We had one new member, who is expecting to have a computer delivered in August, and has never touched one before. She had a beginners book and was reading it, but without hands-on experience, this was difficult to understand. Ken sat her before the club's computer and showed her what the desktop icons meant and how to use the mouse to minimize, full-screen, and delete. He also went through Control Panel adjustments, and brought up Word, where she practiced typing.

After a half-hour of this before the members present and her, everyone agreed that even this simple review was of value for all. I was disappointed in that a local library would not let her try our their computer, because she admitted that she knew nothing about it. The library said they didn't have time to teach her, but all she wanted to do was try out what her Beginners Manual illustrated. I think the library was amiss in not letting her turn it on and try typing something.

After a report of May's General Meeting on Pocket Computers and Microsoft Software, and the regular talk on joining up and what you get, Q & A was next on the agenda. Several questions came up with possible answers from the members and our guest speaker for the evening. Two new potential members were given an application form to fill out and send in to the Main Group. Now all I need is confirmation from the Membership Director, that these members did, indeed, join up with their dues paid.

Since I recently received a notice to renew my membership, I assumed everyone received such notice, but on inquiry of the members, very few had received their notices. Many were quite sure that they were not current, but chose to wait for their notices to renew before they sent in their dues. The feeling was that since things of the past were so fouled up, they didn't want to send in their money and have it get lost in the paperwork. So, the Main Group has their work cut out for them, if they want members to renew... and I as Secretary, want an updated list of members who are indeed currently paid-up.

Our guest speaker is Bob Stern of "COMPUTEREZE" Computer Specialists, who do Networking, Medical/Legal Systems, Systems Sales and Service, and POS Systems. Bob Stern is the Senior Consultant. His education at the University level was in Programming and he worked for a company where he did COBAL on a Main Frame, later a Mini, etc. In order to keep his employees busy during "slack" time doing Systems, Bob started up a retail sales store in Auburn, where they put together IBM Clones, using only the highest quality parts.

Bob, started his talk with, hands-on, samples of Mother Boards, CPU's, etc., using Power Point Presentation for illustrations and statistics. Bob, went on to explain that there is much more to updating a computer than many realize. He discussed in full such things as... Chip Sets (will they work with an updated CPU), will the Mother-Board fit in the old case, are the RAM Chips compatible with the new Board, are the slots the coprrect size for the old accessories of Modem, Graphics Card, Sound Card, etc., are you using SCSI or IDE, and the list goes on. The newer Boards are so different now from an older computer that most of the time, it's better to just buy a whole new computer.

Bob talked about quality in peripheral items such as-- Hard-Drives, CPU's, Video/Graphics Cards, RAM Memory, etc. Quality is best. With certain manufacturers, Bob found that after several hundred installations there were few AMA's (returned merchandise for replacement), while with others, every other item had to be replaced. So, you get what you pay for and a reputable company's reputation. However, even here there were exceptions with a name brand manufacturer fouling up with a poor decision. Bob did name these companies, but I am editing them so there is no complaint about this report.

Bob mentions a report that comes out from an individual who is not beholding to any company. This report compares the quality and functionality of each product with a graph. Using this report, Bob only used the highest recommended items when assembling a computer. This makes the computer cost a bit more than a similar one using cheaper/poorer quality items, but no more repairs or replacement or call-backs, etc.

All in all, Bob Stern of COMPUTEREZE presented a most enjoyable and informative talk and the audience agreed was one of our best.

After the refreshment break and a few eye-ball contacts with old friends, the drawing for the "goodies" was done. As usual, there were enough software programs and hardware items that everyone won something to take home.

Meeting was adjourned a bit late after 9:30 p.m. due to the interest in our guest and his talk. We didn't want to miss anything.

Don't forget to log onto GCPCUG Web Site for further information on everything about our Chapter.

We meet at the Auburn Branch of the Placer County Library at 350 Nevada Street, Auburn, California on the second Wednesday of the month, starting at 7:00 p.m til 9:30 p.m.