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Tampa Bay Computer
Society Bulletin

 
8/10/2003


This document is available online.
Note:  Some hyperlinks are lost when I convert
this web page to a plain text email.

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My goodness, another long Bulletin.
Lots of things going on.

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RAK: more photos
& Thank You letters

Contents

1) Virus Alert: Win32.Mimail.A Worm

2) TBCS Classes

3) SIG Stuff

4) Educational Opportunities

5) Intel Is Visiting Us Next Meeting! - Part 3

6) National Do Not Call Registry Update

Maps to our Resource Center & General Meeting:
http://tampa-bay.org/maps.htm

1) Virus Alert: Win32.Mimail.A Worm

This virus works a little differently than what you're used to.  This one is emailed to you as an attachment - not an executable attachment of the type .exe, .bat, .com and others, but as a .zip file with the name Message.zip.  One of the 3 files that unzips is called Message.html.  Double-clicking on that file will result in your infection.

Help: http://www3.ca.com/solutions/collateral.asp?CT=27081&CID=48527

My advice is that you never, ever open ANY attachment if you are not 100% sure what it is AND why it was sent to you.

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2) TBCS Classes

If you're interested in a basic word processing class, please contact Dennis Schulman at
dschulman@myrapidsys.com.

You can see our current classroom schedule and register online by surfing over to: http://tampa-bay.org/classroom.htm

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3) SIG Stuff

Free Computer Repair - TBCS Members Only

One of the great benefits of your TBCS membership is that you can bring your computer in to our Resource Center, and Ron Kalmin and his crew will repair it for free on Monday & Wednesday mornings!

We can't guarantee our work, nor can we work on all machines (try finding someone to open up your laptop!), but our crew has a wonderful success record. We will even install software and hardware (such as RAM, hard drives, CDROMs, etc.).

Schedule:  Monday & Wednesday 10am-1pm

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Monday, August 11, 7-9pm
Photoshop SIG. Led by Stan Ashbrook
bashbro1@tampabay.rr.com

NOTE:  Stan must take the night off.  He expects to be back at 'em next week for the Photoshop Elements SIG.

Tuesday, August 12, 1-3pm
Novice SIG. Led by Jan Norman. EVERY Tuesday afternoon.
jannorman@tampabay.rr.com
Lots of Windows basics info presented here.

Tuesday, August 12, 7-9pm
Internet Development SIG. Looking for a leader
But we're still meeting anyway!
This SIG has become a good place to hang out and discuss computer programming and the Internet.  We have a great time both at the SIG and afterwards at O'Keefe's.

Wednesday, August 13, 6:30pm
Board of Directors meeting.
Open to our members.  Takes place at the Resource Center.

Thursday, August 14, 7-9pm
Web Design SIG. Jim Cook

Saturday, August 16, 2-4pm
Microsoft Office SIG. Led by Margaret McMullen Margaret_Mcmullen@msn.com

Margaret is in town so the A-team will be back in charge!

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4) Educational Opportunities

Saturday, August 16th, 10am - noon
Seminar: Searching the Internet & Power Email
Doc will be teaching how to find "stuff" on the Internet.  Followed by Beginner/Advanced email.

Finding the information you want on the Internet has become a fundamental objective.  Another important contemporary skill is the proper usage of email.  Doc will present these 2 topics at the Palm Harbor Library.  This seminar is free & open to the public; no registration required. You will find a map at: www.palmharborlibrary.org/AboutUs/library.htm.

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5) Intel Is Visiting Us Next Meeting! - Part 3

Remember that we'll be hosting 2 representatives from Intel at our next General Meeting the night of August 19thRalph Bond and Steve Short will be presenting: "How to turn your PC into a home digital movie making 'studio'".

Video tapes have a life of approximately 20 years.  It's time for you to start thinking about digitizing them and saving them on more permanent media.  Ralph & Steve will cover the basics of how to get video tapes into the PC, how to edit them, and how to copy them to CDs, tape, or DVDs. Their presentation assumes no prior experience with digital video production on a PC.

I'll let Ralph describe the software and hardware they'll use:

"Hi Dave,

Great to hear there's good initial interest!  Okay, here's our plan:

Steve and I plan to illustrate what's available today to capture, edit and burn home movies by using Pinnacle Expression (for rock-bottom beginners), and Studio 8 for next level up (along with Sonic's MyDVD as well).

On the hardware side we'll do a Digital Video Camera linked to a PC using FireWire (1394), and then show & tell a card-based solution (one from Pinnacle and one from WinTV).  Also, we'll highlight the new generation of USB 2.0 connected external 'boxes' that allow any video source (VHS, old Hi8 analog camcorder - you name it) to link to a PC to digitize home movies.  It's all about options and different price points.

Thanks again, Ralph  ;-)"

As always, our meetings are open to the public so feel free to bring your neighbors with you for an interesting and entertaining evening.

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6) National Do Not Call Registry Update     http://donotcall.gov/

I wrote the next 2 paragraphs just before the Fourth of July:
(http://tampa-bay.org/boardbiz/bulletin/2003/0629.htm)

Our government started the National Do Not Call Registry this week.  Once you register your phone number(s) with them, many telemarketers will be forbidden to place calls to the numbers you register.

Notice that I say "many" instead of "all".  Certain industries get an exemption and may still call: long-distance phone companies, airlines, banks & credit unions, and "some" insurance companies.  You may still receive calls from political organizations, charities, telephone surveyors or companies with which you have an existing business relationship.

Read that last sentence very carefully.  There is an email being passed around (I've received several versions) that warns that a prominent cola company offers a special on their product simply in order to create an "existing business relationship" with you so that they can market their products to you.  The email warns NOT to take advantage of this offer because of this ramification.

Now I'm far from a lawyer, but I think that there is an excellent chance that promotional offers will indeed be used in this fashion in the very near future.  Read the wording from the FTC's page:
(http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/dncalrt.htm)

"30. My number is on the National Do Not Call Registry. After I bought something from a company, a telemarketer representing that organization called me. Is this a violation?
No. Even if you put your number on the National Do Not Call Registry, a company with which you have an established business relationship may call you for up to 18 months after your last purchase or delivery from it, or your last payment to it, unless you ask the company not to call again. (In that case, the company must honor your request not to call. If they subsequently call you again, they may be subject to a fine of up to $11,000.) Also, if you make an inquiry to a company or submit an application to it, for three months afterwards the company can call you. If you make a specific request to that company not to call you, however, then the company may not call you, even if you have an established business relationship with that company."

I'm not the only one advising against.  Here's another resource:
http://urbanlegends.miningco.com/library/bl_do_not_call2.htm

I hear that 30 million people have registered phone numbers with the registry - over 2 million of them from Florida.

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See you at the Resource Center,

Doc (Dave Dockery)
Director of Education for TBCS

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