TCS - From the Deals Guy

From the Deals Guy

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

The comments about my disgusting experience with Best Buy brought a tremendous response. I was deluged with people's experiences, almost all bad. I have an attorney, but no response yet from Best Buy. More next month.

Here's a caveat when buying rebated products from catalogs.

I learned that "Net Objects" had a $200 rebate on their "Fusion 4.0" Web site software (too late to include it in the column). To order on their Web site was $299.00 before the rebate. Then I received a new catalog from "PC Mall" offering it for $269.00 ($69.00 after rebate), $30.00 cheaper. I seldom order rebated items, but relented and ordered it from PC Mall for that kind of rebate since I'm told Net Objects is a reliable company.

In the package from PC Mall, I found the product, no receipt, and just a very plain shipping slip. I called PC Mall and was faxed a receipt, but it also was plain with no logo on it. A phone call revealed that was not acceptable to Net Objects for the rebate, so I called PC Mall asking for a software receipt with their logo to be mailed. After a week and no receipt, I called again and was promised the proper receipt by mail a second time. After the third call and no response from PC Mall, I did the best I could to send for my rebate (before its deadline) with what materials I had to qualify, including a copy of the catalog pages offering the product.

Had it not been for the good graces of Net Objects customer service, I would have been out the $200 rebate (pleading on my knees may have helped). When I asked Net Objects about their upcoming version 5.0 upgrade, seems I had bought it too early for a free one, but they'd send it anyway because it was close. What a nice staff to work with at Net Objects. I came out OK, but no thanks to PC Mall. Interesting that version 4.0 had no free tech support, but version 5.0 does. Imagine my relief when I received the $200 rebate check.

Regarding people with cable or DSL being susceptible to prying eyes,

Paul Witheridge from the Sarnia, Ontario group suggests that just because you are using ordinary dial-up access to the Internet doesn't mean you are not susceptible to prying hackers. He stresses that everyone has the same problem without a firewall, but the increase in vulnerability for 24/7 connections (cable and DSL connections on full time) is owed to the fact that they normally keep the same IP address. The dial-up modem has a different address whenever you sign on and you are normally not on long enough to catch anybody's attention, or at least to be of use as a remotely controlled hacking site. I'm sure you will read articles about this according to what I see in various newsletters.

According to the Gibson site, Zone Alarm [http://www.zonelabs.com] is the better firewall. Paul Witheridge states that some people can pass Steve's tests with flying colors, even though they may have taken NO special precautions, so they have no problem. Take the test at [http://grc.com] and be your own judge. He explains further, but I have limited space.

Sorry I didn't do my homework for the Pram battery software.

I've had e-mails saying it's for Macs only. I didn't check or I would have mentioned that. However, check your favorite shareware Web site to find similar software for a PC. Your CMOS battery condition is important.

AOL disks have become so commonplace

that most people have enough to tile their bathroom walls. Next time you stop at a Kmart store, notice their free BlueLight.com disks hanging on a post at the checkout counter for free. I've heard few complaints about their Bluelight.com free Internet service. They are certainly making it easy to try. They have telephone tech support also. Perhaps one bathroom wall could be tiled with Kmart disks.

As far as I know, the deals from Caere are still good.

Visit [http://www.caere.com/survey/usergroups.asp] to have the order forms mailed to you. The special offer from World Skyline should also be good yet. The Adobe photo site is good indefinitely (corrected URL is http://www.activeshare.com).

A Reminder From Adobe

I printed this one before, but at the FACUG conference in Kissimmee, FL, Louise Miller from Adobe asked me to make sure you knew about this discount. Adobe is, without a doubt, one of the user group's best supporters. Peachpit Press/Adobe Press offers up to 40% off the list prices. Order 1 - 10 books and receives a 20% discount. Eleven or more books get a whopping 40% discount, so ordering in bulk pays.

Have your group's special offers coordinator contact Louise Miller or Rye Livingston for the form.

From Our Friends at JASC Software

"Belated Happy New Year from your friends at JASC Software! As you may have heard, we recently created a free digital imaging community called StudioAvenue.com(tm) for all Paint Shop Pro users. When you join StudioAvenue.com, you'll be able to:

"If you've already joined us at StudioAvenue.com, thank you. If you haven't, then please take a moment and read about all the great benefits StudioAvenue.com has to offer."

Latest From Our Friends At Power Quest

As you would expect, Gene and Linda Barlow were at the FACUG conference and Linda gave me this form with the latest specials. Boy do they take good care of us user group people. Look at these great specials, so get 'em while they're hot:

Partition Magic V5 -- List $69.95 -- UG special $30.00
Drive Image V2 -- List $69.95 -- UG special $30.00
DataKeeper V3 -- List $49.95 -- UG special $25.00
SecondChance V2 -- List $69.95 -- UG special $30.00
Lost $ Found - List $69.95 - UG special $30.00
OpenLinux V2.3 -- List $49.95 -- UG special $25.00

Submit three for $75.00, four for $95.00, five for $115.00, or six for just $135.00.

OpenLinux eServer - List $199.95 - UG special $120.00

$5.00 S&H for mail and Web orders only. Use the order form, which should have been mailed to all user groups, or use their secure Web site to order at [www.ugr.com/order/]. Have the code UGMAR00 when ordering. What a friend we have in Power Quest and the Barlows. They are two of the hardest working people I know and it is always great to see them.

A Scanner In Your Pocket --- What Have You Been Smoking???

That's right! At the FACUG conference, a company called Wizcom was showing the neatest little scanner that looked somewhat like a large pen you could put in your shirt pocket. It is battery operated and will scan full lines of printed text (regular, bold and italic, 6-22 point size). It stores up 1000 pages of data, which can be edited and retained in separate files.

It will transfer data to your PC, laptop, Palm Pilot or text-enabled cellular phone. It transfers data directly into Microsoft Windows applications as well as other standard applications. Uses a friendly icon-based graphical interface that makes the "QuickLink Pen" fun and intuitive. An "Opticard" is included to read larger text from billboards or headlines or to input text manually.

The weight is three ounces (I'm tellin' ya, its small) and it takes two AAA batteries (included). Communications are Infrared (IrDA) and a serial cable is included. Contains 2MB ROM memory, 2MB integrated flash memory and 4MB flash memory (optional upgrades). Desktop applications included are: address book, table and charts, Internet links, notes and data, with the same familiar icons as the QuickLink Pen so users can store, edit and transfer text for easy data management.

To order this little jewel of a scanner for just $125.00 (UG price), call sales at 1-888-777-0552 or 1-978-635-5357. E-mail them at [sales@wizcomtech.com] or visit their Web site at [http://www.wizcomtech.com]. Tell them you read it in this column, and what user group you are with. S&H is $10.00.

I gave them my green business card to scan and it didn't do well. I wasn't surprised, but it worked well otherwise because another guy gave them a card with a white background and it did very well. I don't know how long this special is good.

Looks like I'm out of space. 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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Tulsa Computer Society 4/10/2000
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