GCC News

Volume 2, Issue 2

Welcome to the December/January Issue of Glen Cove Computing News. This issue's feature article All I Want for Christmas is a Big Screen PC will give you some ideas on what to buy the computer geek in your life. In this issue of Glen Cove Computing News you'll also find:

Christmas Present Resources
GCC Tech Tips
Internet Site of the Month
Cartoon of the Month
Internet Technology of the Month

All I Want for Christmas is a Big Screen PC

Well it's only a few weeks from Christmas and you're probably wondering what to buy your family's computer geek...I mean genius. (Ed. Please substitute the word geek wherever you see genius. Our author is in severe denial.) First let's go over what you shouldn't buy a computer genius for Christmas. In my own humble opinion you should avoid purchasing the obvious Christmas presents that you would buy for most men. Computer genius' are not like most men and you'll both be disappointed if you don't consider this when buying their present. Unfortunately I can speak from experience on this subject. Last year for Christmas I received a tool box full of power tools, including a rotary saw. The blade on my rotary saw is in mint condition as it's spent the last twelve months gathering dust in my garage. The only power tool that I use continues to be my trusty power screwdriver. If the tool can't be used on a computer don't expect your computer genius to use it. No matter how hard I try I can't find a use for a rotary saw on my computer. Unless someone has a Packard Bell that they'd like to donate for an experiment! (Ed. No computers were harmed in the writing of this column.)

Other bad gifts for computer genius' include cologne (won't use it), a subscription to the Wall Street Journal (Motto: Yesterday's Technology News Today), golf clubs (Recipe for disaster: lack of coordination and a club), and America Online disks (they've already been sent at least 100 and AOL bites). Golf clubs can be especially dangerous in the hands of a computer genius. My wife, an avid golfer, once convinced me to go to a driving range with her. Within the first ten minutes I hit a beautiful 200 yard drive. Beautiful, except for the fact that I sliced it so far to the right that it almost hit the oncoming traffic on the street next to the driving range. For the safety of all mankind I have not returned to the golf course since that day. I know that the insurance companies of the world appreciate this gesture.

Now that we've gone over what not to buy your computer genius, here's a few tips on what to buy them. I've included links to each of these items in the Christmas Present Resources below. We'll start off with the $20 and under price range. In this price range I would recommend the following:

Take them to see "Star Trek: First Contact". There is not a computer genius in the world who doesn't love Star Trek. Take them to this movie, buy 'em a bucket of buttered popcorn, and they will be in heaven. This will have to be an early Christmas present though, because by the time Christmas comes most computers genius' will have already seen it at least twice. If they've already seen it buy them one of the even numbered Star Trek movies that are out on videotape. Do not buy any of the odd numbered Star Trek movies as they are universally despised. Personally I hate Star Trek V the most. Most of you may remember this movie as the one where the Enterprise meets up with an entity that claims to be God. This movie is so bad that it has no redeemable value and I'm a longtime fan. The special effects are lousy especially the impostor god who resembles Santa Claus with a bad attitude.

Buy them a copy of the Dilbert Principle by Scott Adams. For that matter buy them anything that involves Dilbert. The Dilbert Principle has become the bible of disaffected technology workers throughout the world. It teaches you how to maximize your earning potential. Actually it teaches you how to do as little work as possible for your paycheck. Read it and I'm sure it will change your life or at least make you laugh. You can pick up a copy of the Dilbert Principle at Price Club/Costco for about $13 or surf over to the Dilbert Zone for it and other Dilbert items.

If you don't have any money to buy a present download a copy of the free screensaver at the Sherman's Lagoon web site. For those of you who aren't familiar with Sherman's Lagoon, let's just say that Sherman is to sharks what Dilbert is to engineers. Sherman's web site also has an archive of the daily and Sunday cartoons, so you can see what I mean. The screensaver is pretty basic, but you can't beat the price.

Visit the yeah.yeah.yeah cyberstore on the worldwide web - home to quality geekware for those inevitable face-to-face meetings. Basically they carry four different tee-shirts and one hat geared toward the computer geek market. My personal favorite is the RTFM tee-shirt. For those of you who don't know what RTFM means ask a computer genius. I'd tell you myself, but this is a family web site.

The next price range to consider is from $25 to $100. In this price range I would recommend the following:

Buy them a leather notebook computer case from Leather Loft. Most computer genius' are still walking around with their ugly imitation leather Targus computer cases. Leather Lofts are located throughout the United States in discount outlet centers and they have a great selection of leather cases at bargain prices. I picked up a very cool notebook case for $79, because sometimes even a computer genius likes to look good!

Pick them up a copy of Day-Timer Organizer 2.1 for Windows for $59.95. This award-winning software combines the power of the computer with the friendly look and feel of the paper Day-Timer system. It helps you manage schedules, to-do lists, expenses, addresses and notes more effectively than ever. Pages can be printed to fit most popular paper planner sizes. Your favorite anal retentive computer genius will really appreciate this gift.

For those of you who are willing to spend over $100 on your computer genius I have two suggestions. One is the Epson PhotoPC digital camera which you can pick up for around $400 through most mail order firms. This is the camera that I used to take the pictures for my Adventures in OZ site and I think it did a pretty nice job. It can store sixteen 640x480 pictures at a time and for $250 you can buy a RAM expansion module that will increase the number of pictures stored up to 80. The pictures are transferred to your PC via a serial cable and stored in JPEG format. The average size of the pictures is between 20k and 60k which makes it quick and easy to transfer them from the camera to a Windows PC. There's a built-in flash, an auto shut-off feature, and it accepts optional lenses and filters (e.g. telephoto lens; wide angle lens). The PhotoPC is powered by four AA batteries and an optional AC Adapter is available for $99. The PhotoPC was designated Best Buy in the CNET Review of Digital Cameras and in NetGuide's Digital Camera Shoot-Out. There's a new version coming out in December that will include an optional LCD viewer and a red eye reduction feature.

I've saved the best and most expensive present for last. If you really, really, really love the computer genius in your life and you've got an abundance of disposable income, buy them the gift that keeps on giving: the Gateway 2000 Destination Big Screen PC! Destination configurations range from a Pentium 133 ($2999) to a Pentium Pro 200 ($4799). The Destination comes with a 31" monitor/television, 32 or 64 mg of RAM, 2.5 or 3.8 gigabyte hard drive, and a wireless keyboard and Field Mouse. The Field Mouse operates as both a conventional remote and a trackball. The wireless keyboard has a touchpad pointing device and a special "baby-sitter" button that with one click, switches to a full-screen television.

To provide a TV quality picture the Destination uses a TV tuner card that is cable ready. The Harman Interactive SmartTV Software allows you to watch TV either full-screen or in a re-sizable window that can be moved around the desktop. Using this software you can watch TV and surf the Web at the same time. You'll never have to leave your La-Z-Boy again! You can also hook the Destination to an optional harman/kardon high-fidelity sound system. The seven-piece Surround Sound speaker system includes a AVR-10 audio/video receiver with remote, subwoofer, center channel, and four satellites for $699. Finally the Destination comes with 15 other software titles including:

Microsoft Works® 95
Monopoly
MS Plus!®
The Hive
Mediamatics MPEG Arcade Player
You Don't Know Jack (Family Version)
MS Cinemania® '96
Quicken® SE (Available only in the U.S.)
MS Encarta® '96

While the Destination may not be the ultimate system for all computer genius', it should please most. Of course your typical UNIX computer genius will probably want a Silicon Graphics or SUN workstation for Christmas, and a Macintosh computer genius will want the latest Power Mac. As for myself I've been dropping some subtle hints about the Destination for Christmas, but I have a feeling I might be getting more power tools or (gasp) golf clubs. If you're driving past a driving range in Northern California and see a golf ball coming your way, DUCK! Oh well I hope everyone has a great Holiday season. See you in 1997!

Christmas Present Resources

Day-Timer Organizer

The Dilbert Zone

Epson PhotoPC

Gateway 2000 Destination

Leather Loft

Sherman's Lagoon Screen Saver for Windows

STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT

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GCC Tech Tips

Win95 comes with a few options designed to make it more accessible to handicapped or injured users. One of these options is MouseKeys, which lets you move your mouse pointer with the numeric keypad on your keyboard. This is useful if you're recovering from a repetitive strain injury caused by overly vigorous use of your mouse, or you have a notebook on which you don't want to install a mouse. Turn on MouseKeys by double-clicking on the Accessibility Options icon in the Control Panel; then click on the Mouse tab and select Use MouseKeys.
You already know that double-clicking on the speaker icon in the Win95 taskbar tray launches the volume-control dialog, which includes controls for volume, CD, MIDI and .WAV files. But if you drag and drop the speaker icon anywhere on your desktop, you get only the master volume control. It's placed where you drop it and vanishes when you click on anything else.
If you use the ERASE *.* command in DOS or in an MS Command Prompt window, it asks you if you're sure, and you have to answer "Y" or "N." Here's an undocumented Win95 feature: By omitting the period and simply typing ERASE **, it deletes the contents of the folder, no questions asked. This is great for batch files or whenever you don't want to be bothered by questions.
Restarting Win95 is normally a four-step process (click on the Start button, select Shut Down, click on the "Restart the computer?" button and then click on OK). You can make it a one-step process by creating an icon on your desktop that restarts Win95. Open Notepad and type @exit. Close the document and give it a name with a .BAT extension. Now stash the file somewhere on your hard disk. Create a shortcut to the file by using the right mouse button to drag it to the Desktop and then selecting Create Shortcut(s) Here. Right-click on the shortcut and select Properties. Click on the Program tab and select the Close on Exit box. Now click on the Advanced button and make sure "MS-DOS mode" is selected and "Warn before entering MS-DOS mode" is not selected. Click on the OK button twice. Give your new shortcut a unique icon and name. From now on, whenever you double-click on the icon, Win95 will restart, no questions asked.
Here's a quick way to add addresses to your Personal Address Book in Exchange: When you get a message, right-click on the address in the From: field and select Add to Personal Address Book.

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Internet Site of the Month

The Internet Site of the month for December is inquiry.com. This resource is for programmers and IT professionals looking for an easy way to gather information and reviews about programming and applications development tools as well as general technical product information. The site is extremely info-rich and well organized. You'll find that searching for answers to any technical question is fast and easy. Inquiry.com provides one-stop access to a large concentration of quality information on software products, technologies, and vendors. The inquiry.com search facility provides access to over 130,000 full-text articles, reviews, and news from 20 national computer publications including InfoWorld, Communications Week, Information Week, and Windows Magazine.

The site also provides user-specified technical tips, vendor-supplied product datasheets, white papers, on-line demos, and registration for seminars and conferences -- all free of charge. You also have access to an online community of IT professionals through forums on topics ranging from Web database publishing to industry gossip. The forums are monitored to make sure that no single vendor monopolizes the discussion.

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Cartoon of the Month

Thanks to Gabe Martin for placing his comic strip in the public domain. See more of Gabe's work at

The Borderline Cartoon Homepage

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Internet Technology of the Month

The Internet Technology of the month for December 1996 is the FrontPage 97 beta from Microsoft. FrontPage 97 with Bonus Pack makes creating professional-quality Web sites effortless with powerful new functionality, support for the latest Web technologies, and seamless integration with Microsoft Office. It offers all the best new Web technologies, plus powerful tools for all Web creation and management tasks. Use more than 30 built-in templates and wizards to build entire Web sites and individual pages easily. Edit HTML code directly in the FrontPage Editor, and preview your Web pages in any browser without leaving FrontPage. Insert hyperlinks and add information from Microsoft Office and other sources with drag-and-drop simplicity. Use the shared spelling checker, global Find and Replace, and the Microsoft Thesaurus to guarantee your Web site remains accurate and compelling.

I normally write all my HTML pages on a text editor, but FrontPage has impressed me. It definitely makes it easier to create tables, frames, and other advanced features of HTML. I'm looking forward to experimenting with some of the other features including inserting Active X Controls and Java applets. You can download an evaluation copy of FrontPage at http://www.microsoft.com/frontpage/. Be forewarned that downloading the entire FrontPage 97 package takes quite awhile as it is over 10 mg in size. On a 28.8 modem it takes at least 3 hours and I would recommend downloading after midnight.

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