Looking Back to 1995
From the July 1995 Bits of Blue newsletter
PRESIDENT'S COLUMN
By Harvey Bruneau
June Presentation
- I was disappointed when Landmark notified me that they were not going to be able to present at our June meeting. With only a short notice before the meeting, it was not possible to schedule another vendor. Although he never got a chance to do his presentation, I want to thank our own Tom Cone for volunteering to do a presentation. As usual I got carried away with myself and dominated the meeting with my Win95 presentation. I can't stop myself sometimes. I certainly hope that those of you in attendance got as much out of the presentation as I did.Help Needed
- In my column last month I mentioned that we were looking for a replacement newsletter editor. This individual will take over the duties from Marylee for the 1996 year. However, we would like to get someone onboard as soon as possible so that we can begin a smooth transition into the 96 year. To date there has been no response.We are also looking for early candidates to fulfill officer positions. Look at page 2 for the positions in question While I am not sure which current officers will volunteer again next year or in what capacity, lets not wait until our elections in December to realize that we have no volunteers to run the business of the Tampa PC Users Group in 96. In next months newsletter I'll post job titles and descriptions.
If you are interested in helping and are willing to volunteer your time and effort for a good cause then please call me at 985
-3338 or 962-2554 ext. 715.SIGs
-I can't express enough thanks to Reflectone and Michael Hodges for providing the facilities and resources to hold two of our SIG meetings. Similarly, I thank Dun & Bradstreet Software and IBM for providing their facilities and resources to the MS Access and OS/2 SIG groups. Without the contributions of these companies there would be no SIGs.The 1st meeting of the hardware SIG, led by Connie Kincaid, was an enormous success. Connie mentioned that those in attendance were grateful yet thirsty for more at the end. A reminder: Connie will be presenting her software SIG on July 25th. Both of these SIG meetings will be repeated later this year by Connie. Thanks Connie for a job well done and your unselfish dedication to furthering the education of our fellow PC users.
Items Wanted
- A reminder that we are collecting equipment and software for the December bargain table and special community projects yet to be announced. Donations are eligible as a tax donation since we are a designated 501(c)3 non-profit group. If you have any computer related items to donate Please bring them to any of the following; general meeting, SIG meeting or contact Harvey Bruneau at 962-2554 ext. 715 for pick-up.A 28.8 modem for the BBS would also be appreciated. Don't forget that we are still taking donations for the BBS.
Win95
- It wasn't that long ago that my belief was WHEN95? However after conversations with many software vendors and using the Beta version, I do believe Microsoft will ship the long awaited Win95 this August.I am sure many PC users are wondering if Win95 is going to affect them and if they should bother upgrading to it. The answer for both is a resounding YES. Of course there are those who will say NO. Well those are the individuals that still use old 57 Chevys and VWs to get around and THAT'S OK. However, I think most of us would rather have the new models with A/C, stereo, airbags, power steering, and if cruise control and power windows come with it that's even better. Keeping up with PC hardware alone has not been pleasant for most of us. It seems that the state of the art hardware technology we buy gets outdated faster and faster every year. This new release of Windows will not only speed up the outdating of hardware but will now begin to outdate existing software at a fast pace.
Despite all of the hoopla and hype or how many bugs it has when released, Win95 will be the next major dominating operating system for the masses. No, I don't have stock in Microsoft. My experience and common sense tells me that, for now, Microsoft is the undisputed front runner in the OS and GUI world. In the year 2000 Packard Bell may replace Microsoft, but that's a column for another day.
Some things to consider: Win95 will be preinstalled on most new PCs; at best there will we one last release of MS DOS before Microsoft puts it to rest; software vendors will eventually stop developing 16bit Windows apps and develop 32bit apps for Win95 and Windows NT, the same will be true for drivers; hardware vendors will develop plug and play products. When will all this happen you might ask? I anticipate that this shift will be completed by the end of 1996. Of course by then we will have updated Win95 twice.
How would I prepare and implement Win95 and its technology if I could? If you are not in a hurry and you don't need the immediate benefits of Win95, wait till the 1st update. It should be out in the Q4 of 95 and include some worthwhile patches to the original release. The minimum computer sys
-tem should be a 486/66, 16MB RAM, 300MB HD, 14" 28 dot pitch VGA monitor. Of course if you are planning on buying a new system, then go for at least a 90Mhz Pentium with 16MB RAM, 1GB HD, 4X CD ROM and a 17" VGA monitor with 28 dot pitch. Don't skimp on the monitor. Also, take into consideration that a 90 MHz Pentium is already outdated in today's PC world. As far as software applications, I would stick with whatever existing 16bit Windows apps I had for at least a year. There are enough benefits in Win95 alone without the need for new 32bit apps. Secondly, Win95 is a brand new operating system and will surely have some bugs. The same holds true for all the 1st generation versions of Win95 3rd party software that will be released after Win95. Unless you feel lucky or have a dedicated IS staff, then wait for these new products to be tested and proven by others u