BENTSEN GROVE COMPUTER CLUB
BULLETIN
Month of June 2004
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NO MEETINGS SCHEDULED THROUGH SUMMER MONTHS |
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS: If you would like to meet in a small group to
discuss one of the following subjects, contact the following people.
If you would like to lead a SIG, discuss it with
Val. Our bulletin is also available on line by visiting http://www.bgrcc.com/ and clicking on bulletin. You may also select bulletins by its subject |
NEED
SOME HELP
Click on HELP EMERGENCY RESPONSE
TEAM
John Abbott...…424-0537 Val Barron…..….519-2319 Harold Buechly..581-3180 Claude Westfall 580-4042 |
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Bentsen Grove 2004 Summer NEWSLETTER by Hope Jones For four summers, I've been a central repository and dispersal for some of the B/G news. It started out modestly with sharing news with B/G folks I corresponded with regularly. The next summer, more asked me to add them to my email list. Then, this spring, yet others asked to be added. I have no set schedule for sending out B/G info. As I receive tidbits, I format them into a mail newsletter. These letters contain the glad as well as the sad news of current and former B/Gers. When something needs immediate attention, I send it out ASAP. I send out all my emails using "Bcc" (Blind Carbon Copy) so that your email address is kept absolutely private. On occasion, a person will request another's email address. When this occurs, I write to that person with the request (including e-mail addresses) copied & pasted into that e-mail I write. It’s then up to the individual to personally fulfill the request, or not. Understand it's only a seasonal activity with me, from mid-April to mid-October, when most of us are scattered to the four winds. If you'd like to be added to my B/G summer newsletter, send me your name (both names if couple), email address and your B/G lot number. If you'd like copies of this season's earlier emails, let me know. Otherwise, I'll add your address only for future newsletters. Hope Jones HJones@accn.org |
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Data Storage By Harold
Buechly It has not
been long ago that our CD’s would hold 650 MB and we could only write to them
at 2 to 4 X speed. Recently you could buy a DVD recorder that holds 4.7 GB.
Sony will soon introduce to the Now available in stores the new Maxtor 300 GB hard drive for $1.00 per GB. |
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CONNECTING
TO THE WORLD By Harold
Buechly When we connect to our internet service
provider, we are connecting to a network which is connected to the world wide
web which is made up of millions of networks throughout the world. We may
have our own network at home or office with several computers connected. We
are able to get a vast amount of information regardless of how we are
connected. Most common connections are telephone line modem, DSL, cable,
satellite, wireless and data over power lines. The telephone line modem has improved
very little over the past several years. In populated areas cable and DSL has
given the best performance for the price. Satellite is provided nation wide
using a dish to transmit and receive with. Data over power lines has been
developed but I have heard of its limitations. That leaves wireless to discuss.
We are constantly being bombarded by
RF (radio frequency). Your antenna for your car radio, television or even
yourself is receiving all these signals. You tune your car radio to listen to
a radio station. Actually, your radio antenna is receiving 10’s of thousands
of signals but you are tuning out all but one signal, the one you want to
hear. The strongest radio frequency found
around the home is normally inside your microwave. It is using RF to cook or
heat just about anything you placed inside it. Just about any electronic item
may transmit RF signals. Radio and TV stations, CB radios, cell
phones, portable wireless phones, wireless mouse & keyboard, wireless
home or office networks, police radios and radar etc. all may release strong
to very weak RF signals. Some items may be so weak that it will
only transmit a few feet like wireless keyboards and mice. Home networks or
portable wireless phones, 10 to 200 ft. Sometimes a dish is used to reflect
the RF and focus it on the actual antenna. Many signals from a satellite will
cover many thousands of square miles with a weak signal of extremely high
frequency. A low frequency radio signal requires
a long wave (maybe several hundred feet long). High frequency signals like
from a satellite is a very weak signal and very short signal wave requiring a
very small antenna often with a dish behind it to focus the signal on the
antenna. There are so many technologies being
used throughout the world to communicate or connect us to the internet. It
seems that as soon as one is ready to implement, something better is in the
works. We all have heard of 802.11 followed by a or
b or c and other alphabet soup characters, Wi-Fi,
Max-Fi, 802-14, 802-20, LAN and WAN. We don’t need
all of that. Just something that will work fast and economically. I sure hope
they soon get it all together. Boingo Wireless (http://www.boingo.com/ ) states that anyone
can setup an access point for under $100.00 that may cover 100 to 500 ft. This
is called a hot spot. You may bring your laptop to or near the location and
have high speed internet access for a monthly fee. WiFiMaps (http://www.wifimaps.com/ ) helps you
locate commercial and private hot spots. Wardriving (http://www.wardriving.com/ ) is a technical site loaded with
more information than you want to know about wireless networks. The majority of wireless networks are far from being secure. It only
takes a laptop and a freeware program to sniff out open hot spots while
driving around town. It’s quite common to find hospitals, doctors, attorneys
as well as individuals with wireless networks that is entirely open to nearby
computers or is easy to be broken into by a hacker that has very little
talent. Scattered across the country there are many thousands of access
points created by community projects, individuals, businesses including
hotels and RV parks that provide free wireless access. In some cases the
entire town or city is served sometimes free and sometimes about $10.00 to
$30.00 per month. |
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