eckert withsignificant support from the Office ofNaval Research. It is recorded thatENIAC was working in the summer of1945.

Before the ENIAC team hadcompleted its work, a new project waslaunched: EDVAC, a serial binarymachine that became operational in1951, and which probably represents

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the beginning of what we would nowrecognize as a computer.

An important figure in thedevelopment of computers, John VonNeumann (one of the Colossus team),has been given credit for EDVAC’sstored-program computer design, butMauchly and Eckert deserve equalrecognition. Mauchly and Eckert set uptheir own company (later merged withRemington Rand) to develop UNIVAC,the first of a new generation of machinesdesigned specifically for thecommercial market.

What emerges from the history ofthese machines is that over a long periodof time many people have-often withoutbeing aware of the work of others-contributed to the development of themachines with which we are now sofamiliar. Along the way there has beenadaptation of other technologies, suchas telephone switching, that haveenabled design to advance. Many ofthose inventions and designs neverbecame operational, but contributed tolater developments.

There is no real first computer, butit is interesting to reflect on theconsequences of a French weaver’s1725 invention. The Encyclopedia ofComputer Science (ed. Ralston andReilly) is an excellent source ofinformation and references pertainingto the history and technical aspects ofanalog and digital computers. A newedition (the fourth) is expected to bepublished soon.

For anyone interested, ScienceWorks now houses CSIRAC - a room-sized survivor of the 1950s computerera-that used to live at MonashUniversity’s Caulfield campus. It wasstill working when at Caulfield, without

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loss of its impressive - for its day - 32kb of memory.

majkeary@netspace.com.auReprinted from the July 2000 issue of PCUpdate, the magazine of Melbourne PCUser Group, Australia

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASESeptember 25, 2000

ENTANGLED PHOTONS COULDPROMISE LIGHTNING-SPEED

COMPUTERS

Defying traditional laws ofphysics, researchers may have found away to blast through imminentroadblocks on the highway to faster andsmaller computers.

Using modern quantum physics, aresearch team from NASA’s JetPropulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena,Calif., and the University of Wales inthe United Kingdom has discovered thatentangled pairs of light particles, calledphotons, can act as a single unit, butperform with twice the efficiency.

Using a process called“entanglement,” the research teamproposes that existing sources of laserlight could be used to produce smallerand faster computer chips than currenttechnology allows. Their paper appearsin today’s issue of the journal PhysicalReview Letters.

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”Our economy constantly dependson faster and faster computers,” saidJPL researcher Dr. Jonathan Dowling, aco-author of the paper. “This researchpotentially could enable us to continueupgrading computers even aftertraditional manufacturing procedureshave been exhausted.”

Currently, in a process known asoptical lithography, manufacturers usea stream of light particles to sculptcomputer chips. A chip is basically agrid of interconnected on-off switches,called transistors, through which electriccurrent flows and enables computers tocalculate. As companies crowd millionsof transistors into tinier chips, electriccurrent travels shorter distances,resulting in speedier processes.

Chipmakers shine a laser light ontophotosensitive material to create astencil-like mask, which is used to carvesilicon into the components oftransistors. However, the producers canonly provide transistors with dimensionsas small as those of the masks.

Today’s state-of-the-art chips havetransistors measuring between 180 and220 nanometers, approximately 400times narrower than the width of ahuman hair. While traditional computershave the ability to perform withtransistors as small as 25 nanometers, or3,000 times narrower than a humanhair, this presents manufacturingobstacles.

The light manufacturers use toproduce today’s transistors has awavelength of 248 nanometers. Itbecomes increasingly difficult to uselight with shorter wavelengths toproduce transistors with smallerdimensions. In fact, according to acentral principle of optics called the“Rayleigh criterion,” 248- nanometer

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light can’t create features smaller than124 nanometers.

However, this new research, still inits theoretical stage, could provide abypass of the Rayleigh criterion. Theresearch team proposes thatentanglement would allow the use ofexisting sources of laser light of 248nanometers to produce computer chipswith dimensions of a fourth of thewavelength (62 nanometers) or smallercompared to today’s limits (124nanometers).

Entanglement would allowresearchers to use the intermingledproperties of two or more photons toobtain subwavelength spatialresolutions. Albert Einstein called thisintermingling of photons process“spooky action at a distance” becausethe particles can immediately influenceeach other over huge distances, evenhalfway across the galaxy.

Here on Earth, entangled photonscan be produced by passing a light beamthrough a special crystal. In this quantumlithography proposal, a pair of entangledphotons enters a setup with two paths.While the two particles travel togetherand act as a single unit, it is impossibleto determine which of the two paths thepair has taken. In a strange effect ofquantum mechanics, however, eachphoton actually travels down both paths.

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EN

On each path, the photons act like arippling wave with peaks and valleys.After traveling on their own path for awhile, the two photons converge on asurface. Because the light particlesmaking up each wave were originallyentangled, the result of adding thephoton waves together is to createpatterns on the surface equivalent tothose made by a single photon with halfthe wavelength.

This process, in essence, enablesthe entangled photon pair to producepatterns twice as small on each side of achip’s surface as can be created by thesingle photons in the conventionaloptical lithography procedures.Entangling more than two photonswould improve results even further.

While a number of technicalchallenges remain, researchers arealready working on developingmaterials that would be required forquantum lithography.

This research is part of theRevolutionary Computing Technologyproject in the NASA/JPL Center forIntegrated Space Microsystems. Theproject is supported by the Deep SpaceSystems Program in NASA’s Office ofSpace Science. JPL is managed forNASA by the California Institute ofTechnology in Pasadena.

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