Stacey Falconer - Big Blue and Cousins

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Big Blue & Cousins September 2000 The biggest bugaboo you’ll face is ethical. My concern is for the songwriter and performer, the two groups who are generally stuck holding the unsavory end of the stick. So not only do they get screwed by the record producers, now the customer gets a chance to chisel them out of their royalties. The Process of Denial Some people I’ve talked with justify using Napster thinking it will force the record industry to pay attention and change their greedy ways. Maybe it will. I know I’d gladly pay a buck or two for each cut I want, provided I’m not stuck with the entire CD. What I want is the ability, as with Napster, to check out and listen to the entire song, not a 15 second sample. For instance, I heard about four minutes of “The Time of the Barracudas,” a Gil Evans and Miles Davis cut on the radio. I liked what I heard. After I downloaded the entire song on Napster, I realized it wasn’t something I wanted to listen to again. I deleted it, just as I would with shareware I couldn’t use. Had I purchased the $16 CD, I would’ve been stuck with it. And what’s the business plan for the 19 year old behind Napster? The program’s free and there’s no advertising on Napster-no banner ads, no cookies, and no intrusions on our privacy. My guess? The kid’s going to sell it to one of the big record companies. So the question we’re faced with is whether Napster is a rogue, a way to let everyone pirate music from the Internet. Or is Napster a change agent, pushing the industry towards reform. Me? I’ve gotta go. There are a couple of Herbie Hancock cuts I’m trying to find. This article is brought to you by the Editorial Committee of the Association of Personal Computer User Groups (APCUG), an International organization to which this user group belongs. Steve Bass is a Contributing Editor with PC World Magazine, frequently writes for Forbes ASAP, Working Woman, and Family Circle, and is the president of the Pasadena IBM Users Group. He can be reached at stevebass@earthlink.net. Here’s How: NAPSTER ➤ Limiting uploads: Maintain control of who’s able to take files from your shared music directory. One way is to limit the number of downloads to one song per person. ➤ Check your sharing folder: It’s critical you pay attention to the folder you’re sharing with other Napster users. It’s easy to inadvertently check the box to share the entire drive. ➤ Security Tip: When you first begin using Napster, don’t share any songs. In Napster’s configuration, set the number of files to share to zero. ➤ Don’t Share at All: The safest way to use Napster is don’t allow anyone to get at your files. That way you’re completely safe from intruders. ➤ Limit your Downloads: Don’t try to download too many songs at once. You’ll run out of bandwidth and may get knocked offline. Think about it: Your one connection will divide the bandwidth among all the songs you’re downloading because each song is coming from a different user. It’s better to grab a few songs; they’ll download more quickly and if you are disconnected, you’ll lose only a few songs. ➤ Dump partial songs: Get rid of incomplete partial files. Check out the file before you allow it to be copied to the next person. Better, set Napster to delete incomplete files. ➤ Be Polite: Check if others are downloading files from your drive before you log off. Use Napster’s Chat feature to warn people just starting a download if you’re planning on logging off. ➤ Hotlist Tip: As you search, watch for people on the list with multiple selections of your favorite author. Put them on your Hotlist and ignore users with just one selection. ➤ Protect Yourself: Use Zone Lab’s free firewall, Zone Alert. It will stop outsiders from doing any harm. (www.zonelabs.com). www.bbc.org 13
September 2000 Big Blue & Cousins The The President’s President’s Message Message Clive Amos Hi all. I hope that everyone had a great summer that was as awesome as the weather. Now that the children have returned to school and the number of visitors have dropped to a minimum you might be interested in checking out some of the events BB&C has scheduled for this Fall. Lately we seem to have lost sight of the social aspects of our club and an effort will be made to focus on a more personal level of participation. My last few messages have been directed at the general lack of participation in many of the activities and services we offer. BB&C is the largest PC User Group in Victoria but a significant number of members do not appear to be taking full advantage of their membership. Some of the services we maintain are quite expensive to support, either in dollars or in time. It is important that the resources of this club not be wasted on under utilized items. I think that all of the activities available through the club can be of value to all of our members at some time. Our on-line forums are a great place to interact with other members for a chat or to get help with some insidious computer application. The newsletter, besides supplying interesting articles and a calendar of events also has a list of members who can help get you connected to our on-line services. Truly “the times they are a-changin”, thanks Bob Dylan, but how did you know? Participating in the many activities offered by Big Blue & Cousins will go a long way toward getting you comfortable with our new digital world. The feedback we have received from email and meetings indicated a desire for more direct contact between members while sharing a learning experience. We will be bringing back Special Interest Groups (SIGs) in a somewhat less structured format than previously. As before there will be a set SIG night at the clubhouse but now the topic covered will change regularly. We have enough presenters until November and we are hoping members who use their computers to accomplish some task will be willing to share their knowledge with the rest of the club in this manner. This SIG night will be an excellent chance to meet other people who share the same interest that you do. We will be changing the format of the monthly meeting a little to allow more social interaction between members. As well, a regular pre-meeting get together will be arranged at a nearby restaurant where members can meet either for dinner or just for coffee. I hope to be able to meet all of you at one or other of our upcoming events. Clive Amos, President, Big Blue & Cousins, camos@home.com BB&C BB&C SIGs SIGs & & Courses Courses Greetings from the Training Dept. We hope you had a fun and relaxing summer.Now that it’s fall, the Training Department is gearing up again for their fall courses and SIGs. New, this fall: The Special Topic SIG On Monday Sept. 18 We’ll be kicking things off. Sheldon Doskie will present a demonstration on the use of FundManager, an investment tool application. Sheldon will explain what Fundmanager is, what it can do, and where it fits into an investor’s tool chest. For example, before an investor would use Fundmanager, he/she would first identify investments (not necessarily mutual funds exclusively) to include in the application database, from sources such as investment web sites, newspapers or wherever. This would be an on-going activity. At any given time, Fundmanager can graph the performance of investments, tally up portfolio values and generate many types of reports, on data that the user entered. A key feature of Fundmanager is its ability to retrieve prices/unit values automatically and use them to update portfolios instantly. This SIG will be an informal event so those attending will be able to ask questions at any time. Sheldon will also point out some of the features available on the author’s web site. Anyone interested in learning how to use a computer to track their investments should find something of value whether they use FundManager or some other similar tool. Oct 2 Creating Business and Personal-Introduction cards. Come and learn some simple ways to hand out your phone number, email and address to whoever you meet. This will be a hands-on learning time. So bring you fingers and your ideas with you. Oct 9 To be announced. Oct 23 To be announced. Nov 6 Making Personalized Christmas cards. Something for you to send to Family, Friends and Associates. Materials will be provided and you will get a chance to make your first Christmas Card right on the spot. Fa La La La La Folks. Cindy Thorson Training/SIG Director 14 www.bbc.org
Page 2 and 3: Big Blue & Cousins September 2000 6
Page 4 and 5: Big Blue & Cousins September 2000 C
Page 6 and 7: Big Blue & Cousins September 2000 N
Page 8 and 9: Big Blue & Cousins September 2000 I
Page 12 and 13: Big Blue & Cousins September 2000 C
Page 14 and 15: Big Blue & Cousins September 2000 J
Page 16: August 20, 2000 COMPONENT PRICE LIS

Stacey Falconer - Big Blue and Cousins

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?