Meeting 7 Apr 98


	Minutes of C&C Meeting 7 April 1998

Co-ordinator Alf welcomed all 35 attendees.  He said the minute takers
(currently Neville and Jenny, as Owen will be absent for a while) were
looking for a third person to back up their efforts. Contact
jennylar@pcug.org.au if you can assist.  Alf noted that future minutes
would be in summary form.

Jim Fogg (jfogg@pcug.org.au) sought volunteers to assist with the Seniors'
Internet Program at the Belconnen Library on Tuesdays, between 2 and 3pm.  

Wolf reported that the Group was $923.64 in funds.  We agreed to organise a
Life Members' Day in May to recognise the contribution of the Group's life
members.

1. 	Internet connection

The PCUG's current Starter's Kit for connection to TIP includes an
instruction to enable the DNS tab.  Sylvia's experience shows that this tab
should be disabled, while John and Darrell believe that connection can be
established as per the kit, if the user has only one Internet service
provider.  Where there are two or more ISPs, DNS should be enabled at the
icon, not the protocol level.  

Under TIP's new joining scheme, experienced volunteers connect new TIP
users for a fee payable to PCUG.  Alf called for volunteers to assist with
the scheme.  

2. 	Viewing images

Images such as photos copied from Internet can be read with a browser.  To
save an image, put the cursor on the picture, R click, then save the image
as a jpg or gif file.  To view images in the cache, you can use programs
such as Polyview, then copy the picture required to a floppy disk.  

3. 	Problem with turning off the computer

Using a new hard drive with reinstalled software, Paul's computer fails to
turn off properly.  Suggestions included:  Regclean; trying
alt/control/delete to see if anything remains active; back up and
deinstall.  Though the program Uninstall often fails to clean registries
properly, Norton Utilities 4 will solve the problem.

4	Loss of D drive

Wolf's D drive disappears at times, and cannot be found by Norton
Utilities, though W95 recognises it.  He was advised to look at device
manager (control panel, system, device manager) and if D drive is not
shown, to get Windows to install it.  Also to wait for a good day, when he
can back up and reinstall the unpredictable drive.

5	Use Internet to find your family

The long tradition of migrating to Australia to avoid your family is no
more.  Genealogy groups on the net can provide thousands of details on
names and marriages, which led Mike to discover a long-lost cousin, and to
note that this must be one of the great advantages of getting connected to
the net.

6	What factors indicate the likelihood of a hard disk crash?

Is it true (as stated in some computer guides) that every time you turn the
computer's power off and on, you take a day off the life of your hard disk?
 What should crash-conscious users consider?  Answers included:  failure is
most likely at start-up and shut-down; first check all your connections;
heat is most dangerous to electronic equipment; buy a computer with at
least three years' warranty.  The worst usage pattern is to turn your
computer on and off often.  Best is to turn on in the morning, off in the
evening.

6.	Cataloguing disks

Two useful programs to catalogue disks are Where is it? from Slovenia,
US$30.-, and Advance Disk, from Russia, US$20.-.  Both create catalogues of
CDROMs, floppies, zips, of a data nature.  

7.	Buy local

Ted investigated quality and prices of colour printers in Sydney and
Canberra, and found that the Canon VC7000, which produces a non-smear print
of remarkable quality, was $100.- cheaper in two Canberra outlets than in
the most competitive Sydney outlet.

JL 7/4/98 615

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