Eric Butow
 

Contact Eric Butow 
at 916-789-8597 
or by e-mail at 
ebutow@dgweb.com.

We may be in the dog days of summer, but there are plenty of new arrivals these days. Some of them are user-group related, including this column, which has a brand new name and a new outlook. Now that this column doesn't focus on the editorial issues surrounding our newsletter, I've shifted its focus to one similar to Jerry Pournelle's "Chaos Manor" - something more computer-centric, and something a bit more personal now that I'm not behind the editor's desk. I hope this column will be as friendly as it is informative, and if you have any comments, please feel free to send me e-mail.

Last month, Chris Graillat and I performed the ceremonial transfer of the group's HP LaserJet 4M printer that we've used to produce the newsletter since 1993. This left me with one problem: I had no backup printer. It was also time to upgrade my copies of Corel DRAW and WordPerfect Office, so I already had a shopping list. I also had money coming in from my editing duties for IDG Books. Now all I had to do was go shopping, and I had the perfect tool: the Net.

Shopping on the Net isn't a big deal for me - I've shopped on the Net for more than two years now and I haven't had any trouble with credit cards or delayed shipments.  Finding the best printer at the best price (and the best prices for the software) was another story entirely.  I turned to the magazines first, but they don't have the most up-to-date information.  I decided to use the Ask Jeeves search engine, which lets you search in forms of questions, and I've found it very good at getting pertinent information for me.  Click here for Ask Jeeves.

I knew the type of printer that I wanted - I wanted color, and I wanted it cheap.  That put me squarely in color inkjet territory, and since color inkjets have been improving in speed and quality while dropping in price, it was now a question of finding the most bang for my buck. I checked out the CNET site, which has an entire buyers' guide section for all sorts of hardware and software.  When I got to CNET's Editor's picks, I found there were two vying for my attention: the Epson Stylus Color 900 and the Lexmark Z51 Color Jetprinter.  CNET rated the Z51 a 9 and gave the Stylus 900 an 8 (both out of 10).

I compared the Z51 and Stylus 900 reviews that CNET gave with reviews from other online magazines. Naturally, the reviews differed in some ways. Some reviews said the Stylus 900 had great text, others said the Stylus had so-so text. Some reviews said the Stylus 900 had better graphics output, others said the Z51 had better output. Eventually, I boiled down the comparisons and contrasted the two printers in a nutshell:

* The Stylus 900 has better speed-about 10 pages per minute for color and 12 pages per minute for black output. However, you will pay an extra $100 for it; the Stylus 900 costs about $399 list.

* The Z51 is better at producing better output on plain paper, but like the Stylus 900 you get the best results if you print on specially coated inkjet paper, which costs about 12 cents per sheet.

* It's easier to load the Z51's ink cartridges.

* The ink on both printers lasts for about the same length of time and replacement cartridges cost about the same.

As I write this, I've only had my Z51 printer for a day, but my initial impressions are positive. The Z51 is very easy to set up, and the step-by-step guide and accompanying CD-ROM make it easy to get your printer drivers online. You only have two ink cartridges (color and black), and you can easily open the front of the printer and snap the cartridges into their slots. The biggest problem is getting the printer heads aligned to make sure that you don't get any tiny white strips in your printouts. I'm still fine-tuning that, and I'll let you know how it goes in a future report.

I also used CNET's "find the lowest prices" feature to find the lowest prices for the upgrade versions of Corel DRAW 9 and WordPerfect Office 2000 (the voice edition) from online vendors. I'm eager to play with them once I get an opportunity, and I'll have more on those experiences in future reports.

Planting Season
The SPCUG year is not yet half over, but it's clear that this will be the year we sow new seeds and get a lot of the weeds out of our metaphorical garden. So far this year, our eBlue team has gotten our online magazine off to a great start, we have plenty of interesting meeting presentations, and our treasurer is cleaning up our financial records. This summer we're welcoming a new editor and soon we'll have a new Webmaster. Plans are underway to put our software library online and to retire our BBS next month. Edwin Holloway and his team are putting together our PC educational event next month, too. Excitement abounds.

Some people have asked me how I'm enjoying my retirement, and if I have any plans for getting involved in the group again. Right now, I'm still trying to figure out what's wrong with me, and I'm not any closer to finding out. On top of that, I'm no longer a USCS International employee, so you can toss any work-related contact information you had for me. 

I wasn't accepted to UC Davis's Graduate School of Management for the upcoming school year, either, and that's just as well since my life is in flux right now.  Perhaps in another six to nine months, I'll see if I want to apply to UC Davis again (and take some of the classes I'm lacking), but before then I may decide to get involved again.  I'm particularly interested in the educational and public relations areas, but my interest would largely be determined by like interest from several other members.  Are you interested in these areas and making a difference, too?  If so, let me know, and perhaps we can plant some new seeds this fall.