Opening: The meeting opened at 1030 hrs by Wolf standing in for Ted who was relaxing on Lord Howe Island, and Neville wielding the pen to replace Owen who was relaxing in Rockhampton. Sorry fellows for you being away from Canberra and missing out on our good rainfalls! There were no new members, but the attendance was 25. Gloria and Neville gave a brief report on Valerie Sturesteps - her many skills, interests and help to this SIG during its formation. The C & C was represented at her funeral by members and flowers. Problems and discussions: * Paul has the C & C Zip Drive. * Peter was having trouble converting a rich-text (?) file into HTML, and several suggestions were made for him to try. * Dieter enquired about re-inking kits for bubble jet printers, and some suppliers were mentioned, including Des Pfeiffer (Printer and Cartridge Recharge, Tel: 6287 2000), who gave a demo several meetings ago. * Derrick has just fitted a second hard disk, and wanted to partition it using Fdisk without destroying the data on C:. It was agreed that this can be a bit tricky, especially as text books say "to be very careful", but they don't say how. John said that the program "Partition Magic" had been reported very favourably, and it was agreed that Gordon can purchase a copy for C & C. * Jim gave a report on "Seafarer", a new Australian navigation program on CD Rom which will be used in the next Sydney- Hobart yacht race. It is very advanced, and can virtually replace maritime paper charts. More info can be found on: www.hydro.navy.gov.au * John reported on a CD Rom with USA street maps in great detail. It supplements the detailed maps available on the internet for some countries (especially USA), but not for UK where access to phone, map and statistical info is being heavily restricted. What will happen with the release of this info on DVD? World Street Maps? * Elizabeth asked the best way to check her balance of TIP time, and it was suggested that the TIP Help pages will provide the answer. Emil described "Push Technology". Unable to find tutorial on Works 4; it seems that this may only be available on CD Rom version, and not on disks. Re: Y2K problem - it was suggested we could forget about it for the time being, but that the newer boards can have the bios over-written to take this into account, if they are not already compliant. Roger advised of a web site in the USA which can test your computer, and supply a program to convert the bios. Its URL is: (will get and supply soon in this newsgroup) * Ken has just installed a new X16 CD drive to replace a slower one, but is having troubles with the audio. It seems as though it is probably a cabling problem, but to check operation of the front headphone jack first. * Paul spoke of a web site for International Youth Newspapers on URL: www.webwombat.com.au/intercom/newsprs/index.htm * Mike reported on the Seniors Internet Centre which will be run through the library system, and will commence at Woden Library on 3 October; it will later expand to Belconnen, Dickson and Civic libraries. Several C & C members will assist with this program, but more volunteers are still needed. The Project Co-ordinator is Trish Downes at: pdownes@pcug.org.au With the interest in Flight Simulators taking off, recent convert Mike warned others not to install both the MS and Oz pack scenery files for Australia as they conflict to such an extent that he has Canberra buildings in the middle of the lake; besides that, the locally generated sceneries are better. * Emil announced that as the attendances at the Virtual C & Cs have been declining, they will meet in person at the Woden Tradesmens Club each second Tuesday at midday to have a real chat and virtual coffee. He also asked that if anyone was interested in video capture to please contact him. * Allan reminded us that the Daytime Internet SIG meets every second Monday 1000 to 1200 hrs. There is usually an attendance of about 10 to 12 members, and the Training Room facilities are often used to demonstrate points discussed at the meeting beforehand. He also said that Kryten was still giving some trouble, and that clues to the faults may be gained if these problems are posted to tip.help. * Philip sought information on digital cameras to assist a school group. It was proposed that Canon was the best, and Kodak was the worst, but all were expensive ($627 - $895). Alternatives were suggested including normal camera plus scanner, normal camera using "Pictures on Disk" from National Photos and Sony Camera which writes 40 shots onto a floppy disk. Emil showed us some hardware which will snap a shot from a video camera (costs $299, and connects to a parallel port), and displayed an excellent A4 size colour print of the result. Philip also thanked Gordon for his help in a major hardware upgrade which saved him about $500. * Keith said that he had been unable to gain access to the BBS, and had forgotten his password. This is normal after a long absence from the BBS, so he should enter as a guest and leave a request with the sysop, with membership number, for restoration of full member access. Ken suggested that, if Keith is using Telix, he should check to see if his password is in that program. * Gordon aroused some interest when he advised that he had obtained a 20X CD drive for $110. * Ken advised of an X tree clone called Z Tree for W95. Some members were very keen on X tree, but others preferred MS Explorer. * Wolf has been trying to enter another name as a user ID for his wife through another ISP, but W95 won't let him. The problem was discussed and Emil proposed the probable solution. A busy meeting was closed, and 12 C & C'ers resumed discussions at the Belconnen Soccer Club for lunch. Motto for the week - If in trouble or in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout! Hurry back Owen, we need you. Neville Anderson
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