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By Cliff Millward, Editor
Scheming Politicians & Scheming Entrepreneurs
Several years ago I was in charge of the periodical section of the Highland High School Library. My job there was to peruse the 150+ magazines that came in every month. This was done so that I could inform students who were researching subjects, where to find the materials they needed. While in this position, I felt as though I was one of the most informed persons in the world. Try reading or skimming that many publication per month and you will see what I mean!
The down side of this procedure was that I became painfully aware of much of the seamy side of world politics; despotic rulers, unscrupulous entrepreneurs, corrupt unions, etc. What you see going on in the news today is nothing new, but world events are now much more exposed due to better communication tools, particularly the Internet.
My new position as the co-host of a radio show demands that I check the Internet daily to glean information. In some way, I feel that I am back at Highland perusing the magazines! Scheming politicians and scheming entrepreneurs seem to be everywhere. Unfortunately, many of their unscrupulous actions covertly affect us; and I am not just talking about Washington, D.C.
"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts
absolutely."
Lord Acton (1834_1902)
Never in the history of this country has the above quote been so evident, and I believe this enhanced exposure can be directly attributed to the Internet. Matt Drudge exposed the dark side of Clinton; locally, Sue Ashdown is exposing US West's attempts to monopolize Internet connections and UDOT's effort to increase some charges related to cable laying that would, in effect, be a hidden tax. She also discovered some dealings by the Governor which the local newspapers refused to investigate. Sue sent the information to the Washington Post; they printed it. When our Governor saw it he immediately dropped the project. For more information, check Xmission's web site at www.xmission.com and/or listen to Internet Insights on KALL 910 radio. Be prepared, however, as it is disconcerting to discover that people you trust are not as trustworthy as you thought. A good example to this is the IOC. Who ever thought that "right here in River City" we would be the center of an International scandal?
Another interesting quote is:
"Celebrity distorts democracy by giving the rich, beautiful,
and famous
more authority than they deserve."
Maureen Dowd, U.S. journalist.
The New York Times, (Sept. 10, 1995)
Movie actors fit this category. When many actors reach star status, they immediately become experts about anything and everything! Recently Ted Turner said in effect (I don't have the exact quote) that the Commandment on Adultery should be repealed! I'm sure that if you looked hard enough, you could find celebrities that would refute all the commandments, but does that mean that they are correct and should be listened to? Of course not! However, many uninformed, unthinking people seem to believe that celebrity status guarantees infinite wisdom. Or is it because they know certain elements are wrong, but wish they would come to pass in order to justify their latent desires, make their life more comfortable, assuage their guilt, advance their own causes, make themselves sound profound; or all of the above?
Where is all this leading? Well let me pose a few questions to you. What do you think of Bill Gates? Should Internet Explorer be given away? What do you know of litigation involving the Internet? Should big companies be permitted to control or swallow up smaller companies against their wishes? Should politicians be permitted to sneak special interest items (pork barrel stuff) into necessary legislation? The list could go on and on.
The only way for this type of conduct to be terminated is for the general public to be informed, reach a reasoned conclusion and be willing to take action against it. The Internet is the new best source of accurate information. On the other hand, it is also the new best source of inaccurate information! Beware the spin doctors! Throw away the hype; seek the essence; use your learned knowledge of right and wrong, and don't be afraid to express your arrived conclusions even if it makes enemies (which it will!)
More next month. Finé
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.
. . from the President's Porch
*(UCS Bylaws limits service as President to no more than three consecutive
terms/years.
James completes his third consecutive year as President in mid-March.)
Last month, I wrote about some of my concerns for our user group. This month, being the last as President*, I want to address the future of this and other user groups. I also want to introduce you to some of the questions you will be asked on the survey attached to your ballots this month.
We have a great strength in our group, which has helped us continue. We are a "multi" user group.
In 1994, our group's membership peaked at about 550 members. Today the membership numbers about 300. The drop was not sudden, but two types of events have made the most impact. The easiest to trace, has to do with the splitting off or the formation locally of specialized user groups. At first our leadership did not anticipate these new groups, such as the Delphi Group. Some of our programming members wanted programming only so they left before we met their specific wants. Recently we deliberately planned for the seniors to eventually separate from us to form their own group with specific needs that our evening meetings could not meet. But our ability to execute the plan was lacking people. Happily the seniors have people with enough vision, and they made the plan work well. The second event like the first was not anticipated by user groups or even Microsoft, until it had swept us. This event is the start and growth of the Web-browser Internet. User groups have long provided multiple services to its members. Those services included shareware libraries, special product assistance, leads to Beta testing, low price purchasing, help, tips, etc.
The same type of services can be found on the Internet and they are getting crowded with new providers added daily. Accessing these resources, I believe, is not as easy nor of the same quality as a user group guru provides. Initially, downloading files was not so difficult, even with the early 300 baud, or the later zippier 2400 baud modems. Files were much smaller, and generally were compressed with the 2-3 standard utilities. Now files can be in the 20-30 Mb size, requiring hours even with a very good 56k baud modem and connection. You can download shareware and bombed-ware (time coded to work for 30-150 days after being started or worse.) But is it for you, who knows? There are many gems and enchanting items available as well as viruses and other not so fun stuff. There is room for both user groups and the Internet, we need to find our mix.
We have many exciting events coming in the next year. March alone will be filled with our elections and Microsoft at the general meeting, Silicon Mountain on the 20th, SIGs on the 27th, and the business of the group, as we get ready for the Hot Technology show April 28 & 29, the annual auction in May, a Swap Meet in September, our regular general meetings, etc.
Now for the second part of this column, Questions from the survey. Please think about these questions and let us -the Board of Trustees- know how you would like to see your user group move forward.
I am looking forward to the last few presidential duties to do, it has been a very busy three years. We are, as I said a multi-talented group. Many of you have helped me acquire some of your skills and a little more talent than I had three years ago. I will still serve on the Board for another year, and will be involved with scheduling our presenters, so I'm still around. Thank you for your support, suggestions, kicks as needed, and kind words these last three years.
James A.
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Reviewed by Welden Andersen
Aopen America Inc. (The component division of Acer in Taiwan) 1911 Lundy Avenue San Jose, CA 95131 1-408-922-2100 Voice 1-408-922-2935 Fax 1-650-827-9688 Technical Support www.AOpenUSA.com Lowest Street Price: AX6 Plus (SCSI wide) $235 AX6 (without SCSI) $122 Average Street Price: AX6 Plus (SCSI wide) $269 AX6 (without SCSI) $142
Specifications: ATX form factor, Slot 1 PII, 3-ISA 4-PCI 1-82440BX AGP graphics card slot, 4- 168 Pin slots for 1Gb SDRAM, 2-16C550 UART for Serial and 1-UART for IR function, 1-Parallel port, Floppy support for up to 2.88Mb, Dual channel IDE supports Ultra DMA/33, Adaptec SCSI AIC 7880 chip set onboard, 2 USB (BIOS supports legacy keyboards), Mini-Din PS/2 for Mouse and Keyboards, RTC (Real Time Clock) in chip set so no battery needed when cord is plugged in, Award PnP multi-language 2M bit flash BIOS, Suspend to hard drive like a laptop, Zero Voltage Modem wake-up, LAN wake-up, RTC wake-up timer (set date/time to wake-up your computer), Synchronous Switching Regulator, CPU over-current protection, CPU Thermal protection, 2-CPU or Case FAN connectors that monitor fan malfunction, System Voltage Monitoring for abnormal conditions, SB-LINK for SoundBlaster compatible cards under DOS.
A computer Main Board (or Mother Board ) gets little or no attention from the average user. They buy a computer that is completely set up and working, and don't give it another thought unless something goes wrong. On the other side is the geek, guru, and nerd crowd that has to have bragging rights to the fastest, newest, most over-clocked or cheapest components in their computer.
I confess to being the propeller head behind door number 2. I check tom's hardware site ( http://tomshardware.com ) often to see what the master has to say about hardware and how to tweek my system. In fact, Dr. Tom Pabst and I met at COMDEX last November in the Aopen booth. Based on his 440BX motherboard review in the fall of 1998, I wanted to see for myself what the different vendors had to offer in high-end main boards. Being a visual kind-of-guy, I wanted to touch and feel the goods and evaluate the quality vs. the hype that is so evident in everyone's ads. Well folks, I've found it!
There is so much more to a main board than just speed. That may seem to be the first and sometimes only consideration given to a selection, however. Those who have spent any real time configuring a system for a special need will want to look into the quality and layout of the board, the company support, and the feature set of the BIOS.
Aopen chose the Award BIOS. Every BIOS company designs a full set of features that can be purchased on a feature by feature basis for a given main board and CPU chip set. Award has pulled out front of the BIOS crowd, in my opinion. With this jumperless design board, the AX6 Plus reaches a new high in taking the frustration out of setting up a system that may need to be fiddled with or tuned for maximum performance latter. For example, the two USB ports can be turned off in the BIOS. That saves two IRQ's! Same with the COM ports. The Parallel port can be adjusted as an SPP (Standard) EPP (Enhanced) ECP (Extended) or ECP + EPP This will allow you to talk to just about any device you want to. Actually there is one CLEAR CMOS jumper you may want to use if your system BIOS (not Windows) password is forgotten. The factory defaults will be loaded again, and you are on your way.
Without reciting all the features of the board design (see above specs) and BIOS, let me hit some important items that will bring the status of this board to the top of your "must have" list. While I was in the Aopen booth I was told that Aopen only uses parts that are specified by the design engineers. I mentioned that I would expect that to be the case with all component users, and asked for an explanation. It seems that some other companies make substitutions when the specified part is not available. These parts may be within maximum tolerance, but aren't what were designed to be used. Great prices can be had for quantity over-runs, under spec, or sub-standard quality parts. Make that choice several times on one board, and stability is compromised BIG TIME. Aopen uses only specified first grade parts. Take a look at the size the Capacitors on this board. (Fig. 1) To show you what I mean, here is a verbatim quote from the User's Guide Frequently Asked Questions:
"Q. Why do Aopen MBs use many Electrolytic Capacitors instead
of Tantalum Capacitor?
A. The quality of Electrolytic capacitor has huge difference depends
on model and vendor. Normally, Tantalum capacitor is better than Electrolytic
capacitor, but good quality and high price Electrolytic capacitor is even
better than Tantalum capacitor. Originally, Aopen motherboards use 100uF
Tantalum capacitor nears CPU to reduce voltage ripple, but the technology
improvement has introduced an 1000uF very low ESR (Equivalent Serial Resistor)
of Electrolytic capacitor with only 0.15 ohm comparing with 0.7 ohm of
Tantalum capacitor. The lower the ESR and higher the capacitance value,
the smaller the CPU voltage ripple. Also, more capacitors are not exactly
equal to better CPU voltage, it depends on where you put your capacitor
(the layout). The most accurate way is to use storage scope to measure
the CPU voltage directly, but of course, it is difficult for end user to
do so. Aopen design team follows Intel, AMD, and Cyrix's design specification
strictly, it is approved by Intel, AMD and Cyrix."
This is a big board and the space is used well to keep from compromising the use of the right parts. Placement of the Floppy connector is away from the CPU so that the cable doesn't prevent proper airflow. 2 fan connectors monitor fan function so that your CPU and Case fans keep things cool. Heat effects stability. Maximum speed from a benchmark test has little weight if your system keeps crashing and you can't figure out why. Everything has limits. Companies that push everything to the raggedy edge of disaster just so that a magazine shootout shows them the winner, is short sighted. Today's PC Magazine Winstone benchmarks show less than 3.5% speed difference from any board.
Along with the above is memory stability. Some boards are real picky about the memory modules they recognize. The Aopen AX6B Plus not only runs 256Mb PC-100 DIMM's, it can run your older 66 Mhz stuff. Although the BIOS can be set to recognize ECC DRAM, it is expecting non-parity. This board however, does not support EDO DRAM.
The AX6B Plus on board SCSI is yet another PCI slot saver. Adaptec AIC 7880 chip set gives you wide SCSI (40Mb/sec) transfers with up to 15 devices. There are two connectors. One 68 pin wide and one 50 pin SCSI-2 The 68 pin wide SCSI gives newer hard drives the best performance available. The 50 Pin straps connect the CD and all the other devices at 20Mb/sec. Everything is software controllable with the Adaptec BIOS menus.
I found the ability to boot from plenty of devices a great feature. Selections go beyond the familiar C: and A: drives. You can even choose Primary Master, Primary Slave, Secondary Master, Secondary Slave in a variety of sequences. Zip, LS 120 and CD-ROM drives are bootable. Select SCSI devices or IDE. Pretty useful for getting a system off the ground with zero operating system or drivers loaded from a floppy.
For those of you who are in to Overclocking, this board would be a dream. All the tweeking can be done from the soft-menu feature. And with the CPU Thermal Protection and Over-Current protection any mistakes could be less disastrous. Bus speeds, or System Frequency ranges from 66.8Mhz to 133.3 Mhz. Just remember that 103, 112 and 133Mhz settings are for internal lab testing purposes. When you use these speeds, your video card more than likely will not be able to keep up (crash). 66Mhz memory will crash too. CPU Clock Frequency can be selected from 233Mhz to 450Mhz, or set to manual so that you can set your own. The Clock Ratio or multiplier is 1.5x to 8.0x I'm running an Intel Celeron 300A (Rated at 66.8Mhz x 4.5 =300) at 100Mhz x 4.5 giving me a 450Mhz for just a few bucks. Celeron 300A chips with 128K of L2 cache are as low as $75 right now. A PII 450 with 512K of L2 cache is $550 Just remember the fine print about taking system stability and throwing it out the window when you fool with mother (nature) board settings. In the above case, it works just fine. Your mileage may vary!
A Great User's Guide comes FULL of BIOS setting info. Probably the best one I've seen. The usual pamphlet is about 6 pages and tells you nothing. Aopen WANTS you to have the help you need to be successful. For a major treatment on BIOS settings from the University of Montreal, go to the BIOS Survival Guide: http://www.lemig.umontreal.ca/bios/bios_sg.htm The Guide includes features of several different manufacturers in one document.
Included also with this main board is a CD with Norton Anti-Virus and other utilities. Aochip, a driver for most newer Chip sets. Crash Guard, for hard disk protection. Hardware Monitor. ADM, Advanced Desktop Manager for network administrator and hardware monitoring. Suspend to hard drive utility. BIOS flash utilities. PCI Register read/write utility. Bus Master IDE and DMA/33 driver. Manual for jumper and BIOS settings. FAQ and homepage, a mirror of the Aopen homepage http://www.aopen.com.tw
When it comes to building your own computer, we all want a great BIOS feature set and a system with high quality components. The main board has to be up to the task, after all it is the "main board". This is not a bargain board, so look for it at better retailers. To save $30 or so and give up long term stability is short sighted at best and dumb at least. 1st quality is always worth it. Aopen your mind.
by Don Nendell
Manufacturer: Hilgraeve Inc. Genesis Centre 111 Conant Avenue, Suite A Monroe, MI 48161 Voice: 734.243.0576 FAX: 734.2443.0645 E-mail: support@hilgraeve.com Web: www.hilgraeve.com Suggested Retail (street): $99 System Requirements: Windows 95, 98 or NT 8 MB RAM 4.5 MB hard drive minimum Mouse recommended Modem or direct TCP/IP connection CD-ROM drive (3.5" disks available)
I picked up DropChute Pro (DCP) in its beta form at Comdex '98, loved it then, and adore it even more now. You ask, "What is DropChute Pro and what can it do for me?" DCP is a new breed of software that lets Users exchange documents and files instantly with real-time confirmation of delivery. Awarded Byte Magazine's coveted Best of Comdex '97 award, DCP is truly one of the most exciting new developments in communications applications to come down the pike in a long time. It is billed as the fastest, easiest, most secure way to instantly send or exchange large files (of any kind or size), folders and folder structures (in their original form) using modem(s), Internet, Extranet or Intranet by merely Dragging and Dropping them on icons that represent other people. Many of its features and capabilities are not available in any other security program. It's the "first" of a whole new breed of instant file delivery software. As proof of these bold [sic] statements, four (4) whole pages of the User's Manual are devoted to User benefits. Reread this paragraph carefully. There are some very important hidden "goodies" embedded in those preceding sentences, see if you can pick them out?
Let me help. Though not the most important or shocking, the word, "manual" from the above immediately jumps out at me. How often do you get a printed manual for your scarce computer bucks these days? Doesn't save any trees, but being a pilot - checklist oriented and all - I personally find the idea needed, refreshing, accommodating, helpful and delightful.
Most programs are happy if they have a few new benefits. About those four pages of DCP User benefits, allow me to elucidate topically - space herein precludes discussing all the details - they speak quite eloquently for themselves. (Note: The italicized (*) portions of the below listed benefits unfortunately do not appear within the four pages of User Benefits, they have been gleaned from other sources. See my observations below.) The listed benefits are: 1. Learn DCP easily; 2. Use DCP quickly; 3. Deliver on-the-fly compressed(*) files directly to another user's PC; 4. Queue files for pickup; 5. Use Internet Rendezvous; 6. Eliminate e-mail attachment problems; 7. Shatter performance barriers; 8. Save time without zipping; 9. Give free copies of DropChute to others; 10. Fend off viruses with HyperGuard ; 11. Expand Zip files on-the-fly; 12. Auto-skip saves time and money; 13. Encrypted(*) chat communications in real-time; 14. Encrypted(*) voice communications; 15. DCP ensures User privacy with RSA Public Key Authentication and Symmetric Key Encryption to verify identities to ensure no one else can decipher data you are exchanging(*); 16. Entry-specific receive folders; 17. Do many things at once; 18. Get outstanding customer support; 19. Drive DropChute from other applications; 20. Year 2000 compliant; 21. DCP automatically resumes interrupted deliveries giving ironclad reliability(*); and, 22. DropChute Enterprise (DropChute Pro's big brother) merely keeps on adding to the list of superlatives. Verdict? Guilty on all counts! But, there's more.
If all those 22 benefits don't instantly reach out and grab you, then maybe that tiny little, seemingly out of place, obscure word in the fifth sentence above, "secure," most assuredly will, or should! Steven Foote in the November 1998 issue of InfoSecurity magazine in his "19 Infosecurity Predictions for '99 - Get ready for a wild ride," predicts "Real-Time Cryptography Will Arrive. . . . All security management solutions fundamentally depend on cryptographic algorithms for privacy and confidentiality. . . . The overhead required for encryption and decryption processing has . . . inhibited full-scale deployment of cryptography across the enterprise. To address this problem, in 1999 consumers of security will begin to use more intelligent combinations of cryptographic techniques. . . . Real-time applications will begin to implement cryptography." And, the overriding theme for the 1999 RSA Data Security Conference and Expo (RSA '99) at San Jose, California, January 17-21, was, "'99 is the year of implementation for Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) applications." To which I might respectfully add, I've spent the past two and one half years researching diligently every nook and cranny for all manner and shapes of security programs. During this same time period, I've attended numerous conferences, trade shows, visited individual security companies and have five (5), possibly more, crates of security related (in a large part, Internet downloaded) research materials to show for it. To say that I'm mightily impressed with DropChute Pro is a mild understatement. And, since I'm not basically inclined to making understatements, try this one on for size. "Not one single program can do all that DropChute Pro can do, and do it securely." Now, that's a benefit - a "Crocodile Dundee" benefit - and they somehow neglected to mention the word "securely" anywhere in the User Manual's four pages of listed Benefits.
Picture this. You can use a separate window to chat (in real-time) with the other person using your keyboard or voice. You can do this before, during, or after any type of file exchange - and securely too! (Note: DCP is the first software to provide encrypted voice communications (VoIP) over the Internet and TCP/IP networks.) Can you imagine "talking" over the Internet (no long distance telephone toll calls) and someone can't eavesdrop (called "Hack") into your conversation, while at the same time you are sending an on-the-fly compressed file, at up to 5X the modem speed, to that person (and verifying its receipt instantly)? That means no e-mail attachments getting zipped, encrypted, lost, hacked, or delayed - "Rite Ch'er, Rite Now!" as they say down south. Now, with DCP you can send or receive files (and chat) simultaneously, securely and directly, with multiple people through two or more modems and communications ports. Each connection to someone (direct or through the Internet, Intranet, or Extranet) runs as a separate instance of DropChute Pro. You can even send a free copy of DropChute Lite to a friend on the other end of one of those multiple receiving ends, but you need to set that benefit up during the DCP installation (which is a piece of cake topped with "Wizard" icing). Oh yes! The User's Manual can also be installed on the hard drive, if desired.
One complaint however. With Hilgraeve having occupied space in the Microsoft Pavilion at Comdex '98, I can readily understand why no references to Netscape are included in the User's Manual. Only Microsoft Internet Explorer (MSIE), Windows 9X or Windows NT are the readily apparent options available to the DCP user. Note: The Internet Through Modem page during DCP setup does ask whether you use AOL (browser?) or some other Internet Service Provider (ISP). This is because AOL requires manual connection and the benefit of Internet Rendezvous is its automatic connection to an ISP. However, AOL users can select this option for situations where others may call - when they are present - to make the connection.
In the meantime, a toll call to DCP's "Outstanding" Customer Support (said benefit #18) is in order, if the user is so inclined to use any other (said browser? Unix?) programs for secure communications? Suggestion: If you do call CS, why not use the "Internet Rendezvous" (IR) instead of the dreaded toll call? Internet Rendezvous lets you make one-to-one Internet connections (saves LD telephone charges) even when the other person isn't connected to the Internet when you place the call. IR automatically places (or receives) a short modem-to-modem call with another DropChute User. Then both DCP programs hang up, call their respective local Internet Service Providers (ISPs), and while the receiver "waits" for the Internet connection, the "caller" completes the Internet connection by way of the call through its own local ISP. Very neat! And, "Secure" too (a real first)! Also, please note, if you use one of the three Microsoft Agents to talk to you when certain events occur, you must have a Windows compatible sound card, a 100-MHZ Pentium (equivalent, or better) with 16 MB of RAM.
Setting the Security Authorization is not mentioned until way, way back in the User's Manual. This is an area that the average User needs to become more familiar with when using these secure communications programs (Note: For additional information on this subject download the "Secure Delivery with DropChute" White Paper at the Hilgraeve web site). There are four levels of security, from practically none to quite good. "Unique name" is the lowest level, followed by "Simple password exchange," with "Password security with MS Cryptography API," being the most likely used level of security. This easy-to-use selection gives you many of the security benefits of the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) security, without the work of providing your Public Key to others. For the highest security and the most conclusive User authentication and immunity to password guessing schemes, the User should select (with the DCP Manage Keys Option), "Public-key security with MS Cryptography API." DCP uses RSA Public Key authorization and symmetric key encryption to verify identities and encrypt sensitive data that needs to be transmitted to another party. My next question is, can DCP use 128-Bit PGP encryption (which is classified as a "munition" by the U.S. Government) or another form of PKI, vice the totally insecure 40-Bit "Public-key security with MS Cryptography" API? Note: 56-Bit DES encryption (not a "munition") was cracked in 22 hours and 15 minutes at RSA '99 a new world's record proving how insecure we really are in today's encryption market.
About that User's Manual. Buy the DCP program with the manual, so you can make it a lot easier on yourself all the way around. Hilgraeve has made DCP as easy to use as any I've seen, but the average User will most certainly need help along the way, ergo the printed User's Manual is my suggestion. Also, if this review on DropChute Pro has piqued your interest, even slightly, may I respectfully suggest that you pay a visit to the Hilgraeve web site for additional information on the subject.
In a few words, "DropChute Pro lets you instantly and securely exchange data with total privacy." In a word, "Awesome." Caio.
by LeRoy Johnson
Manufacturer: Individual Software Inc. 4255 Hopyard Road Pleasanton, CA www.individualsoftware.com Requirements: 486-33 MHZ Windows 3.1 or 95 8 MB RAM 8 MB HD space 256 Color VGA Mouse Price $19.95
This software's name gives a clue to its shortcoming. Retirement planning is neither quick nor easy and it cannot be. The marketing pitch is, "Achieve Future Financial Security! In just minutes, create a financial plan that identifies just what you need to achieve a financially secure retirement." From experience, I can answer that in one word. Money!
I am sure some of you are old enough to remember back to the olden days of 5¼ inch floppies and the Blue Chips shareware library. Back then I purchased "RETIRE PROGRAM" by G.A. Bunson of GABE Software for $1. It was written in 1988. It lacks the bells and whistles, the color screens, the pie charts, and graphs that "Quick and Easy" have, but it does the same calculations and projections. I am willing to let it go cheaply!
In fairness to Individual Software Inc., I should mention that they also sell RetireReady Deluxe for $49.95. I have not seen this program, but I must assume it is at least twice as good as "Quick and Easy." Individual Software Inc., according to their web page, has won a number of awards for their Typing Instructor program and their Resume Maker program. They have apparently done some very good quality work.
Doing a retirement planning program is very parallel to doing a tax preparation program. The "Wonderful Wizards of Washington" produce about a thousand pages of tax code changes every year. This means you use your tax program once, and it is out of date. Financial planning is greatly entwined with tax law, and so retirement planning is also an ongoing process.
For my taxes I use a spreadsheet to do the calculations. I follow the format of the tax forms. Tax planning is a function separate and apart from tax preparation. Does it try to double deductions in one year and take a standard deduction the next year? This decision needs to be made well before the tax programs are even out. This is tax planning.
Should I use a regular IRA or a Roth IRA? This kind of question is financial retirement planning. I am a cheapskate when it comes to paying for professional advice. After all, am I not an expert in finding information and making my own decisions? I'll bet you are too. Financial planning is much more complex than even tax planning. I have gone to seminars, read many articles, and even have paid a lawyer specializing in financial planning to create wills and trusts for my wife and me. When it comes to financial planning, expert advice pays for itself.
What does "Quick and Easy" do? With information you provide like your age, spouses' age, retirement age, income, assets, financial goals; and with assumptions like inflation rates, return on your investments, life expectancy; it calculates what you will need to get where you want to be. Or if you are ahead of the game, it shows you what a great estate you will have when you cash out.
The program has some structural weaknesses which can mislead you in its projections. After spending the time to enter all the requested information about myself, the program projected what my estate would be when my wife completed her life expectancy in 29 years. (She is 11 years younger than I am.) Hey, whoa! Three and a half million dollars? What did I do wrong?
Well to begin with, the program asked how much we would be putting into our IRA's in the future. The program asks for a percentage. Since the program will not accept the answer of $2000 each (the current tax deferred maximum allowed by law), I calculated what percentage $2000 was of the $10000 presently in my wife's IRA, 20 percent. However, when you compound a growth of 20 percent over 29 years, it distorts the result, doesn't it!
A second problem I found was that it asks whether your retirement income from social security, pensions and other income should be adjusted for inflation. Well social security is inflation adjusted, but my pension and other income are not. When I checked the "adjust for inflation box" (for social security) it applied the adjustment to all income. It did not allow a separate answer for each class of income. Over 29 years, a big difference!
The assumptions you make result in geometric compounding over several decades. The uncertainties of these assumptions greatly limit these kinds of projections. The projections are the essential element of the "retirement calculator." Don't bet-the-farm on a 15% return in the stock market.
I did discover one surprising fact by pursuing the "What If" option. Even with a very conservative rate of return, a reduction in spending each year by $10,000 produced a million-dollar difference in 29 years. Well, there goes the kitchen remodel, the new car and the vacation.
There were a few other structural problems (bugs?) which need to be worked out, such as the fact that I did retire in 1997, but the program will not let me select a retirement year before 1998. Another oversight; Insurance policies were left out of assets.
One feature which should be mentioned is their resource data base. This is a bibliography of books, articles, and web sights of a broad range of materials on retirement. If you open the program while on-line, you have hyper-links to www links. This is a great idea, but I give it only a few "points" because:
My bottom line is that will be better off to spend your money on learning about the complexity of financial planning rather than on the mechanics of counting the money you might have years in the future. Make the right decisions now; the assumptions of inflation and rates of return will take care of themselves.
by Dave Otterstrom
"I regret to inform you, however, the person we had slated to
come to your group meeting, is unable to attend.
I apologize for letting you down and I hope I can make it up to you in
the future."
Deepest apologies
David Latsko
Campaigns Supervisor
Earthlink Network Inc.
Boy, that's just what I wanted to hear one week before the meeting. The following morning I was talking to Cliff Millward about the magazine, and he said, maybe he could get X-Mission to do it. He placed a call to them and they said they would do it.
The meeting arrived and the complications and show fall were piling up. First we didn't have time to download the Website for X-Mission to demo on. My job intervened and I had to go to Price for the day. The storm caused Bob to call and say he wasn't going. I had to pick up the membership supplies from Bob which made me late for the meeting. The storm was bad enough to cut attendance in half. It was swiftly becoming a bad night.
As it turned out everyone needed for the presentation showed up. We had great door prizes. And we had a small enough crowd for Peter Ashdown and his sales manager John Webster, to steal the show. Cliff Millward, Preston Anderson and Eric Browning, hosts of the Internet Insights Radio Show sponsored by X-Mission, introduced Peter and we started to ask questions about the operations of X-Mission.
The small crowd made it feel very personal, and a lot of questions were asked that I don't think would have been asked if we would have had more in attendance. Suddenly, it was 9 o'clock.
Before we quit Peter and John gave us some web sites to look into.
We had the evening drawing and Larry Lamph walked away with a new Motherboard donated by Computer Depot. One of our new members Mike Crawford, donated Filemaker Pro. Of course, Access software came through with some more games. I'm not sure who won everything, but I know about the Motherboard, because I wanted the Motherboard and I didn't get it.
For those of you that missed the meeting, you missed a good one. For those of you who came in spite of the weather, THANKS. I hope you took something good home from it. And last but not least, a special thanks for Peter Ashdown, John Webster, Cliff Millward, Preston Anderson, and Eric Browning, for their efforts and willingness to come and help make a bad situation into a very enjoyable evening.
Next meeting, Microsoft and their consumer products. We already have
a lot of door prizes and goodies for the meeting so
BE THERE!!!
by Trevor Andersen
Manufacturer: Sonic Foundry 754 Williamson Street Madison, WI 53703 608.256.3133 Voice 608.256.7300 Fax www.sonicfoundry.com System Requirements: Pentium or better Win 95 / NT 4.0 16 meg RAM 5Mb Disk Space Sound Card Street Price: $350.00
By show of hands, how many people reading this remember my article about Cool Edit Pro? Hmmm, no one? Well I guess we can count out an audio SIG (for now at least.) Well, that's O.K. because here I am again to tell you about one of the coolest audio software editing packages on the market today. It just so happens that this article is about Sound Forge 4.5! What's all the excitement about? Let's just say that if you want to do any sound file editing, WAV file manipulation, CD mastering, or anything that has to do with digital audio, Sound Forge 4.5 is for you!!
In my last article I briefly explained how digital audio works. Here's a re-cap, analog audio signals are the ones most people use in their everyday life, such as the signals traveling through your home stereo. Analog audio signals carry sound waves in an electrical form through wires, components, speakers etc. If we record those signals on a cassette tape we, in effect, are recording an analog audio signal (music or other sounds) to an analog source (cassette tape). When we listen to a CD or Compact Disc, we are listening to a DIGITAL source through an ANALOG system (your stereo.) Pick up one of your favorite CD's. Look at the back cover. There should be a series of letters in the forms ADD, AAD or DDD. This means that sometimes the CD is recorded in the format ADD or, Analog (source) to Digital (system or circuits) to Digital (source or disc.) Other times the CD was recorded on analog equipment, mixed or mastered with analog equipment and then transferred or re-recorded onto a digital disc or CD. This would be the AAD format. The third format is strictly digital or DDD format. This type of recording was played, mixed and recorded entirely in the digital domain without any analog recording equipment. The latter of these formats is a more recent format because the technology required to achieve this type of recording was, until recently, very expensive. Not many people could afford the equipment necessary. Especially people like you and me! Enter Sound Forge! In case you didn't know, CDs are recorded in digital format at 16 bits of resolution. The rate at which they sample an analog waveform and store it onto the disc is 44,100 times per second or 44.1Khz. This means that for every one minute of digital audio recorded you must have 8.78 megabytes of storage space. If you look at a CD-R, you'll see that 650 meg divided by 8.78 is the amount of audio you can fit onto one CD, roughly 74 min. Strange the way that works, huh? Anyway, now onto the review.
Because digital audio takes up so much space, and because Sound Forge records at CD quality, you'll need plenty of hard drive space. Fortunately Sound Forge is not a hefty install. It fits nicely on my C: drive. I use my E: drive for workspace so that I don't mess anything up in my windows area. Once the install is complete, you only need tell it where to write audio files as it records and you're off and running. One of the best features right off the bat is the Tip of The Day feature which helps you learn a complicated program in a shorter amount of time. Tips about program features greet you at every start up (unless you disable it of course.) Once you are in the program, Sound Forge teaches you how to use itself with helpful tutorial files that can be loaded in. One of the really cool tutorials teaches you how to take one file containing background music and then take another file with a voice-over and mix the two together. The two files are now one and ready for multimedia presentations or your favorite radio spot. Cool!! As far as mastering is concerned, manipulating your prerecorded material can be a breeze. Let's say you have a CD in your collection that just doesn't sound the way you want it to. Enter Sound Forge's normalize feature. With gain normalize you can bring up levels to their maximum efficiency and bit resolution. Taking them from "Barely audible" to "In your face" (popular with the kids these days.) Software effects can be added to any file such as Reverb, Chorus, Delay and many others to give your audio file some dimension (not to be confused with dementia unless you listen to grunge music all day.) Next are the new features added to 4.5 like spectrum analysis, which allows you to look at your audio file in a graphically colored audio spectrum. This feature can help you to analyze where the energy is focused in your audio (not to mention some really neat colors too, fun to look at.) Another new feature is the batch converter, which allows you to take a series of processes and repeat them in a specific order to affect other files. This is an incredible time saver! Most of your basic operations are similar to a word processor such as cut, paste, copy and select. Zoom in and there's even a pencil tool that allows you to draw in your waveform! This is a wonderful feature when trying to eliminate pops and clicks on old phonograph recordings.
Another feature that I found to be particularly useful is the ability to import .avi files that need to be synched to audio. Last month I wrote some music for a friend putting together a demo reel of computer animation. I imported the .avi file and was able to fit the song into an exact length by time compressing the audio file. Time compression/expansion tools in Sound Forge allow you to alter the length of part or your entire file by squeezing the data apart or together by a specified percentage. This is done, mind you, without altering the pitch of the file! This is an excellent feature and has many applications. One other word about synchronization, if you work in digital video or linear editing, the word SMPTE might ring a bell. If not, then let me just say SMPTE is a code that links timing formats and VTRs (or video tape machines) together. Sound Forge can be linked or slaved to several different time formats, SMPTE being the most common.
Sound Forge is a breeze to use and can perform many amazing functions such as reverse, loop, set up regions and many others. Regions can be very time saving by letting the user mark areas of the file that can be snapped to for even greater editing control. Powerful zoom tools allow for precise cuts and copies. The zoom can also be used in conjunction with the pencil tool to redraw the waveform itself. EQ stands for Equalization and can be used to shape your audio files with incredible results. Sound Forge happens to have quite a powerful section of EQ including Graphic, Parametric and Multi-Band dynamic editing features. These EQ functions are indispensable when mastering or re-mastering audio CDs or entire recorded mixes. I have used these features to re-master a CD of a local band I was a part of. The final results were greatly improved from the original. I could go on and on about the features in Sound Forge however, the bottom line is that if you want to manipulate digital audio, there's no easier and more powerful solution than with Sound Forge 4.5! As a side note, I also work in a local music store called Wagstaff Music where I sell all of Sonic Foundry's software products. If this article sparks your interest, or even if you just want to see how incredible this software is in action, come down to Murray, UT and ask me to show you in person how amazing Sound Forge 4.5 really is!
by Lynette Vig
When I first started reading about nanotechnology, my reaction was, "Wow, this is deep."
Then I went on to think, "Hey this is like Star Wars. No, the Jetsons!" Yes, definitely the Jetsons if they were the Flintstones of nanotechnology.
Just imagine, no more hunger or disease. Little tiny nanomachines using very little raw material could build greenhouses and even the original crops. Or, like Jane Jet-son, we could just speak to a nanomachine and within seconds, we'd have our steaming pepperoni pizza for supper. In the medical arena, these same machines could work within damaged cells to destroy disease or rebuild damaged flesh, cell by cell. On the space frontier we could see spaceships as small as the family car. Imagine computers that could execute more instruction sets per minute than the combination of today's entire semiconductor CPUs and store 100 billion billion bytes in a space the size of a sugar cube. The manufacturing costs to provide all of this would barely rise above the cost of the raw materials and energy required. With nanotechnology, the only limit may be the imagination.
The word nano is derived from a Greek word for dwarf. A nanometer is a unit of measurement, which is a billionth of a meter. When we combine the prefix, "nano" with technology, we are talking about technology on the molecular level. We have watched technology becoming smaller and smaller in size which is referred to as the "topdown approach." Nanotechnology takes the bottom-up approach by going straight to the atom. One of the positive reasons for using atoms is their strength, abundance, and durability. Atoms never wear out. The same atoms around today were here since the beginning of time. Nanotechnology incorporates physics, chemistry, biology, electrical, and mechanical engineering, and computer sciences.
One way to define Nanotechnology would be to say that any chemically stable molecular structure can be built. In 1959, Richard Feynman was the first to advance this idea. Feynman said that, "The principles of physics, as far as I can see, do not speak against the possibility of maneuvering things atom by atom." Feynman won the 1965 Nobel Prize in Physics.
K. Eric Drexler obtained the first Ph.D. from MIT in molecular nanotech-nology. One of his most famous publications (among many) are, Engines of Creation The Coming Era of Nano-technology, 1986. Drexler is often quoted as saying, "If you want to see a nanotechnology machine, look in the mirror." While Drexler is revered as a pioneer and futurist by some, he also seems to be disdained as a quack by others. This type of attitude is not surprising however, history can provide many examples of theorists being harassed about their ideas. It can also show many of these "quacks" were eventually lifted up as the visionaries, pioneers, and inventors that they were.
Ralph C. Merkle, one of the leading research scientists in the nanotech-nology field says, "With the tools of nanotechnology trade becoming better defined, the ability to place every atom and molecule in the right place is moving closer to reality." Merkle heads the Computational Nanotech-nology Research department at Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). Merkle is working to create tiny robot arms. Sixty-two billion of these robot arms could fit in one square inch. The short-term goal is to have these arms "self-replicate." This would speed the process of creating devices such as molecular assemblers, based on this technology. Drexler is reportedly working with Merkle on this effort.
There are many individuals, entrepreneurs, educational institutions, and companies making a name for themselves in the nanotechnology field today. Some of the most recent names and breakthroughs are from Cornell University, which has invented the "nanogui-tar." This guitar is 10 microns long (roughly the size of a white blood cell). This instrument is of course, to small to be heard by the human ear. Another breakthrough came from Mark Voelker, at the Optical Sciences Center of the University of Arizona at Tucson. Voelker built the nation's first dual-tip scanning-tunneling electron microscope, which may be an invaluable tool in furthering nanotechnology. IBM Almaden Lab's John Foster spelled "IBM" by arranging xenon atoms with a scanning-tunneling microscope. Most amazing (thus far), is the world's smallest abacus that IBM created using individual molecules as beads.
Of course, with all of its promises, I feel compelled to point out the downside as well. Some nanotechnology critics simply don't believe in the bottom-up approach to technology. Others think that it is impossible. They believe that nanotechnology will never work, because the atoms cannot be stabilized on the level needed. Still others believe that this technology comes too close to "playing God." Not only are there the physical considerations, but some experts concede that this technology could basically get out of control to the point that it could take on a life of its own. Merkle acknowledges the fact that out-of-control self-replication could very well destroy the planet.
There are social and economic questions as well. If we improve our energy efficiency by using small, cost-effective nano solar panels, what will the sudden collapse of our oil industries bring about? If we can produce any type of consumer good with our nano-assemblers, how will our economy survive? How will we prohibit the production of illegal contraband? If we can repair ourselves and virtually live forever, will overpopulation force us to migrate to the moon? Are we psychologically capable of living forever? What would this technology do in the wrong hands? I won't even go into the concept of war with nanotechnology, it would be almost pointless.
These questions and considerations may seem silly, but with our track record of, "create it now, think about the implications later," it can understandably make one uneasy. We need only look at the atomic bomb to see such a poorly-managed technology. Then again, the candle makers (among others) were very much against the electric light bulb, which was a new technology not that long ago. Say, whatever happened to George Jetson, anyway?
Works Consulted
HP On Board
Hewlett-Packard is planning to follow IBM's lead and announce major
support for Linux across its product line. The company intends to embrace
the open source software movement, porting its key application to Linux
and releasing the code as open source.
HP's view is that Linux will emerge as the platform of choice of on-line businesses and ISPs. HP is also working on a version of Linux for Intel's Merced processor.
Caldera Pushes Linux
Caldera recently announced two major development efforts aimed
proving the mettle of the open source operating system. They will power
a router for satellite-based access and a RAID storage system.
For the router, they are joining with Helius, Inc. Caldera will also become a Helius reseller.
For RAID storage, Caldera is teaming up with MTI Technology Corp. Their Gladiator, which scales to store more than 600 GB of data will be offered as an OpenLinux-based system.
Be Challenges OEMs
The President of Be, Inc., Jean Luise Gasse Challenged PC makers to pre-load
his Be OS or Linux OS on their PCs without charge. He is trying to prove
that Microsoft Corp. has a stranglehold on the desktop PC operating system
market. If OEMs, given the option, do not install the alternative operating
systems free it would prove Gasse's point.
Also it has been recently alleged that some of Be's secrets were passed to Microsoft by a Compaq executive. Gasse said," What's a little company to do?"
Linux Gets Support
A San Francisco Bay Area company will begin offering around-the-clock technical
support for Linux in March. The company, LinuxCare, will also launch an
extensive, searchable on-line knowledge database.
Red Hat, the largest commercial distributor, recently opened a phone support center. Caldera is also considering around-the-clock phone support.
Refunds
So far, Microsoft has not refunded any money because users did not want
their products pre-loaded on their systems. People who try run into huge
bureaucratic obstacles.
The only advice given is "keep trying." Remember, water eventually wears through solid rock.
![[Software Review Image]](../../images/software.gif)
By Donna Nendell, Review Program Manager and Don Nendell, Editor
To sign up to review an article, call Donna Nendell at 565-9594
or E-mail me at donna.nendell@aros.net
.
Asteroids from ActiVison Classic Arcade Action. The biggest arcade hit in history hits again in earth shattering 3D! Mind altering graphics, innovative new features and explosive special effects transform the arcade classic into the ultimate intergalactic blastfest. Revisit the classic fire-shield-thrust gameplay now in next generation 3D graphics! Added enemies, advanced weapons and explosive effects intensify the action. Explosives Weapons Arsenal . Equip one of four asteroid blasting ships with Smart Bombs, Ramming Shields, Gun Satellites, and other special weapons.
Barrage by ActiVison 3-D accelerator card required. Take 3-D gaming to a startling new place. Rocket through the sky full throttle in a high-tech hovercraft, unloading endless rounds at enemy jet fighters and swarming helicopters. Blast away at tanks, subs and missile launchers, swerving between canyon walls and diving underwater to avoid hostile fire. It's a brutal race against time as you run cutthroat recon missions, hunt for portals and rack up kills. May the fastest gun win.
Big Game Hunter II from HeadGames HeadGames and Cabela's have teamed up once again to bring you Big Game Hunter II, the highly anticipated sequel to the smash hit, Big Game Hunter. Experience the virtual hunt of a lifetime in Alberta, Colorado, New Mexico & The African Plains. With new weapons, the latest Cabela's gear & tons of animals, you'll experience the live-action video, sound effects & weather conditions so real they put you right in the middle of the wilderness. Take your hunting skills to the next level with the nonstop action & realism of Big Game Hunter II, the best virtual hunting game ever!
Command AntiVirus with F-Prot Professional from Command Software Systems - Command AntiVirus is a must -have for anyone who downloads files from the Internet, receives e-mail attachments, shares files or needs to protect their office and productivity. Command AntiVirus employs the industry-leading virus detection and removal technology of the F-PROT Professional scan engine along with a simple interface and continuous virus updates to help you protect a single PC or an entire enterprise. Stop viruses before they stop you.
Crash Defender Deluxe from QuarterDeck The most reliable protection against crashes and screen freezes. It's not a matter of "if". It's a matter of "when". And when disaster does strike, the real question will be ...are you protected against crippling crashes and screen freezes? And, more importantly, is your data protected? With Crash Defender Deluxe, you can work (and play) with the confidence of knowing that the Best Windows crash protection available is safeguarding you and your data against productivity-killing crashes and screen freezes. Crash Defender Deluxe is the ONLY crash protection solution for Windows 95/98 and Windows NT designed to automatically intercept and fix crashes and screen freezes BEFORE they cause a loss of data.
Daily Journal V3.0 from Parsons Technology Memories, accomplishments, thoughts record them all! Don't let another thought, event or achievement go unrecorded. Collect your thoughts...sit and think...and then record it all with Daily Journal 3.0 for Windows. There's simply no better way than Daily Journal to keep a written record of the important events in your business or personal life. Just enter your thoughts and arrange them by topic as they apply to your job, family and more. You can easily import, transfer and export text files to make writing easier. And every word you type is automatically indexed for quick retrieval! A full screen editor and calendar lets you enter and edit information for any day of the year.
DeskLink by Traveling Software {www.travsoft.com} - Access and Control Your Office PC From Home. Getting more work done used to mean spending more time at the office. Not anymore. Remote DeskLink for Windows® 95 lets you leave the office when you want to and finish up your work from home. It's the easiest way yet to connect to your office PC from your home or other location - all at a price that puts remote control within reach of anyone with a modem. This full featured remote control solution gives you the freedom and flexibility to work whenever and wherever it's convenient for you. Run programs on your office PC just as if you were sitting at your desk. Read and send e-mail. Access databases. Update documents. Work on presentations. Chat on-line with others on the office network. And more. As Easy As Being There Remote DeskLink takes advantage of the ease-of-use features of Windows 95 to make remote computing as simple as working at the office. ToolTips and our award-winning Quick Steps offer assistance along the way: Remote DeskLink uses disk caching, color depth control and bitmap filtering to provide the fastest, most reliable performance available anywhere.
Duck Hunter Pro from ActiVison The Hunt Is On! Grab your camo, shotgun and shells. Ducks Unlimited and HeadGames have teamed up to bring you the most realistic waterfowl hunting experience ever, Duck Hunter Pro. Select from 16 unique locations, choose your shotgun, lay out your decoys and you're off to hunt over 10 species of ducks & geese in the marshes, lakes and fields of Duck Hunter Pro.
Extreme PaintBrawl from HeadGames Track and Splat your opponents online with over 8 Paintball markers in more than 5 "eXtreeme" Paintball fields! Grab your Marker & Strap on your Goggles! Select your markers, choose your battlefield. Play alone, online with friends or as a squad member. Purchase supplies from the Crosman Ammo Depot, grab you Camo & get ready for the ultimate interactive Paint Ball experience on your PC!
Extreme Tennis from HeadGames Publishing - The ultimate 3D tennis experience. Play Singles, Doubles, Tournament mode or Multiplayer. With Extreme Tennis you play the most realistic tennis experience of a lifetime in the US, England, Australia or France. With single and multi player, the courts and shots are so real they put you right in the middle of the game. Take your tennis skills to the next level with the non-stop action and realism.
Hexen II Mission Pack from ActiVison After the fall of Edolon, a brutal winter smothers the land - the work of the nefarious wizard, Praevus, who now schemes to harness the darkest powers of the Serpent Riders. Who will dare impede him? Be you the Necromancer, the Assassin, the Paladin, or the scornful Demoness - former minion of Eidolon with a lust for revenge - you must wreak havoc against the wizard and defeat his evil vision. Lest you be numbered among the dead at his wretched victory. Full version of Hexen II required to operate.
Partition Commander from Command Software Systems - Partition Commander makes it easy to partition your hard drive. You can reclaim wasted disk space, organize files, add new operating systems (OSes), and in many cases speed up drive access. Partition Commander automates the process- guiding you through step-by-step. Where you have a choice, helpful suggestions are made available-the rest is handled automatically.
Sin by ActiVison When the CEO of SinTek Industries begins injecting the streets with a DNA-altering drug, it's time to reassess the laws of morality. When the same twisted biochemist plans to overtake the world with her unholy army of genetically-engineered mutants, it's time to rewrite the golden rule. You are Colonel John R. Blake, head of the most prominent private protection agency in Freeport. Now Elixis Sinclaire is waging her holy war against the security industry...and you along with it. You've make a religion out of fighting crime. Now you are going to make Elixis pay for her crimes.
Top Shot by ActiVison Get ready! HeadGames and Remington, America's oldest gun maker have teamed up to bring you the most advanced shooting simulation game in the world - TOP SHOT! Test your ability in a variety of reality-based target shooting games, or let loose and watch the bullets fly. Compete for high scores, increase your player-rank, and try to become the TOP SHOT! Choose from over 20 different guns including rifles, shotguns, automatics and handguns. Extensive 19 page illustrated gun safety section teaches lifesaving safety techniques. Over 10 shooting games to play and 5 different police-style shooting simulators.
Utility Pack from QuarterDeck CleanSweep, Crash Defender and ViruSweep. The prefect suite of tools for Home and Small Business use! CleanSweep, the #1 choice for safe and complete hard drive clean-up. Award-winning CleanSweep is the Fastest, Safest and most complete hard drive clean-up solution available, simplifying the removal of outdated applications and the widest array of unneeded and unwanted files. Crash Defender Deluxe is the most reliable protection against crashes and screen freezes. With Crash Defender Deluxe, you can work (and play) with the confidence of knowing that the Best Windows crash protection available is safeguarding you and your data against productivity-killing crashes and screen freezes. Crash Defender Deluxe is the ONLY crash protection solution for Windows 95/98 and Windows NT designed to automatically intercept and fix crashes and screen freezes BEFORE they cause a loss of data. ViruSweep Kills Before they Damage your PC. Proactive ViruSweep doesn't wait until your PC is infected before it detects a virus. It Automatically guards your system to stop viruses before they infect your files. No other virus protection is as through.
To review ANY OF THE ABOVE listed products:
Phone: Donna Nendell 565-9594
E-Mail: donna.nendell@aros.net
Fee: $5.00 S/H
URGENT NOTICE!
The following product reviews are overdue. Please turn them in immediately or return the product. Blue Chips may not receive future releases if a review is not published. Our review program depends on released product reviews appearing in this magazine. Please give us your cooperation!
EZ PhotoReader Joe Brame On Target 2.0 Lauryn Wingate PaperBridge 3.0 Max Holloway Presto! PhotoAlbum Gena Roe Squiggle Mike Lewis WinBatch Gale Lemmon Legal Collection for Win95 Charles Stepheson Crash Course Win95/NT 4 Robert Wyss
If you know any of the above mentioned members, please contact them
and ask them to either submit a review or return the product. You will
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BOLD PRINT INDICATES EXTREME VIOLATION!
PLEASE RETURN PRODUCT IMMEDIATELY!
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by John Ogilvie
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 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.
A failure to meet any of these requirements can reduce or entirely eliminate the value of a patent which issues from your application. 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 email jwlo@LawPlusPlus.com.More information is available at http://www.lawplusplus.com. LAWPLUSPLUS is mark, and Law++ and COMPUTER LAW++ are federally registered marks of John Ogilvie. Copyright 1999 John Ogilvie. All Rights Reserved.
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