UNDER THE HOOD

% Editor, Art Gresham
249 East Vermont Ave
Escondido, CA 92025
UNDER THE HOOD
AT THIS MONTHS' MEETING
J)Et::EMEEIl
December 2006
Volume XXVI No. 12
7"I'·
7:f)f) V.Mo.
A"UCTIOli,:RAFFLE
FOO]). F"U"lIf
Big dollar Prize drawings.
Bring your unused software
and equipment donations
£101" tbe auction.
Doors open at 6:30 ior setup.
Remember your snack. goodies
~ MaillL at: [email protected] and go to ...
for more info.
http://WWW.uchug.org
UCHUG
inc.
NEWSLETTER
12/1/2006
ARTHUR W. GRESHAM
249 EAST VERMONT AVE.
ESCONDIDO, CA 92025
PAGE 2
DECEMBER 2005
PAGE 15
DRIVE LIGHT
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VOLl:JMEXXV1.
issue: 12
:.'DECEMBE,R 20'0'5:;
UCHUG NEWSLETTER
The
P.....
ez'
CO •....
JIle
•....
by
ares
Skalka
[email protected]
The Saga of One Computer
Upgrade - Part LXXVIII
it just takes one to push the limits a little bit, and then everyone must follow,
It is holiday shopping time again! If you
are not buying computer items, most of
you will probably be using the computer to research and purchase gifts for
yourself and others. Once again, home
electronics will probably be a big part
of those gift purchases. This includes
computers and many other things often
used in conjunction with computers,
such as digital cameras, portable music
players and home entertaimnent systems.
Early store openings on the day after
Thanksgiving used to mean 6 AM. Now
many stores open at 5 AM on that Friday. CompUSA really pushed the limits
this year. As they did last year,
CompUSA closed late in the afternoon
on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving,
to reopen an hour later to special sales
until midnight. Once again they respected Thanksgiving this year, remaining closed all day. They started their
Black Friday sales earlier than almost
anyone else, however, opening at 11:59
PM on Thursday, to remain open
through Friday. A few stores, including
some Walmart Supercenters and some
of the new Sears Essentials stores,
chose to be open on Thanksgiving Day
itself. Of course, if you got bored with
turkey and pumpkin pie early on
Thanksgiving Day, you could always
start your holiday shopping online.
The day after Thanksgiving has acquired the nickname "Black Friday", as
it has become an essential sales day in
the profitability of many retailers. in the
old days, retailers respected the holiday
tradition and remained closed on
Thanksgiving Day, so their employees
could celebrate with their families. A
mountain of advertisements would arrive with the Thursday newspaper, proclaiming amazing sales starting the next
day. These special sales would begin
the holiday shopping season, when the
retailers often opened early on Friday
morning. As with most things, however,
I once again was lured by the siren song
of the retailer's advertisements, and
ventured out in search of computer bargains this year. Here is my annual tale
tile PREZ' Comer (Continued on page 4)
2005 UCHUG 2006
EXECUTIVE BOARD
=
President. ,
VP
.
Secretary , ,
Treasurer. ,
WebMaster
Editor. , ...
Membership.
O-a-1. , , , ,
O-a-1. , , , , .
O-a-1.
,
O-a-1.
,.
=
Greg Skalka
858.484-7024
619.588.0674
Ray Ferbrache
619.275-2718
Mike Trempe
619.283-3543
Bob and Jackie Woods 858.486-4485
Art Gresham
85~f.354-6939
Virginia Faber
619,795-0365
Abbott Brownell
619,698-1506
Al Brengle
David Marston
Greg Wauson
Sandy Shapiro
858.454-2341
president@uchug,org
[email protected]
[email protected]
treasurer@uc1mg,org
webrnastersrguehug.org
1editor 101 @l!lc1mg.org
afaberz@yahoo,com
[email protected]
ddavidnctgmchug.org
greg. [email protected]
[email protected]
DECEMBER
PAGE 14
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pilYt of OUY l1eritllge, botl1lls VI C.Lti:j, (,1",,01 for
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wouLoI ev0oi:j tl1Ls Ltev;c tl1(,1t WIlS beL""g sl1(,1reol
rec.e""tLi:j tl1rougl1 tl1e eV;CIlLLs. ThIl""R..s to R£!i:j
ll""oIl1~s CO""tllC.t.s for se""01~",,g tl1~s IlLo""g.
601.J
As most of you know, the turning point
of the Naval portion of the Pacific Campaign against the "Japanese in WWII was
the Battle of Midway. Through luck or
God's intervention, the Navy divebombers were able to sink four Japanese aircraft carriers because the Japanese fighters were busy shooting down all of our
slow torpedo planes that never got close
enough to release their torpedoes.
This major victory came six months after the surprise attack at Pearl Harbor.
The newspapers at that time were supportive of our armed forces.
The text below is how someone believes
the Battle of Midway would be reported
by today's media.
Midway Island Demolished.
Yorktown, destroyer sunk.
Many US planes lost.
June 7, 1942 The United States
Navy suffered another blow in its
attempt to stem the Japanese juggernaut ravaging the Pacific
Ocean. Midway Island, perhaps the
most vital U.S. outpost, was pummeled by Japanese Naval aviators.
The defending U.S. forces, consisting primarily of antique Buffalo fighters, were completely
wiped out while the Japanese attackers suffered few, if any,
losses.
In a nearby naval confrontation,
the Japanese successfully attacked
the Yorktown which was later sunk
DRIVE LIGHT
by a Japanese submarine. A destroyer lashed to the Yorktown was
also sunk.
Secretary
5
'Ray J'erGracfie
[email protected]
G
The American carriers lost an entire squadron of torpedo planes
when they failed to link up with
fighter escorts. The dive bombers
had fighter escort even though
they weren't engaged by enemy
fighters. The War Dept. refused to
answer when asked why the fighters
were assigned to the wrong attack
groups. The Hornet lost a large
number of planes when they couldn't locate the enemy task force.
Despite this cavalcade of errors,
Admirals Fletcher and Spruance
have not been removed.
eneral Meeting
November 2, 2005
The meeting was held in Room 401,
San Diego County Office of Education
Complex, 6401 Linda Vista Rd. The
meeting was called to order by president Greg Skalka at7:05 p.m .. The
president welcomed approximately 32
members and guests. The return of our
member from the East was noted.
Code Broken
REPORTS:
The failure at Midway is even more
disheartening because the U.S.
Navy knew the Japanese were coming. Secret documents provided to
the NY Times showed that "Magic"
intercepts showed the Japanese
planned to attack Midway, which
they called "AF".
President: The President noted the program for the evening. The President
reported on having contact from the
ACPUG about a Company in Los Angeles who will put on a presentation
about construction of Laptop Computers. The members present agreed
that we should persue getting a presentation by them for one of our spring
meetings. It is one month to Our
Obsolete Equipment
nt.Mt.MBtn
,
'Reports
American forces claim to have sunk
four Japanese carriers and the
cruiser Mogami but those claims
were vehemently denied by the Emperor's spokesman.
Some critics blamed the failure at
Midway on the use of obsolete aircraft The inappropriately named
Devastator torpedo planes proved
no match for the Japanese fighters. Even the Avengers, its schedule replacements, were riddled
with bullets and rendered unflyable. Secretary of War Stimson
dodged the question saying simply:
"You go to war with the Navy you
have, not the Navy you want or
would like to have". Critics immediately called for his resignation.
PAGE 3
"
Christmas Party and Raffle/Auction.
Clean out your storage area for items
for out auction. Please bring a food
item for the members present. The
Group will provide drinks and Plates/
Flatware. It was noted that the group is
now a functioning 501 C3 Non-Profit
Corporation. We will have Tax Exempt forms for anyone who donates to
the Auction.
Editor: The editor passed out complimentary copies of the Drive Light to
guests present. The article in the October Drive Light giving the details
about the running of the DARPA
Grand Challenge robotic car race was
called to the attention of the members.
There is a considerable amount of detail and Video information available
on the Standford University WebSite.
"www.stanfordracing.org" .
Web Master: Mike Trempe covered
for the Web Master who could not
make the meeting. He reviewed the
WebSite located at "www.uchug.org".
New items and changes or updates appearing during the last month were
discussed.
Treasurer: The Group is solvent and
operating within our budget.
PROGRAM: Lee Otsubo the Digital
Photo Guy http://www.
thedigitaiphotoguy.com/"
was introduced. He is sponsored by Smart ComReports (Continued on page 12)
.L
PAGE 4
the PREZ' Corner (Continuedfrom page 2)
DECEMBER
2005
and Fry's, at 5 AM Friday morning.
of bargains gained and sleep lost.
After a fine turkey day at my parent's
Greg's Holiday Shopping Review II
house in Orange County, I returned
home to prepare my sales battle plan. I
For those that recall my shopping adleft for the CompUSA in Encinitas at
ventures last year, I did well at the
11:25 PM, and found about fifty people
CompUSA sale the evening before
already in line outside when I arrived.
Thanksgiving. After reviewing the ads
They opened on time, and the one hunon Thanksgiving Day, I set out early
dred or so in line entered in an orderly
Friday morning for the 6 AM opening
manner. I was able to get to a salesperof CompUSA again, then moved on to
son right away to stake my claim for
Fry's, Best Buy, Circuit City and Office my most critical item (a gift, which I
Depot, returning home around 9 AM.
can't elaborate on, due to the publicaTo recap, I gave
•••••
_.ti;,on of this before
high marks to
Christmas), but I spent
CompUSA, Fry's
I left for the CompUSA about half an hour
and Office Depot,
in Encinitas at 11:25 PM, waitingwhilethem
while I was neutral
ooked for the acceson Circuit City and
and found about fifty sory that was advergave Best Buy a
people already in line.
ised to be free with
"thumb's down".
this item's purchase. In
the end, the courteous
Since I had such good luck with the
sales clerk could not find it, but promCompUSA pre-Thanksgiving sale last
ised I would be called within a week
year, I was alert to any newspaper adwhen the item arrived. I also bought my
vertisements concerning a repeat event
Norton SystemWorks and a laptop
this year. They saved their money this
backpack for $10 after rebate, and fiyear, and only advertised the Wednesnally left the store at 1 AM, fairly
day evening sale on-line, and also cut
happy with the results.
back on the bargains. Not finding anyI awakened at 4 AM Friday morning,
thing to capture my interest, I skipped
after only a couple hours of sleep, and
that sale. Their advertisement in the
left the house with my son for the next
Thursday paper was a much better enticement. There were several items I
round of shopping. The first stop would
be Best Buy, which advertised a digital
was interested in, including.my tradicamera at a tremendous savings. When
tional Norton SystemWorks for free
we arrived, we found what must have
after rebate deal. Honestly, since buybeen over 200 people already in line.
ing SystemWorks 2001 five years ago,
The line moved quickly and orderly
I have not paid a net cent (other than
when the opened a bit before 5 AM, but
sales tax and rebate application postwhen I reached the camera counter, I
age) to have the current version each
was told the item had already sold out.
year. Every year around this time, you
can count on at least one retailer having My son was able to quickly pick up the
few items he wanted, and so we were
a rebate offer for the current version,
able to get through the checkout line
usually including an upgrade rebate,
before most customers had found all
with a net cost of zero. This year I saw
their items, and thus got out before 5:30
at least three, but the CompUSA offer
AM.
required the lowest initial cash outlay.
CompUSA also had the earliest Friday
Since a digital camera was critical to
opening of any of my prospects, openmy gift-giving plans, and Best Buy had
ing at 11:59 PM on Thursday. The next
failed me, I decided to change my itinearliest on my list would be Best Buy
PAGE 13
DRIVE LIGHT
ciled shortly.
demonstrate a "Computer on a Stick".
Membership - We have 6 members
who have not given an EMail Address
to.the Chairperson. We are working on
procedures to ensure privacy and to
make EMail the preferred method of
contacting our membership. The club
has an active membership in good
standing of 61.
OLD BUSINESS:
Editor - The Editor had submitted his
report to the president via EMail. The
2005 Drive Light issues (Feb through
November) in PDF format have been
sent to the webmasters, when they can
make them available on our Website.
Al Brengle is in discussion with John
Alvarado about having a Spring Computer Clinic at the South Bay Adult
School. Our last clinic was not well attended and we are exploring other aveneus. The UCHUG would like to find a
new target audience and place for our
future Clinics. The Clinics are one
method of maintaining our public service effort and our status as a Non-Profit
Corporation.
.
We discussed how to lesson the load on
our editor and find a replacement for
training. Options available include to
Web Masters - Not Present.
back down to a Quarterly Hard Copy
with a Monthly Post Card as a meeting
PROGRAMS:
reminder. A different format Drive
December - The meeting on the 7th will Light in PDF format for alternate
be our Holiday party and auction. Bring months was discussed.
your no longer needed Software and
18 of our 61 members signed up for the
Hardware for the Auction. Bring a faSmart Computing Magazine 3 month
vorite finger food or dish for the Pot
free subscription. The list is being subLuck. The Group will provide utensils,
mitted.
plates and soft drinks. The raffle will
include a significant number of items
from the Microsoft Mindshare program, NEW BUSINESS:
A $100 Gift Certificate (Members Only
Holiday Party.
drawing), 2 $50 Gift Certificates and
any items donated which are deemed
The UCHUG will provide the Plates,
appropriate. An auction will be held to
support the general fund of all other do- Utensils, and Soft Drinks. The tickets
nated items. Tickets will be $1.00 each for our raffles were discussed. A motion
was made, seconded and passed to have
or 6 for $5.00.
the Treasurer purchase 1 $100 and 2 $50
gift certificates for the Christmas Raffle.
January - Ray Ferbrache will give a
presentation on Cell Phones, Interaction Al Brengle will make up an IRS Tax
Deduction Certificate for anyone who
with a Computer and Cell Phone Phodonates to the Auction and Raffle.
tography. Al Brengle will give a talk
and show us how to Flash a Bio's Chip.
The meeting adjourned at 9: 17 p.m ..
February - How to install a Hard Drive
in your computer. David Marston will
PAGE
12
(eontinued from page 3) Reports
puting Magazine and gave the evening
presentation on Digital Photography.
Lee was extremely knowledgeable on
digital photographyand gave a lot of
information and tips on how the get the
best out of your Digital Camera. When
ordering Smart Computing Magazine
products, please use Lee as a reference
so he will get credit for giving us the
Presentation. This will also get you a
discount on their Magazines.
DECEMBER
DCE AutoEnhance is very powerful
and fresh software for an automatic or
manual image enhancements. Please
don't feel overwhelmed by the number
of controls and settings. This software
is in fact very easy to use and master
and the results are often quite amazing.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:58 pm.
If2. oard Meeting
ONovember
16,2005
Lee recommended the use of a little
The meeting was called to order at the
known shareware program Photo Reshome of Abbott Brownell at 7:45p.m.
cue ( http://www.datarescue.com/
photorescue/) if you are having prob- by President Greg Skalka. In attendance were Greg Skalka, Abbott
lems with recovery from a corrupted
memory chip in your camera.
Brownell, Al Brengle, Greg Wauson,
Virginia Faber, David Marston, Mike
Trempe, Sandy Shapiro and Ray FerLee discussed a program to manage
and enhance your digital photography.
brache.
DCE AutoEnhance is available at
http://www.mediachance.com/dce/.
REPORTS:
The program has many features to help
you with your digital photo's. Check
President - The President noted the
out the Manual on their website.
collection of items we have received
for the Christmas Raffle/Auction.
DCE AutoEnhance is an automatic
digital image enhancer and batch proc- Vice President - The Vice President
essor. Unlike most of the batch proces- has one more signature to the submissors DCE will take into account how
sion to the State of California for our
the image was taken by using the infor- Corporation Officers which he will do
mation found in EXIF metadata your
this month. The Vice President will be
camera recorded into the image when
giving a presentation on Computer
the shot was taken.
Tools at the South Bay School in support of John Alvarado's program to
The software can work on images one
educate youth about Computers.
by one or in a batch mode. It offers Basic and Advanced mode, each with dif- Secretary- Nothing to report.
ferent number of control over the processing.
Treasurer - The Treasurer reported
expenditures and receipts for the past
month have been within the guidelines
You don't have to spend much time
setting up DCE. You can start using the of our annual Corporation Budget. The
software right now with the default set- Treasurer reported that the back statements and the spreadsheet of expenses
tings - they are well balanced.
is close. He should have them recon-
DRIVE LIGHT
erary. Rather than make a stop at Fry's
(now already open) for one minor item, I
decided we should head for Office Depot,
which advertised the next best camera deal
I had seen. After a McDonald's drivethrough stop for sustenance, we arrived at
Office Depot, to a line of about 20 outside
the front door. Employees were walking
the line, handing out vouchers for some of
the sale items, intent on avoiding a mad
rush once the doors opened. I was lucky to
get the last of the vouchers for the digital
camera I wanted, and then was able to get
the three other Items I wanted once inside.
I was able to check out quickly, and Office Depot was even going to donate a percentage of the sale to my son's high
school. Another favorable shopping experience for Office Depot!
PAGE
5
Chapter 133
Raising a Computer
I have now determined that building and
configuring a computer is a lot like raising
a child. In setting up my wife's new PC, I
got to see the marvel of something new
coming into existence. Like a child, the
new PC can't initially do much, but it reacts quickly to stimulus. It gains new capabilities as you install applications, learning to communicate with the Internet and
with printers and other peripherals. Soon it
is mature and capable, ready to quickly do
productive work; for the good of the family. Unfortunately, computers must follow
a life cycle as we do.
The harder the computer works at its
tasks, the more likely it is to develop some
We next went to Radio Shack for a single
malady. The more it ventures out on the
item, but waited over ...------------.,
Internet, the more likely it
half an hour to pay for
If, however, its parts are too is to contract some virus or
it, due to long lines
old and useless, it is probaspyware infection. As its
and less than compeoperating system installatent cashiers. We next
bly destined for the scrap
tion gets older, its capabiliwent to the nearby Sta- heap, the recycle bin, or the ties can start to degrade.
ples, but I had lost my
donation table at the
More programs and upenthusiasm for the few
UCHUG holiday meeting.
dates added can mean a
items I had interest in,
larger and possibly corand so decided to skip
[there's the true spirit of a
rupted registry. Hard drive
it. We instead decided
UCHUG'er]
errors can occur due to
to stop at a second
physical degradation or
Best Buy store, on the chance that this
en-ant software writes, causing losses in
store had not sold out on the really good
the long and short term memory. Eventucamera deal. They were out of them, of
ally, things can so bad that the computer
course, but we did get to see the Fox chan- fails to boot properly. If it is lucky and has
ne16news van filming in front of the
worked well (and its parts are not too old),
store. We returned home at 7:30 AM with
it may have its memory (hard drive)
some good deals, but with no interest in
wiped, and be reincarnated with a new,
further shopping that day.
clean operating system. It might even get a
few new components as transplants. If,
however, its parts are too old and useless,
Overall, it seemed that there were not as
it is probably destined for the scrap heap,
many good deals advertised this year as
the recycle bin, or the donation table at the
last. The earlier store openings and my
lack of sleep also probably contributed to
UCHUG holiday meeting.
a generally less satisfying experience. I
was once again quite pleased with my
shopping experiences at CompUSA and
Office Depot, but disappointed with Best
Buy and Radio Shack. Now to fill out all
the rebate forms!
PAGE 6
DECEMBER
2005
Following last month's excellent
presentation by Lee Otsubo, the
Digital Photo Guy (photos by
Greg Skulka, and edited by Art
Gresham) we offer this article,
courtesy the APCUG, by Donald
Cummins, APCUG Representative, Fresno Personal Computer
Users Group, California
by Donald Cummins
rything about them. This can be a huge
effort at the beginning but may payoff
later. Each photo should be and must be
looked upon as being unique unto itself.
Paper and ink are a team - one without
the other IS just paper or ink. Paper is
one of the least understood or overlooked
items.
Now this is where ink comes into play.
There are two types of ink dye and pigment. Dye inks produce somewhat
brighter colors and are prone to fading.
.
They now may last 10 years or longer.
P~per ~hould be used with care .. A wed- Pigment inks are less bright and last
dmg picture may be a total loss If you put longer than dye ink on photos.
it on the incorrect type of paper. If the
picture is taken on the soft side (not very Some feel that the larger munber of dots
sharp) and printed on very glossy paper,
per inch is one of the biggest things that
it will make it look out offocus. It would will enhance the finished photo. The
be much better if it is printed on less
other side says 1440 dpi is all you really
glossy paper or, even better, on a matteneed. The droplet size may be the finishfinish paper. Many of.the wedding phoing touch to the photo if your printer can
tos I?ay need to be pnnted on a number
put down a droplet size of four picoliters
of different types of paper to find the best and/or smaller this is too small for our
r~sults. At the same time, the ink careyes to see. Some printers are even puttndges may need to be changed from one ting down droplets as small as 1.5 picoligroup of photos to another.
ters.
Some people feel you should use only
one brand of paper that is made for your
brand of printer; e.g. Epson printer
should only use Epson paper and Epson
original ink cartridges. They say do not
"mix and match." Others say stick with
one brand of paper or ink and know eve-
PAGE 11
And for those of you on budgets:
TDK PrintOn Recordable DVD Media - Skip writing with markers and
using stick on labels on your blank
DVDs. With a compatible printer (like
an Epson R-300) and TDK's PrintOn
DVD+R and DVD-R discs, creating
professionallooking DVDs
is easy.
Choose from
white matte,
colored
matte, or
Samsung HT-WP38 Integrated
glossy,
DVD/Receiver Home- Theater-in-aBox - Finally a home theater without photo-quality
discs. www.tdk.com *PrintOn DVD
wires. Samsung presents the HTPhoto Quality ($3.99 each); PrintOn
WP38 home theater. This DVDDVD White Matte ($1.99 each); Prinplayer/receiver/speaker combo featOn DVD Color Matte flve-pak
tures wireless rear-channel speakers
($10.99); TDK PrintOn DVD Color
that eliminate the need to run pesky
Matte - 50 x DVD-R 4.7 GB 8x - ink
cords across the room. The five-disc
changer integrates a handy USB port jet printable surface - spindle - storso you can listen to digital music from age media at $40.92 at www.
a portable player or view photos from Drearnhardware.corn
a digital camera. $349.99 at www.
Hope this short list helps with some
samsungusa.com ; $319.99 at www.
of your holiday shopping and dreamAmazon.com
ing. Happy Holidays and a Happy
New Year from the What's New
Crew. See you in 2006!
Video Effects avatars and face accessories are designed to work
seamlessly with popular instant messaging programs for a truly unique
experience. Intelligent Face Tracking
keeps your face in the center of the
video frame, so you're free to move
around. You can even zoom in or out
to get the right shot. A great little
gadget for holiday shoppers for
$99.99 from www.logitech.com or
$79.87 from www.Buy.com
More Photo Tips
What Comes After
You Have Your
Pictures in Tip Top
Shape?
DRIVE LIGHT
Does the ink bleed through or run or take
forever to dry and cause the paper to cup
up? Some will lay down the ink in a
number of passes and others may lay the
ink down in one pass. One may require
the paper to move through a number of
rollers and others will pass straight
Reminder: For easy access to all these WWW links and others in the
Drive Light, visit our website and go to the DRIVE LIGHT 'lIGHT' page. No
More Typing!
Readers; remember that our holiday auction is in December. Perhaps you have some of 'What's Old' that you're ready to
upgrade. Check your workbench, your desk, your pockets, your
friend's pockets, the bottom of your computer bag, your library
shelves. Bring in your unused software and hardware donations.
You might even bring in that old toaster, video game, DVD, or kid's
toy that wants to find a new home. Remember, its a donation, after all we are now REALLYour own charitable organization and so it
is all tax deductible.
'What's New'
PAGE 10
DECEMBER
DRIVE LIGHT
WHAT1S NEW??
through.
For detailed printer information, check the
following websites for their information
on printers, ink and paper information:
One item which can affect the finished
photo is how thick the paper is. You need
to check how the paper moves through the Epson- www.epson.com
printer because the way it moves will con- Canon - www.canon.com
Hewlett-Packard - www.hp.com
trol how thick the paper can be.
4/~~~dJ
With a little help from the December issue of Computer Shopper, I
[email protected]
Nill give you some of the best electronic gadget gifts for the holiday
season. Time is awasting, so here without wires is the wave of the
future. Microsoft has entered the
~oes.
arena with their Wireless Laser
Sirius 550 - This gadget is Desktop 6000, an ergonomic keya 'play' on the old MP3 board with customizable quick
player, except this keys and aperfectly precise
one records
up to 50 hours
of Sirius Satellite
..Radio programming to take along
with you. This pocket
size
1GB player also stores
and plays MP3 and WMA files and laser
mouse- with a magcan automatically record your fanifier and four-way tilt scroll - that
verite Sirius programming so you
makes navigation a breeze. Price:
can listen anywhere. Price:
$89.99 at www.BestBuy.com
or
$104.95 at www.microsoft.com
$329.99 (currently on sale at
their site for $279.99); $12.95 per
month for Sirius service. WWW.
Logitech QuickCam Fusion sirius.corn
The fun part
of instant
messaging is
Belkin Wireless G Travel
being able to
Router - The ideal way to turn
that hotel room Ethernet broadsee the perband connection into a wireless
son you're
one. This small, very mobile dechatting up.
vice can also be used as a wireThis webcam
less adapter to connect to WiFi hot has a 1.3 mega
pixel resolution for
spots, or to increase the reach of
an existing wireless network.
clearer images and
improved low-light
Price: $59.99 at www.Amazon.
performance. Quickcorn; www.belkin.com
Cam Fusion includes Logitech®
Video Effects, with animated 3D
Microsoft Wireless Laser Desktop 6000 - I've found using a wire- Avatars (that imitate your facial expressions and head movements)
less keyboard and mouse on my
and 2D Face Accessories (that
fesktop is the way to go. I've already been spoiled by the wireless you can apply to your own image
to change your look). Logitech
mouse on my laptop. Mobility
PAGE 7
Printers now have many more capabilities
than four or five years ago. They have
more ink colors, ink placement size, and
speed than ever before.
There is no restriction against any non-profit
group using this article as long as it is kept in
context with proper credit given the author. The
Editorial Committee of the Association of Personal Computer User Groups (APCUG), an international organization of which this group is a
member, brings this article to you.
Drag-And-Drop CD Compatibility
Question: If You format a CD-RW on an
older computer so that You may drag and
drop files for backup, would a new computer be able to read and rewrite to that
CD?
Answer: Drag-and-drop to a CD usually
uses a technology called "packet writing,"
and a format somewhat optimistically
named the "Universal Disk Format" or
UDF. In theory, if you take a packetwritten, UDF CD to another PC with a
CD burner on it, and whose software recognizes UDF, then it probably will work.
But that's a lot of "ifs. "
I
r
The catch is that packet-writing and UDF
aren't really universal. Different vendors
use different flavors of packet-writing,
and even within the proposed UDF standard itself, there are two major variants.
"Universal," it ain't.
So, you take your pick: Drag and drop
recording is convenient, but the CD may
or may not be easily read on a different
PC. Standard CD burning results in a CD
that can be read on almost any PC, but
you can't use drag- and-drop; you have to
add files via the burning tool's formal interface.
In backups, recoverability is a top concern, You want to be able to grab a
backup CD and be able to read it on whatever machine you happen to be using.
Heck, if your trying to use a backup CD,
the main PC may be completely hosed, or
otherwise unavailable! So, use the latter,
non-drag- and-drop method for backups,
so you will be able to read backup files,
no matter what.
But as usual with tech topics, a brief explanation like the above only scratches
the surface, and leaves much unsaid. If
you want a more complete explanation:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
In contrast, normal burning in the usual
Packet_writing
CD format (for example, "ISO 9660") is
http://searchstorage.techtarget.com/
actually much more standard: A normal
sDefinition/O"Sid5_gci509553,OO.
ISO 9660-fonnat CD can be burned on
html http://www.mrichter.com/cdr/
almost any PC and read on almost any
primer/udf. htm
other Pc. But the ISO format doesn't suphttp://www.google.com/search?
port packet-writing, and so is not comhl=en&q=packet+writing
patible with drag- and-drop recording.
PAGES
DECEMBER
I
2005
I
~::,if/lf,ttllr~~~/.tf\Ft$/{f'
AWAY.
TICKETS MAY BE PURCHASED
FOR
$1.00
EACH.
(OR
6
FOR
$5)
EACH PAID UP MEMBER
ATTENDING
WILL
RECEIVE ONE FREE
cOok:
TICKET FOR A CHANCE
ChiCk:~S,hOlidq
AT THE DIiAWING.
g~f]ddip 'f:~ger f~ Cqf]dies
Odie' lilt q
ods
' frie
qf]d W. s, You na fib ,chips a
'S'll t.
f]qrn ,er,
REMEMBER TO
oVeI~I e It, b"7'
,
IJl)g it
BRING YOUR CHECKBOOK
DRIVE LiGHT
PAGE 9
PAGE 10
DECEMBER
DRIVE LIGHT
WHAT1S NEW??
through.
For detailed printer information, check the
following websites for their information
on printers, ink and paper information:
One item which can affect the finished
photo is how thick the paper is. You need
to check how the paper moves through the Epson- www.epson.com
printer because the way it moves will con- Canon - www.canon.com
Hewlett-Packard - www.hp.com
trol how thick the paper can be.
4/~~~dJ
With a little help from the December issue of Computer Shopper, I
[email protected]
Nill give you some of the best electronic gadget gifts for the holiday
season. Time is awasting, so here without wires is the wave of the
future. Microsoft has entered the
~oes.
arena with their Wireless Laser
Sirius 550 - This gadget is Desktop 6000, an ergonomic keya 'play' on the old MP3 board with customizable quick
player, except this keys and aperfectly precise
one records
up to 50 hours
of Sirius Satellite
..Radio programming to take along
with you. This pocket
size
1GB player also stores
and plays MP3 and WMA files and laser
mouse- with a magcan automatically record your fanifier and four-way tilt scroll - that
verite Sirius programming so you
makes navigation a breeze. Price:
can listen anywhere. Price:
$89.99 at www.BestBuy.com
or
$104.95 at www.microsoft.com
$329.99 (currently on sale at
their site for $279.99); $12.95 per
month for Sirius service. WWW.
Logitech QuickCam Fusion sirius.corn
The fun part
of instant
messaging is
Belkin Wireless G Travel
being able to
Router - The ideal way to turn
that hotel room Ethernet broadsee the perband connection into a wireless
son you're
one. This small, very mobile dechatting up.
vice can also be used as a wireThis webcam
less adapter to connect to WiFi hot has a 1.3 mega
pixel resolution for
spots, or to increase the reach of
an existing wireless network.
clearer images and
improved low-light
Price: $59.99 at www.Amazon.
performance. Quickcorn; www.belkin.com
Cam Fusion includes Logitech®
Video Effects, with animated 3D
Microsoft Wireless Laser Desktop 6000 - I've found using a wire- Avatars (that imitate your facial expressions and head movements)
less keyboard and mouse on my
and 2D Face Accessories (that
fesktop is the way to go. I've already been spoiled by the wireless you can apply to your own image
to change your look). Logitech
mouse on my laptop. Mobility
PAGE 7
Printers now have many more capabilities
than four or five years ago. They have
more ink colors, ink placement size, and
speed than ever before.
There is no restriction against any non-profit
group using this article as long as it is kept in
context with proper credit given the author. The
Editorial Committee of the Association of Personal Computer User Groups (APCUG), an international organization of which this group is a
member, brings this article to you.
Drag-And-Drop CD Compatibility
Question: If You format a CD-RW on an
older computer so that You may drag and
drop files for backup, would a new computer be able to read and rewrite to that
CD?
Answer: Drag-and-drop to a CD usually
uses a technology called "packet writing,"
and a format somewhat optimistically
named the "Universal Disk Format" or
UDF. In theory, if you take a packetwritten, UDF CD to another PC with a
CD burner on it, and whose software recognizes UDF, then it probably will work.
But that's a lot of "ifs. "
I
r
The catch is that packet-writing and UDF
aren't really universal. Different vendors
use different flavors of packet-writing,
and even within the proposed UDF standard itself, there are two major variants.
"Universal," it ain't.
So, you take your pick: Drag and drop
recording is convenient, but the CD may
or may not be easily read on a different
PC. Standard CD burning results in a CD
that can be read on almost any PC, but
you can't use drag- and-drop; you have to
add files via the burning tool's formal interface.
In backups, recoverability is a top concern, You want to be able to grab a
backup CD and be able to read it on whatever machine you happen to be using.
Heck, if your trying to use a backup CD,
the main PC may be completely hosed, or
otherwise unavailable! So, use the latter,
non-drag- and-drop method for backups,
so you will be able to read backup files,
no matter what.
But as usual with tech topics, a brief explanation like the above only scratches
the surface, and leaves much unsaid. If
you want a more complete explanation:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
In contrast, normal burning in the usual
Packet_writing
CD format (for example, "ISO 9660") is
http://searchstorage.techtarget.com/
actually much more standard: A normal
sDefinition/O"Sid5_gci509553,OO.
ISO 9660-fonnat CD can be burned on
html http://www.mrichter.com/cdr/
almost any PC and read on almost any
primer/udf. htm
other Pc. But the ISO format doesn't suphttp://www.google.com/search?
port packet-writing, and so is not comhl=en&q=packet+writing
patible with drag- and-drop recording.
PAGE 6
DECEMBER
2005
Following last month's excellent
presentation by Lee Otsubo, the
Digital Photo Guy (photos by
Greg Skulka, and edited by Art
Gresham) we offer this article,
courtesy the APCUG, by Donald
Cummins, APCUG Representative, Fresno Personal Computer
Users Group, California
by Donald Cummins
rything about them. This can be a huge
effort at the beginning but may payoff
later. Each photo should be and must be
looked upon as being unique unto itself.
Paper and ink are a team - one without
the other IS just paper or ink. Paper is
one of the least understood or overlooked
items.
Now this is where ink comes into play.
There are two types of ink dye and pigment. Dye inks produce somewhat
brighter colors and are prone to fading.
.
They now may last 10 years or longer.
P~per ~hould be used with care .. A wed- Pigment inks are less bright and last
dmg picture may be a total loss If you put longer than dye ink on photos.
it on the incorrect type of paper. If the
picture is taken on the soft side (not very Some feel that the larger munber of dots
sharp) and printed on very glossy paper,
per inch is one of the biggest things that
it will make it look out offocus. It would will enhance the finished photo. The
be much better if it is printed on less
other side says 1440 dpi is all you really
glossy paper or, even better, on a matteneed. The droplet size may be the finishfinish paper. Many of.the wedding phoing touch to the photo if your printer can
tos I?ay need to be pnnted on a number
put down a droplet size of four picoliters
of different types of paper to find the best and/or smaller this is too small for our
r~sults. At the same time, the ink careyes to see. Some printers are even puttndges may need to be changed from one ting down droplets as small as 1.5 picoligroup of photos to another.
ters.
Some people feel you should use only
one brand of paper that is made for your
brand of printer; e.g. Epson printer
should only use Epson paper and Epson
original ink cartridges. They say do not
"mix and match." Others say stick with
one brand of paper or ink and know eve-
PAGE 11
And for those of you on budgets:
TDK PrintOn Recordable DVD Media - Skip writing with markers and
using stick on labels on your blank
DVDs. With a compatible printer (like
an Epson R-300) and TDK's PrintOn
DVD+R and DVD-R discs, creating
professionallooking DVDs
is easy.
Choose from
white matte,
colored
matte, or
Samsung HT-WP38 Integrated
glossy,
DVD/Receiver Home- Theater-in-aBox - Finally a home theater without photo-quality
discs. www.tdk.com *PrintOn DVD
wires. Samsung presents the HTPhoto Quality ($3.99 each); PrintOn
WP38 home theater. This DVDDVD White Matte ($1.99 each); Prinplayer/receiver/speaker combo featOn DVD Color Matte flve-pak
tures wireless rear-channel speakers
($10.99); TDK PrintOn DVD Color
that eliminate the need to run pesky
Matte - 50 x DVD-R 4.7 GB 8x - ink
cords across the room. The five-disc
changer integrates a handy USB port jet printable surface - spindle - storso you can listen to digital music from age media at $40.92 at www.
a portable player or view photos from Drearnhardware.corn
a digital camera. $349.99 at www.
Hope this short list helps with some
samsungusa.com ; $319.99 at www.
of your holiday shopping and dreamAmazon.com
ing. Happy Holidays and a Happy
New Year from the What's New
Crew. See you in 2006!
Video Effects avatars and face accessories are designed to work
seamlessly with popular instant messaging programs for a truly unique
experience. Intelligent Face Tracking
keeps your face in the center of the
video frame, so you're free to move
around. You can even zoom in or out
to get the right shot. A great little
gadget for holiday shoppers for
$99.99 from www.logitech.com or
$79.87 from www.Buy.com
More Photo Tips
What Comes After
You Have Your
Pictures in Tip Top
Shape?
DRIVE LIGHT
Does the ink bleed through or run or take
forever to dry and cause the paper to cup
up? Some will lay down the ink in a
number of passes and others may lay the
ink down in one pass. One may require
the paper to move through a number of
rollers and others will pass straight
Reminder: For easy access to all these WWW links and others in the
Drive Light, visit our website and go to the DRIVE LIGHT 'lIGHT' page. No
More Typing!
Readers; remember that our holiday auction is in December. Perhaps you have some of 'What's Old' that you're ready to
upgrade. Check your workbench, your desk, your pockets, your
friend's pockets, the bottom of your computer bag, your library
shelves. Bring in your unused software and hardware donations.
You might even bring in that old toaster, video game, DVD, or kid's
toy that wants to find a new home. Remember, its a donation, after all we are now REALLYour own charitable organization and so it
is all tax deductible.
'What's New'
PAGE
12
(eontinued from page 3) Reports
puting Magazine and gave the evening
presentation on Digital Photography.
Lee was extremely knowledgeable on
digital photographyand gave a lot of
information and tips on how the get the
best out of your Digital Camera. When
ordering Smart Computing Magazine
products, please use Lee as a reference
so he will get credit for giving us the
Presentation. This will also get you a
discount on their Magazines.
DECEMBER
DCE AutoEnhance is very powerful
and fresh software for an automatic or
manual image enhancements. Please
don't feel overwhelmed by the number
of controls and settings. This software
is in fact very easy to use and master
and the results are often quite amazing.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:58 pm.
If2. oard Meeting
ONovember
16,2005
Lee recommended the use of a little
The meeting was called to order at the
known shareware program Photo Reshome of Abbott Brownell at 7:45p.m.
cue ( http://www.datarescue.com/
photorescue/) if you are having prob- by President Greg Skalka. In attendance were Greg Skalka, Abbott
lems with recovery from a corrupted
memory chip in your camera.
Brownell, Al Brengle, Greg Wauson,
Virginia Faber, David Marston, Mike
Trempe, Sandy Shapiro and Ray FerLee discussed a program to manage
and enhance your digital photography.
brache.
DCE AutoEnhance is available at
http://www.mediachance.com/dce/.
REPORTS:
The program has many features to help
you with your digital photo's. Check
President - The President noted the
out the Manual on their website.
collection of items we have received
for the Christmas Raffle/Auction.
DCE AutoEnhance is an automatic
digital image enhancer and batch proc- Vice President - The Vice President
essor. Unlike most of the batch proces- has one more signature to the submissors DCE will take into account how
sion to the State of California for our
the image was taken by using the infor- Corporation Officers which he will do
mation found in EXIF metadata your
this month. The Vice President will be
camera recorded into the image when
giving a presentation on Computer
the shot was taken.
Tools at the South Bay School in support of John Alvarado's program to
The software can work on images one
educate youth about Computers.
by one or in a batch mode. It offers Basic and Advanced mode, each with dif- Secretary- Nothing to report.
ferent number of control over the processing.
Treasurer - The Treasurer reported
expenditures and receipts for the past
month have been within the guidelines
You don't have to spend much time
setting up DCE. You can start using the of our annual Corporation Budget. The
software right now with the default set- Treasurer reported that the back statements and the spreadsheet of expenses
tings - they are well balanced.
is close. He should have them recon-
DRIVE LIGHT
erary. Rather than make a stop at Fry's
(now already open) for one minor item, I
decided we should head for Office Depot,
which advertised the next best camera deal
I had seen. After a McDonald's drivethrough stop for sustenance, we arrived at
Office Depot, to a line of about 20 outside
the front door. Employees were walking
the line, handing out vouchers for some of
the sale items, intent on avoiding a mad
rush once the doors opened. I was lucky to
get the last of the vouchers for the digital
camera I wanted, and then was able to get
the three other Items I wanted once inside.
I was able to check out quickly, and Office Depot was even going to donate a percentage of the sale to my son's high
school. Another favorable shopping experience for Office Depot!
PAGE
5
Chapter 133
Raising a Computer
I have now determined that building and
configuring a computer is a lot like raising
a child. In setting up my wife's new PC, I
got to see the marvel of something new
coming into existence. Like a child, the
new PC can't initially do much, but it reacts quickly to stimulus. It gains new capabilities as you install applications, learning to communicate with the Internet and
with printers and other peripherals. Soon it
is mature and capable, ready to quickly do
productive work; for the good of the family. Unfortunately, computers must follow
a life cycle as we do.
The harder the computer works at its
tasks, the more likely it is to develop some
We next went to Radio Shack for a single
malady. The more it ventures out on the
item, but waited over ...------------.,
Internet, the more likely it
half an hour to pay for
If, however, its parts are too is to contract some virus or
it, due to long lines
old and useless, it is probaspyware infection. As its
and less than compeoperating system installatent cashiers. We next
bly destined for the scrap
tion gets older, its capabiliwent to the nearby Sta- heap, the recycle bin, or the ties can start to degrade.
ples, but I had lost my
donation table at the
More programs and upenthusiasm for the few
UCHUG holiday meeting.
dates added can mean a
items I had interest in,
larger and possibly corand so decided to skip
[there's the true spirit of a
rupted registry. Hard drive
it. We instead decided
UCHUG'er]
errors can occur due to
to stop at a second
physical degradation or
Best Buy store, on the chance that this
en-ant software writes, causing losses in
store had not sold out on the really good
the long and short term memory. Eventucamera deal. They were out of them, of
ally, things can so bad that the computer
course, but we did get to see the Fox chan- fails to boot properly. If it is lucky and has
ne16news van filming in front of the
worked well (and its parts are not too old),
store. We returned home at 7:30 AM with
it may have its memory (hard drive)
some good deals, but with no interest in
wiped, and be reincarnated with a new,
further shopping that day.
clean operating system. It might even get a
few new components as transplants. If,
however, its parts are too old and useless,
Overall, it seemed that there were not as
it is probably destined for the scrap heap,
many good deals advertised this year as
the recycle bin, or the donation table at the
last. The earlier store openings and my
lack of sleep also probably contributed to
UCHUG holiday meeting.
a generally less satisfying experience. I
was once again quite pleased with my
shopping experiences at CompUSA and
Office Depot, but disappointed with Best
Buy and Radio Shack. Now to fill out all
the rebate forms!
PAGE 4
the PREZ' Corner (Continuedfrom page 2)
DECEMBER
2005
and Fry's, at 5 AM Friday morning.
of bargains gained and sleep lost.
After a fine turkey day at my parent's
Greg's Holiday Shopping Review II
house in Orange County, I returned
home to prepare my sales battle plan. I
For those that recall my shopping adleft for the CompUSA in Encinitas at
ventures last year, I did well at the
11:25 PM, and found about fifty people
CompUSA sale the evening before
already in line outside when I arrived.
Thanksgiving. After reviewing the ads
They opened on time, and the one hunon Thanksgiving Day, I set out early
dred or so in line entered in an orderly
Friday morning for the 6 AM opening
manner. I was able to get to a salesperof CompUSA again, then moved on to
son right away to stake my claim for
Fry's, Best Buy, Circuit City and Office my most critical item (a gift, which I
Depot, returning home around 9 AM.
can't elaborate on, due to the publicaTo recap, I gave
•••••
_.ti;,on of this before
high marks to
Christmas), but I spent
CompUSA, Fry's
I left for the CompUSA about half an hour
and Office Depot,
in Encinitas at 11:25 PM, waitingwhilethem
while I was neutral
ooked for the acceson Circuit City and
and found about fifty sory that was advergave Best Buy a
people already in line.
ised to be free with
"thumb's down".
this item's purchase. In
the end, the courteous
Since I had such good luck with the
sales clerk could not find it, but promCompUSA pre-Thanksgiving sale last
ised I would be called within a week
year, I was alert to any newspaper adwhen the item arrived. I also bought my
vertisements concerning a repeat event
Norton SystemWorks and a laptop
this year. They saved their money this
backpack for $10 after rebate, and fiyear, and only advertised the Wednesnally left the store at 1 AM, fairly
day evening sale on-line, and also cut
happy with the results.
back on the bargains. Not finding anyI awakened at 4 AM Friday morning,
thing to capture my interest, I skipped
after only a couple hours of sleep, and
that sale. Their advertisement in the
left the house with my son for the next
Thursday paper was a much better enticement. There were several items I
round of shopping. The first stop would
be Best Buy, which advertised a digital
was interested in, including.my tradicamera at a tremendous savings. When
tional Norton SystemWorks for free
we arrived, we found what must have
after rebate deal. Honestly, since buybeen over 200 people already in line.
ing SystemWorks 2001 five years ago,
The line moved quickly and orderly
I have not paid a net cent (other than
when the opened a bit before 5 AM, but
sales tax and rebate application postwhen I reached the camera counter, I
age) to have the current version each
was told the item had already sold out.
year. Every year around this time, you
can count on at least one retailer having My son was able to quickly pick up the
few items he wanted, and so we were
a rebate offer for the current version,
able to get through the checkout line
usually including an upgrade rebate,
before most customers had found all
with a net cost of zero. This year I saw
their items, and thus got out before 5:30
at least three, but the CompUSA offer
AM.
required the lowest initial cash outlay.
CompUSA also had the earliest Friday
Since a digital camera was critical to
opening of any of my prospects, openmy gift-giving plans, and Best Buy had
ing at 11:59 PM on Thursday. The next
failed me, I decided to change my itinearliest on my list would be Best Buy
PAGE 13
DRIVE LIGHT
ciled shortly.
demonstrate a "Computer on a Stick".
Membership - We have 6 members
who have not given an EMail Address
to.the Chairperson. We are working on
procedures to ensure privacy and to
make EMail the preferred method of
contacting our membership. The club
has an active membership in good
standing of 61.
OLD BUSINESS:
Editor - The Editor had submitted his
report to the president via EMail. The
2005 Drive Light issues (Feb through
November) in PDF format have been
sent to the webmasters, when they can
make them available on our Website.
Al Brengle is in discussion with John
Alvarado about having a Spring Computer Clinic at the South Bay Adult
School. Our last clinic was not well attended and we are exploring other aveneus. The UCHUG would like to find a
new target audience and place for our
future Clinics. The Clinics are one
method of maintaining our public service effort and our status as a Non-Profit
Corporation.
.
We discussed how to lesson the load on
our editor and find a replacement for
training. Options available include to
Web Masters - Not Present.
back down to a Quarterly Hard Copy
with a Monthly Post Card as a meeting
PROGRAMS:
reminder. A different format Drive
December - The meeting on the 7th will Light in PDF format for alternate
be our Holiday party and auction. Bring months was discussed.
your no longer needed Software and
18 of our 61 members signed up for the
Hardware for the Auction. Bring a faSmart Computing Magazine 3 month
vorite finger food or dish for the Pot
free subscription. The list is being subLuck. The Group will provide utensils,
mitted.
plates and soft drinks. The raffle will
include a significant number of items
from the Microsoft Mindshare program, NEW BUSINESS:
A $100 Gift Certificate (Members Only
Holiday Party.
drawing), 2 $50 Gift Certificates and
any items donated which are deemed
The UCHUG will provide the Plates,
appropriate. An auction will be held to
support the general fund of all other do- Utensils, and Soft Drinks. The tickets
nated items. Tickets will be $1.00 each for our raffles were discussed. A motion
was made, seconded and passed to have
or 6 for $5.00.
the Treasurer purchase 1 $100 and 2 $50
gift certificates for the Christmas Raffle.
January - Ray Ferbrache will give a
presentation on Cell Phones, Interaction Al Brengle will make up an IRS Tax
Deduction Certificate for anyone who
with a Computer and Cell Phone Phodonates to the Auction and Raffle.
tography. Al Brengle will give a talk
and show us how to Flash a Bio's Chip.
The meeting adjourned at 9: 17 p.m ..
February - How to install a Hard Drive
in your computer. David Marston will
DECEMBER
PAGE 14
[Foy us ~"" SIl"" ~~ego, Ncev;cbey ytl1 ~S tYULi:j Il
pilYt of OUY l1eritllge, botl1lls VI C.Lti:j, (,1",,01 for
V;C(,l""i:jof us L""oILvLoIuIlLLi:j. I tl1ougl1t i:jOU
wouLoI ev0oi:j tl1Ls Ltev;c tl1(,1t WIlS beL""g sl1(,1reol
rec.e""tLi:j tl1rougl1 tl1e eV;CIlLLs. ThIl""R..s to R£!i:j
ll""oIl1~s CO""tllC.t.s for se""01~",,g tl1~s IlLo""g.
601.J
As most of you know, the turning point
of the Naval portion of the Pacific Campaign against the "Japanese in WWII was
the Battle of Midway. Through luck or
God's intervention, the Navy divebombers were able to sink four Japanese aircraft carriers because the Japanese fighters were busy shooting down all of our
slow torpedo planes that never got close
enough to release their torpedoes.
This major victory came six months after the surprise attack at Pearl Harbor.
The newspapers at that time were supportive of our armed forces.
The text below is how someone believes
the Battle of Midway would be reported
by today's media.
Midway Island Demolished.
Yorktown, destroyer sunk.
Many US planes lost.
June 7, 1942 The United States
Navy suffered another blow in its
attempt to stem the Japanese juggernaut ravaging the Pacific
Ocean. Midway Island, perhaps the
most vital U.S. outpost, was pummeled by Japanese Naval aviators.
The defending U.S. forces, consisting primarily of antique Buffalo fighters, were completely
wiped out while the Japanese attackers suffered few, if any,
losses.
In a nearby naval confrontation,
the Japanese successfully attacked
the Yorktown which was later sunk
DRIVE LIGHT
by a Japanese submarine. A destroyer lashed to the Yorktown was
also sunk.
Secretary
5
'Ray J'erGracfie
[email protected]
G
The American carriers lost an entire squadron of torpedo planes
when they failed to link up with
fighter escorts. The dive bombers
had fighter escort even though
they weren't engaged by enemy
fighters. The War Dept. refused to
answer when asked why the fighters
were assigned to the wrong attack
groups. The Hornet lost a large
number of planes when they couldn't locate the enemy task force.
Despite this cavalcade of errors,
Admirals Fletcher and Spruance
have not been removed.
eneral Meeting
November 2, 2005
The meeting was held in Room 401,
San Diego County Office of Education
Complex, 6401 Linda Vista Rd. The
meeting was called to order by president Greg Skalka at7:05 p.m .. The
president welcomed approximately 32
members and guests. The return of our
member from the East was noted.
Code Broken
REPORTS:
The failure at Midway is even more
disheartening because the U.S.
Navy knew the Japanese were coming. Secret documents provided to
the NY Times showed that "Magic"
intercepts showed the Japanese
planned to attack Midway, which
they called "AF".
President: The President noted the program for the evening. The President
reported on having contact from the
ACPUG about a Company in Los Angeles who will put on a presentation
about construction of Laptop Computers. The members present agreed
that we should persue getting a presentation by them for one of our spring
meetings. It is one month to Our
Obsolete Equipment
nt.Mt.MBtn
,
'Reports
American forces claim to have sunk
four Japanese carriers and the
cruiser Mogami but those claims
were vehemently denied by the Emperor's spokesman.
Some critics blamed the failure at
Midway on the use of obsolete aircraft The inappropriately named
Devastator torpedo planes proved
no match for the Japanese fighters. Even the Avengers, its schedule replacements, were riddled
with bullets and rendered unflyable. Secretary of War Stimson
dodged the question saying simply:
"You go to war with the Navy you
have, not the Navy you want or
would like to have". Critics immediately called for his resignation.
PAGE 3
"
Christmas Party and Raffle/Auction.
Clean out your storage area for items
for out auction. Please bring a food
item for the members present. The
Group will provide drinks and Plates/
Flatware. It was noted that the group is
now a functioning 501 C3 Non-Profit
Corporation. We will have Tax Exempt forms for anyone who donates to
the Auction.
Editor: The editor passed out complimentary copies of the Drive Light to
guests present. The article in the October Drive Light giving the details
about the running of the DARPA
Grand Challenge robotic car race was
called to the attention of the members.
There is a considerable amount of detail and Video information available
on the Standford University WebSite.
"www.stanfordracing.org" .
Web Master: Mike Trempe covered
for the Web Master who could not
make the meeting. He reviewed the
WebSite located at "www.uchug.org".
New items and changes or updates appearing during the last month were
discussed.
Treasurer: The Group is solvent and
operating within our budget.
PROGRAM: Lee Otsubo the Digital
Photo Guy http://www.
thedigitaiphotoguy.com/"
was introduced. He is sponsored by Smart ComReports (Continued on page 12)
.L
PAGE 2
DECEMBER 2005
PAGE 15
DRIVE LIGHT
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VOLl:JMEXXV1.
issue: 12
:.'DECEMBE,R 20'0'5:;
UCHUG NEWSLETTER
The
P.....
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•....
by
ares
Skalka
[email protected]
The Saga of One Computer
Upgrade - Part LXXVIII
it just takes one to push the limits a little bit, and then everyone must follow,
It is holiday shopping time again! If you
are not buying computer items, most of
you will probably be using the computer to research and purchase gifts for
yourself and others. Once again, home
electronics will probably be a big part
of those gift purchases. This includes
computers and many other things often
used in conjunction with computers,
such as digital cameras, portable music
players and home entertaimnent systems.
Early store openings on the day after
Thanksgiving used to mean 6 AM. Now
many stores open at 5 AM on that Friday. CompUSA really pushed the limits
this year. As they did last year,
CompUSA closed late in the afternoon
on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving,
to reopen an hour later to special sales
until midnight. Once again they respected Thanksgiving this year, remaining closed all day. They started their
Black Friday sales earlier than almost
anyone else, however, opening at 11:59
PM on Thursday, to remain open
through Friday. A few stores, including
some Walmart Supercenters and some
of the new Sears Essentials stores,
chose to be open on Thanksgiving Day
itself. Of course, if you got bored with
turkey and pumpkin pie early on
Thanksgiving Day, you could always
start your holiday shopping online.
The day after Thanksgiving has acquired the nickname "Black Friday", as
it has become an essential sales day in
the profitability of many retailers. in the
old days, retailers respected the holiday
tradition and remained closed on
Thanksgiving Day, so their employees
could celebrate with their families. A
mountain of advertisements would arrive with the Thursday newspaper, proclaiming amazing sales starting the next
day. These special sales would begin
the holiday shopping season, when the
retailers often opened early on Friday
morning. As with most things, however,
I once again was lured by the siren song
of the retailer's advertisements, and
ventured out in search of computer bargains this year. Here is my annual tale
tile PREZ' Comer (Continued on page 4)
2005 UCHUG 2006
EXECUTIVE BOARD
=
President. ,
VP
.
Secretary , ,
Treasurer. ,
WebMaster
Editor. , ...
Membership.
O-a-1. , , , ,
O-a-1. , , , , .
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Greg Skalka
858.484-7024
619.588.0674
Ray Ferbrache
619.275-2718
Mike Trempe
619.283-3543
Bob and Jackie Woods 858.486-4485
Art Gresham
85~f.354-6939
Virginia Faber
619,795-0365
Abbott Brownell
619,698-1506
Al Brengle
David Marston
Greg Wauson
Sandy Shapiro
858.454-2341
president@uchug,org
[email protected]
[email protected]
treasurer@uc1mg,org
webrnastersrguehug.org
1editor 101 @l!lc1mg.org
afaberz@yahoo,com
[email protected]
ddavidnctgmchug.org
greg. [email protected]
[email protected]
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"ARTHUR W. GRESHAM
12/)/2006
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BigdoUar Prize drawings.
Bring your unused software
and.equipment donations
for the auction .•
Dool"sopen at 6:30 for setup.
Remember your snaek goodies
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