1. "President Corner" new officer elections, voting for new club name
2. "Library Report" Geryll Noriss tells us what's new
3. "New Officers" bios of proposed officers for '97
4. "Kids on the Net" Jack Greenky reviews 'Guide to the Internet' video series by FUTUREKIDS
5. "Sim Games" Stu Becktell reviews Sim game: 'Missions in the Rain Forest'
6. "Claris Works" for Win95, reviewed by Dick Comegys
7. "Delphi in Depth" book review by J. Summers
8. "New Users" running Win3.x programs in Win95, FAXing, deleting programs, and more
9. "Types of Membership" description of ASSOCIATE & ACTIVE, may revise types

Usually elections in clubs and non-profit groups are an exercise in seeing how deep into the woodwork the nomination committee has to go to find someone fool enough to allow themselves to be nominated. In my case, for my first office with FROG, I was cornered in the parking lot by two people on a mission from God. They spent 45 minutes in an artful display of coercion and ego inflation until I said yes.

To their credit I have used the same technique, and the same people, on more then one occasion. This year the situation is different. Even with the expanded board we have more than one person for several of the officer positions. I personally congratulate each nominee for their willingness to accept the responsibility that the positions require and the commitment of time.

These are the procedures that we will follow for the elections and the vote on the club name:

When members check-in, they will be given a ballot. The doors open when Steve arrives, usually about 6:00 PM. Since we will need a larger crew to manage everything this month, check-in may not begin right away. Please be patient, or better off, volunteer to help.

Bring your membership card. To get a ballot, the membership card will be checked against our membership list. Without a current membership card for either FROG Computer Society or PC³, you will need to produce a legal ID of someone on our membership list. It is expected that you will strongly resemble the person on the ID. Your name will be checked off, the counter will be incremented, and you will be given a ballot for the night's voting.

At 6:30 we will start Help's Half Hour, if Help is there and ready to help. I expect, as usually happens, people will continue to arrive during Help's Half Hour. At 7:00 we will stop handing out ballots and will explain again how the voting for officers and club name will be done, unless the consensus is that this explanation was clear enough and, of course, everyone read it. The candidates for office will be introduced and allowed to make a brief presentation, if they wish. The floor will be open for nominations.

The Entries for the "Name the Club Contest" will be presented. Each will be displayed and assigned a number for voting.

The first section of the ballot will have one part for your vote for officers, and a second part for the number of your choice for the name. Ballots will be collected and counted by the nominating committee.

If none of the names get 50% of the vote, we will eliminate the names with the fewest votes and vote again for the name on the second section of the ballot. In total, arrangements have been made for three votes for the name; I really can't see it taking more. If it does, someone will have to do some fast thinking. While the votes are being counted, we will have Show and Tell by Mrs. Justine Thyme's 3rd grade class.

The program will be about the BBS; bring your questions.

As a last note if I am re-elected, I will be appointing committee chairs in January. If you are interested in chairing a committee, being on a committee or forming a new committee, get in touch. RTC 473-7644, Internet martyb@vivanet.com.

Ever tried to make a modem work? I've been involved in this particular thrill for about two weeks now- up close and personal. Honest to God, I believe I would have given up, thrown in the towel and thought up some interesting justifications for quitting except for one very important thing: I watched my friend Don upload a file for me to the Frog Pond BBS and I'm beyond fascinated!

People, this is incredible! Nick and Paul (of FROG and PC³ fame) have put together something truly useful and usable for YOU and it's there for the accessing. That's right, for absolutely no pesos beyond your already low membership dues and just a little patience while you learn modemese, you are invited into a world just a tad reminiscent of the Jetsons. Do I sound like a commercial? Good, this is one.

Paul and Nick would be the first to acknowledge they've not achieved this alone. Yeah, yeah, forget the minor glitches and the petty inconveniencesthis stuff's FUN.

Those of you already on-line know what I'm talking about and then some; those of you with Windows just point and click and you're on your way. Those of us with ancient dinosaur equipment and/or little tech knowledge would have little opportunity for this amazing exploration if it weren't for local BBS's and the sysops (see? I'm learning the jargon) who choose to serve.

How does all of this apply to our library? Several ways.

One: you can always stay abreast of club activities and this doesn't just mean the major projects discussed at monthly program meetings. Something is always cooking and the only way to truly enjoy the meal is to get on into the kitchen and volunteer your culinary talents.

Yes, you have some. Each of us has something to teach and to learn from the others around us; it's just a matter of matching the intangible supply and demand. Steve Staub's been working on a project designed to do just that. Check out the survey form in your monthly Lilypad/Insight issue and give some real thought to which of your skills you'd like to share. Post a message or two on the BBS message board and be prepared to be surprised by the response. Your active participation is invited, encouraged and needed by all the rest of us.

Two: revving up your modem and taking a spin on the BBS puts you in direct contact with more information than you'd ever dream. Don't let anyone ever tell you that a local BBS is an ersatz make-do until you can get on-line with a big, glitzy, commercial on-line carrier. There's just too much available to be dismissed as second-class.

Through your FROG/PC³ BBS you can find all kinds of information, send and receive posted messages, upload and download files (including ShareWare) and log onto great exploration opportunities like major public libraries across the country.

From your home you can request a copy of DIARY OF A CONTROL FREAK by Bill Gates from the New Paltz, New York library sent up to your favorite Monroe County Branch and you can do it at your convenience.

Three: you can cast your questions upon the waters like a fishing net. It's three in the morning and you can't sleep because you just know somewhere in the vast universe there is a program designed to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit. You're smart enough to know it wouldn't be a wise move to wake up three or four friends for your search, so you post a message on your BBS.

Tomorrow night you'll sleep safe and secure with information about several available programs, most either public domain freeware or minimally priced ShareWare. You may even have already downloaded the program and spent several happy hours converting those pesky degrees.

Four: options. Many, many options. Let's say you don't want to install a modem, you don't want to figure out initialization strings and you don't have the patient desire to keep at it until it all works. But let's say you do want that one elusive DOS.exe that you've heard can make your PC-XT laptop actually stand up and dance. (Don't laugh! I can very successfully run WordPerfect 5.1 on a dual-floppy, double density Toshiba laptop with NO hard drive!) You don't have to execute one keystroke. Make the request of your FROG/PC³ librarian who will be glad to search out the program for you.

Five: more options. Ever heard of a company called Recycled Software, Inc.? They sell previously owned software *(certified virus checked) at incredibly discounted prices. Call them at 1-800-851-2425. Much of their inventory comes with registration papers. Your library has some of these little tidbits of information just for the asking. How do we amass this great repository of esoterica? You share what you've come across that someone else might wish to know.

And Six: even more options. Videos. Some people just can't deal with manuals and how-to books for dummies or otherwise. Video tutorials are invaluable to the seeker who needs to SEE the screen as he/she explores. We've got some excellent videos available for you to borrow (e.g. WordPerfect 5.1, WordPerfect 6.0, The Internet Show and Strunk and White's Elements of Style) and we need more- you know, the ones gathering dust on your video shelf. You bought the application and you bought the tutorial video, but since you've mastered the program, you're dying to share that video with someone else, right? Back to the BBS.

What the competent and innovative guys have done on-line, your FROG/PC³ library is seeking to do off-line. Sure, it's going to take time to organize and get off the ground, but that's a learning experience in itself. Some of the services will certainly duplicate the BBS's endeavors, but we know not everyone is able, willing or desirous of taking the cyberspace plunge.

Please give some thought to the resource tools you used before you installed that modem and share the knowledge with the library so we might pass on the insight. Now that you're cursing Windows '95 on a daily basis, will you ever use that 3.1 book again? Some of your fellow club members would love to study it and gain some tips and tricks. How about that old, external 2x CD-ROM drive in the basement? More than a few members could use it long enough to download CD-ROM programs to their hard drives and then pass it along to the next person.

Hardware as library material? Hey, why not? As we expand we may even get into some consignment-type, ultra-flea-market brokering. There are all kinds of ideas out there just waiting to be tailored to OUR needs. The main thing is that we've gathered together to teach and learn from each other. We share our knowledge, our skills and our personal possessions as well as ourselves. Corny and schmaltzy as it sounds in words, the whole really is greater than the sum of its parts. Stay in touch!

The following members have agreed to run for an office in our computer club.

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT - Marty Becktell

Marty Becktell has been a member of FROG for 4 years and became Vice President in 1995. This is his first term as President. He is one of the leader of Helps Half Hour and was, until recently, ran the New User's Group. Since becoming an officer, Marty has broadened the Annual Picnic, including this year's Geek Olympics, established quarterly Club Gatherings and expanded Club presentations at local computer shows.

He is a graduate of RIT and currently employed at MOSCOM as The Senior Customer Support Specialist. He is married and has a 12 year old son, Stu, who is an active member of the user group.

Tony Leone is a retired radiologist who has worked with computers most of his professional life. He introduced computers into his medical practice and has used databases, spreadsheets, as well as financial, word processing, image editing, and page layout programs, among others.

Tony has used many personal computers, including Apple, Commodore, Sinclair, Eagle, Columbia, many IBM clones, and IBMs. He and his wife, Norma, write a weekly computer column for a local classified newspaper and publish a national newsletter for an ice skating organization.

Tony believes computer user groups should have a broad two-fold mission: 1) demonstrate and encourage the use of computers in personal and business life; 2) provide a forum for two-way help and information at all levels of computer use.

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT - Robert Frank

Who is Robert Frank? Let me tell you. Robert is a forty-one year old single male who is prematurely gray, out of shape and over weight. For the last twenty-one years he has earned a living in the tool and die trade with the last thirteen as an engineer.

Bob can only claim to have a high school education, although he has taken numerous night classes at RIT. His first interest in computers came some ten years ago when he saw them increasingly being used at his place of employment. He figured that if he didn't learn how they worked, he soon would be considered illiterate and unemployable. After buying a second hand computer, a Tandy 1000, he learned to his surprise how much he enjoyed playing with the magic box.

After a while, he began to wonder what else these magic boxes could do besides CAD-CAM and he joined a local user group to broaden his exposure. The rest of the story most of you already know. He volunteered to help out as the Program Chair. He then was appointed Software Committee Chairman. Now he has been nominated as a candidate for Vice President.

RECORDING SECRETARY - Bill Wells

Bill is a retired security guard at Kodak. For the past few years Bill has been recording secretary and club historian for The FROG Computer Society.

OFFICE OF THE TREASURER - Steve Staub

Prior to being the Treasurer for The FROG Computer Society, I have served as Treasurer to two bowling leagues, work on financial committees at my church.

I have taken courses from the small business council, on financing a small business ( or a club ), and will be attending a Charities Symposium at RIT sponsored by the Attorney General Dennis C. Vacco. This symposium will address the changes in the laws that regulate non-profit organizations.

I'm retired from KODAK and I'm in the process of mastering a new financial program mainly for small business and organizations requiring reports.

OFFICE OF THE TREASURER - Irwin Wiener

Irwin is the current treasurer of PC³, is a retired CPA with many years of experience in both public accounting as well as having been corporate controller and treasurer of a publicly held company. He is currently treasurer of a large homeowner's association in Fairport where he resides.

The club has three openings for members at large. This is the first time we will have this position. One will serve for one year, one for two years and one for three years. Every year one member at large position will open and all will serve a total of three years. We hope this will get more member involved in running our club. The three candidates are: Wayne Howard currently FROG's Vice President and the two men who do not win their bid for Vice President and for Treasurer.

Nominations from the floor will be accepted for ALL offices. The person nominated must be their to accept the nomination or submit a write acceptance.

GOOD LUCK TO ALL.

Kids on the Internet
The Ultimate Guide to The Internet Video Series
by FUTUREKIDS Computer Learning Centers
a Michael Wiese Production
Color - 30 Minutes, copyright 1996
more info: 1-800-379-8808
or http://www.earthlink.net/~mwp

The tape starts with the title:

Welcome to the Future, by FUTUREKIDS. The internet is explained by "children" at a FUTUREKIDS storefront. Narration is by the young people who look to be around 8 to 15 years old, and by the adults guiding them through the use of the internet.

Subjects covered are Basic information about E-mail, Chat Groups (Forums), Newsgroups, the World Wide Web, Hypertext, Games on Line like MUD (Multi User Dimensions), RPG (Role Playing Games), and Home Pages.

Using the Internet to do homework and research, get help, and discuss your schoolwork with other students are some of the items explored.

Safety Tips of how to be on line as a youngster, safely, are discussed. How to get on line, equipment, software, etc. are briefly mentioned at the end.

After the credits there are some slightly funny out-takes from the tape.

This is a basic introduction to what could be useful on the internet, and a few examples are shown, interspersed with videotape segments of some of the subjects discussed.

Bio on Sim games: The Sim products are edutainment products, as they are entertainment and education products all at once. Some of the products are for older people and some of the products are for younger kids. One of the products that are for older people is SimLife. This program is harder to learn and also harder to start and younger kids would (and I did when I first had it) become easily frustrated. One of the programs for younger kids is SimTown or SimPark. These programs are easier to use and do not have limitations on the time or money that you have. All of the Sim products are made by Maxis.

SimIsle: Missions In the Rain Forest

The Sim products are one of the most easy lines of software to learn, but one of the hardest to master. This is one of the harder to learn Sim products. It still is easy to learn, except that with this game you actually have to read the manual. When I first started playing SimIsle I had some trouble remembering what people to put into the villages to train the people and what people to put near the beach so that I could attract people to the island so that I could save the endangered animals.

The manual for the game is a good one because of this one very needed flaw. The problem that I was having is that the manual doesn't have a section of what people upgrade which building, train villagers or build structures. That is really the only flaw in the manual. The tutorial is the best that I have every read, even better than the ones in the books that you buy at the stores.

Now to what the game is all about. You are the leader of a rain forest and you have to deal with endangered species, tourists, poachers, natural disasters and some times even UFO's. You choose to hire and fire agents you always return to the Agents Head Quarters when they are done with what you want them to do. They do not do this for free though-you have to pay them each time they do the job. I did not find the money part that hard of a thing to get in SimIsle. One of the problems that I did find was that some times you don't have enough time to finish what you set out to do. In the mission that I am playing right now, I have to push villagers of an island into the 20th century.

After I learned the basics of the game I found that it was a lot easier to use and I do everything a lot faster. The game play is very easy, although I had to play the tutorial. Some of the buildings that I have built are really interesting at how they change so fast. I had an agent who was building an attraction for tourists and after upgrading the attraction three times it turned into a theme park!

The requirements for SimIsle are for the DOS version that you have a 486/33 MHz or above and a 486/66 MHz is recommended. You need to have MS-DOS 5.0 or above, 8MB of RAM, 5 megs of hard drive space, a 2x CD-ROM, a 100% compatible Microsoft mouse, SVGA video card, and a 100% compatible Sound Blaster card. For the Windows 95 version is that you have a 486/33 MHz or above and a 486/66 MHz is recommended. You need to have Windows 95, 8MB of RAM, 6 megs of hard drive space, a 2x CD-ROM, a 100% compatible Microsoft mouse, SVGA video card, and a Windows 95 sound card.

Claris Works 4.0 is my assignment this month- a treasure picked up by luck at the FROG/PC meeting. First impression: here's an application set that talks my language- a near-kin of Geo?works. And so it is: at $79.95 or so, a high-tech twin to the apps-set that's served me well on 386's-and-up for the past three years.

Claris Works is a thoroughbred, however; nothing less than Win-95 on a Pentium will support this. The object-oriented approaches are similar to what I know; but enough different to be un-nerving. Key-combinations that I relay on for em-dashes and bullets don't do those things in Claris Works (and so far, I haven't discovered what will produce them- except that the old DOS hold-down-Alt-and-type-the-number-on-the-keypad will produce high-order characters; damned inconvenient if that's how I have to end up getting them! Claris started out on Macintoshes; and using 4.0 with a Mac parallel version would allow full interchange of documents between Apples and IBM's- provided you have a disk-reader; I didn't find any immediate sign the Win95 version will directly read a Mac disk.

The company- out of Santa Clara CA, with a Canadian office in Toronto- * claims over 100 new features in the new generation; among them:

• Fully integrated outlining in word processing
• End notes
• Built-in HTML translator and stationery for creating documents for the Internet
• Enhanced mail merge (to show database data in word processing documents)
• New font styles (superior, inferior, double-underline)

In the Database application-

• New field types (name, radio buttons, check boxes and more)
• Reusable searches, sorts, and reports (FastReport feature)
• New Mailing Label Assistant

That's not exhaustive, but it gives you an idea.

Claris shares with Geoworks the vector-generated approach to graphics- an approach that's great for creating newsletter graphics; and Claris includes libraries of more than 500 to start with. And all the OLE-compliant standards that should allow importation from other Win routines. (I doubt the exportability of the vector-graphics- haven't tried it.)

And Claris handles a photo import with a fair degree of accuracy- at least to a black-&-white printer. One disappointment- it won't handle a .JPG format, one that's coming into increasing use across the Internet, and- from samples I've worked with- high fidelity than .PCX (my previous favorite; and still standard here as well as with Geoworks.)

In other respects, this set of Write, Draw, Calc and Database apps is all that I would expect Geo?works to be by this time, if that company had not been spending all its development effort on PDA palm-tops and smart-phones.

But there is from my perspective a down-side to Claris. The trouble with itand a lot of other Win-oriented applications- is that all the Wizards and Assistants (Claris' word for them) turn out to be tyrants! Take composing a booklet, for instance. Claris allows it- but so far as I can tell, only on an 11x8-1/2 page. For this magazine, I'd like to do a 14x8-1/2; but haven't seen anything that will allow it. I'd also like to print 20 pages; Claris insists that nobody reads anything over 16; and that we should therefore publish more often. Not my solution!

I also began to cuss what's on the top-of-the-screen menus- not my preferred choices; and then I realized the choices change for each stage of what Claris presumes I want to do. I'd rather they didn't try so hard to out-guess me; and provided a stable array!

That said, the ability to combine elements of spreadsheet, database, graphics and text in one document is at first glance fantastically flexible!

I suspect, however, that my base application of choice would be not the text document, but a graphics page. Creating columns in the text application can be done. But using text-box objects in the graphics environment is a lot more free- boxes can be sized and varied in ways not apparent in the document environment. Text can be linked from box-to-box (as happens in GeoWrite); and multiple -draw pages can be created in the same file (as they cannot in GeoDraw).

I also about went nuts trying to figure out how to fine-tune Claris' bezier-curves. In Geoworks there's a dialogue box I can lock open to switch control-points between angles and curves. The Claris tool for that disappears with each choice; but there are keyboard cues that will do the job- not mentioned in the Help system (but they are designated within the menus- once I find the right tool.)

Which leads me to a final thought on Help! Most of it's not worth crap- an observation that covers my view of most on-screen "Help" in this whole generation of applications. There's no substitute in my work-environment for a good book of tables detailing all the cues- keyboard, mouse, whatever- that make a program work. Claris provides a thin "get-started" User's Guide" that has some good tips- but only the beginning of what I need to know to make these Works work!

That out of my system, I must admit that Claris (with its Mac background) has created a set of tools much more versatile than MicroSoft's Works- even if it does require Win95 to run on.

Power Techniques from the experts by Cary Jensen, et al.

Delphi in Depth is an advanced text for programming in the Delphi programming language. This is not the book you want to pick up if you are just starting out with Delphi, especially if Delphi is your first programming language. However, it makes an excellent reference text and covers many techniques useful to the advanced programmer or developer.

Chapter 1 starts with an overview of Delphi for Developers, followed by a chapter on "the Delphi Way". Each programming language and environment has its own ways of doing things, its own nuances, that if followed makes programming a breeze (and if violated, a nightmare!). This covered some of the basic approaches to programming problems using Delphi. Next was Object Orientation and then right into property editors - by this time the reader has already built a couple components (for the Visual Basic people in the audience, components are like VBX's, only you can write your own in Delphi). OK, so that's the first 100 pages of this 800 page tome.

I was a bit disappointed in the next several chapters which dealt with database topics. Although the rest of the book seemed to cover a lot of heavy, in depth meat, the database section seemed weak in comparison. It covered most of the basics and did a good job of covering the additions in Delphi 2, but wasn't as full of the tips as the other sections.

Additional chapters covered both ReportSmith and QuickReports, the two report generators included with Delphi, as well as graphics, animation, resource files, and OLE controls. Each of these were covered sufficiently that if you had not much experience in these areas previously you would feel comfortable delving into them on your next project.

Final chapters covered multi-threading issues in the 32-bit versions of Delphi and the development of a web/html based application. This last section discussed integrating Delphi applications with Java, HTML, and CGI in a web or intranet based application.

The book comes with a CD containing the code examples as well as demo versions of some additional Delphi components. I disagree with the rating the publishing company gives (Skill level - for every programmer) as I feel that you need at least a few months of Delphi programming experience in order to get the most from this. The list price, $42.95, seems in line with other comprehensive Delphi texts that include CD's (Delphi Unleashed, which might make a better book "for every programmer", for example). This book will get dog-eared soon on my shelf - honey this is one book you won't have to dust!

Despite the fact that it was election night, 17 people attended the New User Group meeting at Henrietta Media Play. Media Play again donated several software packages for use as door prizes and provided pamphlets on how to select a computer. They also offered group members a one night, 10% discount on non sale items. Peter Moore did another great job of answering questions, starting about 6:30 and continuing until after 8PM.

One of the first questions concerned the replacement of early Windows programs with Windows 95 versions. Peter responded that almost all Windows 3.11, and most Windows 3.0 or DOS programs would probably run under Windows 95. However some game programs which tried to access the hardware directly might require a lot of tweaking. He felt that Windows 95 was written to make most earlier software usable. He went on to say that software written for Windows 95 gives a bit more crash protection since each application runs in its own memory area so crashes will not impact other applications running simultaneously. Earlier versions of Windows ran several applications in one memory area and a crash of one would likely bring down everything requiring a complete shutdown and restart even when running under Windows 95.

A user tried running Paradox 3.5, (a DOS data base program) inside Windows 95 got a message "This program might not run well under Windows 95. You should run it in DOS mode."

Peter indicated that Windows 95 has a special feature which can actually shut down Windows completely; reboot your computer into what is effectively DOS 7.0; and when the program is done, automatically reload Windows 95 from scratch. Nothing else can be running simultaneously so Windows questions "Should I?". He feels neither answer will hurt the computer even if it results in a crash but a better practice would be to run Paradox from DOS instead of from Windows.

The discussion turned to fax modems and how to send faxes. Peter said that modems communicate between computers only, but a fax modem can send to either a computer or a fax machine; and that in todays market, it is hard to find a modem without fax capability.

Since many people think of fax transmission as a paper to paper process, he differentiated between text documents and faxes. E-Mail, normally a plain text document, could be sent via modem to another computer and entered directly into a text processor.

Anything viewable on a computer screen, pictures, text or graphics can be sent as faxes (which are pictures or bit maps) and seen on the target machine. If the recipient wants to process the fax file with a text editor it must be converted via an optical character recognition program first. Peter mentioned that some text processing software makes it possible to send attachments but the same software is needed at both ends to view the attachments. He stressed that the hardware and software must be installed properly for the fax modem to operate correctly. Most fax modem software operating under either Windows 3.1 or 95 sets up a new printer driver to transmit via the modem.

You must supply a telephone number and follow other instructions to activate the transmission. When Comet was mentioned Peter pointed out that it was software for modems which did not include fax but there were half a dozen other software packages which handled both. He also thought that there may have been a problem with the software disks accompanying the modem.

The next question concerned deleting programs and all of their attendant files. Peter said that certified Windows 95 software had to contain an uninstall program while DOS or Windows 3.1 programs require manual file deletion or the use of uninstaller programs such as Quarterdeck's "Clean Sweep"; Microsoft's "Uninstaller" or CyberMedia's "First Aid". These programs will look at all the files on the hard disk and list those associated exclusively with the program to be deleted. They will also list files which may be shared with other programs. You then go down the lists and do the deletes manually. Peter's rule of thumb is that if you are not sure a file can be deleted and it is in the Windows directory, leave it alone because special routines may be used by multiple programs. Since folders and directories are the same thing, in Windows 95, you would double click on the Windows folder and then double click on the system folder to see the list of files. There are also programs from Symantec which will monitor everything you install and store the information against the day you might want to delete. The Symantec programs will uninstall for you as will Clean Sweep and First Aid Gold.

One user lost access to several card files when he upgraded from Windows 3.1 to Windows 95.

Peter likened card files to rollodex files and said that Windows 95 does not include card file. When upgrading to Windows 95, you are given 2 choices: install on top of existing Windows picking up all of the settings color schemes and program groups at the cost of wiping out original capabilities; or establish a new directory so that both versions are available but which requires reinstalling all the other software under Windows 95 so it can work properly. If you choose to overlay, there are 2 more choices: save the old files for future uninstalling: or wipe out everything. He said it might be possible to reinstall card file programs from the original

Windows diskettes but that could be tricky. Files identified as CARDFILE.EX_, CARDFILE.HL_, plus others, possibly CARDS.DL_ would need to be reestablished using the DOS command EXPAND because the underbar in the suffix means they are compressed. In DOS type EXPAND A:CARDFILE.EX_ C:\WINDOWS\CARDFILE.EXE and enter. This needs to be done for each of the files to be reinstalled. Typing must be exact and no wild cards can be used.

This raised a question of what are wild cards and what do they do?. Since nobody likes to type, the concept of wild cards originated in DOS to allow a series of files to be processed (deleted, copied, moved, etc.) from a single command. An asterisk in place of a filename processed all files in the directory with the same suffix, regardless of individual names; or an asterisk in the suffix would process all files with the same name regardless of suffix. Asterisk dot asterisk would process all files in the directory such that DELETE *.* would delete all files in the active directory. Question mark is the second wild card and only applies to 1 position in a file name or suffix although several question marks can be used. For example COPY A:LETTER??.* B: would copy all files starting with LETTER from the A disk to the B disk. Expand was the only command Peter could remember that does not accept wild cards.

There was some discussion of when program files are overwritten as opposed to recreated.

Peter indicated that generally speaking an install program will write over the original if the name is the same and installation is in the same directory. This used to be true of copy but Windows 95 is just as likely to create a new file giving it a longer file name.

The rest of this in depth article will appear in the next newsletter.

What type of membership will our computer club have? What are the benifits of being a club member? These two questions I have been asked many times in the last couple months.

Presently we have two types of membership. The first membership is called an ASSOCIATE membership and the cost $20.00. To be eligable for this membership you must live more than 50 miles from Rochester. This membership intitles you to our monthly newsletter and a membership card. Your name will be on the BBS membership list, but this would most likely be a long distant phone call. Since all voting is done at a general meeting unless you hapen to be there you would not be able to vote. Most members that have this type of membership, were members before they moved out of Rochester. and they uset the newsletter as a way to keep up on what the club is doing.

Our other type of membership is called ACTIVE. To be eligable for this type of membership you must live within 50 miles of Rochester and most likely will attened our meetings. The cost of this membership is $30.00. An active membership is a family membership and includes the following. A membership card with the name of the person joining the club. Additional cards are available for family members living in the same house as the primary member. Their card number will be the same as the primary but will have have a membership number with an added number. Ex primary membership number is 0001, family members card would read 0001-2 an so on. Primary member receives our newsletter and will be on the members list on the BBS and their password will also be recorded and they will get one hour per day if they want to use the BBS. Family members must use the primary members password and share the one hour per day. If a family member wants their own account they will have to get their own membership.

Primary members only can get tickets for door prizes , request software for review. Both primary and family members with a card can take part in the Sam's Club + 5 membership. A Sam's club represenative will be at our Feb. meeting to explaine their + 5 membership. We are working on more benfiets for a club member, when they occure we will announce them.

In Dec. at our planning meeting I will ask the club officiers look at revising our types of membership the club could offer. We will keep you posted.

The newsletter editors can be reached at by phone, email and the RCC BBS

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