Looking Back to 1992
From December 1992 Bits of Blue
Secretary’s Report
TAMPA IBM USER’S GROUP
MINUTES OF 11/11/92
As the witching hour approached, I noted a nice group had arrived to attend the BOB meeting, and the room was a beehive of activity - numerous small groups talking and picking each others brain, and Don Patzsch conducting his second of seven classes on modems with quite a few folks participating in the class. Off in another room, Ed was conducting the third in a series of four classes on WP 5.3 for DOS. I miss the BOB meetings only when I have no other choice, for even the time before the meeting starts is productive and interesting. This night was no exception. And then, our illustrious President called the meeting to order.
CLUB NEWS
WP 5.1 Class - The fourth and final class in this series will be held same time (5:30 PM). same place (IBM Bldg) on 9 December, just before the regular BOB meeting.
Don’s second modem class was held in the regular BOB meeting room this time because of a conflict with the ongoing V 5.3 class, and the modem class had to be cut short when the BOB meeting began. The third class will be delayed until January, and that and subsequent classes will have use of a private room and benefit of the planned 45 minute duration. Don has laid out instructions for a total of seven classes. He is providing in-depth instruction, complete with handouts for both present and future reference.
Harvey announced that a member had volunteered to lead a SIG on Windows. A show-of-hands survey of those present indicated ample interest in the SIG. The problem now is arranging facilities. Harvey indicated that he would try to arrange same, hopefully in time for a January start for the SIG. More info will be forthcoming.
Harvey cautioned that a virus reportedly in circulation is triggered to strike on Friday the 13th.
Windows users are well aware that programs installed in Windows make changes during installation in various Windows files/directories. At one time or another, these hackers are faced with the problem of deleting one of these programs. Unless you have retained a copy of all the .INI files and a pre-installation directory listing, there is no way to know just what changes were made with the installation of that program. On the BOB BBS is a program known as In Control that is an answer to that problem. In Control will record in an .WRI (Windows Write) file all changes made by installation of individual programs in Windows. When one decides to delete a program installed in Windows, you need only view the .WRI file to determine what changes need to be made to completely eliminate the program from all Windows files/directories. The only gimmick is that you have to have used In Control when you installed the program in Windows - that is to say, In Control is not retroactive.
Presentation planned for the DECEMBER MEETING is MS WORK GROUP FOR WINDOWS. This is a networking program which ties individual PCs together without the need of servers, LANs, etc., but it is compatible with these as well. Looks like a nice program that will likely be hot in the work/business world.
INDUSTRY NEWS
Harvey reported that a PC Magazine book, DOS 5.0 Memory Management, was very interesting and worthwhile for anyone interested in getting more memory out of his computer. It includes some ten utilities on disk which help identify available memory and obtain use of same.
A parallel to the foregoing, DOS 6.0 is expected to be released in the 1st quarter of 1993. Reportedly, it will include Stacker and better memory management. Whether it will be as much of an improvement over 5.0 as 5.0 was over its predecessors remains to be seen.
MS database program for Windows, called Access, is now being released. It is reportedly a very nice program. It will have an introductory price through 31 January of an amazing $99; amazing because this is a high- end program that will list for $695 after Jan 31. (Looks like MS wants to get lots of copies in use.) I have seen some of the advertising literature on the program, and it truly looks like a “goodie”. Kirk Covert says that MS FoxPro has been the fastest (and best) on the market to date, and that Access is even better.
We previously reported that MS has said that it is getting into hardware only as needed to push its software products. That was said at the time they came out with a sound card to push and take advantage of the new MIDI capabilities of Windows 3.1. Now, MS is coming out with a card for use with IIP printers to speed up printing. One could say that this is an effort to offset the notoriously slow printing cycle in Windows. Come on, now!
MS Windows NT Beta version is now available from MS for $59. We are told that you need 12 MB of memory and a CD ROM to make use of the program. Anyone interested should call MS.
Western Digital has come out with a chip that will check your computer for viruses. Interesting, but not enough info is yet available. Like, how do you update the chip for new viruses?
The last issue of PC Computing should be of interest to Windows users - it contains 172 pages of goodies about getting the most from Windows. If you are a Windows user, you might want to check it out.
PROGRAM PRESENTATION — MICROSOFT MULTIMEDIA
On hand to give us a brief rundown on some Microsoft Multimedia goodies was the inimitable Kirk Covert, Regional Sales Rep for Microsoft, a welcome and well-known personality at BOB. Kirk reported that MS had many things going in the multimedia area and that he would touch on only a few. He noted that multimedia is very useful in the worlds of education, business and entertainment - personal and otherwise. Multimedia requires a sound card and a CD ROM. Among the things MS is producing are:
First, MS is coming out with a new sound card. It is a 16 bit, 5 channel card -- it will handle 5 channels of sound simultaneously. It would be BUS compliant, but not MPC compliant -- but could be made so as an option. He wasn’t sure about the price, but thought it would be on the order of $295 list.
As a corollary, Kirk pointed out that sound on computers involves huge files. Computer speed is important, of course, to handle the large files. Also very important is the capability of the CD ROMs - no matter how fast your computer is, if your CD ROM is slow, multimedia will be slow. He suggested checking throughput and transfer rates, and insure that it meets MPC specs.
BEETHOVEN: This was the first MS multimedia disk reviewed. It contains Beethoven’s complete 9th Symphony and, among other things, in depth info on the life and times of Beethoven and the 9th Symphony. It allows random access via menu to any part of the music. It sounded great using, according to Kirk, run-of-the-mill speakers. If a price was mentioned, I did not hear it.
CINEMANIA: This disk contains data on some 19,000 movie titles and 3,000 people, including actors, directors, etc. It has considerable detail on the movies, the stories, the studios, and people involved, including their voices. It, too, is easy to use and provides quick, easy access to any of the data it contains. In answer to a question of keeping current in the field, Kirk reported that updates would be available from time to time. List price is $79.95.
BOOKSHELF/BOOKSHELF FOR WORD: This disk comes as a stand alone, and bundled with Word for Windows, which provides for direct access from the Word program or the desktop. Bookshelf includes seven or eight books; I didn’t get all the titles. It does include quotations, including voices; a thesaurus; a dictionary; a 16-book encyclopedia (going to 26 books with the next release) with oral instructions; a world atlas, complete with flags and national anthems; and a world almanac. It seemed to be a very, very nice package. Kirk reported list price as $295 for Bookshelf, and $595 when bundled with Word for Windows. All the packages were very impressive and Kirk did - as usual - a super job of presenting them to us. Many thanks, Kirk and Microsoft, for some really nice programs and a job very well done.
AND THE WINNERS ARE:
With the generosity of several, including Sunrise Computer Supplies & Parts, a member or two and the creators of SuperBase 4, there were a number of nice raffle prizes this meeting, and the lucky winners are:
Superbase 4 - Dave
Williams
Computer Games:
Days of Thunder - Marlin
Miller
Weltris - Wilfred
LaForese
Clue - Wayne Laurentes
Tetris - Jim Clark
Computer book - E.
Kaestner
Cmptr Magazines - Dave
Williams u