The Official Journal of the Computer Users of Erie · Software Freedom Day ... A demonstration or...

News and Information to expand your computing Horizons PageAugust 2014 1

HORIZONS

Latest News

IN THIS ISSUE

Visit our Award Winning website atwww.cuerie.com

for the latest CUE Information.

CUE meets regularly the third Thursday ofthe month at Holy Rosary School.

7 PM in the Computer Lab.(Map and directions on back cover).

See the CUE Calendar (page 3) for SpecialInterest Groups (SIGs) that meet throughout

the month and the meeting locations.

VOLUME 32 - NUMBER 06AUGUST 2014

Genealogy SIG Notes 5Major Hard Drive Crash 6Fix Upside-Down Pictures 7Hand Held Devices SIG Report 8I Want It Now! 9Is DOS Dead? 11Backups & Disk Cloning 13CUE Corner 14

The Official Journal of the Computer Users of Erie

September

Software Freedom Day

See Page 3 for details

UPCOMING EVENTS

August 21, 2014

CUE Family Feudand a Q&A Session

See Page 3 for details

NEXT MEETING

http://www.cuerie.com

http://www.apcug2.org/


Upcoming Meeting NewsAugust CUE Family Feud and a Q&A SessionSeptember Software Freedom Day

Founded in March 1982, Computer Users of Erie has undergone many changes over the years to keeppace with the ever changing world of computing. The computer platforms vary; we have members usingWindows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 95/98, Mac OS, Linux, and others. Our members are versed inmany different hardware backgrounds. In fact, our roots go back to the days of the old Tandy CoCo (ColorComputer), which was the basis around which our group was formed.

CUE has always welcomed members from all walks of life, and all levels of expertise, from the novicejust buying their first system, to the professionals that work in the computer industry as a way of life.Visitors are always welcome to attend one or two of our monthly meetings before joining. Benefits ourmembers enjoy are the newsletter, our CUE Website, and a selection of SIGs (Special Interest Groups) togive them a chance to concentrate in depth on subjects that are of interest to them. CUE also has ageneral Monthly meeting held on the third Thursday of each month, where all members are welcome tocome and join in on the activities there. A demonstration or other presentation follows our businessmeeting, and questions are welcome. There are several SIGs operating within CUE that our members are welcome to participate in.Special Interest Groups

GenealogyMacintoshDigital PhotoBUG (Beginners User Group)*New* Handheld Devices

There is no extra charge to join a SIG. You may join as many as you wish, or even start one focused on atopic not yet covered. Visitors are always welcome at our General Meeting, the third Thursday of the month. Why not stop at ournext meeting or check out our website www.cuerie.com.

CUE Membership Benefits

If you have any requests for meeting topics, pleasesend them to any CUE Board member or Officer. We want you to have the best experience possiblewith CUE!

Cover PhotoCopyright © 2007

Louis Cioccio

Used with permission

Find Us on Facebook

http://loucioccio.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Computer-Users-of-Erie/244639278890921


UPCOMING CUE EVENTS

Latest News

MEETINGS

AUGUSTGenealogy SIG

NONE THIS MONTH6 Digital Photo SIG Lou Cioccio 7:00 pm9 Mac SIG Lou Cioccio 9:30 amBUG SIG

To Be Announced21 CUE Monthly Meeting Holy Rosary 7:00 pm25 Hand Held Devices

John Fair 7:00 pm

SEPTEMBER2 Genealogy SIG Hal Kelley 7:00 pm3 Digital Photo SIG Lou Cioccio 7:00 pm13 Mac SIG Lou Cioccio 9:30 amBUG SIG

To Be Announced18 CUE Monthly Meeting Holy Rosary 7:00 pm22 Hand Held Devices

John Fair 7:00 pm

September: Software Freedom Day

If you’d like to learn more about free software offerings, come help CUE celebrate Software FreedomDay 2014 at the September meeting. Fellow CUE member Chip DeVoge will share his knowledge ofwhere to search for and find these hidden gems, and how to get them for your own use.

New Lou Cioccio Class Starting

I will be starting a Basic DSLR class in September 2014 on Wednesday Evening at 7:00 PM to 9:00 PMwhich will start 10,17, and 24 th of September with a a Photo Walk on Saturday the 27th at the Peninsulaat 8:00 AM.

When I say BASIC this is what we will NOT cover: Any rules of Composition 5,10 or whatever.

What we will cover:

Understanding the terms Aperture, Shutter, ISO , internal light meter and why you need tounderstand their relationship.

Your printed manual --take it to your local print establishment and get it spiral bound. Understanding Auto, P, S,Tv,A,Av or whatever that little dial means in Scene Modes. Understanding your Light Meter -Average,matrix,center, evaluative or spot or whatever those camera

manufactures want to call it. Understanding Depth of Field Understanding the on board Flash and External Flash plus modifiers. Why you should invest in an external Light/Flash Meter. Lastly anything that I forgot to add in this email about the class will be added.

This class is LIMITED to 15 participants so we can have a better hands on experience. Remember theoutdoor Photo Walk will have you actually put into practice what you learned.Yes there is a cost.

If you are an active member of Computer Users of Erie, St John the Baptist and Holy Rosary Church it is$5.ºº for the public its $10.ºº and all money goes to Holy Rosary Church "Dancing on the Roof" fund(Leaky Roof).

E-mail or call 814-868-1320 for more info and reservations.

MEETINGINFORMATION

Holy Rosary • 1012 E. 28th

(park behind school)• Contact Lou CioccioTom Kuklinski • 746-9165 •[email protected] Cioccio • 868-1320 •[email protected] Ellis • 868-2680 •[email protected] Kelley • 836-1803 •[email protected] Fair • 474-3055 •[email protected]

Meetings begin at time Noted.

PLEASE RSVPfor all SIG meetings, to allowfor planning changes, time

changes or meetingPostponements.

August 2014CUE Family Feud

Back by popular demand, Don Grim will onceagain be hosting the latest installment of hiscomputer-themed Family Feud-style game atthe August General Meeting. Bone up now to make sure youranswers help your team!

There will also be a Q&A session held after the meeting aswell, so bring any of your questions you may have and wantanswered.

mailto:[email protected]





















CUE OfficerInformation

The Computer Users of Erie (CUE), a nonprofit affiliate of APCUG, is not connected with, nor does it represent the interests of suchorganizations as IBM, Apple, Texas Instruments, Microsoft, or any other manufacturer or vendor, nor can it assume responsibility for theaccuracy or misrepresentation of materials or statements found in advertisements, articles, announcements, or presentations appearingin its newsletter or at CUE sponsored meetings.

The members of the CUE Board of Directors, committees and SIGs are volunteers giving of their time and energy to assist CUEmembers through education. CUE shall not be held liable in name or performance for the outcome of activities or agreements to provideservices offered by any person in the name of CUE.

CUE welcomes comments, letters, original articles and programs for its newsletter Such materials may be submitted to: CUE Editor,P.O. Box 8941, Erie, PA, 165050941. Also can email [email protected]. Permission is hereby granted to other nonprofitcomputer user groups to reprint articles appearing herein, unless specifically restricted, provided credit is given to both its author, ifknown, and its original source.

CUE Disclaimer

Horizons is published monthly by the Computer Users of Erie(CUE), an independent, nonprofit computer user group,dedicated to the education and support of our members. Theopinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors orthe editor, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of CUE.

This publication is Copyright © 2014 by the Computer Users ofErie, all rights reserved. Permission to reprint is hereby granted toany Nonprofit Organization, as long as proper credit is given, ornot restricted by the original author or source.

Advertising: Advertising is welcome from both our members andcommercial sources. For current advertising rates, please send anemail to the Editor requesting a copy of the Ad Rates file (AdobeAcrobat format).

Newsletter Exchange: CUE welcomes newsletters from other usergroups. If you would like to exchange newsletters, either by USMail or via electronic (Internet) delivery, please send yournewsletter to the address listed below. We will add your name toour mailing list and send you our newsletter in return.

Address Changes: Any recipient of Horizons is urged to submit achange of address notification to the Editor, either via US Mail tothe address shown below, or (preferably) via email, so we maykeep our records accurate.

Submissions: Submissions are always welcome from ourmembers or outside sources. Submissions may be articles,images, cartoons, etc. For first time authors, please request acopy of our Submissions Guidelines from the Editor, prior tosubmitting any items. This will help to eliminate publicationDelays.

Correspondence: General correspondence to CUE may be sent viaUS Mail to:

Computer Users of EriePO Box 8941Erie, PA 165050941 USAEmail: [email protected] Email: [email protected]

AboutHORIZONS

OfficersPresidentTom Kuklinski [email protected] 814-746-9165Vice PresidentLou Cioccio [email protected] 814-868-1320SecretaryJohn Fair [email protected] 814-474-3055TreasurerFred Bernatowicz [email protected] 814-899-3022

Board of DirectorsJude Bailey [email protected] 814-866-1015Carole Blakeslee [email protected] 814-456-9009Sande Chermack [email protected] 814-866-6001Ron Kolb [email protected] 814-833-0256Jim Matthews [email protected] 814-790-4185

Special Interest GroupsBeginner’s User GroupTom Kuklinski [email protected] 814-746-9165Digital PhotoLou Cioccio [email protected] 814-868-1320GenealogyHal Kelley [email protected] 814-836-1803Hand Held DevicesJohn Fair [email protected] 814-474-3055MacintoshLou Cioccio [email protected] 814-868-1320

Other ResourcesCUE HistorianTom Kuklinski [email protected] 814-746-9165DOS InformationDon Grim [email protected] 814-461-8289EditorMark Mattson [email protected] 814-397-3123LibrarianTanya Mattson [email protected] 814-833-1404WebmasterTom Kuklinski [email protected] 814-746-9165















































































mailto: [email protected]
















Genealogy SIG Report, July 1, 2014 Meeting

The Genealogy SIG met at 7:00 p.m. at the home of Hal andGretchen Kelley.

Those attending were: Dave Howell, Rita Kane, Bill Ellis, JimMatthews, Sue Matthews, Connie Edwards, Barbara Protzman, DebraKuhn, and Hal Kelley. We reviewed and shared reflections on our June 3rd meeting atBlasco Library, with Andrew Miller, the Librarian, and TheresaRanson, of the Staff Member. Appreciation was expressed byeveryone for the tour and information we received. We wereoverwhelmed, in the good sense of the word: so much to take in, anincredible amount of great information shared with us, and a desire toreturn to the Heritage Room again and perhaps periodically. We aregrateful for the expertise of Andrew Miller and Theresa Ranson.

We looked at several important websites that Andrew Miller gave us.The first is the one for Blasco Library:CPL’s Heritage Portal - (underconstruction) -:http://ecls.ent.sirsi.net/client/heritage.To log in to this Erie County Library Heritage Portal, enter your LibraryCard Number. which is your barcode number, and your password,which is the last seven digits of your telephone number. You canaccess a number of data bases and links. The ones that you canaccess from home are: Heritage Quest, Family Search, Roots Web,Find a Grave, Erie County Court House, Ellis Island Records, ErieSociety for Genealogical Research (ESGR), Erie County HistoricalSociety, Regional Library Resources.

The ones you must use in the Heritage Room are: Ancestry,American Ancestors. Other links listed are Legacy.com and PA DeathRecords.

The second website Andrew Miller suggested is the one forSanborn’s Fire Insurance Maps: PSU’s Digital library: Sanborn FireInsurance Maps: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/digital/sanborn.html

“The Sanborn Map Company, the best known of the US fire-insurance map producers, has made maps since 1867. The fireinsurance maps produced by Sanborn show building footprints,building material, height or number of stories, building use, lot lines,road widths and water facilities. The maps also show street namesand property boundaries of the time. This collection of maps ishistorically significant as it is sometimes the best detailed map of atown or city dating from the mid 1800s.” (from the Sanborn MapCompany Website.).

Penn State University has a nearly complete collection of theSanborn maps for Pennsylvania, and that is the collection that comesup when you use this website.

At the meeting, we demonstrated the use of several of the sites andlinks accessible through Blasco Library, such as Family Search andSanborn Fire Insurance maps for Pennsylvania. To illustrateaccessing information on Family Search, Hal Kelley was able to findthat his father is listed on Family Search, and see that his World War Idraft card is available there as well.

We also refreshed our minds about Cyndi’s List, which at the time ofour meeting provided access to 331,83l genealogy links. A true

treasure-trove.

There was a question about the advantages of version 8 of LegacyFamily Tree Software. Bill Ellis helped us with some specific pointers.Perhaps you can also find some assistance by going to Google andtyping in: “What’s new about Legacy Family Tree, Version 8?” Thereis a wealth of information there. We may do more on Legacy FamilyTree Software in the near future.

Debra Kuhn shared with us that she had been looking for informationon one of her Great-grandfathers. He was from Sweden. She went tothe McKeesport Research Center in McKeesport, PA and found hisobituary. This is a wonderful find for Debra.

Dave Howell shared with us that he has published “WW II Memories”of Ronald G, Sibley. It is the first time Ron’s book has been published.Dave brought a copy for us to see, and has a copy in the GenealogySIG Library as well. Dave manages the SIG Library.

As Dave says, “former SIG member Ron Sibley wrote about hisWorld War II experiences before, during and after landing at GoldBeach in Normandy as a member of the British Armoured Brigade.”

Dave has presented a very gracious tribute to Ron Sibley whichaccompanies Ron’s book:

“During his association with the CUE Genealogy Group, he (RonSibley) expressed his interest in writing about his experiences in theBritish Armoured Brigade when they landed on Gold Beach during theNormandy invasion of Nazi-held France. When Ron doubted hisability to write his story, I said to him, ‘Nonsense, Ronald! I’ve seensome of the work you’ve done in your genealogy projects and ifanyone can write his memories, you’re it!’

Apparently, he did just that. It wasn’t long after when he presentedhis rough draft for me to read. The MS Word document was completewith introduction, Acknowledgements, Contents, illustrations,Appendix, and Bibliography. What’s more, it was ‘printer ready!’

Ron’s work in creating this document was made even moreremarkable when one considers that he had to put it together frommemory! He was not permitted to keep notes or a diary of his travelsduring his military service for security reasons. But the dates,locations, and people he encountered came from diaries submitted tothe Public Records Office of England by officers in his Brigade whoWERE permitted to keep diaries.

Unfortunately, Ron died in a violent car/truck accident on I-90 nearthe Pennsylvania/New York state line before he was able to submithis work to a publisher. This is the first printing of Ron’s “WWIIMEMORIES.”

Enjoy!

Dave Howell, May 23, 2014.”

After some discussion, it was decided not to meet in August. Ourregular meetings will resume on Tuesday, September 2 at 7:00 p.m.at the Kelleys’ home.

The meeting adjourned at 9:10 p.m.

Hal Kelley

Genealogy SIG Report


So if there is more than one computer in your household youbetter have a complete plan, not your own, on doing timely andregular backups of your data.

Update

Recently I had a catastrophic hard drive failure when IFAILED to properly backup files for my wife's computer.During the storm last night (27 July 2014) I went downstairs toshut off any external hard drives that I had attached to myiMac. I saw that I had an email that came through notifications.

Subject: Possible problems with 'IomegaEZ' device (129)which was actually from the hard drive software itself.

Egads! My other files may be going away. Although Iperiodically copy the files to another hard drive I am notcommitted in my faith as I should be, or even do as I preach.Well I took it off line as its usually on 24-7 inside the cabinetupstairs that houses the entertainment system that some ofyou may be familiar with. Off line meaning a shut down throughthe software control and disconnecting power and ethernetconnections and bring it downstairs hoping that it may be heatrelated.

I did restart it today and am copying the files to a brand newhard drive. I will get a replacement for the NAS (NetworkAttached Storage) which usually has proprietary software likethe Iomega one that emailed me about a possible failure.

I did not have that with the wife's system just an attachedUSB drive, so I will probably be looking for other strategies inbacking up and storage of necessary files.

Stay tuned for further adventures.

Calling all CUE MembersIf there is an article suggestion or a review you would like to see in Horizons: please remember review copiesare available from some companies for free. That means if you write a review you get to keep the book or

software at no charge - just write a review within two months of receipt of item.

Contact Mark Mattson at [email protected]

And don't forget to checkout the updated website:www.cuerie.com

By Lou Cioccio, Computer Users of Erie

Just recently my wife's external USB hard drive died... andlaunched me into a case of should'a would'a could'a while Iwas working out in the garage; been spending the last twoweeks painting the inside of our non-painted drywall garagewhile the majority of stuff was still inside it.

Anyway last week I was on the wife's computer when Inoticed the USB external drive did not show up. I unplugged itand the Mac squak'd. At least it was there and re-powered upand it showed on the desktop. I did a First-Aid from disk utilityand it passed. SO I figured when I get time.....should'a would'acould'a... but went back to work on the garage.

Today I noticed a beeping. At first I thought it was the UPSand looked at the battery tag; I replaced both in 2013. I shutdown the computer and still noticed the beeping.

Well you figure when that happened earlier I should'a took it(that external hard drive of the wife's) out and performed abackup but was still busy in the garage. Now the noise wascoming from the external drive. Totally dead.

The famous click of death and all her recent images - poof! Iam not sure if the heads are not parked or what. Its toastanyway you look at it. So I took out my Mac Putty knives andopened the case. A Mac Mini is easier! Popped the drive out,it’s what it says a Hitachi 3.5. I put it in one of two docks and itnada a clicking noise that eventually stops but the motor stillruns.

Not sure where the heads are so I took a chance and openedit - the heads were parked when shut off.

This is a lesson that I did not do with the wife's computer buthave for mine. Its a hard lesson that now I wish I kept shootingfilm... at least the negatives are there.

Major Hard Drive Crash


By Don Grim, Computer Users Of Erie

Sooner or later, you’re bound to accidentally takean upside down picture with an iPad, iPhone, or oth-er Apple device. You can avoid the problem beforetaking the picture by having the home button at theright for landscape pictures and the home button atthe bottom for portrait pictures.

However, what do you do if the picture was alreadytaken the wrong way? I did not find many solutionssince Windows and Apple seem to be in differentworlds or orientation.

Here is an example of the Windows/Apple struggle.When I took my first upside down picture on an iP-ad, it was not immediately obvious since the iPad,being almost too smart, knew my orientation andshowed the picture on my iPad as right side up. Itwasn’t until I brought the picture over to a Windowscomputer, which does not adjust for orientation, andit showed it upside down in Paint or any other pic-ture viewer in Windows. The first time this hap-pened, I left the picture as iPad had created it andput it on Facebook, thinking that Facebook mightshow it fine. Facebook showed it upside down on aWindows computer and Facebook showed it rightside up on an iPad. So, I rotated the picture 180 de-grees in Paint on a Windows computer and put thaton Facebook. This time, Facebook did the oppositeby showing it right side up on a Windows computerand upside down on an iPad. It looked like a no-winsituation with Apple and Windows not finding a wayto get along!

I searched and did not find any easy answers untilI read comments about Picasa, a free photo pro-gram by Google.

I downloaded the Picasa setup file from the Inter-net and installed it on my Windows computer. Iopened the latest picture in Picasa that I accidental-ly took upside down from the iPad. It alreadyshowed it right side up in Picasa! I then just savedthat file. Next, I gave it the Facebook test. I put the

Picasa generated pictureon Facebook and, low andbehold, the pictureshowed right side up inFacebook, both on a Win-dows computer and on aniPad! That makes GooglePicasa kind of like a starmoderator that helps Ap-ple and Windows getalong!

If you accidentally take avideo upside down on an

apple device, I found a free program, called MPEGStreamclip, which works best for me on WindowsXP & 7. It claims not to lose any quality in the pro-cess and it looks fine to me. You just open the pro-gram, open the video at the File menu, and italready shows the MOV video right side up, so thereis no rotation to make. You then choose to export itto a choice of video types (mov, avi, etc.), name it,and save it.

So, did Apple start the orientation viewing game?No, actually our early eyes did! They say we all seethings upside down when we are babies and oureyes adjust to see things right side up!

Fix Upside-Down Pictures and Videos


The SIG for Smartphones and Tablets was held onMonday, July 28 the normally scheduled FourthMonday of the month.

The first topic was based on the recent experienceof three couples traveling to Canada, each personhaving an iPhone 5 and wanting to avoid payingdata roaming charges. All received a messageadvising them of the high cost of roaming andsuggesting purchase of a foreign data use plan or toset their phones to avoid roaming charges. Twocouples chose to purchase a plan for one of theirphones. One used the phone as they wouldnormally and quickly ran out of data for their $25plan and also on the second plan they bought foranother $25. They ended up turning off their phone.The third couple carefully set their phones to avoidroaming charges and use the wifi in the hotel.Various iPhone settings were discussed along withtheir ramifications. This cautionary tale of foreigntravel with a smartphone created lively discussion.

Several camera apps were discussed including theApple Camera app that comes with each iPhone,the iPod Touch, and all iPads but the original.Camera + was also briefly shown, but most usersagreed it was more complex to use and lesspreferred. Two others were briefly introduced.

Apple provided their own version of Samsung'sS-Beam content sharing called Airdrop. This worksfor iOS 7 running on iPhone 5 and later, 5th

generation iPod, and 4th generation iPad and later.With the appropriate settings, one device user cansend content such as photos, movies, web sites,notes, etc. via Bluetooth to anyone within range orjust those on their contact list. The group had funsending various content to others while learning howto use Airdrop. It would have been moreenlightening if two Samsung S device users hadbeen in attendance to compare the approaches tocontent sharing. Unfortunately no Samsung ownersattended that night.

Miscellaneous lessons learned: Apple TV only

mirrors with hand held devices logged on to thesame network. Those using the guest login couldnot see the Apple TV on their device. Airdroprequires newer devices even if your device runs thelatest iOS operating system.

One new member has begun the process of takingover a phone she inherited and we gave her somehelp with handling the transition.

The next meeting will be held at 7:00 pm onAugust 25 at the Fair's house. We support diversity!Where are the Android and Windows phones andtablets?

John Fair

Hand Held Devices Special Interest Group


By Greg Skalka, President, Under the Computer Hood User Group, CAFebruary 2014 Issue, Drive Lightwww.uchug.orgpresident (at) uchug.org

This may sound like the utterance of a tantrum-happyyoung child, but it also seems to be the mantra of themodern computer and technology user. Our popularculture today is all about instant gratification, and this isspilling over into our technology. Everyone wants instantaccess to information, communications, finance andcommerce wherever they are and no matter what they aredoing. While this is a rather tall order, tech companies aredoing their best to grant us this wish. We are getting moreconnected and interconnected all the time. While this canprovide great benefits, increasing our knowledge andsecurity and saving us time and money, it can also bedetrimental to us in many of the same ways. Are wetrading away important aspects of our lives like privacyand individuality for speed and convenience?

The engine that drives all the increases in conveniencein our lives is the Internet. Computers and tablets arepowerful devices but are of relatively little use if notconnected to the Internet. The Internet is the connectionmedium through which all our modern communicationsand access to information flow. The telecommunication(phone) system was once the most powerful and far-reaching network in the world, but its demotion can beseen in the low percentage of time that the typical smartphone user spends in voice calls. The average smartphone is now being used mostly to check email, monitorsocial media, play games and provide directions, functionswhich utilize the Internet. Our desire for increasedconnectedness and higher connection speeds continuesto be met by our service providers, be they cable, telecomor cellular. The promises of online conveniences likestreaming entertainment, security camera monitoring andvideo conferencing cannot be met without broadbandInternet connections that are always live. Remember thedays when you had to wait until the home phone line wasfree so you could use your modem to make your dial-upInternet connection? A down or even slow connection isnow exasperating to the individual and death to abusiness. Today almost anyone in the United States canhave a broadband connection. Cable companies haveupgraded their systems, the phone companies haveadded fiber and the cellular providers have upped their“G’s” or generations in data networking capabilities. Eventhose living off the beaten path in rural areas outside thereach of cable can get broadband through satelliteconnections, using technology developed by our local

company, ViaSat. All this capability comes at a price,however.

Naturally users were not satisfied to be connected onlyat home, so our tech industry gave us laptops to travelwith. We wanted more portability, so they gave us Wi-Fi,tablets and smartphones. All this new stuff meant we hadto buy more hardware (often of multiple kinds for multipleneeds) and probably also get a cellular data plan. Nowmost connected folks pay around $100 combined forhome broadband and cellular data, and even more for afamily. Though connection speeds keep increasing, so toodo rates for service. Comcast buying Time Warner Cablecan’t be good for consumer costs. And we in this countrypay more and get less bandwidth than a lot of othercountries. Some countries may not have good water orsewer systems, but even the poor there have cell phonesand five bars. We are getting Google Fiber in an additional34 major U.S. cities soon, however (but still not in SanDiego; I want it now!).

We couldn’t get online while onboard, so the airlines arerolling out more in-flight Internet access (for a price).Google knew we’d find tablets and smartphones were notconvenient enough, so they developed Google Glasses,and others are working on their own wearable computingdevices. Our homes and appliances will soon beconnected to the Internet (the IoT, or Internet of Things),so we can monitor our homes remotely and have ourfridge tell us when we are low on milk. What these newdevices will cost us in privacy and other social and civilissues is yet to be determined.

We wanted instant access to our money and finances,and so the banks gave it to us. Now we can get cashanytime from an ATM machine, make purchases withoutcash by using credit or debit cards and get instant accessto our account information at any time. If we want todeposit a check right now, we don’t even have to drive toa bank branch or ATM. We can now just take a photo ofthe check with our smart phone and deposit it through abanking app.

With all of our financial information available online, itwas just a matter of time before criminal elements tooknotice. Now you have to protect and remember lots ofunique and complex passwords for all the banking, e-commerce and other online accounts you use, so you cankeep your money and identity safe. Unfortunately it is notonly in your hands to protect. Financial institutions andmerchants that store your information on their computers

I Want It Now!


can be targets for data theft. There is a lot the institutionscould do to increase security, like multi-factorauthentication and smart chip credit cards, but thesethings cost money. A few things they have been doing tohelp prevent fraud are useful but put the onus on theaccount holder. Most bank and credit card companiesencourage their customers to set up alerts on theiraccounts to help flag suspicious transactions. I have setthese up on my accounts and find them very useful.

I have my credit cards alert me, through an email and/ora text message, when a purchase is made without thecard being presented to the merchant, as in an onlinepurchase. This can help alert you to fraudulent accountactivity as soon as it happens. My Visa card is set up tosend me an alert when a gas pump purchase is made. Iuse this card often at a particular low-cost gas station andam amazed at how quickly I am notified. After I swipe mycard, enter my zip code and press the Enter button on thepump, I can’t count to five before I feel my cell phonevibrating in my pocket with a text informing me of thetransaction and location. That is pretty cool!

When we want to purchase something, we want it now.E-commerce has allowed the shopper to buy a muchwider array of products online than is typically available inneighborhood stores, often at much lower prices. The oneadvantage for brick and mortar stores is the instantgratification of walking out with your purchase. Onlinemerchants are working hard to minimize delivery time,offering one or two-day delivery for a premium. Amazon’sPrime service provides two-day delivery for many itemsfor an annual subscription fee. Amazon knows we wanteven more and is looking at using predictive algorithms topre-position products you are likely to purchase in localwarehouses and is even working on 30-minute delivery ofsmall items by autonomous flying quadcopters. I can’t wait(but I’ll bet it won’t be cheap).

Taco Bell is working to fulfill our desire for fast food rightnow. They plan to introduce a mobile ordering systemlater this year. Through their mobile app, already tested infive locations in Orange County, customers can place anorder with the closest Taco Bell location and pay throughtheir phone with credit or gift cards. The order can bepicked up in-store or at the drive-through window, and theapp will use GPS location to let the store know when thecustomer is near, so the order is ready and freshness ismaintained. I’m not sure I want Taco Bell to know how farI am from their restaurants. Other chains are working onmobile apps of their own.

There goes more of our privacy in exchange for quickeats. When we want to watch a movie, we no longer haveto wait to buy or rent a DVD (or Blu-ray) or go to a theater.We can watch our entertainment streamed to ourcomputer, tablet or smart phone the instant we want it, in

almost any location we choose. We can easily stayconnected with our friends through social media likeFacebook, allowing us to share our activities and see whateveryone else is doing. Unfortunately, when watchingother things happening becomes too convenient, doingthings yourself can get pushed aside and lots of time canbe spent in watching the Internet world go by, with little toshow for it.

When we miss our far-away loved ones, we can not onlyspeak to them, we can also see them, and at reasonablecosts. The Internet has brought us VoIP, or voice overInternet Protocol, and along with it lower rates (often free)for long distance phone calls. Programs like Skypeprovide video calls at reasonable costs. And for those ofus that can’t wait until the afterlife to converse again withour deceased loved ones, a new start-up, Eterni.me,promises to help. Through access to a dead person’sonline interactions (chat logs, social network information,emails), they claim to use artificial intelligence algorithmsto construct an avatar or virtual person that the living caninteract with. It could be like online chat with a deadperson. To satisfy our need for instant interactions withhelp lines and tech support, companies are working onsimilar avatars with artificial intelligence (even moreintelligent than Siri). When we need to talk to a personright now, the avatar would be there and not even requirea salary. It would be good if they got to the point where Icould not tell if I was talking with a person or a machine. Itwould be bad if they got to the point where I could not tellif I was talking with a person or a machine.

All these advances in convenience and quick accesscome at the cost of our data security and privacy. We canget quick answers to all our questions, get directions andcompare products online, but we must realize that theTechnology, computers and the Internet will continue totry to provide what we want (though perhaps not what weneed), as long as there is profit in it somewhere forsomeone. Hopefully we can learn to use these advancesfor the betterment of ourselves and others, appreciatethem, and not become like spoiled children crying “I wantit now!”

Google and Bing and merchants are all keeping track ofwhat we are asking for and about. Seeking onlineinformation about sensitive topics or items might createundesirable associations in the data they hold about us.And while a lot of tech jobs have been created due to theInternet, there have also been some job losses. Just askthe former bank tellers, video rental clerks, encyclopediasalespersons and retail store workers that lost their jobsdue to the effects of the Internet

I Want It Now! Continued from pg. 9


By Don Grim, Computer Users Of Erie

DOS is dead in that some prior DOS programs do not run di-rectly under the latest Windows versions.

DOS is NOT dead in that it still directly runs some DOS pro-grams in Windows and there is still a way, an easy way, to runall DOS programs that do not run directly under Windows!

You can start a DOS prompt on a Windows 7 computer justby clicking Start, typing a word called CMD (for the commandprompt of DOS) and then press the Enter key. It is the same asabove for Windows XP except you also choose Run after Start.Windows XP is no longer supported for Windows Updates so Iwould recommend to keep Windows XP computers away fromInternet use. You can exit a DOS prompt by clicking X or typ-ing EXIT and pressing the Enter key.

One of my favorite series of DOS programs that still run welldirectly are batch files, and the commands to string together ina batch file. Batch files are useful to me for running backuproutines and other projects. It allows you to use the XCOPYcommand that has many useful options, including an option toonly copy files that have changed, skipping wear and tear offiles not needed to be copied, and speeding up the process. Tome, batch files and DOS allow me to see what is going onmore so I know what is happening, similar to a mechanic pre-ferring to work on an older car with a simpler setup. I suspectone reason DOS is still around is because there are a fairnumber of people still using batch files.

Some DOS programs are just partially crippled under Win-dows. They will run directly in Windows but will not operatefully, such as no sound support, limited graphic options, or im-proper running speed. For the crippled DOS programs and theprograms that do not run directly at all, one of the friendliestand popular solutions is a wonderful free program called DOS-Box! Some people think it should get a Nobel Peace Prize!When you run DOSBox in Windows, it emulates DOS. You geta DOS prompt that runs all DOS programs fully, at least all theDOS programs that I have tested, which are valuable for me tocontinue using in the future.

To use DOSBox, there is a one-time setup on your computer.Go to www.dosbox.com and then the Downloads section.Choose the Windows link and it downloads from there. I re-cently downloaded DOSBox0.74-win32-installer.exe which isversion 0.74. You can double click the installation file to installDOSBox. Also, as a one-time setup, create a folder at your Cdrive since DOSBox recommends not starting at the root ofdrive C. I created a folder called basic under the C drive be-cause I am using DOSBox to help with BASIC programmingfiles. As a convenience, you can put programs you are usingfor DOSBox at the basic folder. I put my BASIC programmingfiles and gwbasic.exe (the basic program originally providedwith DOS) at the basic folder.

That was the one-time setup of DOSBox. For any other time,to quickly use DOSBox as a DOS Emulator, double click theDOSBox icon on your desktop and type the following two com-mands. Each command is followed by the Enter key.

mount c c:\basicc:

After the above two commands, you are in DOSBox land,simulated DOS that runs everything! Some useful commandsin DOSBox are INTRO for information for new users and HELPfor commands information. You can also use the Ctrl F11 andCtrl F12 keys to adjust processing speed. When you are donewith DOSBox, you can exit by clicking X or use the same com-mand that exits regular DOS, by typing EXIT and press theEnter key.

I was disappointed to find that the original BASIC program(gwbasic.exe), which runs directly in Windows XP, does NOTrun directly in Windows 7. Fortunately, as usual, DOSBoxcame to the rescue! Thanks to DOSBox, I can still run all of mymany BASIC programs I have created in the past!

Because DOSBox is an Emulator, it is technically slower thanregular DOS, though, like me, you may not experience a slowdown since a newer computer with Windows 7 is generallyquicker than a Windows XP computer.

Better yet for BASIC fans, though DOSBox is nice to use, youdon’t have to lay all your BASIC eggs in that basket. There aremore nice free programs to use BASIC in Windows 7. PC-BA-

Is DOS Dead? Yes and No


SIC (www.sourceforge.net/projects/pcbasic/) runs gwbasic pro-grams and looks remarkably like gwbasic. QB64(www.qb64.net) is similar to the old Quick Basic program, al-lows you to run basic programs in Windows 7, and also allowsyou to compile basic programs to executable files (exe exten-sion).

You might be asking yourself why older programs, like DOSprograms, are losing support from Microsoft. An answer proba-bly depends on who you talk to, since there are campsites thatsay we’re at a 64 bit age and that people should only embracenew technology. The other campsites will say “if it isn’t broken,why scrap it?” and why not use just a little energy and caring tokeep something backwards compatible? There has been somediscussion about it right at the microsoft.com website. I am in-cluding some interesting quotes from that website below.

Quote 1: “I am a 72 year old retired scientist who is an experton GWBASIC. I still use several programmes that I had devel-oped before retirement. I was puzzled like all of you when Ipurchased a new Laptop with the Windows 7 operating sys-tem. Then, as per the advice of one of the experts, I download-ed (free) a programme called DOSBox from www.dosbox.com.I moved my programme file folder in to the C drive. I could thenoperate all my GWbasic programmes. I am sure this will workfor all of you.”

Quote 2: “Your computer can work longer than you think. Ihave an original IBM PC with a 386 upgrade and a disk driveadded to it from an IDE add in card! I used it for at least 5years beyond the y2k concerns with an old DOS version ofQuicken to do my taxes for both my family and my wife's smallbusiness. In addition I run GWBasic for instructional purposes,though I am switching to Small Basic for video gaming pro-gramming classes. I run Windows 7 and the Windows 8 betaso at least you think I'm a technophobe. I think the biggest rea-son people are forced to upgrade is peer pressure. Old tech-nologies are constantly being reborn, like COBOL for example,and old PCs in robotics applications in machine shops. Any-way, the answer is the procedure for using DOSBox so GW-BASIC will run in a 64 bit machine. Microsoft may not supportit, but there is a lot more support than Microsoft out there thanwhat you can find in a supermarket!”

Quote 3: "I still think GWBasic is the best learning tool forhigh level programming, even with the limitation the new Win-dows systems put on it."

Final Thought: DOS is still kicking! DOS in Windows XP isversion 5.1.2600 copyright 1985-2001 and DOS in Windows 7is version 6.1.7601 copyright 2009. So DOS has progressed,even by Microsoft version numbers!

Is DOS Dead? Continued from pg. 11


Recap of October 2013 Meeting by Anne Moss, Secretary, NorthernNeck Computer Users’ Group, NJOctober 2013 issue, The Computer Linkwww.nncug.orgmcmillan (at) va.metrocast.net

Brian Riley, Vice President of the NNCUG, gave a MembershipMeeting presentation on computer backups and cloning of harddrives. Most of his presentation centered on what you can do to getyour computer working quickly after a virus infestation or hard drivefailure.

He explained that while backing up is necessary, the problem is thatyou have to have a working operating system and backup software torestore the backup you made. This may entail having to reinstall theoperating system and backup software before you can even start toget your computer back.

He then explained the difference between cloning a disk and makinga disk image. With cloning a disk, you get an exact copy of the disk,that if inserted into your machine, will allow you to resume work fromthe point the clone was made. Disk imaging on the other hand, whichis how backups work, makes a copy of the contents of the disk insome kind of compressed format (zipped), which then has to berestored by a program that can read that format.

Usually this is done with a “restore” disk, which is a bootable CD orDVD that contains enough of an operating system to run the backupsoftware that can restore your drive, but requires you to make thatdisk ahead of time. If you haven’t done that (and most backupsoftware, including what comes with Windows 7, has utilities to makeone of those disks), you need to restore from the original OperatingSystem Install disks. This is a time consuming process!

Brian showed us what he called a “toaster” drive, which is a USB orESATA device that allows you to put a regular 3 ½ “ (desktop harddrive) or 2 ½” (laptop drive) in a slot, and run your backup or clone toit.

Tiger Direct has a listing of toaster drives here (NewEgg andAmazon have them also)http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_slc.asp?MfrId=0&CatId=2785

He then explained that if you have chosen a computer that has yourC: accessible from the outside of the machine, you can take that diskand easily and quickly replace the damaged or infected drive with it.

Brian explained he had made a clone of the laptop drive he wasgiving the presentation on the night before, he simulated the computerbecoming infected with a virus, shut it down, replaced the hard drive,and rebooted continuing the demonstration, all within three minutes.

He pointed out making a clone is not the complete answer tobackups: clones do not do versioning of your files for example, and itis still important to do a regular backup. There are two key questionsyou have to ask yourself in choosing a backup method:

• How important is my data? Is merely having a second copyof it enough, or does it have to survive a catastrophic eventlike a fire? If it is the latter, you must have an offsite backup,if it isn’t then just a backup copy will do.

• How much important data do I generate in what period oftime? If you spend all day working on a project, then you

probably want a backup on a daily basis. If redoingeverything you have done for a week isn’t a problem, then aweekly one will do. If all you do is play games on yourcomputer and answer e-mails on line, then you probablydon’t need more than a clone – your data isn’t changing.

Things that cause data loss come in many forms: from “happyclicking”, where you accidently overwrite something you have beenworking on all day with an inappropriate up-date; virus infestation thatmakes your machine unusable and may scramble the contents ofyour hard drive; hard drive failure (sooner or later they all fail); orcatastrophic event such as a fire or burglary.

Even if you are using anti-virus software, your machine can becomeinfected by a virus that was built to get around that software. Often thefirst thing these viruses will do if they manage to get a foot-hold onyour machine is turn off your anti-virus software.

Brian suggested a simple step: since many viruses work on theaccount level, you should always create a second account on yourmachine with administrative privileges. This may allow you to log in asthat other user and run your anti-virus software that has beendisabled under your main account.

He also suggested you should hover over any link with your mouseto see where it is sending you. Depending on the application, theaddress the link is sending you to will be displayed in a tool-tip or onthe bottom of the screen. If that address goes somewhereunexpected, don’t click on it!

What backup software should you use?

Windows 7 ships with backup software, and allows you to make arestore disk. It doesn’t do cloning, it isn’t easy to tell what it is backingup, and the backup requires a disk larger, sometimes double the size,of the drive you are using as your C: In other words you would needa one terabyte drive to back up a 500 gigabyte one.

It was suggested using Macrium Reflect, which is available as eitherfree or paid software. The major difference for the home user betweenthe two is the free version can’t do incremental backups (that is, onlybackup the files that have changed since your last full backup). Youcan read more about it on their website:www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx

Along with the free version, the Standard version costs $49.99, andthe Pro version costs $58.99.

There is cloning and backup software available from other vendorsalso.

Acronis is another backup/cloning program. Brian and Rob stated itis much more bloated but not as user friendly as Macrium.

If you are interested, reviews of 10 of the top contenders for 2013can be found here: http://data-backup-softwarereview.toptenreviews.com/

Brian emphasized that if your concern is getting your computer upand operating as quickly as possible from a simple hard drive failureor virus infestation, then cloning is the way to go.

He also made the point that one does NOT have a backup UNTIL itis confirmed that the data can be RESTORED from the backup!

Backups and Disk Cloning


Remember, all CUE members receive a35% discount on all book purchases.

You may order online atwww.peachpit.com

Use the coupon code UE23AAPEUFat checkout

(note the code is CASE SENSITIVE)

CUE Corner

With the restoration of the old style membership form, this has resulted in the availability of thisspace for a variety of uses.

We once had a “CUE Classifieds” area, where members could post Wanted or For Sale ads atno charge for items they wished to buy or sell. This could be one such use for this space.

Another could be a “Q & A area, where computer related questions and answers could beposted. Or, it could simply be used for more advertising, such as those found above.

In any case, this space if available for ANY CUE member to use, at no cost for inserting yourinformation. Please send what you want placed here to the Editor via email [email protected] by the FRIDAY FOLLOWING THE MONTHLY CUE MEETING tohave it in the next issue.

http://www.oreilly.com

http://www.focalpress.com/

http://www.peachpit.com


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Arriving at the school, turn into the drive between the Church and theSchool building. Proceed through the chain poles at the rear of the driveinto the main parking lot. Turn RIGHT in the lot, and proceed to the farend of the parking lot. Park anywhere near the ramp and steps. Enterthrough that doorway, then follow the signs to the CUE meeting room.If the chain is up at the rear of the drive, go around the corner and intothe lot from 27th Street

Finding Holy RosaryFrom the West

Take 26th St. (Rt. 20) to the intersection of Parade Street. Turn right,go to the next light. Make a hard left turn onto 28th St. Follow to theschool, which will be on your left.From the South

From Rt. 19 (Peach St.), Rt. 97 or Rt. 8, follow that street to 38thStreet. Head east on 38th street. Turn LEFT onto East Ave. from East38th street (first traffic light east of the intersection of Rt. 8 (Pine Ave.)and East 38th St.) The school will be immediately in front of you whenyou reach the Intersection of East Ave. and 28th St.From the East

Follow Rt. 20 WEST to Broad Street. Follow Broad street until you seeWalMart and McDonalds on your left. Turn LEFT onto Burton Ave.When you reach the end of the street, turn RIGHT onto 28th St. Schoolwill be on your right in approximately 3 blocks.

Directions toHoly Rosary SchoolCUE Members and Visitors

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