JULY 2003
THE SOUNDBOARD
Heritage Village Computer Club http://www.hvcomputerclub.org
Monthly Meeting
Heritage Hall
Wednesday, August 13th
10:00 to 11:30 a.m.
"HOW-TO DEMOS"
Ken Pelletier will demo the
use of Tablets (stylus)
EVERYONE WELCOME,
BRING A FRIEND
PRODUCER
2003 OVERVIEW (June 16, 2003)
“Microsoft Producer for Microsoft Office PowerPoint® 2003, currently in beta release, is the next version of this very popular add-on for Microsoft PowerPoint. It provides powerful features that make it easier to synchronize audio, video, slides, & graphics to create engaging and effective media-rich presentations. The beta release of Producer 2003 works with PowerPoint 2003 (Beta 2 or later) & PowerPoint version 2002.” (-Microsoft)
Some of the headings on the article I found to be of interest:
· Capture, Import, and Organize Media
· Edit and Synchronize Media Elements
· Share and Publish Your Presentations
· How to Get the Beta Release of Producer 2003 (Note that this is a BETA, meaning a Trial Version, all the bugs have not yet been removed, but it is available for testing purposes)
Read more details and download from the Microsoft web site at this link:
http://www.microsoft.com/office/preview/editions/producer.asp
By Hiawatha Bray, Globe
Staff, 7/4/2003
Annoyed by the prospect of a massive new federal surveillance system, two researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are celebrating the Fourth of July with a new Internet service that will let citizens create dossiers on government officials.
The system will start by offering standard background information on politicians, but then go one bold step further, by asking Internet users to submit their own intelligence reports on government officials -- reports that will be published with no effort to verify their accuracy.
"It's sort of a citizen's intelligence agency," said Chris Csikszentmihalyi, assistant professor at the MIT Media Lab. He and graduate student Ryan McKinley created the Government Information Awareness (GIA) project as a response to the US government's Total Information Awareness program (TIA).
The web site link:
You can read this long article describing more of the new site is at the following link:
A Microsoft technology that allows Internet applications that are more powerful than simple scripts. ActiveX applications work only in Internet Explorer, so the use of ActiveX on websites is not recommended. Due to the huge amount of influence ActiveX applications (“apps”) can have on the system (ActiveX apps have access to the same files you have access to, meaning all files in the case of most private computers), it is recommended to be very careful if dealing with ActiveX.
There are two types of ActiveX apps - signed and unsigned. The code of unsigned ActiveX apps hasn't been certified and should never be trusted. Signed ActiveX apps are certified, but can still contain malicious code! Signed ActiveX apps should be trusted only if coming from trusted websites and only on a prompt base (meaning that IE settings will ask every time a website wants to load an ActiveX app).
Many dialers and hijackers install themselves using ActiveX applications.
FILE EXTENSIONS
Have you ever wondered how to open (or if you should open) files with specific extensions? For example a file ending in .doc is a Microsoft Word or WordPad document. A file ending in .dot is a Microsoft Word template. The web site link, below, lists many of the most common extensions and how the file can be opened. Note that a .dll file should not be either moved or altered. This is a very informative and helpful web site.
The list is currently maintained by Carl Clifford, and this list was
originally compiled by Eric Perlman, Ian Kallen and Internet Literacy
Consultants +1.415.575.1156. Copyright 1995.
Mr. Clifford asks, at the bottom of the page that “If you find a dead
link or a file extension that you think should be included, please let me know
- carl@stack.com.”
http://www.stack.com/file/extension/
BUSINESS CARDS
Do you have a need or just a desire to have your own “business” card? I’ve been looking into this website for a few years after receiving a spam email. Recently discovering that many of my business friends are designing their own cards from this website it appears that this is a well designed and affordable quality card. For businesses, there are also offers for Postcards, Stationery, Address labels, Brochures, Presentation Folders, and other Business Services. However, the business card offer is, to me, the best deal of all.
http://www.vistaprint.com/vp/ns/bcfree.asp
DOWNLOADING WINDOWS XP UPDATES
Many of the 600,000 Microsoft Windows XP users who downloaded the latest OS (Operating System) update during this past Memorial Day weekend were faced with not being able to connect to the Internet. The update was intended to increase security in remote-access dial-up (modem) connections. Instead, it shut down Internet access for anyone using a non-Microsoft firewall.
Windows XP ships with its own firewall software, unlike previous versions of Microsoft's operating systems. Most people, however, also use more robust, third party firewalls, such as those developed by Norton, McAfee, Zone Labs, and Sygate. These firewalls, which use methodologies different from Microsoft's, were the reason many people couldn't get online after installing the update. Basically, some firewalls weren't able to communicate with the new Microsoft IPSec driver and therefore blocked all packets of Internet-bound data.
The Microsoft Knowledge Base did not provide details of the problem other than a sentence about known incompatibility issues with non-Microsoft firewalls: "This [update] may affect server configurations for third-party gateways." It did not provide any further information, such as instructions on how to remedy the situation.
Recommendation: never update software on a Friday. One reason Microsoft sends out its security bulletins on Wednesdays is because someone may be around to help you if there are problems. Don't count on Microsoft to keep you informed when something goes wrong with its software. You shouldn't download a Microsoft update until it's been around for a few days, just in case it shuts down your Internet connection--or worse.
This article was originally posted on http://www.cnet.com. This link may or may not take you to the original storyline.
WINDOWS XP FIXES
Some hardware may never work properly under
XP, for example old printers or scanners.
Before tossing that equipment, and as a last-ditch effort, hunt for
drivers that are specific to Windows 2000, which, being an older OS, is more
likely to have revised drivers. Windows
2000 is a close cousin to XP, so a 2000 driver may do the trick. For more help with XP's compatibility
settings and to hear from real users' experiences in getting their prehistoric
programs to work under XP, check out the Web's best resource: Windows
XP Software Compatibility Site (not affiliated with Microsoft). Others may have already solved your problem.
SOUNDBOARD CONTRIBUTIONS:
scottie2@att.net
theweb@snet.net
HELPERS:
AutoCAD........ Ken Pelletier.................. 264-2310 Digital Camera........ Joe Franzino.......... 264-2922
MS Word........ Arnold Deutchman........ 267-7355 MS Word................. Joe
Franzino.......... 264-2922
MS
Excel........ Diana Scott................... 264-2134 Paint Shop Pro........ Ken Pelletier.......... 264-2310
Publishing...... Joe Franzino................. 264-2922 Quicken................... Arnold Sail............. 264-2540
Scanning........ Joe Franzino................. 264-2922 WordPerfect........... Jean Van Loon 267-5397