[UCS Trademark]

Magazine - February 2003

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[Photo of Cliff] [Baton Bleu Image]

By Cliff Millward, Editor cliffm@xmission.com

Segue Update:
San Francisco Bans Segways on
Sidewalks, Bike Paths

Found this on the Internet…

“On December 6, 2002, San Francisco civic leaders voted 8-2 to bar the use of Segways on footways and cyclepaths.

The ban is welcomed by Matt Smith, a columnist on San Francisco Weekly. In a hard-hitting polemic, he called the Segway “ the ultimate American doomsday machine,” potentially responsible for a “tsunami of lard.”

He said the Segway is “a national threat at least as grave as Iraq: It’s a high-technology lard-making device introduced at a moment when America is suffocating from obesity.”

The last thing fat Americans need is a device that allows them to walk even less than they already do, said Smith. Legislators of San Francisco should be congratulated, he said.

Mayoral spokesman P.J. Johnston said the ban “sends a defeatist message from San Francisco to the rest of the world. We’re going to be the first city in the country to send out the message that we’re afraid of this product, rather than embracing new technologies and new forms of transportation. It says we’re so fearful that we don’t even want to contemplate its use.”

And it’s not just because of the laziness potential of the device: the claim that it’s pedestrian-friendly and will always stop before crashing into fellow sidewalk users was poo-poohed by Smith. There’s evidence that Segway supporters have crashed into walls in San Francisco, damaging civic property, he claims.

San Francisco’s cycle advocacy group, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, had hoped Segway LLC would put its lobbying cash behind building more Segway-friendly cycle paths. But the corporation declined, arguing the 12-mph devices should be allowed on sidewalks.

In San Francisco, where people still use the sidewalks, this appears to have led to Segway Corp’s downfall.”

Perhaps someone should invent a wireless visual connection to the Segway that will allow it to be controlled by your computer. That way you could send it to do your bidding without leaving your easy chair! McDonalds, here I come -- and please Super Size that order!

Future Developments?

In another article I read on the Internet, it highlighted the improving IT market.

“The president’s budget will be officially released Feb. 3 . . . . . [and] will focus on using IT to increase security and information gathering to thwart terrorist threats.“

Other stories have also appeared stating this same contention, however, some journalists are not so hopeful. I guess the fact is that “nobody knows.” It is wise, however, to be optimistic. Sooner of later good news will appear. Perhaps some in our midst will obtain jobs with the U.S. Government.

Other prognosticators foresee Microsoft going into a decline. Linux will be neck and neck with Microsoft for new server business. Microsoft Office’s market share will also erode when Sun pushes an ad campaign for StarOffice.

Still other pundits see Microsoft releasing Office for Linux, but it will sabotage it so badly that no one will use it. Some predict that Time Warner will spin-off AOL. Then AOL, Sun and Apple will merge with hopes of dethroning Microsoft.

Now that Microsoft had been ordered to ship Sun Java with Windows, will they comply?

Other News

Hewlett-Packard has regained its position as the world’s largest PC maker. They shipped 120,000 more computers than Dell in the fourth quarter of last year.

Finally, what do you think is in store for Blue Chips this year? Let me know.

Finé

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Your board and the SIG leader, George Lewis, have been working for some time now trying to re-establish the SIG meetings at a common location. After an abortive attempt with New Horizons, we have finally reserved some rooms at the University of Utah Student Union Building for the next few months. See elsewhere in this magazine for the schedule of future meetings. We hope you received notice of the first meeting in January via the ucs-events mailing list. We have added some totally new permanent SIGs recently. The Genealogy SIG is continuing. New SIGS include the Wireless SIG (run by Mike Crawford and Don Nendell), the Digital Camera SIG (run by Dave Otterstrom) and a one-time SIG for CD ROM burning (run by Bob Beaudoin). We have promised this for some time and are finally doing it. The University location has internet access, so we hope it will be a good location.

The only other thing required to make this successful is your support through your attendance. Your interest and contributions are absolutely needed. SIGs are an integral part of any User Group. The General meeting is only a part of what we do and provides a narrower opportunity to learn. The SIGs are an opportunity to dig into a subject in more detail, a chance to really get your feet wet and your hands dirty. Some of the SIGS were not well attended at our previous location at the South High campus of SLCC. We hope the new offerings will be of interest to you. We can always start new SIGS, but we need suggestions and someone who is interested in leading it. There is a lot of talent in our group. Please come and share with us. As you know, our membership has been dwindling but seems to have leveled off over the last three months. If we can make the SIG meetings successful, maybe this will give us a tool to recruit new members.

When you come, bring a friend!

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by James Alexander
At the beginning of this new year, I had the enforced opportunity to do some reading. Most of what I did was not computer related. However, as the magazines and manuals stacked up, I realized that I needed to read or toss. Being a pack rat, I read. The first several articles I read had disclaimers of ownership or vested interests. That is, revealing that the writer/publication has a financial or other reason that suggests the article could be influenced or prejudiced.

Trying to be honest, I found myself asking what influences me as a writer in this column or the reviews I write. First, in this column there is always some sort of influence, though I promise the thoughts and words are mine.

There are rarely rewards for what I write here, unless you count respect or ridicule. In a review the influences are subtle, and there are more. I confess the satisfaction of writing a well written review is my greatest reward, followed closely by having our editor happy with content in before deadlines. There are other influences with reviews: - well done reviews earn respect from companies and PR firms who may offer additional products for review in the future; - reviewing products provides the chance to learn more about computing; and - being able to retain some review products after a completed review is an incentive we have used to recruit new writers.

There might even be the idea that getting a product that is retained after review, might influence the writer to write up a positive conclusion. Candidly, I believe that our reviewers prefer the reward of a well done review. That said I want to disclose the other influences: my occupation; computer publications; other writers; public relations people; and (yep!) computer users.

My OCCUPATION as an accountant and business systems developer guarantees that I am going to make recommendations that are solid and conservative. However, do not ask me about games, I have such a low interest and nearly no gaming experience. The few games I have reviewed, I generally have been more interested in the technical accomplishments, rather than how the game plays or if it has plot or intelligence. By the way, I still recommend Putt-Putt games because my daughter loves them so much.

I am a regular subscriber to two printed PUBLICATIONS. My most read print publication is PC World, which I usually read cover to cover(not always timely). PC World is great for the desktop environment. My other printed publication is InfoWorld. InfoWorld is more oriented to corporate computing and in general the business of computers. Both of these publications frequently alert me to information and trends, that often end up later in this column. There are several columnists covering trends and new products who I like to read. I read many of the feature articles about certain products or comparisons of the best of a product category. Often I agree with what the publications recommend, though I may disagree with what they like or even dislike their bias.

My subscriptions to digital publications, mail lists, and other digital publishing web sites accesses more specialized information. Just like the printed media, but more concentrated, I generally receive 8-9 weekly, another dozen are received monthly or randomly. All of these I have requested and have printed versions, such as IDG News, InfoWorld Online, and PC World. Some of these are from manufacturers such as Hewlett Packard, Microsoft, Iomega, and Adobe.

There are some AUTHORS who I find a high preference for. For Windows, I confess a strong preference to Brian Livingston’s books and articles. Others influential writers include Steve Gibson, Michael Levy, Bob Lewis, John Dvorak, and Macrone. I also have to add that certain software has also influenced me and influences how I use other products. These influential software products include: WordPerfect; Lotus 1-2-3; QuattroPro; D-Base; PhotoFinish; SnagIt; PageMaker; and LapLink.

PUBLIC RELATIONS contacts are the life blood of connecting to the press community. I have enjoyed the privileges of being a member of the press community for decades, and for the last 10 years in the computer press corp. I can honestly say the public relations people are some of the most persistent and entertaining I have known. The ones I have come to appreciate are the ones who are creative, but honest in getting information out to writers such as myself. There are some whose track record with me is superior, and I will carefully look at the leads they provide. Not to say I do not try to find the leads that help me to meet the needs of my editor and publisher, meaning I get lots of mail - electronic and print. With over 200 leads a week, obviously I will not have the option to follow most of those leads.

COMPUTER USERS come in many forms. I have the opportunity of working with a variety of computer users from novices to programmers and operations managers. I like novices and students because I have to assure that my communications help them learn what they came to me to get. However, my most favorite challenge is the request to help someone find a solution for which there is no off the shelf solution they know of. This influences me as a writer, because these people are the majority of my readers. Hopefully, I am as useful to the readers as the gurus that I go to for my hard problems.

So finally, I have made my disclosure of what influences and prejudices me as I write both this column and even as I select products to review and then later review those products. A last thought, in the early 1980’s I needed to make several recommendations to management on how we could improve and automate a portion of my office. I did a lot of research, and wrote up the proposals. My number one choice was passed over, and over the last 20 years I had to find solutions to make the second choice work the way it should have. That lesson is still one of my strongest influence. The cost of making do with a second rate choice is not worth the amount of re-working, even when that was the first choice. Sometimes it more valuable to admit you have made a poor decision, and start over, rather than to make do. So from time to time, I will admit I made a poor opinion or review.

Next month I am going to discus the problems of being access challenged.

Till next time you drop by the Back Porch, have a good time. And remember, help other PC users when ever you can. Send questions or subjects you would like a Back Porch opinion on to james.ucs@juno.com

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InDesign Revisited:
Some Problems, But an Excellent Product

by Cliff Millward

A few years ago I did a review of InDesign by Adobe. I was not very complimentary about the product. I felt that it was not much of an improvement over PageMaker. I still retain some of those conclusions, but I believe my prejudices were and are influenced by my familiarity with PageMaker.

PageMaker was originally the cash-cow product of the Aldus Corporation which was purchased a few years ago by Adobe. The first thing Adobe did was to change some keyboard commands to make them more in line with their cash-cow product PhotoShop. This action made sense to them as they were PhotoShop oriented. The changes, however, made it more awkward for PageMaker users. I assume that many PageMaker users objected (as I did) and further changes seemed to have been throttled. As a result, the later upgrades of Page Maker contained few changes and, frankly, were not worth the price of the upgrade. I suspect that they wanted everyone to switch to their newer, more upscale product InDesign.

InDesign is somewhat of a merger of PageMaker and PhotoShop. Users of PhotoShop will feel rather comfortable using it as the look and feel leans toward PhotoShop. PageMaker users, I believe, are not as comfortable.

The boxes which you can display on the desktop in InDesign offer great flexibility but take up too much visual space. PageMaker had an add-on program produced by Extensis called Page Tools which allowed small buttons to be placed up and down the sides, top and bottom, floating — wherever you wanted them. It offered an amazing amount of short-cut commands including many that Adobe had not thought of! Once you had the buttons in place, you could produce output extremely rapidly. The buttons were small, out of the way, and were where you wanted them. InDesign offers no such option.

I suggest in future upgrades of InDesign that they explore reducing the floating boxes to buttons. I believe they could easily do this as their Tools “box” consists of buttons and can be placed anywhere on the screen.

The best of both worlds would be to make boxes or buttons optional at the discretion of the user. Perhaps some buttons could trigger a temporary box which could be easily closed; or even offer fly-out options.

One reason I believe this would be better is because the present color box makes it extremely difficult to choose the color you desire because the box is too small. If it would be reduced to a button, you could click on it and a large easily closable box could appear on screen thus making it easier to choose the exact color you want. The same action could apply to other complicated commands.

If these changes were implemented it would reduce screen clutter and, I believe, make the program easier to use.

With all the above criticism you might think that I do not like InDesign. To the contrary, I believe it is an excellent program, it just needs some tweaking.

One notable improvement over PageMaker is the ability to import images with transparent backgrounds. This, obviously, is a feature of PhotoShop.

Finally, InDesign is a better, more flexible program than PageMaker and deserves the serious attention of layout and publishing houses. However, it does have a somewhat high learning curve. Also, since the Extensis program PageTools is no longer available for PageMaker, it cripples its productivity by making it harder to use.

The big drawback to InDesign is that it is an expensive product. PageMaker is less expensive. If your needs of publishing do not include exact placement and critical detail, you would be better off with PageMaker. If, however, you want greater control and a higher quality of production, InDesign must be your choice.

The more you use a product the more you discover what it can do. I will report in future editions on any future discoveries or new upgrades.

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Some weird guy told me that soon my refrigerator was going to be hooked up to the Internet. Huh? Why would I want my fridge want to be on the Internet? Is there a chat group for refrigerators, or can any appliance sign on? Do you suppose all the color TVs get together and make fun of the toasters? How about those pretty new European style devices, I’ll bet they probably have a private site so they don’t have to associate with the common brand you find at Sears.

So far, nobody’s shown me why I would want to put my appliances on the Internet. I know that as you read this, you’re thinking, “Why shouldn’t my toaster have an IP address? Henry Finkelberry probably has one on his. It’s not fair. I have to get an IP address right away.”

The thing is, I’m not sure I really want a chip in my appliances. As matter of fact I’ll bet it’s probably another way for the government to find out how much stuff we have so they can raise our taxes. At this years Consumers Electronic show they had an Evolution Robotics ER2 Robot. It could wheel around and transmit audio or video data on it’s own. Would you want something silently sneaking around your house at night, catching you on video? Now when you tell your wife you don’t know who ate the last piece of cake, not only will the fridge tell on you, but the robot will show her a short movie of you, raiding the fridge in your underwear.

Enough of that, lets move on to more important things. On the 26th of January we had the first Digital Camera Shared Interest Group (SIG) of the year. This was a project we started last year that kind of fell by the wayside. I want to apologize for that and try to make it work again. I want to thank the people who came back again and invite anyone with an interest in this to come to these meetings. I like to call it a shared interest group instead of a special interest group because I feel we can share our knowledge and learn from each other. I am the last person who should lead this group because I get the feeling I know the least about this subject. I figure I can just act as a conduit and a procurer of information. I’ll try to get people who are skilled in this field and bring them to the meetings so we can learn from them. I can bring my computer to the meetings with a memory reader and what ever other hardware I can find for us to try. I have a lot of different software and we can try different products to see how well they work.
I was asked at the meeting if I knew what make of scanner did slides best. One of the members of the group has a rather extensive collection of slides he wants to convert to digital format. If anyone knows a good scanner that will do this we would appreciate a call or an e-mail. I personally have several slides that were my dads that would be handy to have saved in a data base.

One last thing, I saw this picture and wondered if all these kids are learning to be like some of the software companies we won’t name. Look closely and you’ll see each kid looking at someone else’s screen. This teaches them the old rule “If you can’t create something great, Steal it!”

Later, Dave

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ReadIris Pro 8 OCR Review:
Many Great Improvements + Speed

By James Alexander

Manufacturer:
I.R.I.S. - North American Offices. Headquarters Belgium
1600 N.W. BOCA RATON BLVD,
STE 20
BOCA RATON, FL 33432
web site http://www.irislink.com/

Hardware Requirements:
486 CPU, 64 MB RAM,
95 MB HD Space
OS: Windows 95 and up.

Addition requirements:
twain compliant scanner
internet connection for website access

I had looked at the Readiris OCR (version 6) product previously, but did not review it at that time as Cliff Millward had recently reviewed the product. However, I did review then and continue to use the IRIS Pen II, especially with my laptop. The IRIS Pen’s OCR quality is exceptional, and the variety of applications I can output to is why I use it. Based upon my satisfaction with the IRIS Pen, I felt that since this is two releases later, it was time to review Readiris Pro version 8. Additionally, in the interval ScanSoft Inc acquired from Caere and Xerox most of the leading OCR packages, and then developed and released OmniPage Pro 12, which offers equivalent feature sets as Readiris. Thus the OCR market appears to have only these two leading products competing with new version releases and features.

Readiris Pro 8’s installation is Windows typical, put in the CD, respond to a few questions, wait a few moments, and then be able to OCR documents. There are some extras that come with the product: Cardiris LE a limited edition of IRIS’s product which allows the scanning and filing of business cards into a database; PhotoScore Lite from Neuratron which does limited scanning and conversion of musical scores to a midi file format; and AcrobatReader from Adobe for reading the manuals and other information.

There are two advertised features about the product that I will focus upon a). Speed - “up to 1300 characters per second”, and b). “powerful and easy-to-use tools to convert documents (including .PDF files) into editable files”. Some other features which make Readiris Pro 8 a better product: recognizes up to 104 different languages including 4 Asian; seven user interface languages(English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Brazilian); and input/output is more expanded and user friendly.

SPEED is relative, but can be tested. Readiris claims a speed of 1300cps (characters per second), making it the fastest in speed claims. Some cautions about speed tests and results are needed. First, character recognition speed testing occurs after the scan process has acquired the text, and second, every OCR program must learn the font and sizes before any speed can be realized. In testing I was able to come fairly close in calculating speeds exceeding 1200 cps, however accuracy was sometimes impacted by mistakes I made during the ‘learning’ process. One run which used an Acrobat file came fairly close to 1300 cps. I was also impressed with the speed of scanning Acrobat documents. I timed a 110 page .pdf document which scanned in 6 minutes(for all 3 operations, due to a 50 page maximum limit), and then took about 12 minutes (including the font and line graphics ‘learning’ time) to create the output full page formatted .rtf file. I would conclude Readiris can capture the speed title.

TOOLS and OCR ENGINE were great. Personally the OCR Wizard is a definite keeper. I launched it every OCR read I did, and got great results. Since I was doing different types of OCR scans for the review this was very helpful. If however, you scan the same type of document every time, then you can use the ‘Scan/Open’, ‘Sort’, or ‘Recognize’ buttons directly, instead of running the wizard.

The basic interface is very easy to use. There are options for almost every tool or button in the interface which provides more complex tools for input, OCR, and output.

Input sources are the good news here, input comes from scanner, camera, fax, any type of hardware image processor, and from a large number of files including the Acrobat .pdf format. I tested several Acrobat type (text searchable, read only, and data-entry) files including files with tables. I scanned the IRS form 945-A, HTML from the Internet and .pdf from the saved file. The form has lots of table grid to spare, as shown in the screen-shot. This is certainly the best of the new features. People who deal with the web or Acrobat documents, finally you can convert the .pdf file and web pages into editable, useable documents.

Output options have been greatly improved, allowing the user greater flexibility in how you work. Previous versions of OCR products either relied upon a native interface to MS Word or some macro to convert the output of the OCR package to few other applications. Readiris outputs to a format that works with a specific application, then calls that application, handing off the converted file. You can specify the application you want the program to send to or the kind of file to save the document conversion to. The 17 applications that Readiris will hand off to includes: MS Word, MS Excel, OpenOffice, Acrobat(with or without graphics); Corel WordPerfect; HTML editor; Internet Explorer; Netscape; and StarOffice 6. There are 30 file output formats that expand beyond the 17 applications to include other applications and older versions. For example Readiris saves WordPerfect into a WP .rtf format. Or into the older WordPerfect 4.2 .txt format. I believe this is a much better approach than making one application the default output, forcing users to have to make work-around solutions. The disadvantage is that the converted document into some applications did not match the original formatting exactly, but then the single application output places the user into the same scenario, but with more work to convert to another file format.

The processing of the scanned image into a converted document can be done in two ways. The user easy approach is handled by the OCR Wizard’s Autoformat™ technology. However not every document behaves, so there are tools for the user to direct what areas are to be read and what areas are to be graphic images. The ‘Sort’ button allows the arranging in recognition flow order: yellow text areas; blue graphics areas; and purple Windows table areas. Skewed text is adjusted automatically or manually, or ignored depending upon user selection.

The tool columns on each side allows many adjustments to each page being scanned. The interface is convenient, and the Tool tips help identify the service each button/tool provides for the user. The only ‘reading’ problem had to do with a document having two(or more) font types, and one font was a small caps font. If there are enough similarities between the other font(s) and the small caps font shape, then you may get a number of words containing capitalized letters inside. The problem comes from the font learning process. In that situation, click ‘Do Not Learn’ on the small caps font. Obviously the learning process will affect accuracy and speed. It is wise to visually go through a document before running the recognize process. Special attention should be made for logos, non-traditional accents, symbols, and other details that need to be treated as graphics. Additionally, formatting from a landscape oriented document(like the IRS 945-A form) tends to be hardest to proportionally render into the converted document, and will require some tweaking to get it to match the original page formatting.

Overall, I am very impressed with this OCR product. Speed is a definite feature of the product, and in the absence of speed claims in the competition’s descriptions, I would have to agree to IRIS’s claim for fastest text recognition. The speed and capability I observed for Acrobat document reads is impressive, and one of the best selling points for the product. The recognition accuracy and format rendering faithfulness was very good. Faster, less expensive, great accuracy, multiple and mixed language fonts capacity, and very user friendly interface are all factors that result in a strong recommendation for Readiris Pro 8 to any one needing OCR capability. Though not reviewed, there is a corporate version of the product, which may meet stronger demands and multiple users within the same organization.

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Submitted by Frank Herriott

The meeting was convened by President Stuart Gygi.

Several opening announcements were made:

Rick Gregory had an announcement about the SIG meetings on Saturday, January 25, 2003. They will not be held at the New Horizon location as previously announced. Instead, they will be held at the Student Union Building on the U of U campus, on the third floor of the East Wing. There should be an announcement elsewhere in this issue. The Genealogy SIG will also hold a mid-month meeting at the West Jordan Senior Center on Tuesday, January 14, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

A trial copy of BackUp DVD Pro is available from Downloads.com to use in making backup copies of DVD’s to DVD or a CD format.

Open Access: A question was asked about a source for audio to load MP3 players. The following were suggested by various members: Audio Grabber or Music Match. Also suggested was using the Meta-Search engines for their specialized search functionality.

Main Presentation: Roots Magic by Bruce Buzbee.

Bruce Buzbee began with a brief history of the genealogy software product offerings he has been associated with. The program Ancestral Lines version 1 was his first program. This was licensed to Parsons Technology and renamed to Family Origins. Parsons Technology was later bought by Intuit who then sold the software to Broderbund Software who sold the program to The Learning Company which sold it to Mattel which formed Genealogy.com with five different genealogy programs. This was sold to the A&E network.

Some two and a half years ago, Buzbee began to write a new version of his genealogy program. Responding to a question from the audience, he specifically mentioned that it does not support the direct import of GEDCOM files.

Bruce first demonstrated the Place Finder program, a package used to place the locations (state, county, and town, etc.) found in the genealogy field using a large database from the USGS.

Next, Bruce went into a detailed comparison of the feature set in Roots Magic and contrasted it with Family Origins.

The program is available for order at RootsMagic.com. An introductory price of $19.95 and $5 S&H is the opening price special. He did say that the shipping and handling would be waived for UCS Blue Chips members.

The Roots Magic program requires 14 MB of hard disk space and 35 MB should be allowed for the Place Finder program.

The meeting concluded with the usual drawing for Door prizes and Double-Your-Pleasure selections.

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Zip-Linq® USB A_B Extension Cable
The "REEL" Solution to Cable Clutter

Reviewed by Don Nendell

Manufacturer:
Cables Unlimited
1920 Mark Court, #100
Concord, CA 94520 USA
WebSite: http://www.ziplinq.com
Phone: 800.609.7550 x135
E-mail: info@ziplinq.com
Fax: 925.609.7538

Minimum System requirements:

Hardware:
IBM PC / AT & Notebook &
Sub-Notebook & Mac

Power Supply:
No external power supply needed
Interface: USB Specification 1.0/1.1

Price: $11.99

(ZIP-LINQ brand retractable cables are marketed exclusively through Cables Unlimited. Order all types of cables
from their web site <http://www.cablesunlimited.com>)

I only have one regret in doing this review; that I didn’t have a digital camera to record the eye-catching come-on at the USB Pavilion at the 2003 International CES Show (CES) January 9, 2003. In walking by the ZIP-LINQ booth, Rick Pedro, Director of Channel Marketing, was using “something” on a string to massage this lovely lady’s back. Vegas being what it is, this certainly looked very provocative and captured a number of passer-by’s immediate attention - including mine. Now, I’ve seen a great many come-on’s all around the world, but this one took the cake - a real prize winner.

Upon closer examination of this curious object being used quite seductively, sadly, it turned out to be a very simple retractable USB A-B extension cable. But, not to despair, it really is a very useful USB accessory whose time has come.

Even now, I still can’t get over it; what a novel way to introduce at the CES Show, a brilliant new concept in the form of a brand new USB A-B extension cable that can expand out to 2’ with just a simple pull. Another pull and the cable automatically retracts back into the housing. Their compact design allows the user to fit them nicely in their laptop bag, pocket or purse - perfect for people on the go. And, all ZIP-LINQ cables are PC and Mac compatible.

Back to our intro story. Rick was using the “housing” on the expanded cable as the massaging tool so pleasingly on her back. Everyone in attendance was convinced that both participants were getting the “full” benefit of the . . . Er . . . cable. The onlookers were certainly enjoying the exhibition too. In summary: Novel, utilitarian, and affordable, I can heartily recommend the back massager . . . Er . . . the ZIP-LINQ Retractable USB A-B Cable (order number ZIP-USB-C01). ZIP-LINQ has a number of other great ZIP-LINQ cables which can be seen at their website www.ziplinq.com; which are marketed exclusively by Cables Unlimited’s on their website at www.cablesunlimited.com. Give ZIP-LINQ cables a try, you’ll be pleasantly surprised - as well as really pleased. I most certainly was . . . Er . . . am. ;-}

Ciao!

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16 MB USB Drive Removable USB Keychain-size Portable Hard Disk:
The Wave of the Future for transporting your Data (and Stuff)

Reviewed by Don Nendell

Manufacturer:
JMTek
18034 72nd Ave. South
Seattle, WA 98032 USA
Web Site: http://www.usbdrive.com/
Phone: 425.251.9400
E-mail: nasales@usbdrive.com
support@usbdrive.com
Tech Support: 425.251.9400 EXT# 216
Fax: 425.251.9401

Minimum System requirements
Hardware: IBM PC / AT & Notebook &
Sub-Notebook

Operating Systems:
Windows 98SE/ME/XP/2000,
Mac OS 9.2-10.1 and
Linux 2.4.17
Capacity: 16/32/64/128/256/512MB & 1 and 2GB

Drivers: Only with Windows 98SE

Data Retention: Up to 10 Years with Write Protection Support Power Supply: No external power supply needed, USB power supply (2.7V to 3.3V) Weight: 1 ounce

CD-ROM Drive

Interface: USB Specification 1.0/1.1
Price: $29.95 for 16MB Version (Order all types from their web site <www.usbmall.com/store/usbmall> or available through resellers and distributors worldwide)

Question: Why would anyone want to buy one of these tiny things the size of a car key (2 3/4” long) in the first place? Answer: Because they are the modern versions of the floppy disk, and should hit the 2G capacity soon. Bottom line, they are small, handy, secure, convenient, sturdy and finally, very affordable. The fact that they perform an infinite variety of intra- and extra-computer transfer of data tasks with unbelievable simplicity, reliability and ease make them absolutely, “must-have.” JMTek says, “The USB Drive has revolutionized the way that computer users all around the world save, store and transport their data. Instead of wasting time with flimsy floppy disks, CD’s or bulky zip drives, today’s smart computer users are saving massive amounts of data on a rugged device the size of a car key.”

As I reported in last December’s issue, “A new techno-revolution has begun in earnest. I’m (specifically) referring to the phenomenal USB (removable and portable) Hard Drives.” Validating that supposition, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) on January 7, 2003 released a report (just before the 2003 Consumer Electronics Show (CES)) stating that sales of consumer electronics products will total a record $99.5 billion (US) in 2003, marking a 3.5 percent increase over 2002. As part of the CEA’s good news picture, the report says that PC sales are also now back on the upswing. That fact coupled with a 26 percent increase in digital imaging, digital cameras’ sales will total more than 11 million units ($2.9 billion) in 2003. What this all means is, people are going to have to move those images and their stuff between devices, computers and friends, and guess what devices they’re going to be using in transit? USB Drives, and their like which were all over CES.

Let me say at the outset, walking into the annual CES a couple of weeks ago was like entering a gigantic electronics superstore - more like releasing a chocoholic in a candy store - only a thousand times bigger, louder and much more crowded. Well you know me, I was naturally forced to go with the tide.

Riding the crest of that new found wave, and since 1998 with their initial release of the USB Drive in 16/32/64 and 128MB versions, JMTek has emerged as a leader in the personal data storage market. As a leading manufacturer of personal technology products, their claim to fame is that “. . . their products are designed to meet the business and personal external storage needs of virtually every software platform from notebooks and PCs to enterprise servers.” After visiting with them seriously at Fall Comdex 2002, and then again at their January 2003 CES booth, both held in Las Vegas, I am an absolute firm believer in them and their products. And get this, there’s even more to come from JMTek; their upgraded “third generation” USBDrive Professional - “The First All-in-one Enterprise Solution for Portable Storage.” But, that’s for another review.

I have already begun the steadfast transition from floppy disks to the USB Drive in earnest partly because this review, plus its graphics, wouldn’t fit on a floppy disk anyway. Then too, I am constantly moving around the house between computers - that can’t talk to each other over my wireless network - exceptionally large video files to be compiled and written to CD-R for later use in our wireless SIG’s (plus other absolutely critical personal needs). I most especially love the idea of removing critical and confidential files/data from my laptop and carrying them safely around my neck, or in my pocket, thereby completely relieving me of any potential for devastation and disaster should my laptop be stolen or compromised. A separation of church and state, so to speak brazenly. The list of potential uses for the USB Drive is endless, as well as critical, I feel.

There are a couple of drawbacks to all of the USB Hard Drive tokens I’ve seen, not just the USB Drive. For one, the plastic cap protecting the metal USB interface can be easily misplaced or lost when it is not resting firmly in its rightful place. Somehow that cap simply has to be married to the device in some manner in all the next versions. The same could certainly hold true with the device itself if it were left laying around for any length of time. Also, all USB (Hard Drives, or the like) tokens have to have an extension cable (very thoughtfully and conveniently provided with each USB Drive) if it is to be used on most Desktops; not all have USB outlets on the front panel. My suggestion to the reader is to add an optional USB hub to each computer to easily handle the plethora of USB components on the market today. Besides, you can connect up to 128 of them very easily, including the attractive USB Drive - or more USB Drives if desired.

The neck strap I’m using on my USB Drive has a quick disconnect for the USB Drive on it, so I don’t have to muss up my hair taking it off over my head each time I use it. Nice. The ladies will appreciate that little inconvenience on other USB (Hard Drive) tokens. I’m sure? Another consideration in looking for the right USB (Hard Drive) token is that perplexing small hole/ring on the device for attaching different styles of neck pieces - I have a grundle of them from the dozens of conferences I’ve attended. You may too! Make sure that the neck strap that comes with any of the neck-bound tokens actually does easily snap into the place provided for it. I had a little trouble with my USB Drive, but overcame it overall, to coin a phrase!

All-in-all, the above drawbacks are quite flimsy shortcomings, I’d say, for such wonderful, handy and, soon-to-be critical devices! The USB Drive is head and shoulders ahead of the others in the field, to be sure.

Features of the USB Drive

If you’re still not totally convinced of the invincibility of the USB Drive yet, maybe a few more positive benefits will do the job? With the exception of the Windows 98SE OS, no drivers, repeat no drivers, are ever needed - the USB Drive is completely plug-n-play. Caveat: You do however, have to “eject” the USB Drive, like all the other removable hard drives of its kind, before physically removing it from the computer. You could lose data, they say, if you just unplugged it without properly ejecting it. Not only do you have easy access, but you can also view its activity light on the end of the housing. Caveat: As with any “real” drive, you must wait until that light quits blinking before the unit is removed from the USB port. A small slide switch at the rear of the USB Drive immediately under the neck strap loop/ring/handle turns write-protect on or off. I can’t conceive of saving anything on the device for 10-years, but you can. Caveat: I’d politely suggest you wait for the “new” third generation USB Drive for that little trick, if I were you though!

Recap

The USB Drive is simply a tiny, “removable” hard drive and performs exactly like any other hard drive you’re familiar with - no different. Just plug it into your USB port and the OS will recognize it immediately. Then simply drag and drop your stuff onto it at your convenience, eject it, take it out, carry it some place else, stick it in there and then reverse transfer, e.g., drag and drop, your stuff. Piece of cake. Just think, all this even works between a PC and a Mac, as long as both machines are capable of handling the same types of files being moved between them. The USB Drive can also be carried in any pocket (if chic necklaces aren’t your bag), and they can be reused again, and again, and again, ad infinitum. You can even format it. The USB Drive is practically indestructible, yet it is light as a feather. PCMagazine has this to say about the JMTek USBDrive, “When it comes time to transfer data from one system to another-and you can’t do so over a network - this drive is a lifesaver.” - PCMagazine 4/5 STARS

Indeed the USB Drive could easily become a lifesaver. Mine. I can picture it all right now. What a hit I’ll be with an entire PowerPoint presentation draped fashionably around my neck at my next product demonstration. Yes ;-}

Ciao!

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AcerScan 320 USB Color Flatbed Scanner

Review by James Alexander

AcerScan 320U
USB color flatbed scanner

Manufacturer:
BenQ
(Formerly Acer Communications &
Multimedia Inc, and Acer Peripherals)
157, Shan-ying Rd.,
Gueishan, Taoyuan 333,
Taiwan , R.O.C.
Taipei Business Center
18 Jihu Rd., Neihu,
Taipei 114, Taiwan, R.O.C.
web site http://www.benq.com

Hardware Requirements:
USB connection, Pentium level CPU,
16 MB RAM,
CD-ROM
OS: Windows 98 and up.
Addition requirements: download the newest version of MiraScan(ver 4.03 reviewed)

Contents: 1 flatbed (8.5” X12”) scanner, USB cable, power supply, installation quick setup & use guide, manual, and softwar. The 4 CDs contained: MiraScan utility; scanner driver/USB utility; program extras - Copier, TextBridge OCR; Ulead PhotoExpress SE 2.0; and MetaCreations Kai’s Photo Soap 2 SE

Normally, we try to review new products, but there are a number of discontinued products which have been lowered in price, and are being released for quick distribution. These discontinued products provide real value and performance worth considering.

I had the option to buy for $30 a USB full color flatbed scanner the Acer Peripherals AcerScan 320U. I figured I could not lose on this deal. To be honest, I was so impressed with the performance and the bonuses, I acquired 2 more.

Acer Peripherals has changed name into the new company BenQ, however even though the AcerScan 320U is old-discontinued, there is still support for the product on the web page including a newer version utility program - MiraScan which does wonders for the user.

My wife is a novice with the PC, but with only a few times showing how to scan a document, she was able to without help copy a wide range of forms for her class handouts. This is great, no more late night runs to Kinko’s for copies. MiraScan is a very clean interface, follow the user guide, and it is a user friendly, problem free means of copying, creating graphics files, sending to the web, and sending the image to an application. MiraScan has both the Basic and Advanced modes interfaces for the user. The scanner and MiraScan allows original sources of printed materials, transparencies, and negatives. The standard resolution is 300 dpi, but the system can do 2400 dpi through software. Other than for some very high end work, the resolution provided through the AcerScan and MiraScan is exceptional for a consumer level scanner.

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Click 'n Burn Pro 2.0:
Good for Someone Just Starting to Burn CDs

Reviewed by Bob Beaudoin

Manufacturer:
Stomp, Inc.
1000 Brioso Drive
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
www.stompinc.com

System Requirements:
Pentium 166 Mhz or faster
32 Mb RAM
50 MB Free hard disk space
Supported CD recorder
(for current list, please visit
www.clicknburn.com)
Microsoft Windows 95 thru XP

I was asked by Leroy Johnson to do a review of this program. It was going to consist of a live demo during the time of our sessions on making CD’s. Time ran out to do this so I will do a written review. I wasn’t sure that I wanted to do a review since I was happy with the program I was using. (Nero) I got a new laptop for my work and it came with Click’N Burn installed.

This program doesn’t have all the bells and whistles as some others, but that is part of it’s appeal. It is much like using Word when Wordpad would do the job. For most jobs of making CD’s, this program works fine. I would recommend this program for someone just starting to burn CD’s.

Click’N Burn comes with a suite of applications:

Click”N Burn Pro – Create CD to CD copies, Music CDs, Data CD-ROMs, Video CDs, CD Extra, and Mixed Mode CDs.

Click’N Design 3d Silver – Create CD labels and jewelcase inserts.

Click’N Edit Sound LE – Record music direct to hard disk from sound card and edit with Click’N Edit Sound. Customize levels, trim silence, add effects.

Veritas Simple Backup – Perform regular system backups to CD-R/RW discs.

DLA – Packet writing software. Format a CD-RW and use like a floppy or zip disk.

There are two ways of running this program, a Starter version and the full application version. The starter version makes making a simple CD easy, as many of the options and menus are not dealt with.

I do not usually make labels, but I do not see any reason why this program would not make acceptable labels when needed.

The sound program does not have as many capabilities for filtering that some other programs have, but does allow simple editing of a sound file. It will create a sound file, so a separate program would not be needed. Again this would work for the simple type projects.

The backup and packet-writing applications are similar to many of the others programs which do the same thing.

Word of caution – only have one packet-writing software program on your computer. These programs conflict with one another so that none will work.

For the serious jobs, I will continue to use Nero. On the laptop, I intend to use Click’N Burn as it should be sufficient for the needs of this machine. At a upcoming Saturday SIG in January, a live demonstration of Click’N Burn will be done.

The street price is in the $40.00 neighborhood.

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By John Ogilvie

Reviewing Your Patent Application

You are an inventor. You believe your invention deserves a patent, and a patent application for it has been written. The application is now sitting in front of you, waiting for your final review before it is filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. What should you look for?

Patent law and other factors can guide or influence the examination of a patent application in ways that are difficult to predict. Indeed, every patent application is necessarily unique. But your application stands a much better chance of producing a commercially valuable patent if you review the application carefully with at least the following points in mind and then make any necessary changes before filing it.

1. Written Description. Review the application carefully for accuracy and completeness. It should describe the invention fully, clearly, and concisely. The description always includes text, and will often include drawings. A wide variety of drawings can be used. In describing software, for instance, the drawings might include source code excerpts, pseudo-code, tables, flow charts, data flow diagrams, or other diagrams.

2. Enablement. The application should enable any person skilled in the relevant technical fields to make and use the invention without undue experimentation. This requires judgment, since each application may have its own relevant technologies, its own level of ordinary skill, and its own measure of undue experimentation. Good patent counsel can help you understand how these requirements apply to your application.

3. Best mode. The application should also describe the best mode you currently know for making and using the invention. It doesn’t need to be the best approach anyone ever devises for this invention, but it must be the best you presently know. Your patent will not be valid if you try to hinder competitors by describing only an inferior approach while secretly continuing to use a better approach in your own business.

4. Inventorship. Who is legally an inventor depends on the patent claims presented in the application. Each inventor must contribute to the conception of the claimed invention. However, inventors need not have physically worked together or at the same time. Different inventors may make different types and sizes of contribution, and it is not necessary that every inventor contribute to every claim.

5. Prior art. Inventors and their patent counsel have a duty of candor to the Patent Office. If you have any information about public disclosures or commercial uses of the invention, about relevant previous work by anyone, or about the state of the art, you should tell your patent counsel. You are required to give the Patent Office all the information you have that is materiel to patentability. For instance, this might include issued patents, journal articles, marketing materials, white papers, and other publications; existing software; and information about disclosures of the invention or offers to license or sell the invention.

6. Commercial focus. This is not a legal requirement, but it is very important nonetheless. It might not be possible to cover every important aspect of a commercial product or process with your patent claims. Patents can only be granted for inventions which are new, useful and not obvious. But to the extent possible, the patent claims should focus on commercially valuable aspects of the invention. Patent applications are expensive to draft, negotiations with the Patent Office can add substantial cost, and patent enforcement or licensing activities can be very expensive even when they are ultimately profitable to you. Make sure the patent claims provide sufficient protection to justify the cost of obtaining and enforcing them.

A failure to meet any of these requirements can reduce or entirely eliminate the value of a patent which issues from your application. Patent law and practice also define other requirements; the list above is not meant to be complete. Be diligent, consult your patent counsel promptly with any questions, and you will increase the value of your patent.

John W.L. Ogilvie is a Registered Patent Attorney and founder of the Computer Law++ law firm. He can be reached at (801) 355-0828 or jwlo@LAWPP.com. More information is available at http://www.lawplusplus.com. COMPUTER LAW++, LAWPP, and LAW++ are federally registered trademarks of John Ogilvie. Copyright 1997-2002 John Ogilvie; All Rights Reserved.

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