TCS - From the Dealsguy

From the Dealsguy

by Bob Click
Greater Orlando Computer User Group
From the January, 2005 issue of the I/O Port Newsletter

I saw something interesting on the news concerning problems getting a travel visa. Seems it takes months to be granted a visa these days and the Rockwell International Automation Fair (a show I worked and wrote about) lost many foreign attendees who were unable to get their visa in time to attend the show here in Orlando.

I occasionally watch Mythbusters on the Discovery channel. I saw them trying to get a ringing cell phone to cause an explosion, with no success, even exposed directly to some very dangerous fumes. After more suggestions from viewers, they tried again on another show using the suggestions from the viewers along with some new ones of their own, but with no success. I'll still leave mine in the car.

Vacation Comments

Every time I mention taking a cruise, I get lots of feedback. My wife and I decided it was time for another getaway and opted for an eastern Caribbean cruise on Holland America's Zaandam cruise ship. I was very much disappointed with the Zaandam. Sailing on the Zaandam left something to be desired since it tended to roll a lot, even on relatively quiet water. I was told privately by a crew member that one of their stabilizers was broken. While ashore in one port (St. Thomas), we talked to people who arrived there on Holland America's Maasdam who had the same experience. They also said the Maasdam had one engine down so their speed on the water was curbed until it could be fixed. That problem changed their next scheduled stop to Freeport where the ship was to be repaired. St. Thomas was packed the day we were there because there were a total of eight cruise ships docked or anchored with passengers ashore. Tour bus traffic sure added to the traffic congestion.

The only thing we liked better on the Zaandam compared to Celebrity's Summit was the food, although the available times for it should be improved. Thank God for room service when we wanted food in between serving times. To make matters worse, a complaint tended to fall on deaf ears at the Front Desk. They did have good shows though. We had been thoroughly spoiled by our last cruise, which was on Celebrity's Summit last year. That one was surely a cut above all others. That doesn't mean we didn't enjoy this cruise though. We are now considering what and where our next one will be.

Reminder

Don't forget about the Alpha 5 ver.6 special offer that is still good this month. The discount is great and you can order at [brett@alphasoftware.com]. You get it for just $179.00 as compared to MSRP $349.00.

Below Are More Announcements Offering Discounts For User Group Members

AdWords Clever Wizard

"Our company, CleverStat, would like to announce the release of AdWords Clever Wizard 1.4 for Windows 98/ME/NT/2000/XP. (Author's note: they included a press release, but because it was lengthy, I did not include it so check the URL) "Note, all users group members will have a 20% discount if purchasing AdWords Clever Wizard 1.4. In order to get the benefit of discount they need to type the following coupon code while ordering: TFBH-R4NT-IHNG."

This one was a bit hard for me to understand so I am passing it on to you with the URL to read up on it. [http://www.cleverstat.com/adwords-analyzer-software.htm].

NotePage's FeedForAll

"To celebrate the launch of FeedForAll, NotePage's new RSS feed creation software, NotePage has created a User Group Power Point Presentation that explains RSS and how it can be used. RSS is becoming increasingly popular and is a hot topic in many user groups. NotePage, Inc. would be interested in making this Power Point presentation available to you, along with FeedForAll discount coupons for your members. The Power Point presentation can be downloaded from: [http://www.feedforall.com/rss.ppt]"

To read about this product, go to [http://www.feedforall.com].

Announcement of Flash File Recovery 1.3

Below is an announcement I received that includes a discount for user group members.

"Our company, PANTERASoft, would like to announce the release of Flash File Recovery 1.2 for Windows 95/98/ME/2000/XP. We'd like to offer your members and subscribers a 15% discount off the regular price. (Author's note: They included a press release, but I didn't include it. Check their Web site) "Flash Fire Recovery is probably Net's oldest and most powerful flash recovery software created specially for digital cameras. The program brings back deleted images and salvages pictures from damaged or corrupted digital media, including the camera's built-in memory. It works with virtually all media types, including SmartMedia, CompactFlash, Memory Stick, MicroDrive, xD Picture Card Flash Card, PC Card, Multimedia Card, and SD Card. While this program does not recover mp3 files, it does recover image files like JPEG, TIFF and such, as well as RAW image files - Canon CRW, Nikon NEF, Kodak DCR, among others. Video files - AVI, MOV, MPG/MPEG are supported as well.

"Flash File Recovery is available at [www.panterasoft.com] for free evaluation. Registering the program is $49.50 US Dollars per copy. Product Page: [http://www.panterasoft.com/file-recovery/index.html]"

I didn't see any code or downloading process in the announcement for getting the discount so I don't know how that works.

What Do You Want?

Joe Bendersky of Computer Club of Palm Shores periodically writes a favorite Web site column and this one took my eye. [http://www.savvysenior.org] It is said that this site offers everything for seniors including 3000 free goodies.

That's it for this month. Meet me here again next month if your editor permits. This column is written to make user group members aware of special offers or freebies I have found or arranged, and my comments should not be interpreted to encourage, or discourage, the purchase of any products, no matter how enthused I might sound. Bob (The Cheapskate) Click [bobclick@mindspring.com]. Visit my Web site at [http://www.dealsguy.com]. I have posted new Web pages with announcements I received in 2004. Sorry they are not well organized, but what is there was a lot of work, as they all have to be edited. I have received some since then and will also post those one of these days.



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Tulsa Computer Society 1/01/2005
Don Singleton, President