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New Magazine Prices
Herb Goodman sent us a brand new list of magazine offers as of December 1999.
The prices are available only for SPCUG members and are not to be posted on any
BBS or on the Internet. The prices in the table on this page are for new subscriptions and renewals.
For renewals you must supply an address label from your present subscription to
ensure the correct start date for your renewal. Please allow 10 to 12 weeks for
your subscriptions to start. All orders must be accompanied with cash, a check,
or a money order.
Make your payment payable to Herb Goodman and mail to:
Herb Goodman
8295 Sunlake Drive
Boca Raton, FL 33496
Telephone: 561-488-4465
e-mail:
hgoodman@cwix.com
O’Reilly Book Discounts
Sacramento PC Users Group members can get a 20 percent discount any time you
order from O’Reilly Books. You can peruse O’Reilly’s online store at
www.oreilly.com
, and when you’re ready to order you can e-mail O’Reilly at
order@oreilly.com
or you can call their order line at 800-998-9938. When you
order, mention code DSUG.
From The Deals Guy
Bob Click, Greater Orlando Computer Users Group
About the only thing still good from last month’s column is the Data Depot
diagnostic boards, and their diagnostic software is being offered at a special
price this month. A consultant friend and I tried the diagnostic board I
purchased on my old computer. He upgraded that old computer with a new
motherboard and it decided not to boot after a month. The new motherboard had
done that before, but started working when he was checking it. Now it was dead
again. The diagnostic board was unable to tell us anything because the computer
wouldn’t boot far enough. However, my consultant friend tried it on some
computers he had laying around and told me it was a “neat” board. He said it
gave him some very good information.
With that, let’s get on with what I have for this month, although there is not
much for the hobbyist.
More Diagnostics From DataDepot
Last month included special offers on the diagnostic boards and this month they
are giving us special offers on “software” for diagnostics. PC Clinic sure
performs a lot of tasks for checking out your computer. The following are
listed:
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Tests entire PC, local or remote,
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Runs full system benchmark tests,
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Gives complete system and memory info,
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Shows standard interrupts and DMA usage,
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Slashes test and travel time to the bone,
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Saves and restores boot records,
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Recovers boot records and compliance,
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Built-in CMOS and file editor plus shell and user menus, and
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600 KB+ online coaches, tips, help and POST.
PC Clinic runs in 640 KB on PC, XT, AT, PS/2, EISA, Pentium, and P6 and clone
computers with DOS 3.1 and higher. This software performs so many tests that I
lack room to list all its features. I used a complimentary copy on my laptop (a
four-year-old Zenith ZStar with a 50-MHz 486DX2 CPU) and I never seemed to run
out of tests. Many tests were for the graphics board alone. PC Clinic found no
problems.
That laptop was working fine, but I wanted to see how the tests went on it
because of its age, and I’ve never reformatted the hard drive. I spent over an
hour testing, finally stopping before doing them all. Not being a hardware
tech, I didn’t always know what I was doing. The “remote” feature lets you run
the same tests on your client’s computer without even leaving your office. Our
special prices for PC Clinic are:
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PC Clinic Pro—list $349.00, user group price $259.00.
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Standard version—list $249.00, user group price $199.00.
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Power User—list $579.00, user group price $449.00.
Prices include shipping and handling. You can visit the Data Depot Web site at
www.datadepo.com/clinic.htm
. Don’t add the “t” to datadepo in the Web address
like I did at first.
Data Depot also has Y2K Wizard, a Year 2000 diagnostic
and
repair software package that runs under DOS 3.1 or higher. Features include:
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Fully tests CMOS, RAM and clock,
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Finds real time clock (RTC) 1 bugs,
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Verifies RTC, DOS and BIOS roll to 2000,
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Saves or restores CMOS RAM to a file to recover from virus or dead battery,
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Verifies system year 2000 compliance,
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Repairs Y2K system bug at boot time,
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Monitors RTC battery voltage,
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Verifies RTC is in synch with DOS clock,
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Verifies RTC and Y2K leap year accuracy,
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Volume and network licenses available.
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Y2K Wizard found my laptop to be non-Y2K compliant and gave me the option to
repair the problem. The fix quickly installed software that loads on bootup to
handle the date problem. The procedure was fast. Y2K Wizard prices are as
follows:
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Single user—list $54.00, user group price $39.00.
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10 user limit—list $139.00, user group price $99.00.
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100 user limit—list $599.00, user group price $449.00.
All the prices listed above include shipping and handling charges.
No More Standing in Line at the Post Office
Many offices use postage often and buy it from the post office. Others rent a
postage meter and must take it in periodically. Simply Postage makes life
easier. The software cost is $49.99 plus $5.00 shipping and handling. This
includes a four-pound digital scale and one free roll of 100 labels. (A “label”
is used to print the postage). For a limited time this also includes $50 worth
of postage. Its postage stamps are approved by the U.S. Postal Service.
There is a lease rate of $17.95 per month for the hardware. When you need more
postage, simply log on their Web site and download it in minutes without even
leaving your office. When mailing a letter or package, the scale will tell the
software how much postage it needs and “clicking” the proper icon prints it.
Pull it off the printer and stick it on your envelope. Or set the postage and
disconnect it from your computer. How much easier can it get?
The printer, or “stamp dispenser,” hooks up to any serial port on your PC, and
uses an AC adapter for power. Should your package weigh more than four pounds,
simply use an accurate scale in your office to determine the weight and type in
the proper number on the software to print the stamp.
You can print ten 33-cent stamps just by clicking on the “print 33 cent stamp”
icon. When printing your postage, choose from “First Class,” “Express Mail,” or
“Priority Mail delivery,” and the system automatically prints the proper stamp.
This unit won’t have to be taken to the Post Office for periodic inspection,
either.
You can register at the Neopost Simply Postage Web site at
www.simplypostage.com. You’ll need to set up an account to pay the one-time
$49.99 setup fee. You’ll then receive the stamp dispenser, scale, all the
necessary cables, and software, and the free $50 in postage. Don’t forget,
you’ll pay a $17.95 monthly lease fee after that.
If you prefer a human voice, call Neopost at 1-877-397-8267. Simply Postage
can’t be used on a network, although new products are being worked on. Be aware
that there is a $8.00 processing fee when ordering postage online and the
Simply Postage meter stores a maximum of $500 postage at one time. Check their
Web site for the cost of labels.
How About Your Own Pet Parrot?
This looked like something fascinating. You can own Talking Max, your own funny
virtual talking pet. You raise this pet and watch it grow in its own house. You
feed it and bond to it, and it develops its own personality. In fact, you talk
to it and it talks back. You might be surprised at what Max says, but you'll
laugh at times, too. Literally speaking, you train Talking Max as best you can.
The basic training wizard lets you train your parrot fast. Suggested
conversations make it easy to instantly have hilarious dialogues with your
parrot. Your video card should be capable of displaying high-color mode. This
comes with a 30-day money back guarantee.
Talking Max includes a free stereo headset with microphone and a talking screen
saver. You give this pet your own personal touch.
If Talking Max seems like something you’d like, give TikSoft a call at
1-800-892-1070 to order for just $29.95 plus $7.95 shipping and handling. This
special offer is only good for 30 days, taking it to about the end of June.
After that, you may or may not be able to get this offer, but you can try.Visit
their Web site at
www.lhs.com
.
You can reach Bob Click by e-mail at
dealsguy@mindspring.com
.
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