Another good day and another good turn out, maybe 30 or more came along to hear Alf start the meeting with a dissertation on Computers in Dentistry. All very interesting, and then it was on to problems. First up was someone who had downloaded the MS patch for W95 MSIE, to improve the security, it was a EXE file and he wondered what to do with it. Advice was simply to double click on the file and it should go away and install itself. Next came Elizabeth Ward with a few problems, one related to a program called QTEXT or QTECH, but no one was able to help her on this, suggesting she look in a search engine for the answer, another related to scanner images, and why they were so big, a short explanation satisfied her there, and finally she has not had any luck with reinstalling Works, and was now considering buying Office Professional. It was suggested to her that this was an expensive and unnecessary overkill, and she would be better persisting with Works. Someone had bought a "Hi Fi" system for his computer, but it didn't seem to work. It appeared that it had not been wired up correctly, and the advice was to make sure all the cables were in the right plug holes etc. One member had brought in a couple of prints from his Lexmark colour printer, the quality was not the best and he asked, "Why is this so ?" It seemed that the paper was the wrong stuff to start with, noting that Lexmark have their own paper, and one print looked as though it had been done in draft, rather than fine setting. Hope he sorts it out. Buying another computer was the next subject which elicited a large response. There was the Upgrade vs Buy New discussion, A couple had upgraded their machines to super status for about $1000, Then it went on to where to buy, and a few firms were mentioned where members had been totally satisfied with the deal. Someone considered we should invite a computer shop rep to give a talk, however in the first place, it was decided to co-opt Gordon Urquhart to give a talk on his buying and building experiences. A question asked was what sort of video card should you get, and following on from the last meeting, George Brunner gave us a rundown on his quest for a video capture card. For $499, Legend is selling a video card, which includes a TV tuner, video capture, and the usual Video driver. An information sheet was passed around, and the URL for Legend is http://www.computercraft.com.au/legend/ And on the matter of URLs, Jim Hume, jhume@pcug.org.au reminded people that he writes the Qool URL section of Sixteen Bits and is always on the lookout for interesting URLs, so if you come across something "cool", let Jim know please. The discussion last meeting on Sixteen Bits continued. What does the magazine mean to you, and does it matter if it reverts to a four foolscap newsletter. Much discussion, and a Committee member was present to note the views of the C&C group, but more feedback was sought, so if you are out there in cyber land reading this, send your thoughts to this newsgroups, or email pcug.committee@pcug.org.au As an aside, Derrick Boyd, who is in his mid eighties, gave an impassioned short speech about Sixteen Bits, it has the ability of putting new ideas into old brains, it is a form of contact with the Group that he treasures and has allowed him, with the help of many , to continue his computing pursuits. Mike Dinn gave a run down on the meeting they had with the Government re Computers for Senior Citizens. (Senior Cits Net Cafe) Mike represented Y3A, and Gloria the PCUG. It looks like they will use the Childers St Senior Cits facilities to install say five computers, but at this stage, none of the fine detail was considered, like, what programs should be provided, and how was Internet access to be implemented. October seems to be the target date for going on-line. Next meeting will on April Fools Day, knowing Alf, I would have all my senses switched on that day, but after midday, it is all right, we are going to move off for a BBQ, so watch this newsgroups for the details. Owen
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