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President Dick Towle opened the meeting with the usual welcome. He then gave a quick rundown on his trip back East during the club's last meeting. As part of a Q&A, Dick went on to explain a few quirks that occurred when helping to install a new CD-RW drive in Secretary Ken Weger's system. Earlier, a new CD-R drive proved incompatible with Ken's system.
Despite spending many hours trying to get the new drive recognized, nothing seemed to help. After trying to contact ASUS about their main board several times, with no answer, we finally gave up the SCSI CD-R. We returned it and obtained an IDE CD-RW drive instead, which installed just as it was supposed to-that is, with one exception. We had to go into CMOS and enable the second IDE connection on the main board. Evidently, only the first IDE was enabled. A learning experience once again.
Dick also showed some of the results of panoramic photography using a special stitching program that will connect several photos taken at the same time from different positions of a landscape, without any apparent overlap or connection. The example shown looked as though it was done with a special panoramic motor-driven camera. Interesting!
Our main presenter of the evening was Jim Cormier, the owner of Square One Graphics of Auburn and President of A.C.E. Jim has been using COREL DRAW since Version 2 in 1988. COREL DRAW is now on version 9. Jim gave a presentation of what COREL DRAW 9 can do. There was one little mishap because the club's computer is not up-to-date enough for powerful programs.
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Additionally, our overhead projector is limited to a lower resolution than is recommended for displaying this program. There should have been at least 128MB of RAM and 24-bit color. We need a more modern computer and projector in order to present today's programs. Despite this shortcoming, Jim did a masterful job of showing what can be done. He also said that after learning to use COREL DRAW and its associated software, such as PHOTO PAINT, you can do anything that a more expensive Adobe PHOTO SHOP can do.
Handouts were given to the audience and illustrations that Jim had done for the military and other organizations were passed around for inspiration. Jim has offered to conduct free sessions at his home to interested Gold Country members if they can come in a small group of about six. I, for one, want to take him up on this offer.
Refreshments were served and everyone present won a prize program at the raffle. Photos were taken, so a sample of what goes on with the Gold Country Chapter can be viewed on the group's Web page.
Everyone should take note that November's meeting is on the third Wednesday (November 17th) instead of on our regular meeting day, which is the third Tuesday. The date change is for this month only. After a survey was taken over several weeks, it was decided that the Chapter's meeting time will stay on the third Tuesday of each month.
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Ken Weger
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