Merle Nicholson started the Windows SIG at 6:00 PM. One of our members has had a problem with his AMD 233 processor causing blue screen crashes. It turns out the CPU fan was the culprit. AMD has a list of recommended fans to use with its chips listed on their web site. Windows 98 second edition is now available, but some compatibility issues have been seen in newer hardware. If you plan to upgrade, make sure you have the newest drivers available for your computer components.

Merle started the general meeting at 7:00 PM. He announced the upcoming elections in December. Anyone interested in becoming the group’s next president please speak up. Merle also reminded the members present about the membership drive currently under way.

David Henry of Senior Net spoke briefly to the group about his organization. They provide computer education for older adults at the USF campuses in Tampa and Lakeland, as well as the Science Center of Pinellas County in St Petersburg. They are currently looking for volunteers to assist in their training programs. They meet for 3 hours in the daytime only, and classes are 4 to 8 weeks in length. If you would be interested in assisting, please call (813) 974-8037 or 974-5263.

Mark Komula of Network Technology Solutions gave a presentation on home networking. He passed out some network cards and explained briefly about how they connect together. An advantage of home networking can be the sharing of peripherals such as printers, external drives, or scanners. Software can be shared over a network as well, saving the cost of buying several different copies of a program that only one person will use at a time. Internet connections can be shared over the network, too, with only one computer needing to be connected to a phone line at a time.

Mr. Komula also discussed ADSL Internet connections. His company provides ADSL connections and service. They offer a guaranteed 256K dedicated connection for $50 a month with an installation cost of $200, which includes a network card and an external modem connection. ADSL works with existing copper phone lines, but the line into your home is split. This means you are not adding the recurring expense of adding a new phone line. Unlike Roadrunner, there is no additional cost to connect to a business account. If interested, their web site is http://www.net-techno.com.