This message is partly to announce my new blog, "Rumblings":
http://sixtyhertz.blogspot.com -- where this message will be posted
shortly.

One of the biggest fireworks displays in North America is on the Detroit
River tonight, weather permitting--and it's streaming live on the
Internet!  It will be about 10:00 p.m. EDT on
http://www.clickondetroit.com/index.html so check it out, if you can.
If it's rained out, they will provide a rain date.

If you read this message too late to see the Detroit display, don't
fret--you can make your own (virtually)!  This Java-based animation
allows users to point-and-click their own fireworks over a New York
skyline: http://puzzles.about.com/library/java/aa030701.htm -- very cool!
--
Michael Rudas
My home page <http://users.ameritech.net/mrudas/index.html>
My blog <http://sixtyhertz.blogspot.com>

This is a reminder about Friday's OPCC meeting (11/4)--but it's also a
heads-up on the subject of my presentation if you cannot attend.

The "Microsoft Office" suite and its components (most notably Microsoft
Word) have gone through a series of iterations over the years, yet many
people are still using Office 97 or Word 97; there are serious problems
with this.  The first problem is that it's old software (nearly TEN
YEARS old)--no longer supported--hence FULL OF SECURITY FLAWS THAT WILL
NEVER BE FIXED.  Further, Word 97 (I'm using the Word component as an
example) cannot read DOC files from later versions of Word.  Worse,
later versions of Word often cannot read DOC files created by earlier
versions.  Even Office 2000/Word 2000 have reached the end of their
service life and will no longer be supported.

Add to this the sheer cost of Office and Word.  A recent price from
http://www.NewEgg.com, a typical on-line retailer:

Microsoft Office 2003 Professional (retail-boxed current version): $379.95

Another source: Microsoft Word 2003 at $205.00

Of course, a new version of Office (currently code named "Office 12") is
about to be released which, as far as MS is concerned, makes the old
version obsolete...

Many OEM (brand name) systems currently ship with a suite called
"Microsoft Works"--which is DELIBERATELY minimal and crippled so as to
cause as many users as possible to upgrade to Office.

It's possible to get off this merry-go-round.  One alternative is a
package from Sun called "StarOffice 8."  It can read and write its own
formats, as well as the new OpenDocument formats--but it's also
compatible with Microsoft's proprietary formats, even older versions
that MS itself no longer supports.  The complete office suite can be
downloaded for $69.95 or bought in a box for under $100--but that's not
exactly what I'm talking about on Friday.

What I AM talking about is an office suite based on the same code base
as StarOffice, known as "OpenOffice.org 2.0" (OO.o).  It is available
for FREE and can be downloaded from a variety of sources all over the
world.  For those that are interested (especially those on a dial-up
Internet connection), I will be bringing CDs to the meeting.

Why is OO.o free, while StarOffice costs up to $100?  The answer, in one
word, is support.  Many businesses want to have traceability and someone
to call with questions.  While support for OO.o is available (much of it
for free), a little seeking-out is sometimes necessary to find the
information that you need.  There are also books available that cover
both StarOffice and OO.o, as well as on-line and downloadable tutorials.

Is free software any good?  Certainly, in this case (and many others).
OO.o is a full-fledged office suite, with a word processor (Writer,
comparable to MS Word), a spreadsheet (Calc, comparable to Excel),
presentation software (Impress, comparable to PowerPoint), a database
(Base, comparable to Access), and an integrated graphics program
(Draw--for which there is no MS equivalent).

There is a partial downside, especially for those that use macros
extensively in MS Office: OO.o macros and MS Office macros are not
compatible--though many can be translated.  MS Office has some features
that OO.o does NOT have, though the reverse is also true.  Though there
are some differences in the user interface between the two packages, the
learning curve is relatively easy.

Another useful feature is that OO.o is cross-platform.  Since I mostly
use Linux (it's free, and no spyware/adware/Trojans/viruses for me!), I
couldn't use MS Office even if I wanted to.  Not only is OO.o available
for Mac and Linux as well as Windows, but the user interface and
appearance are consistent across platforms, so using OO.o under Linux is
little different than using it under Windows.

My presentation on Friday is not intended as a training or tutorial
session, but is by way of introduction--how and where to get the
software, how to find tutorials and support, and an overview of its
capabilities.  I hope that you come to the meeting and that you find it
interesting and useful!

http://www.OpenOffice.org

My blog: http://sixtyhertz.blogspot.com

back a few years ago I wanted to get into underdstanding vector
graphics and how to use them. I puchased corel draw 5 and have been
using programs like it ever since.

Graphics programs are not cheap how ever I did find a nice one though,
it is called microsoft expression graphic designer. I thinl that it has
a lot of capabilities that go hell beyyond the program that I am
currently using which is Xara Extreme.

Hope that if you asre in need this might take you done the proper path.

leo....

Vector graphics can be awfully intimidating to learn but PSP does a fair job
of them and if you aren't afraid of learning curves, Inkscape and Eve, both
of which are without cost, can be very powerful tools.
http://www.inkscape.org/
http://www.goosee.com/

Don Crowder
http://www.don-guitar.com

I recently went through a bad time with my wifes computer. she had
purchased a new computer recently and she had a lot of garbage on her
computer that served as nothing more then advertizing. However some
of them were actual trial software like Microsoft office 2003, but I
initially installed the software that we owned which was office 2000.
Weeks later, because she is writing a book, she though that she would
like to some voice recognition software. I did some research and
fould that the reconizing engine was supposed to be updated in office
2003 and because she had the trial software still on her computer I
asked her if she wanted to try it. She said yes so well unloaded
office 2000 and installed 2003. She found that it was still to
difficult to use and told me to take it off the computer. During the
removal process our security software "Mcafee" blocked our future use
of the win.ini file, that did not allow use to reinstall our office
2000 software.

I have given you a complete detail of what happened so that if you
have legacy software or some printers that have scanning capabilities
you may have problems with installing them on a computer that
has "Mcafee" security software on them.

The solution to the problem is to go into Mcafee firewall and reset
the defaults and you will then be able to install all your older
software without a problem.

I have aways had a problem with windows and the energy savings
settings. I thought that it was a server motherboard, and being a
server it should never sleep, and therefore if anybody was using it, it
was being used as a server and not a regular pc. Regardless the problem
was that when it was coming out of standby or hibernation it would
restart rather that coming back to the sane state it was in before
going to sleep.

When I was on the internet the other day I ran across a tech guy who
had the same problem. He suggested i install the windowsXP-KB889673-x86-
ENU.exe patch, and i am now happy to say my system is, working just
fine.

Hi All
I think I finally got all the changes done. So for all of you who have
feverishly been trying to reach me see my new gmail address above.

(feverishly, isn't that a haha)

As a follow-up to my own last post about free software in schools, I
offer...

"Crushed by the Wheels of Industry"

<http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9584_22-6183476.html>

Vendor lock-in via "trial" software?  Wowzer!

-- Mikey

This is one school superintendent that gets it, and I LIKE it!

"District set to use free productivity software"

<http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070513/DEWITTBATH02/705130419/1\
006/news05>


DeWitt is just outside Lansing.

-- Mikey

Folks --

There's a relatively-new spam-scam making the rounds;
you may have seen it.  The "ecard greeting" spam
e-mails carry a Trojan payload-- namely, the
somewhat-misnamed "Storm Worm"-- that has risen
rapidly (and vastly) in frequency.  Now it looks like
there is a plan behind it...

"Storm Worm's virulence may change tactics"
http://preview.tinyurl.com/3ar3sv

Yahoo!, GMail, and AOL seem to be doing a good job of
filtering out most of these, which is good, but a
"bot-net" comprising a million-plus machines would be
a powerful tool for evil, so PLEASE be careful out
there...

-- Michael

In honor of 9/19-- "Talk Like a Pirate Day"-- I
present THE ultimate and appropriate computer
peripheral:
<http://www.thehumorarchives.com/joke/Talk_like_a_pirate_keyboard>

-- Mikey


-- Michael Rudas
     My home page: http://www.ameritech.net/users/mrudas/index.html
     My general blog: http://sixtyhertz.blogspot.com
     My tech blog: http://audio-tech.blogspot.com

October 4th 2007 marks Sputnik 1's 50th birthday.
<http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jj1EL1p0CjbFMmLfcH2r3uBkNNPgD8S2D0A81>
<http://www.wired.com/science/space/news/2007/10/sputnik_anniversary>

I remember well the launch news and its aftermath,
even though I had JUST turned 7.  It was a scientific
panic tinged with embarrassment as the US Army's first
attempt to launch an Explorer satellite into orbit
failed.  The second try made it-- Explorer 1 was
launched the following January, followed by the Navy's
Vanguard 1 (the oldest satellite still in orbit)
launched the following March.  I had been following
news of then-current International Geophysical Year
(IGY) quite avidly, and saw it as just another part of
the IGY-- more interested in the event than in who did
it.

The Sputnik launch and our delayed response to it led
directly to ARPA and the modern NASA-- hence the
modern space program and the Internet.

-- Mikey

On Oct 4, 2007, at 6:31 PM, Michael Rudas wrote:
> October 4th 2007 marks Sputnik 1's 50th birthday.
> <<<<TEXT DELETED>>>>
> The Sputnik launch and our delayed response to it led
> directly to ARPA and the modern NASA-- hence the
> modern space program and the Internet.
>

...and the communications protocol used in the Internet (TCP/IP) was
originally developed for battlefield communications if we went to war
with the Soviets (which many thought the launch of Sputnik made more
likely).

Some of us may find this information useful-- it's a
free PDF download of a relatively recent print book:

"The Wireless Networking Starter Kit"
<http://wireless-starter-kit.com/free_download.html>

While not completely current, it DOES have a lot of
useful tips-- and you can't beat FREE!

-- Mikey

Secunia -- http://www.Secunia.com -- is a
computer-security company that provides useful
bulletins and warnings on a regular basis, as well as
maintaining a list of unrepaired vulnerabilities in
software and operating systems (not just Windows, but
Linux and BSD as well).

That information alone is useful and can be a real
eye-opener -- but the specific reason for this e-mail
is that Secunia has released a software utility that
scans your Microsoft Windows installation for insecure
and obsolete versions of software.  While still in
beta, it is VERY useful for finding stuff that
anti-virus and anti-spyware software is NOT designed
to deal with.  It's free for private use, and can be
run online or downloaded at
http://secunia.com/software_inspector
where you will see two buttons -- one for an online
scan and one to download the utility itself to install
and run off-line.

Some of this functionality overlaps with the useful
Belarc Advisor utility -- http://www.Belarc.com -- but
Advisor only shows the state of the operating-system
patches and hotfixes, not the status of application
programs.  In many cases, the Secunia utility will
even provide links to the needed updates!

~~ Mikey

At Friday's OPCC meeting, I mentioned how much a
resource hog and how buggy much of the current
anti-virus software  is -- and that Norton and McAfee
are two of the worst offenders.

Here's a prime example of why I recommend the free
Grisoft AVG or Avast ant-virus programs instead:

"Symantec Screwup Is 'Worse Than Any Virus'"
<http://news.yahoo.com/s/zd/20071206/tc_zd/221141;_ylt=Ag8_xbE0WYyXbIH4xoZL18wjt\
BAF>

~~ Michael

At Friday's OPCC meeting, I mentioned how much a
resource hog and how buggy much of the current
anti-virus software is -- and that Norton and McAfee
are two of the worst offenders.

Here's a prime example of why I recommend the free
Grisoft AVG or Avast ant-virus programs instead:

"Symantec Screwup Is 'Worse Than Any Virus'"
<http://news.yahoo.com/s/zd/20071206/tc_zd/221141;_ylt=Ag8_xbE0WYyXbIH4xoZL18wjtBAF>

~~ Michael

This guy sings backwards while doing things that are
non-reversible.  At the midpoint of the video, he
reverses time and everything is undone while the song
plays forward.  The question is: "What song is this?"
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbkNxYaULBw>

I can't imagine how much trial-and-error this took.
Pretty amusing...

~~ Mikey

Note: some addresses are BCC to reduce clutter.

I just wanted to post a few Microsoft Windows-oriented
security and clean-up links, based on what was
discussed at today's OPCC meeting (01/04/08) along
with a digital TV update -- and I've thrown in a bit
of fun.

First up is my new recommended firewall.  While I have
formerly recommended the use of the free version of
"ZoneAlarm," this is no longer the case -- I now
recommend the full-function free firewall "Comodo
Firewall Pro" EVEN IF YOU HAVE A ROUTER.  This is
because it does a much better job of blocking
malicious outgoing traffic (the WinXP and WinVista
firewalls do not do this -- nor does a router).  Zone
Alarm blocks SOME outgoing traffic, but Comodo does a
better job.
<http://www.Comodo.com> -- This is the main page,
listing the firewall and other security-related
software.  There is no paid version of the Comodo
firewall, it's FREE and well-supported via tech
support and forums.

In the never-ending battle against adware and spyware,
a powerful new tool for your computer "utility belt"
is now available -- it's called "SuperAntiSpyware" and
it's available via
<http://SuperAntiSpyware.com> -- in both a free and
paid version.  The paid version has more features, but
the free version works fine; it removed a piece of
spyware from a system where other means had failed.
By the way, this type of malware requires the use of
more than one tool, so I continue to use "Spybot -
Search & Destroy" and "Ad-Aware 2007" on a regular
basis, as well.

A good tool for blocking malware of several types is
"SpywareBlaster" -- this software changes certain
system settings to block spyware and adware, so the
only time you actually run it is to update the
SpywareBlaster datafiles and then use the program to
update your protection.  It can be downloaded via
<http://www.snapfiles.com/get/spywareblaster.html> --
among other sites -- and is a useful tool.

Another helpful free scanning tool is the "Secunia
Personal Software Inspector" (Secunia PSI) that
examines your system for insecure and expired
software, which is a major source of security risks.
In most cases, it even gives you download links for
the updates!
<http://secunia.com> -- I list the home page so you
can easily see some of the most important current
vulnerabilities, especially under Windows -- the
download link is at the left side of the page, under
"Software Inspectors" -- you can also scan online
WITHOUT downloading or installing any software.

Many free downloads of Windows Registry-cleaning
software are crippled in some way (the Windows
Registry is basically a dynamic index of your ENTIRE
Microsoft Windows installation, and prone to
problems).  For example, they may hint that you have a
problem, then not fix it.  A program called "CCleaner"
not only cleans the Windows Registry, it also clears
out a lot of junk on your hard drive.
<http://www.CCleaner.com>  -- the link is to the home
page so you can get an idea of what it does.

ERUNT is actually a PAIR of programs (ERUNT and
NTRegOpt) that back up and optimize your registry,
respectively.  ERUNT does a more-complete job of
backing up the Registry than ANY built-in Windows tool
-- I've been personally saved by it when XP's System
Restore failed to fix a problem.  NTRegOpt can reduce
the size of the Registry by as much as 10% or more
(run it AFTER CCleaner for best results):
<http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt>

Last but not least, there are a couple of useful tools
that can provide an inventory of your system and its
software.  They work slightly differently from each
other, so both are useful.  First up is "Belarc
Advisor" -- a free utility that gives you a lot of
useful information including a software inventory
complete with product keys.
<http://www.Belarc.com/free_download.html>

Then there's "System Information for Windows" (SIW)
which provides similar information to Belarc Advisor
but formats it differently, with more detail in some
areas (too MUCH detail for some folks -- but it's
there if you need it).  It, too, is free -- it also
has an advantage in that it does NOT need to be
installed, so it can be run directly from a flash
drive or CD.
<http://www.gtopala.com/index.html>

As most of you know, analog broadcast TV will cease as
of February 19th, 2008, to be replaced by a digital
system -- just over a year from now.  For those of us
that are on cable or satellite, no worries -- but for
those of us using over-the-air signals (rabbit ears or
a roof-top antenna) the current system will go dark.
The U.S. government has just announced the
availability of voucher coupons worth $40 toward the
purchase of a digital tuner box that can be used with
any current analog-only TV set.  Here's a good story,
with link:
<http://www.physorg.com/news118389482.html>

Many other useful links are posted on the OPCC Group
"Links" pages, but are set up to be open and available
to all:
<http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/opcc/links/>

Now for a bit of fun.  Via
<http://www.CuteOverload.com> I ran across an amazing
(and amusing) YouTube Flash video of a cockatoo
dancing to a tune by the Backstreet Boys -- it's a
hoot right up to the Big Finish...
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utkb1nOJnD4>

~~ Mikey

Enter your vote today!  A new poll has been created for the
opcc group:

Which hardware platform(s) and/or operating system(s) do you primarily use?  If
you have any comments or are interested in alternatives to what you are
currently using, feel free to post them to the list!

   o PC with Windows Vista (any version)
   o PC with Windows XP (any version)
   o PC with Windows 2000 (any version)
   o PC with Windows ME
   o PC with Windows 98 SE
   o PC with Windows 98
   o PC with Windows 95
   o PC with Linux or BSD (any version)
   o Mac with OS X  (any version)
   o Mac with OS 9 or earlier


To vote, please visit the following web page:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/opcc/surveys?id=12700666

Note: Please do not reply to this message. Poll votes are
not collected via email. To vote, you must go to the Yahoo! Groups
web site listed above.

Thanks!

I have added a new folder to our OPCC "Links" pages.
Though not directly computer-related, it is something
that will affect all of us to varying degrees, so I
have included it.

You don't have to be an OPCC member to access our
links -- feel free to look around if you haven't done
so before.

"06 * Digital TV (DTV) Transition"
<http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/opcc/links/06___Digital_TV__DTV__Transition_\
001199817315/>

If that link gets mangled, here's the TinyURL for it:
<http://tinyurl.com/3528vz>

If you want to join our OPCC Yahoo! Group, drop me a
line and I'll sign you up!

~~ Mikey

OK, so this ISN'T science fiction OR computer related
-- but I just HAD to share it.

Found on http://www.CuteOverload.com:
"Dolphin play bubble rings"
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMCf7SNUb-Q>

~~ Mikey

Here's something the Internet is good for: webcams!

One of my favorites is pointed at the famous crosswalk
featured on the cover of the Beatles' "Abbey Road" LP
-- in fact, you can sometimes watch people re-enacting
the cover in near-real-time:
<http://www.abbeyroad.co.uk/virtual_visit/webcam>

Just remember -- they're 5 hours ahead of us in
London...

The "Old Faithful" geyser at Yellowstone National Park
has its own webcam, updated every 30 seconds:
<http://www.nps.gov/archive/yell/oldfaithfulcam.htm>

Closer to home and with the added coolness that you
can                      control the camera in real
time from your browser with Java, we have Ludington
harbor:
<http://www.ludingtondailynews.com/webcam/worldcams.php>
and the Detroit River/Belle Isle from atop the Dossin
Great Lakes Museum:
<http://www.detroithistorical.org/webcam/default.htm>

~~ Mikey

I was going to send this link to just my computer
list, but decided that it may be useful to all, even
me.  Even though I run Linux about 90% of the time, I
still run Windows XP about 10% of the time.

Those of us that run Windows need a software firewall,
even if we have a router to act as a minimal hardware
firewall.  The reason?  While a router or the built-in
Windows XP software firewall filter inbound traffic
(from the Internet to you), they do NOT filter
outbound traffic (from your PC to the Internet).

This means that if, despite your best efforts, you
manage to get infected by a Trojan or 'bot like the
"Storm Worm" you could STILL be hijacked and used to
spread spam or the "worm" itself.

Previously, I have recommended the free version of the
"Zone Alarm" (ZA) software firewall, but no longer.  I
now recommend the free "Comodo Pro Firewall" instead
-- it's MUCH more powerful and flexible than the
minimally-featured free ZA product. I have now been
using it for over a month.  Here's a useful review:
<http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2236657,00.asp>

~~ Mikey

I know this is a little late -- I just found out about
it in time to watch the launch -- but NASA TV had the
Shuttle launch in streaming video.  I post this for
future reference:
<http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html>

Wonder of wonders, it worked fine in Linux --
full-screen, close to broadcast-TV quality...

~~ Mikey

I found this bit of computer history on TechRepublic:

"The finest computational system ever devised by man,
Remington Rand presents the UNIVAC. Capable of
processing twelve thousand digits per second, its
giant dynamic mercury delay-line memory tanks are
surely the greatest technical achievement in the
history of electronic difference engines. This
newsreel explains it all."
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2fURxbdIZs>

Eckert & Mauchly had just been forced to sell the
company to Remington Rand due to fallout from the
McCarthy HUAC hearings.  My guess on the date of this
advertising newsreel would be late 1951 or early 1952.
"Uni-this" and "Uni-that" is quite amusing ad-speak.
Gotta love the grey crinkle finish on everything, too
-- that SCREAMED "business" in the early fifties.
Those mercury tank memory modules looked sorta like
porcupine hatboxes...

~~ Mikey

This time of year, severe weather is not uncommon --
it's good to have a means of monitoring the goings-on
outdoors.  The only piece of "advertising-supported"
software of ANY type that I recommend is WeatherBug:
<http://www.WeatherBug.com>
which is locally affiliated with WXYZ-TV (channel 7 in
Detroit).  In my opinion, the distributed nature of
its weather stations, combined with its educational
value (many of its weather stations are at elementary
and middle schools) outweighs the advertising
downside. Though the software only runs under
Microsoft Windows, the website DOES provide real-time
data that you can view in ANY browser.

For those that can't stomach the ads, or who simply
want a free-and-ad-free alternative that runs under
Windows, there's Weather Pulse:
<http://www.tropicdesigns.net/weather_pulse.html>
While certainly less fancy than WeatherBug, it still
provides good information in a useful interface.

Two of the leading commercial weather services are The
Weather Channel and AccuWeather.  Both provide free
downloads and services.  For those of us that run
Linux or Mac OS X, both services provide Firefox
extensions.  Since Firefox extensions are OS-agnostic,
they run fine in any environment that supports
Firefox.  Both also offer a variety of toolbars and
widgets for a variety of environments.
<http://www.accuweather.com/downloadcenter.asp>
<http://www.weather.com/services/downloads/index.html>

~~ Mikey