TCS - From The DealsGuy

From The DealsGuy

Bob Click
Greater Orlando Computer User Group
From the December 2000 issue of the I/O Port Newsletter

Bob Read from Polk Computer Users Group sent me the club info for my distribution page, and Ron Walters from Computer Operators of Marysville and Port Huron give me updated info. Thanks to both for their help.

I attended the Florida Association of Users Groups' one-day fall conference and it was a great meeting. It had 57 attendees representing 15 user groups. We all had a wonderful time with great roundtables and an interesting presenter. The Mac groups were well represented, arriving in a big motorhome with an Apple banner on the side. They also helped with some very informative roundtables. The next FACUG [www.facug.org] meeting will be March 2-4, 2001 in Kissimmee, FL. That one is always at capacity, about 150 attendees. I saw no Linux groups, but they are also welcome and encouraged to join. There were even a few Linux prizes in the drawing. Actually, I wish they would open it up to more attendees from wherever.

The Old Disappearing Tech Support Trick

I found out the hard way that Symantec no longer offers free voice tech support on its products. Not even the 90 days they used to give. You must pay, or use the on-line knowledge base. You can also e-mail them and wait for an answer, hoping the answer solves the problem. I hope your luck is better than mine. I knew I should have gotten Zone Alarm, which is free. I wash my hands of Symantec's products.

I've had the same experience with Creative Labs and 3Com. I would like to see APCUG keep a database about vendors giving no tech support. Regardless of opinions regarding Microsoft, I have unlimited telephone tech support on my MS Office Professional and MS Money (not all MS products offer unlimited). I know tech support cost money, but without it, how do you solve your problems, or their bugs.

Received From the MS Rep

Microsoft Press 20% Discount Code

Use the code MCPC to receive a 20% book discount for user group members. Call 800-MSPRESS to order your books. Select a title from the Microsoft Press page: [http://mspress.microsoft.com/]. Also, if you are interested in receiving the Mindshare newsletter, go to [http://www.microsoft.com/mindshare]. (I found the discount on the Mindshare site, but not the newsletter info. You may be better at digging than I am.)

More Book Discount

Louise Miller from Adobe called and asked me to remind you about the discounts on Adobe Press and PeachPit Press books of 20% to 40 %. Go to the Adobe Web site [http://www.adobe.com/usergroups] and download the new form. Louise said it should be posted by the time this gets published.

How About Some Trivia (No deal here, I just liked it)

Lost your dog and can't seem to find it? You've looked all over and have given up. Don't give up just yet --- try [http://www.ThePoop.com] where you'll find data concerning some 5600 different dog rescue groups (I enjoyed the artwork). In this database, you can search for a rescued dog by the breed. Then narrow it down by city, state, zip code or even an organization. Originally, this site was meant to help owners find lost dogs, but more importantly, to help families adopt animals from various shelters around the country. Good luck!

On the other hand, if you lost your job instead of your dog, try [http://www.flipdog.com]. No connection as far as I know. How they connect "Flipdog" with jobs, I'll never know.

Other Office Suites of Distinction - Just A Reminder

How much did you pay for your Office Suite? I was lucky. I won Office '97 in a Raffle. We had a great deal on Corel Office 2000 in NY at the APCUG events, and my laptop came with SmartSuite installed. However, I've seen a couple of glowing reviews for StarOffice 5.2 from Sun Microsystems [http://www.Sun.com], which is absolutely free and it is multiplatform. However, I did read a complaint about poor importing of WordArt files.

Another suite receiving complimentary reviews is Applixware 5.0 from [http://www.vistasource.com] selling for $99. This one is for Linux and Unix, and their AnyWhere Office Suite is also for Windows. That one works with fewer resources. I read two complimentary reviews on Applixware that did include a couple of complaints. I'm only pointing out some other Office Suite choices. (Actually, you can sometimes buy Corel WordPerfect Suite for less than Applixware, which I feel is a better deal and would be my preference.)

If you are a full power user, these might not be for you, but it is a known fact that even most power users don't use more than 35% of the capabilities of the software they are using.

Handy Accessories

I was looking through the "Mobileplanet" catalog the other day and found some interesting things. Do you dig through your car's armrest or glove compartment for your cell phone when you make a call? Mobileplanet has a cell phone holder that fits in the cup holder. I also saw a holder to affix a cell phone to a laptop screen for better data transmission.

I saw the QuickLink Pen Optical Scanner listed for $139.95, which is almost as good as the UG special offer I published last year. They also offer Palm accessories. Their phone is 1-800-675-2638. [http://www.mobileplanet.com]. Specialty catalogs are never cheap, but this one was not bad.

Corel Rebate Stuff

Dave Gerber from Sarasota User Group suggested I include the following item: Many rebates and deals are available for a wide variety of Corel software. Visit http://ri-r1.corel.com/servlet/click?9hkLsDZEikLlpKLgmFliJNnDhknE0Eikhthmphgl to learn more about the following offers:

Wow, Great Graphics For Nuthin'

Here is a graphics program that picks up the pieces and makes something out of them. Its called "Hotmedia 3.0" and is by IBM no less. I read a very positive review for this software and it would take too much room to adequately describe it. However, it will combine video, audio and 3D files and produce a great finished product. It runs on Windows 95/98/2000/NT or Macintosh. The best part is it's free just for the download, so point your browser to [http://www6.software.ibm.com/dl/hotmedia/hmtkt-p]. I have not tried it yet, but it sounded great. The panorama capability sure piques my interest.

According to the Web site, it looks like you may get the new 3.5 version now. I had problems with this URL, but it worked OK for friends.

Are You Right On Cue, Literally?

Have you asked for your CueCat yet? At a Space Coast meeting recently, they were showing a neat gadget - a hand-held scanner that you run across bar codes. Its input into your computer will instantly take you to the URL and more information. That sounds great if you have tried typing in a long URL, especially if you made a typo. They are FREE just for the asking at any Radio Shack store. They are also seen advertised in some magazines - just call and ask for it to get it free.

Right away, I wanted one, but I also wondered why a company would go to that much cost to get thousands of them into people's hands, and free. Included in the package is the cable, booklet and installation disk. The fact that you must register personal information when you install the software to receive an activation code might alert you that something is up. So I kept an eye out for more info, which I found. Nobody tells you that each device has its own unique serial number, or the reason for that. Neither is that fact in the material included with the CueCat, although I didn't check the CD.

The device works with many kinds of bar codes, that you see everywhere, and your TV can also be hooked up to provide bar codes. It sounds like a great device, but if its true, I am not ready for it to collect statistics about my browsing habits. However, if you have no qualms about privacy concerning your surfing, you now know where to get one, and it's free. My firewall should prevent the disbursing of any data if it indeed does so after installation, but I'm still thinking about it. I could create a new person at my address and see how long it takes before he gets junk mail.

That's it for this month. Meet me here again next month if your editor permits. I hope to find some deals at Fall Comdex. If I find anything that can't wait, I'll post it on the Announcements page on my Web site. This column is written to make user group members aware of special offers I have found or arranged, and my comments should not be interpreted to encourage, or discourage, the purchase of products, no matter how enthused I might sound. Bob (The Cheapskate) Click [dealsguy@mindspring.com]. Visit my Web site at [http://www.dealsguy.com] for past columns.



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