Minutes of the Meeting 27 Mar 2001 1a Scanning - Jim HumeThe ACER Scanner discussed was ScannerPrisa 640UT http//www.acerperipherals.com {Jim reported good results of scanning slides, including ancient ones - and example printouts he circulated supported this} ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 1b PDF file downloading problem, Asia Online Jim Hume Thanks to a number of our members testing the problem. It proved that the problem of downloading a large pdf file from our RSL sub-branch website at Asiaonline http//users.interact.net.au/~pwvr was with the ISP It did not exist before Interact was taken over by them. They have now responded and admit there is no problem with our files. Their tardy technical advice in response to three emails and two phone calls was not in my view helpful. Quote "reduce the size of the *pdf file into smaller parts 2) change format to *.doc (which handles large presentations quite easily) 3) allow the option to download the file instead of viewing it online. 4) or simply advised his customers to wait 10-15mins to complete the download before viewing the pages "Unquote Can you imagine an ISP recommending changing a 2553kb *.pdf file to a 51.2mb *.doc file However, strangely the capacity for the file to freeze has now disappeared. So the problem is partially resolved. -------------------------------------------------------- 2a APC disk/IE version, latest? Graham McCann gmccann@pcug.org.au It is not clear from the free CD ROMs with the computer magazines, specifically the April APC, whether the IE 5.5 included the supplementary updates. How can you tell when the version number does not change? Who knows. ------------------------------------------------------- 2b Updates. Graham McCann gmccann@pcug.org.au ZDNET sponsor an excellent program which examines the programs on your PC and advises you whether there are updates/upgrades available. It does not discriminate between free upgrades and new versions for which you have to pay but provides a link to the appropriate site. It is your choice whether you upgrade or not. The program is free if you accept the ads or $US24.95 if you want them eliminated. If you do not then it will appear next time you run the program. The URL is www.updates.com. ------------------------------------------------------- 3. Picnic reminder - Gloria { it was still going strong when I left about 1:05 pm, and no one reported later. Thanks for the wine. - AV } ------------------------------------------------------- 4. How to retrieve half written email/ Get rid of Quick Time - Elizabeth Ward The problem of the half written email which did a disappearing trick, solved itself, amazingly enough, the next day. It was found in DRAFT, but it took its time. As for "Quick Time" as Emil said, it is a huge program and you have to sort out the one you no longer want, by eliminating all the others. It needs a lot of experimenting, the same title appearing three times. When I started yesterday, Gloria's very important email could not be printed, in fact, nothing could be printed. So I gave up, hoping that Windows might put things right. ------------------------------------------------------- 5 .ICON supplement to SMH - Emil Joseph ICON is the internet guide supplement to the Saturday editions of the Sydney Morning Herald. It is a very useful resource on things to do with computers and the internet directed at the beginner and the casual user. Most of the content of the ICON is also reproduced at the SMH site (www.smh.com.au/icon). You will find many useful lists of web sites, reviews of software and hardware, how-to tutorials, questions and answers and hints on computer games. Two instances: a collection of web favourites from the latest issue, under broad categories. Sites that "you cannot afford to miss": http://www.smh.com.au/icon/0103/24/review2.html how to covert LPs to MP3 files or compact disks from a December issue: http://www.smh.com.au/icon/0012/16/news3.html ------------------------------------------------------- 6. (Old) Video --> CDROM: How? Allan Mikkelsen Allan said that he had an old home video of about 30 minutes that he would like converted to CD-ROM as several others wanted copies and he neeeded to store it for archival purposes. There is a good article on this in a recent PCUSER. Will need a good video capture card, lots of fast hard disk, and a fast machine. Emil offered to do the job on a once off basis. Tape has now been converted, and 27 minutes 55 seconds of video has ended as 245 megabytes of mpg on a CDROM. Given the poor quality of the original, the quality is quite acceptable. ------------------------------------------------------- 7. USB to USB Networking - Peter Hodge Peter said that he was wanting to network his laptop with his PC to exchange files. He was investigating the use of a USB to USB crossover cable that would cost about $70. The laptop has a 10/100 Ethernet controller. He was advised that the most efficient, fastest and cheapest method of networking would be to install a 10/100 Fast Ethernet Adapter in the PC and link the two computers with a red CAT 5 crossover cable. Cost of the card $31and cable $13. {Key thing is *crossover* cable - the "red" is irrelevant - and non-crossover cables can also be red - AV} ------------------------------------------------------- 8. TIP-Telstra charges - Kevin Gascoigne You can now arrange to get online access to your Telstra telephone account, and obtain a printout of the details of each "local" call. This must be done before you make payment of the account. I did this in respect of my latest account and found that I am being charged for unsuccessful attempts to connect to TIP. Occasionally in the evenings, one gets a busy signal from TIP and has to try a number of times to connect. On 22 February,shortly after 10pm, it took six calls over a period of 20 minutes before I was successful.I now see that I was charged for each call. I have an external modem which makes it easier to see (and hear) what is happening. I intend to raise the matter with Telstra. Good idea if other TIP users could see if they are suffering similar charges for engaged signals. ------------------------------------------------------- 9. NRMA - Jeff Colwell Jeff commended the maps of NSW provided by www.nrma.com.au. ------------------------------------------------------- 10. Maps - Mike D { More on theride.com, discussed at a previous meeting wrongly as thetrip.com. A very useful/entertaining tool but results not always reliable. Mike cited 'strange" city routes in Sydney; AV gave Mawson ACT -> Broome WA example where "fastest route" was via Port Augusta & Alice Springs and "shortest route" via Burke,Longreach, Mt Isa was 200km shorter *and* a couple of hours *faster* - but note "shortest route" matched what he'd spent *many* hours working out a couple of years ago. Also example where Canb-Perth went though Wagga Wagga and Morgan SA, but Canb-Morgan went through Cootamundra *not* Wagga Wagga! Also apparently inconsistent treatment of remote roads: Gibb River Rd in Kimberley is used for both shortest and fastest even though pretty 4WD'ish and even for 4WD its 700km is slower than 1000km on bitumen via Halls Creek; but does not use Tanami Desert Rd (1000km Halls Creek->Alice Springs) or Great Central Rd (1100km Laverton WA->Warburton->Ayres Rock) at all, even though both are far more suitable for 2WD than Gibb River rd. - - - - Mike D showed examples of scanning and cut/paste of Gregorys maps to get strip maps of city routes. } ------------------------------------------------------- 11. New fast processors - Merv Commons The new fast processors 933Mhz and faster can have problems shutting down in fast mode, the Cmos needs to be changed and the Registry also news fixing up, Microsoft have a fix for this problem. It is a cache problem as it cannot be flushed from the Hard Disk Drive in time and corrupts your Hard Disk Drive. {late brief additions} ------------------------------------------------------- 12. Photoshop 5.5 black snow problem Rod Blackburn Under certain circumstances a perfect greyscale screen image in Photoshop saves with black masses in white areas, clearly displayed from the saved image by other programs such as IrfanView and SuperJPG. Mike Dinn said he'd seen similar problems (I don't think he uses Photoshop. I think he uses PaintShop). No explanations were suggested. ------------------------------------------------------- 13. Cartridge factory - visit offer Rod Blackburn During a conversation at the Cartridge Factory the proprietor said he must come along to another meeting and perhaps tell us about his processes for cartridge refilling. No arrangements were made. ------------------------------------------------------- 14. (More on Videos - Mike D ??) ------------------------------------------------------- 15 HP 930c Cartridges - Anony Mouse (aka Mychook Writing) {Mr A.. Mouse reported that he got 120 colour pages and still going *after* warning that running low} ------------------------------------------------------- 16. Re-watering biros - Kevin Gascoigne With the discussion about refilling ink jet cartridges, it is useful to note that the syringe used can also come in handy for bringing water- based ink roller-ball pens back to life. Usually they dry out over time, rather than run out of ink. One brand, MON AMI, has ink catridges that can be pulled apart. Injecting about 8 drops of water in at one end onto the foam interior does the job. Useful if you have an expensive pen and refills are hard to come by. ------------------------------------------------------- 17. Newbie "out of paper" - Mike D {Amusing/warning anecdote - a newbie's printer stopped working as input tray over-stuffed with paper : Jammed as overfull --> Windows says "Out of Paper" (as not feeding... --> newbie wedges even more paper in ....} -- ****************************************************** Coffee & Chat Page, inluding archives of past meetings http://www.pcug.org.au/pcug/candc/ ******************************************************
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