CompuNotes Notes from The Cutting Edge of Personal Computing ISSN: 1525-4534 September 12, 1999 Issue 155 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= To subscribe, send an e-mail to listserv@peach.ease.lsoft.com SUBSCRIBE COMPUNOTES-L FirstName LastName To unsubscribe, send an e-mail to listserv@peach.ease.lsoft.com SIGNOFF COMPUNOTES-L For Contact and Other Information See Bottom of Publication! +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= CONTENTS My Notes: 1=> CompuNotes Notes, CompuNotes - Back on Track, mailto:pgrote@i1.net 2=> This Issue's Winner! News: 3=> News of the Week, mailto:pgrote@i1.net Columns: 4=> Gamers Corner, mailto:dr2web@sprynet.com Reviews: 5=> Product: ASP in a Nutshell, book Reviewed By: Timothy Ferrill, mailto:tim@tim-web.com 6=> Product: Barrage, game Reviewed by: Gregory Carson, mailto:hwguy1@hotmail.com 7=> Product: Classic Angels Screen Savers, graphics Reviewed By: Howard Carson, mailto:howardcarson@home.com 8=> Product: Creating Paint Shop Pro Web Graphics, book Reviewed By: Don Hughes, mailto:dhughes.reviewcdn@home.com 9=> Product: Symantec Norton HelpDesk Assistant, utility Reviewed By: Howard Carson & Proton Research, mailto:howardcarson@home.com 10=> Product: Que!(tm) CD-RW external PC USB drive, hardware Reviewed By: Howard Carson & Proton Research, mailto:howardcarson@home.com 11=> Product: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Running Your Small Office with Microsoft Office, book Reviewed by: Howard Carson, mailto:howardcarson@home.com 1=> CompuNotes Notes, CompuNotes - Back on Track, mailto:pgrote@i1.net Hello! You haven't seen us for about two months. No, we didn't fall off the earth. The writers have been busy writing. The funny thing is that the editor, read me, had a couple of things going on that needed all his attention. First, I have a new job. It's my dream job and I have been devoting countless hours to getting things underway. Second, I finished my third book. The book covers what you need to know for the Network+ exam from CompTIA. It's designed for professionals who work in networking, need to pass the exam and need help getting it done. It should be out in November, but you can keep an eye on it through Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0789721775/compunotes We also have a few changes planned for CompuNotes: 1) No more of those ads. Yep, the CLICK ON ME ads are gone. They did cover the basic costs of CompuNotes. The basic costs include our ISDN line, ISP fee and postage. No one gets paid for doing CompuNotes. Where does this leave us? No revenue :-( I've always said that CompuNotes is a labor of love, which it is, but it's always nice to cover your basic costs. To this end, we're going to ask you to try to buy your Amazon purchases through us. We get a small fee, read kickback, from Amazon for directing you to their site. We get more if you click on a specific book. We also get a small amount if you buy books not specifically mentioned in CompuNotes. We'd appreciate any help you can provide -- I mean you're buying the books anyway, right? Here is our link for buying books not mentioned in CompuNotes: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/compunotes We may offer special click through ads on a periodic basis, but they won't be offered after each review. Also, we may offer subscription options to other publications, but we do this because they run our ad. 2) More content. Now that I have more time it benefits you. We're going to expand our columns, interviews and articles. To this end, I'd like to offer you the chance to write a column or article for CompuNotes. Send me your ideas! mailto:notes@compunotes.com. 3) Reliable delivery. I've moved to doing two issues at once. This keeps me ahead of the game. I'm happy to be back! Thanks for sticking with us through this delay and let me know where you want to see CompuNotes go in the future. mailto:notes@compunotes.com. 2=> Winner! This week's winner: dolson@HALCYON.COM. 3=> News, Articles and Game Bits, mailto:pgrote@i1.net or mailto:dr2web@sprynet.com Sega May Get it Right with Dreamcast . . . http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2332267,00.html Microsoft is Planning a Game Console . . . http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2332605,00.html Women Can Play Quake ... Really . . . http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB19990910S0009 Another Java Coffin ... Lotus eSuite is Dead . . . http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB19990910S0012 A New Take on Virus Protection . . . http://www.internetwk.com/story/INW19990910S0009 An IE 5.0 Update for Windows 98 . . . http://www.winmag.com/win98/newsletter/1999/090999.htm#ie5 cNet's Look at the Decade in Computing . . . http://home.cnet.com/specialreports/0-6014-7-308570.html The *REAL* Windows NT Backdoor . . . http://www.zdnet.com/intweek/stories/news/0,4164,2331412,00.html 4=> Gamer's Corner, mailto:dr2web@sprynet.com Let's have a SMAC'in good time! As promised, this column is going to devote itself to the question of how to create your own conversion of Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, which still - four months after the games release - hold my attention. One of the great 'extras' to the game is the ability to create your own custom game. Virtually everything in the game can be customized - the map of the planet, the factions, even the technology tree can be modified. The genesis of this idea came from SMAC's predecessor, Civilization II, which featured much of the same customization - courtesy of the game's designer, Brian Reynolds. Both SMAC and Civ II extract information from text files - those little *.txt files that you can edit with notepad. And therein lies the heart (but not all!) of how to customize a game of SMAC or Civ II. Before you start, back up all of the text files in the Alpha Centauri directory - you could always reinstall the game, but do you want to go to that much trouble? Next, download the ACEdit utility, you can find it at the fan link below. This utility allows you to edit and customize the various factions without having to edit the text files directly. Everything can be customized here - from what technologies a faction can have to the various messages they send. You can also customize the picture that is displayed for contacting other factions! Unfortunately, you can't have less than the full seven factions - so whatever story you are modeling, you'll need to think up seven factions. To edit the map is a little on the tricky side. Firaxis built a map/scenario editor into the game, but it isn't easy to get started. First, start the game and then start a game. Be sure to "customize" rules and allow the entire map to be visible. Once the game starts, type [ctrl] - k, which opens the map editor. The game you started will no longer 'keep score' but that's okay - the goal here is to edit the map! Right-click on the map and choose "edit map". This brings up a smaller window in the interface that shows the various terrain types you can lay down as well as the various 'specials' - for example, fungus & Unity pods. Be sure and save often! The manual for SMAC says that the map editor is unstable and can cause crashes. The map editor doesn't have a lot of useful or helpful quick keys, so editing the map can be a tedious chore. I created a map of Mars - albeit within the limitations of the game, which doesn't allow for proper mountains. The problem with Mars is that Mars has no water - and whenever you create a planet in SMAC it insists on making the planet 30% water to start with. So I had to convert - one by one - all those water tiles to ground tiles (hint - to create water or land, you have to raise/lower terrain). So you edit the map and alter the factions to suit your favorite alien races (or human) from your favorite science fiction novel. Are you done? Nope. Assuming you want to let others play your new game, it would probably be a good idea to playtest it, don't you think? Find some friends with SMAC and let them try it out. Modify as needed - you definitely want to make sure the various factions are balanced, so that everyone has a fair chance of winning. A number of science fiction stories are just waiting to be converted. Star Trek and Star Wars are obvious choices, but I am attempting to do Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars. Other obvious choices to me are Larry Niven's RingWorld and Destiny, and Anne McCaffrey's Pern. Here be dragons! Gaming News - Still no word on what's up with Ion Storm. A check of various published release date lists shows no sign of Diakatana. Ion Storm's site is also silent on that score, but they sure are proud that John Romero is playing in a Ages of Empire II contest. Gosh, aren't ya just pumped? Interactive Magic has sold all of their current computer games to Ubisoft, apparently because they want to devote all their energy on creating the ultimate on-line gaming community. I'm sure the recent bombs that were published by Interactive Magic - games like Vangers, for example, had nothing to do with it. Yeah, right! Sad that the company that once published Apache & Seven Kingdoms just couldn't figure out what was good and what was junk. Oh well, at least Seven Kingdoms II won't be delayed! News this week from Firaxis is that they will be doing another Civil War game based on the battle of Antietam, using the game engine from Sid Meier's Gettysburg. I'm excited - Gettysburg is definitely among the best real-time wargames out there, and really gives you a sense of what it must be like to command troops in the heat of battle. Among the little tidbits Firaxis dropped about Antietam (which will only be sold directly through Firaxis on-line, at a 'reduced' price) was that Sid himself is not working on either Antietam or Civ III - apparently since finishing Gettysburg he has been heavily involved in a 'top-secret' third game that will complete Firaxis's "Wheel of Time" trilogy - which includes Civ III, SMAC, and this as yet unnamed game. So those grinding their teeth over Sid doing Civ III can relax - it sounds like something new and exciting is coming from the master of strategy games! Firaxis's official Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri site http://www.alphacentauri.com Apolytpon CD SMAC site http://civilization.gamestats.com/smac/ 5=> Product: ASP in a Nutshell, book Reviewed By: Timothy Ferrill, mailto:tim@tim-web.com MSRP: $24.95 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Buy ASP in a Nutshell at Amazon.Com Now and Support CompuNotes! Amazon.Com - about $19.96 -- Click Here: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1565924908/compunotes ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Active Server Pages (ASP) in a Nutshell is one of the newer additions to the Nutshell line of books. Published by O'Reilly and Associates, ASP in a Nutshell is a great recourse for anyone interested in learning how to write ASP applications for the World Wide Web or a company intranet. O'Reilly and Associates has long been a big supporter of the Internet and open source (free) software. From The Whole Internet Users Guide and Catalog, their "Pioneering Bestseller," to WebSite, the first web server software for desktop PCs, O'Reilly has been a leader on the subject of the Internet and the World Wide Web for several years. ASP in a Nutshell was developed to assist people in tackling the problem of server-side applications. In an area previously only charted by the Common Gateway Interface (CGI) and Server Side Includes (SSI), ASP is now widely considered as an easier and faster option. Though O'Reilly is a major advocate of Unix and Perl (one of the main languages for programming CGI applications), they are also trying to be advocates for open source ASP applications. The ASP technology was created by Microsoft as an alternative to other server-side technologies and is looking to overtake CGI because of its power, speed and ease-of-use. Each book in the Nutshell series is good as both a starting point for learning something new and as a reference for those more experienced in that particular area. ASP in a Nutshell is no exception. While it contains much on the ASP syntax and different languages that can be used for ASP applications, it also contains information on how ASP works and even an introduction to the Internet Information Server (IIS) object model and the objects it comprises. This is especially valuable when you are in the design stage of your programming because you can see all of the objects and their qualities at the same time and what you need to do to get them to work for you. ASP in a Nutshell has three parts. Part one is an introduction to ASP. It explains the need for ASP and teaches the differences between client-side and server-side scripting as well as various scripting languages. Part two is an object reference for the IIS object model. It explains each of the different objects and gives examples of how they can be used. Part three is an installable component reference for the additional components available for installation and use on your server. Although this book is not designed for beginners to the programming field, beginners can benefit from both the introduction and the reference sections of the book. Whatever your task, be it web design or development, or even if you are a Webmaster running IIS, a knowledge of ASP will be helpful. If ASP is part of your future, consider getting ASP in a Nutshell as both an introduction and a reference guide to ASP and its extensions. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Buy ASP in a Nutshell at Amazon.Com Now and Support CompuNotes! Amazon.Com - about $19.96 -- Click Here: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1565924908/compunotes ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ O'Reilly and Associates Product Website: http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/aspnut/ 6=> Product: Barrage, game Reviewed by: Gregory Carson, mailto:hwguy1@hotmail.com Requires: Pentium 133, Windows 95, 98 or NT4, 32MB RAM, quad speed CD-ROM drive, a supported 3D accelerator (with either Riva tnt, Rendition V2200, Matrox G200, or Permedia 2 chipsets - Voodoo Graphics 3Dfx card and 2D card, or Voodoo Rush 3DFX 2D/3D card fit the bill), 98MB of uncompressed hard drive space, 33.6 modem MSRP: US$24.99 First of all, I'm not much of an arcade-style flight sim fan. I've never really liked simulation games. The Barrage storyline is straightforward and moderately appealing however. Basically, the story behind the game is that a fighter jet of the future has been created. It's meant for all-out war. You (the player) being in the military, have been given one of the jets to use on missions. The mission levels vary: from destroying submarines (you can submerge your jet to fight or avoid enemy fire), to flying through power buoys to deactivate them while under attack, to flying underground. Barrage was created by Mango Grits and is published by Activision. I tested Barrage on a Pentium II/266 MHz machine with 64MB RAM and a 4MB Matrox Millennium graphics card. Installation was flawless. There are plenty of options available for configuring the game controls. You can also set the game to be less stressful on your computer so that it runs better. Barrage was not tested in multiplayer mode. In a high-speed hover fighter aircraft you can fly freely anywhere in outdoor, underground, and underwater 3D environments. Blast away at the military targets, watch out for their return fire, race to locate the portal, and activate the gateway into the next world before the clock runs down and your fuel runs out. Barrage can be beautiful with a fast processor, lots of RAM, and a good 3D accelerator. If you don't have one of those spectacular machines the game may not look the greatest, but it's still not bad and the game play is still fast. The explosions are still fantastic and the array of weapons just as tantalizing. The game controls were kind of confusing. I was using my joystick, but I found that after using and configuring all the joystick buttons, I had to go to the keyboard for basic maneuvering controls. Using the keyboard alone is a better idea because all the controls reside in one place. I said at the beginning that I don't really like sims. Well, this one is different. Although it did get a bit repetitive after a while (shoot, kill destroy, shoot, kill destroy, etc.), the excellent graphics and different game levels (underwater, top-side canyons, etc.), kept me going. Barrage provides different cockpit views, and you can experiment with them to determine which one suits you best. Your viewpoint is important in Barrage, because your enemies can be anything from a turret-mounted plasma gun, to a helicopter hovering above you. Even on the 'Easy' game play setting, Barrage finds a few ways to challenge you. The views are important, especially when battling in Grand Canyon or Downtown Chicago. On a scale of 1 to 5, I rate Barrage a 3.5. People who aren't as prejudiced as I am toward flight sims might even give Barrage a 4. Cons: Needs a fast PII system with 3D accelerator. The weapons selection is tantalizing, but there should still be more weapons. Sound and music are OK but not great - the 'recorded' quality is reasonable but the music itself is not that inspiring. Pros: Great graphics. Fun and mostly exciting game play. Lots of game levels and the action is great. Recommended. Game Development - Mango Grits Publisher - Activision Barrage Game - http://www.mangogrits.com Publisher - http://www.activision.com 7=> Product: Classic Angels Screen Savers, graphics Reviewed By: Howard Carson, mailto:howardcarson@home.com Requires: Windows 95 & 98, 486DX66 or higher PC, 256 colors or higher, 16MB RAM, 16MB hard drive space MSRP: US$12.99 Classic Angels Screen Savers is one entry in a long line of low-priced releases from Expert Software. This entry provides access to a gallery of fine Angel art from the four corners of the world. The images supplied for use as Windows wallpaper and screen savers are scanned photos of renowned paintings by some of the great Classical, Renaissance, Baroque, and Impressionist masters who dabbled in Angels. Rubens, Fra Angelica, Da Vinci, Beato, Rosso, Memling, Da Forli, Lutyens, Cezanne, Mancini, Castigliani, and half a dozen others are represented. Most of the images are distinctly secular in nature, so if you like this sort of thing, neither religious, orthodox nor agnostic scruples should be offended. The software was tested on two machines: a Pentium II/350MHz sporting an ATI All-in-Wonder Pro video card and running Windows 98, and a Pentium 233MHz with a 4MB Matrox Millennium video card running Windows 95. Installation on both machines was quick and apparently flawless. Configuring Classic Angels Screen Savers is managed through a custom dialog. It can be called from the Start menu or the Windows System Tray. The software also registers itself in the Screen Saver tab of the Display dialog in Windows Control Panel. Unfortunately, selecting the 'angel' item from the screen saver list simply launches the custom dialog. This wouldn't be so bad except for the fact that the dialog is somewhat less than intuitive to use, and its on-line help is rudimentary. What's worse is that the rudimentary help is actually wrong in certain cases. For example, the instruction for setting the date on which a certain image should be displayed is incorrect (and the date you set is never saved anyway - you can click 'Apply' until you're blue in the face). On both machines, at least one-third of the on-line text was obscured by part of the dialog graphic and could not be scrolled into view. The screen saver images can be set as Windows wallpaper. They can be set to cycle randomly, and there are quite a few baroque and classical MIDI compositions which can be set to play when the screen saver kicks in. Berkeley Systems, the company which pioneered the use of screen savers as entertainment with its After Dark(R) product, has stated many times that real screen saving is a thing of the past. I agree. Modern monitors are better off being 'saved' by Windows' power management feature. So if you decide to purchase Classic Angels Screen Savers, do so only because you're interested in some excellent classical paintings to display on your desktop. Cons: The custom date settings didn't work on the test machines. Expert Software constantly comes up with good ideas, then does a poor job of execution. Expert's good performance and sales in the marketplace are baffling, except for the fact that all their products are inexpensive. There were several bad screen redraws in the configuration dialog. Some of the on-line help instructions are incorrect. Most of the MIDI compositions had audible glitches (neither of the test machines had problems reproducing MIDI files from other sources). Pros: There are some gorgeous images in the collection, many of which are very hard to find. Expert Software Classic Angels Screen Savers Product Web site: http://www.expertsoftware.com 8=> Product: Creating Paint Shop Pro Web Graphics, book Reviewed By: Don Hughes, mailto:dhughes.reviewcdn@home.com Written By: Andy Anderson with Brad Castle, Lori Davis, Pat Kalbaugh, Robin Kirkey, Dick Oliver. Price: $44.99 USA ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Buy Creating Paint Shop Pro Web Graphics at Amazon.Com Now and Support CompuNotes! Amazon.Com - about $35.99 -- Click Here: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0966288904/compunotes ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Creating Paint Shop Pro Web Graphics is a 384 page, full color hands on training guide. I especially liked the many color illustrations and screen shots used throughout the book--a refreshing change of format. However, as colorful as this book is the real meat and potatoes of any instructional text rests in the author's ability to transmit information without boring the reader. Having been a fan of Paint Shop Pro, by Jasc Software for many years I especially enjoyed utilizing some of the tips and examples listed in the book. The guide contain four major section and a total of sixteen chapters: Part 1 Web Graphics Basics, Part II Making Great Images, Part III Advanced Image Techniques, and Part IV Practical Use of Images on Your Web Pages. In the introduction "What You'll Learn in the Book", the author states the following: ...This book teaches you how to effectively master Paint Shop Pro 5, one of the worlds leading graphics...learn how to use impressive tools and techniques to create great graphics for your Web sites...create graphics from scratch...every graphic within the books companion web site has been created and edited with Paint Shop Pro...I will not only explain how to use this excellent product, but show you as well. This book is written for anyone who wants to become skilled creating web page graphics or building a web pages. The simplicity of Creating Paint Shop Pro Web Graphics is a how to guide and the author takes a user through the creativity process one step at a time. However, I recommend that you download the 30-day Paint Shop Pro trial or purchase the program, prior to purchasing this book. Then find your self some quiet time, sit down at your computer fire up Paint Shop Pro, open the book to page eleven "A Web Crawlers Beginning" and prepare to have fun with graphics. Be prepared for an intensive, and yet entertaining trip into the world of web graphics as the sixteen chapters include: Web Crawlers Beginning, Using and Installing Paint Shop Pro, Creating Simple Graphics, Editing Images, and Photos, Images and Special Effects, Picture Tubes, and Web Graphics, Using Paint Shop Pro Layers, Using Scanners and Digital Cameras, Creating Transparent GIFs, Moving Graphics: GIF Animations, Making Your Graphics Lean, Web Graphics as Image Maps, Background Graphics and Colors, HTML Tips for Web Images, Cool Paint Shop Techniques. Various graphics formats are explained in the text, and their usage: ...GIF (Graphical Interchange Format) 256 colors used for creating logos, icons, headlines or small images...JPG (JPEG Joint Photographic Experts Group) 16.7 million colors used for Photographs or images based on originally on photographs...PNG (Portable Network Graphics) 16.7 million colors used when you know all your visitors have current Web Browsers that support PNG format. The default Paint Shop Pro's format is PSP, which allows the user to edit and create advanced images, then save them in GIF, PNG, JPG formats or any other popular image you might need when creating a Web page. Today Many Internet providers allow customers free web page space on their system to create personal web pages. Creating Paint Shop Pro Web Graphics, by Andy Shafran and using Jacs's Paint Shop Pro program will help you design a successful and interesting Web Site. Web Site: http://www.muskalipman.com ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Buy Creating Paint Shop Pro Web Graphics at Amazon.Com Now and Support CompuNotes! Amazon.Com - about $35.99 -- Click Here: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0966288904/compunotes ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 9=> Product: Symantec Norton HelpDesk Assistant, utility Reviewed By: Howard Carson & Proton Research, mailto:howardcarson@home.com Requires: (Administrator) Windows NT4 (SP3 or higher), P166 or higher, 64MB RAM, 120MB hard disk space, MS Management Console 1.1, IE4.01 or higher, Remote Procedure Call enabled; (Clients) Windows 3.1/DOS (386/286 CPU, 8MB RAM, 20MB hard disk space), Windows 95/98 (486/66MHz CPU or higher, 16MB RAM, 175MB hard disk space), Windows NT4 Workstation (486/66MHz CPU or higher, 24MB RAM, 175MB hard disk space) MSRP: US$115/per seat for 100 seats The technical support from software and hardware manufacturers that most of us understand is a matter for conjecture, demand, argument, endless waiting on the telephone, days of waiting for an e-mail response, off-the-shelf responses (most of the time), dissatisfaction (often because of our own technical ineptness), and sometimes outright anger and a tirade directed at someone who's just doing a very difficult job. Occasionally we get the answers we need very quickly, exchanging pleasantries with the helpful person at the other end of a telephone call or an e-mail response. There's another kind of technical support though - the kind that often makes the difference between a company project being finished on time, or being disastrously late. The largest corporate networks resemble nothing so much as large clusters of users gathered in one concentrated mass, all pounding away at similar sets of software and operating systems, usually making use of a fabulous hodge-podge of hardware and creative influences. It's a fascinating circumstance, but it can also make a person cry - especially when something goes wrong. Picture yourself as a momentarily important cog in some giant corporate machine. You've got to meet a deadline (finish a PowerPoint presentation, finish a creative brief with fancy graphics, complete a technical spec, layout an overview of an ad campaign, update some giant spreadsheet, write some code, etc.), and at the worst possible moment something crashes on you, or your system locks up, and all you get out of a reboot is the sinking feeling that your computer is *really* unstable, the files you were working on are lost for all time, and the inexorably creeping chill of realization which goes hand in hand with abject panic. What do you do? In traditional corporate environments you can call an Information Services or Information Technologies (IS/IT) person and beg for help. You promise the person an entire week of free lunches if they will only drop what they're doing at that moment and fix your computer. You promise to give them a huge Christmas present. You promise to pay their children's college tuition; anything to get help. In some companies you may even find an Operator; someone assigned specifically to remedy difficult problems. This person is often not motivated by the same panic as that which grips you at some importune moment. Most Operators (sitting in an office often called the Help Desk) invariably display a different set of priorities from the ones which are driving you at any particular moment. Life as only a single cell of a giant corporate hydra can really suck sometimes. So what do you do? There's always suicide of course, but the latest trends in corporate culture seem to eschew the use of ceremonial swords at lunch time. The problems remain, the problems are legion, and the solutions are usually beyond the means of most of us. There are other problems too, looking at things from a different perspective. As a hard-working IS/IT manager, what the heck do you do when its time to roll out Office 2000 across an entire local 1000 seat network and all of the remote laptops (or across a 50, 60, 100, or 500 seat network for that matter)? Few IS/IT or Operations departments these days have the budgets to afford a dozen or more staff who can be deployed to install upgrades. Concurrently, very executive, management, accounting, marketing, and other employees across any enterprise can be trusted to devote the time necessary to properly install upgrades or new applications at their own workstations themselves. So how the heck does the IS/IT department unsure that upgrades are fully and properly installed on every single computer in the network? Do short-staffed IS/IT departments have to visit every single workstation to ensure that upgrades are fully and properly installed in a timely manner? Up until recently, that was certainly the case. Symantec has recognized all of the foregoing deep-rooted problems and has ridden to the rescue with something called Norton HelpDesk Assistant. It's a rather simple, straightforward and effective approach to a vast, pervasive 'network' of productivity software and operating system problems. Symantec Norton HelpDesk Assistant allows support staffs to not only take over remote or directly networked desktops, but to quickly diagnose and fix PC problems. In typical medium to large network environments (500-5,000 PCs), an employee reporting trouble with some piece of software or howling about some perceived OS aggravation will be greeted with what's commonly known as a Trouble Ticket (TT); essentially a service order which is issued describing the problem. The TT is placed into a priority system which eventually spits it out again in the direction of some IS person or Operator who will (if they're not waylaid by some other person with an even more urgent problem) haul off to the offending workstation. HelpDesk helps to eliminate the long waits associated with overworked IS staff and Operators, by providing remote access to networked and remote workstations and a deeply comprehensive set of software analysis and repair tools. Setting up this type of Help Desk environment might seem like a complex task to undertake, but Symantec has taken a 'let's not rediscover the wheel' type of approach. Using a client/server type of design to take advantage of traditional networking, various control computers (servers) on an NT network are set up with the Norton System Center part of the HelpDesk suite. System Center can be used to remotely access networked PCs, and to install and configure software on PCs throughout the network. The control and workstation PCs are set up with pcAnywhere 32, which allows help desk staff to remotely access all the PCs on the network. pcAnywhere 32 helps eliminate a large number of desktop/office visits to solve problems. Each PC in the network is also equipped with Norton Utilities, Symantec's well-known product designed solely for optimization and trouble shooting of independent or networked PCs. The fourth software application in the HelpDesk suite is something called Norton Ghost. It's a highly useful little utility which allows you to clone a hard drive setup (OS, installed software, etc., etc.), then literally re-image a whole series of hard drives thereby creating identical setups on each one. For network administrators, identical base systems created with Ghost are a genuine blessing because the analysis 'playing field' is leveled. The software set up and configuration becomes a standardized (and therefore more clearly understood) factor. The Symantec Norton HelpDesk Assistant CD also contains Norton CrashGuard and Norton AntiVirus as part of the general Norton Utilities installation. Both of these utilities are industry standards, and Norton AntiVirus in particular is widely regarded as the best application in its class. Although the Proton Research network is small (60 PC workstations driving a dozen servers) we decided to do a full installation of HelpDesk. We already use Norton Utilities and Ghost to reduce problems, so the Symantec approach to things was not unfamiliar. Full remote access to network PCs was a new experience however, and pcAnywhere 32 certainly lived up to its billing as an industry-leading remote access tool. Installation of pcAnywhere 32 is essentially a two-step process: the Client must be installed on individual workstations and the Host application must be installed on the main control server being used to access and service the individual workstations. In an effort to stress HelpDesk we set up a series of problems simultaneously throughout the network: 1 - E-mail virus EXE attachments on workstations without anti-virus protection. 2 - Word file attachments containing known macro virii on workstations without anti-virus protection. 3 - Beta software installations with known priority one bugs (crashes). 4 - Heavily fragmented hard drives on 10 workstations. 5 - Software installed and run without a system re-start. 6 - Miscellaneous natural problems which occur on a daily basis in a 60 seat network, including the failure of staff to backup documents stored on local hard drives, and instabilities introduced by installations of unauthorized software (games, utilities, etc.) Problem 1 & 2 - Remotely installing Norton AntiVirus on individual workstations throughout the network proved to be extremely easy. An internal phone call to IS/IT and a description of the problems allowed IS/IT staff to target Outlook 98 and Exchange Server with ease. In the course of remedying problem 2, we actually discovered a research assistant who was still using Office 95 (when the person should have upgraded to Office 97 more than a year ago). A remote upgrade was done, and IS/IT subsequently checked all systems on the network to ensure compliance with enterprise-wide software standards. A variety of non-compliant systems were discovered and upgraded (and in one case an entire workstation system was replaced). Problem 3 - Norton System Utilities were triggered remotely to help analyze problems with low-level applications (Explorer, System Tray, and so on, as well as known-flaky beta software), which in some cases resulted in instructions to restart or cold boot a workstation. Determinations were easily made about the reason for the crashes. IS/IT remotely identified problem software and only after that identification was made did the workstation user reveal a confirmation (we kept all problems confidential so that IS/IT ended up being restricted to HelpDesk). IS/IT almost immediately created an 'All Staff' e-mail forbidding the installation of unauthorized beta software. Problem 4 - Once again, Norton Utilities were used to diagnose the cause of very slow operation. We actually did not set this up deliberately; there really were at least 10 workstations with one or two heavily fragmented hard drives each. In all situations IS/IT ran SpeedDisk to defrag the hard drives after each person was done with their workstation for the day. One workstation hard drive was so badly fragmented that it had to be re-Ghosted (it only took 1 hour to backup the document directory, re-format the hard drive and Ghost a standard setup back onto it. Going through the (in this case extremely lengthy) defragging process might have taken all night. In such situations it's typical for a hard drive to trigger a thermal shut down from the endless thrashing, making it likely that the defragmentation process might never finish. Ghosting a prepared setup onto the drive is a fast, easy solution for workstations which rarely have anything more than a standard setup installed for regular use. Some workstations will have users who require lots of ancillary software, so re-Ghosting such machines can mean lots of downtime while the user re-installs all the extra stuff. In those cases, IS has to decide whether or not the potential for an unsuccessful defrag (and the time needed to repeat the process) outweighs the amount of time needed to re-Ghost the system and install the extras again. Problem 5 - Plenty of employees in a variety of enterprises have not been properly trained in the art of software installation. If you're using Windows, you've got to restart your computer after installing just about anything. Fail to do so and you risk creating an unstable working environment. Too few companies train their staff on anything computer-related (and even computer companies often hire people who are less computer literate than they should be). HelpDesk was used to remedy a bunch of small problems which resulted from a lack of computer literacy including such things as documents and data files strewn all over the main hard drive rather than organized properly in a subdivided documents directory. Problem 6 - It was a pleasure to be able to remotely access individual workstations and set up automatic backups of document directories. Far too many people fail to organize regular backups, and in a busy research office that is an unacceptable state of affairs. pcAnywhere 32 allowed the same IS/IT people who had previously sweated through various Undelete-type file rescue missions, to avoid much of the need for such efforts by simply setting up automatic nightly backup routines on various workstations. The problem of unauthorized software installed on company workstations was remedied by simple deletions and a subsequent registry clean up. The hue and cry over invasions of privacy died down after it was pointed out that the 'wounded' individuals didn't actually own the PCs or the network. Some may argue, but the fact remains that most companies pay their staff to work on company projects rather than spending time playing games, surfing for pornography, and other non-business related pursuits. Cons: True remote control over Windows on workstations is not quite here yet. pcAnywhere 32 should evolve into something perfect in the not too distant future however. pcAnywhere 32 can be used to poke around in workstations and will invariably reveal things that just shouldn't be there. There are a few moral, legal, and ethical problems which arise in such situations and IS/IT managers, CEOs, Operations managers, HR managers and others need to create strict rules and regulations governing how deeply the company can poke into staff workstations. If Operations has the responsibility for overseeing IS/IT in most corporate environments, then the Operations manager or director has an obligation to keep a very close eye indeed on how effectively and legally tools like pcAnywhere 32 are being used. IS/IT managers and administrators who have some greater independent authority will do well to inform themselves about just how far they can pry into ostensibly private areas of networked PCs. Pros: pcAnywhere 32, despite some reservations, is a powerful tool; it's AutoXfer feature can be used to automatically transfer and synchronize files across a variety of systems to ensure access to the most current versions (a very important need in a research office). In addition, deploying pre-configured software updates across the network was an IS/IT dream come true. The days when various workstations on a network were running disparate (and sometimes incompatible) versions of some enterprise-standard software should be long gone. For busy IS/IT, Operations, and general network and Help Desk-type support departments, Symantec Norton HelpDesk Assistant is an excellent, robust, package which can quickly and easily be deployed across an enterprise. The result will be less downtime, more efficient, reliable, and productive staff, and faster solutions to previously time-consuming problems. Symantec Norton HelpDesk Assistant is highly recommended for administrators of small, medium, and large networks. Symantec Symantec Norton HelpDesk Assistant Product Web site: http://www.symantec.com 10=> Product: Que!(tm) CD-RW external PC USB drive, hardware Reviewed By: Howard Carson & Proton Research, mailto:howardcarson@home.com Requires: Windows 98 recommended. Windows USB driver downloaded from QPS Web site MSRP: US$299.95 Designed originally for iMac(tm) and Apple G3 computers in matching case colors, the QPS QUE! drive is now being offered in a neutral gray and white case, along with a USB driver for Windows 98. The 4x2x8 CD-ReWritable (CD-RW) drive offers an easy way to record, erase, and rewrite CD-RW media again and again. It's ideal for archiving and exchanging any kind of data, including audio. The CDs are fully compatible with all CD-ROM drives and audio players. The drive itself can also serve as a primary or secondary CD drive for any Windows 98 PC. This review is similar to the original QUE! review published in CompuNotes a couple of months ago. That review was strictly for iMac and G3 addicts however. This reprise has been written mainly because QPS Inc. decided to release a free USB driver for Windows 98, and offer the QUE! drive in a neutral case color. With the popularity of digital still cameras, digital video cameras, color desktop publishing, and editing with software such as VideoWave II, VideoStudio, PhotoSuite II & III, PictureIt and many others, the space required to store your work expands at an alarming rate. CD-RW is a fast, reliable, almost universally usable and portable solution because CD-RW disks can be read on any computer with a CD-ROM drive. Although the recording and re-recording process is not as fast as a hard drive or Jaz drive, the process is more than fast enough for backups, off-line storage, portable storage, off-site recording, and general data exchange. The PC/Windows version of the Que! drive is a top quality, consumer, external USB CD-RW drive which uses the identical drive electronics and transport as those found in the iMac version. In addition to its 4X write and 2X rewrite speeds, the Que! offers 8X reads of CD, CD-R, and CD-RW media. It can sustain a fast data transfer rate of up to 600KB/sec (4x write speed), with a 2MB RAM buffer to support greater application flexibility. You can also drag a full 1200KB/sec out of it (8x read speed). The drive can be used to create standard capacity 650MB data CDs and 74 minute audio CDs. It also has a front panel audio output jack (mini-plug) for private listening. As in the original iMac review, technical testing revealed the published specs to be right on the money. QPS bundles Easy CD Creator software for Windows with the PC version of the QUE! drive. You may want to upgrade to Adaptec's Easy CD Creator Deluxe however; it's available for purchase and download from most software e-commerce sites. The Que! CD-RW was tested on two Windows boxes: a Pentium II/350 MHz machine with 128MB of RAM running Windows 98, and a Micron P166MMX machine with 64 MB of RAM running Windows 98. We tried to install the QUE! drive on a USB equipped Windows 95 machine (another PII/350), but could not get the driver to work. We suspect bugs in the generally poor USB support in Windows 95 to be the problem. Field testing this drive was a pleasure. We 'tapped' a musician friend who does regular gigs in and around the Toronto area, to use the QUE! for a live location, spooled backup recording (originating from a SCSI hard drive). Although there were some obvious throughput problems, they all resulted from lagging at the PC USB port and poor application usage of the CPU, not the QUE!'s ability to handle fast backup throughput. In-house testing of the QUE! drive focused on daily backup chores for one of our research servers. It was the work of a few minutes to erase the previous day's backup document files, and set up a new 'burn' using the same CD-RW disk. Over a period of two weeks, maintaining daily backups of refreshed documents needed only for 24 hour periods, we saved a cool sixty bucks worth of blank, standard CD-R media. As this review is being written, four weeks since beginning the long term testing, we've assigned the QUE! drive to several other CD-RW tasks and are currently adding up over 250 bucks worth of savings in CD-R media. Not bad. Cons: We still get the occasional ruined CD-RW disk. The main reason is throughput across the USB port, CPU busy problems, and a host of other odds & ends which can wreck a recording session. iMacs are a little better than even the fastest PCs when it comes to avoiding ruined CD-Rs and CD-RWs, and SCSI has its attractions too, but neither operating system and hardware architecture has anything to brag about. Pros: The drive is unusually quiet for an external unit, adding almost no additional noise to the working environment. A carrying case with storage space for AC & USB cables as well as the drive and some CD-RW disks is supplied with the unit. The QUE! is ideal for portable applications such as video shoots, audio recording sessions, presentations, etc. It's also an excellent choice for backups, large file transfers, incremental storage, music recording and about a thousand other uses. Highly recommended. QPS (Quality Performance Service) Inc. Que! external CD-RW USB drive for Windows (downloadable PC USB driver) Web Site: http://www.qps-inc.com 11=> Product: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Running Your Small Office with Microsoft Office, book Reviewed by: Howard Carson, mailto:howardcarson@home.com Written by: Laurie Ulrich with John San Filippo MSRP: US$16.99, Cdn$24.95, UKú15.49 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Buy The Complete Idiot's Guide to Running Your Small Office with Microsoft Office at Amazon.Com Now and Support CompuNotes! Amazon.Com - about $13.59 -- Click Here: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0789717484/compunotes ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The "Idiot's" guides are QUE's answer to the "Dummies" series by IDG Books. QUE is a division of Macmillan Computer Publishing. The Idiot's and Dummies books have been hugely popular, no doubt because of the simpler, straightforward language used to introduce and describe the subject matter. This entry in the Idiot's series is a brand new title. It addresses a need for some comprehensive guidance for SOHO and small business owners who are just stepping into serious decisions about computer hardware and software. The book also provides advice about managing a small enterprise with the latest, commonly available technologies. Divided into four main parts, the book organizes decision making about technology purchases and usage - everything from modems and printers, to financial software, office software and computer hardware - into bite-sized chapters. The title indicates that the contents of the book only relate to using Microsoft Office(R). But there's more here than just Microsoft Office advice. Part 1 of the book deals mainly with the general decision making process which occurs when starting and managing a small business. Part 2, Mastering Business Communication, is a wellspring of good, thorough advice on everything from proper writing techniques, faxing, creating reports, doing research, using e-mail, and using the Internet. There are loads of useful examples to get you moving in the right direction. Heed the warnings about relying solely on the spelling and grammar checking in Microsoft Office. Always proofread your work (or better still, have someone else do it), before you use it. Part 3 is a love-in with Microsoft Office. While it's true that Microsoft Office is a terrifically versatile performer, there are some things (such as desktop publishing) which it doesn't do too well at all. In any event, the book is supposed to be about Microsoft Office and Part 3 is a storehouse of good advice. Part 4 deals with time and project management using the excellent tools supplied with Microsoft Office. As with all those who've started and succeeded in SOHO or small business, the author has absolutely no qualms about emphasizing the need to use proven time and project management methods. You'll find tried and true techniques as well as solid advice which caters directly to those who have wrapped their office environments around computers and software. There are some pieces of advice offered which should be observed with some caution. I disagree with these items, but others (Laurie Ulrich included obviously) believe they're OK. You be the judge: 1 - Advice about using a shredder on financial and other confidential documents is interesting, but it doesn't address the fact that less paper in a small office is better. Why print sensitive stuff in the first place? 2 - The recommendation to have fax, voice mail, pager, cell phone, e-mail, and regular phone all ready at hand doesn't deal with the fact that most small business people cannot handle the load of sorting through information coming from too many lines of communication. You only have one mouth to speak out of, and one pair of hands to type with. If you're on your cell phone, how do you answer your office phone? Use a fax machine for contract drafts, not regular communications. Use a cell phone to stay in touch with your office or your voice mail, not to conduct regular business. Cell phone rates are still too expensive. Don't split long distance rates over too many phone numbers; it dilutes your discounts. Give people your office phone number, your fax number, and your e-mail. If you are constantly on the road visiting clients, use a pager rather than a cell phone and use your clients' office phone to call your own office or the next customer. If you have to call long distance, use a calling card which is tied to your main number in order to take advantage of discounts. Work smart. Work economically. 3 - The book suggests a 600 dpi laser printer for the production of camera-ready and photocopy-ready printed output. But the same thing can be achieved with 720dpi and higher color inkjet and bubblejet printers. The output is better than a laser and you get good color in the bargain. 4 - The book suggests that leasing your computer hardware is a viable option. Every consumer watchdog in North America and Europe says leasing is a poor deal. At tax time, you can't deduct the depreciation of your hardware and you can't deduct the original capitalized cost as an office expense. 5 - The book suggests there are a range of legitimate uses for laptop computers. Stay away from laptops unless you travel a lot. Laptops are as much as four times more costly to upgrade than desktop computers, and they're a target for thieves. Many IS/IT professionals refer to laptops as disposable computers, which is a frightening way to refer to such initially expensive machines. 6 - The book suggests renting software from public libraries in order to 'test drive' the stuff. The book also suggests the use of shareware products. If you're a bit of a software novice don't do it - you don't yet really know what you're supposed to be testing. Stick with the proven packages: Microsoft Office, Corel WordPerfect Suite, Star Office, or the Microsoft Works software bundled with your new computer. Stay away from shareware and freeware until you're no longer a novice. Cons: There's no critical comparison between Microsoft Office and Corel WordPerfect Office. Many programmers will take exception to Laurie Ulrich's definition for Shareware in the glossary at the back of the book. Some of the other glossary definitions are either incomplete, or complete non-sequiturs (have at look at the definition of RAM for instance). Pros: Part 4, which deals with time and project management, is particularly good. The book is well organized and easy to read. Despite some criticisms, it's a good buy, a worthwhile read, and a good guide to using Microsoft Office in your SOHO or small business. If you're new to computers, software, SOHO, or small business this book should go on your "must-read" list. Check it out. QUE The Complete Idiot's Guide to Running Your Small Office with Microsoft Office Product Web site: http://www.mcp.com ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Buy The Complete Idiot's Guide to Running Your Small Office with Microsoft Office at Amazon.Com Now and Support CompuNotes! Amazon.Com - about $13.59 -- Click Here: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0789717484/compunotes ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= Managing Editor: Patrick Grote -- mailto:pgrote@i1.net Assistant Editor: Doug Reed-- mailto:dr2web@sprynet.com Assistant Editor: Robin Nobles, mailto:smslady@netdoor.com Archives: ftp://ftp.compunotes.com/pub/archive Website: e-mail: mailto:notes@compunotes.com Want to Write for Us?: mailto:writers@compunotes.com fax: (314) 909-1662 voice: (314) 909-1662 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= CompuNotes is: Available weekly via e-mail and on-line. We cover the PC computing world with comprehensive reviews, news, hot web sites, great columns and interviews. We also give away one software package a week to a lucky winner for just reading our fine publication! Never dull, sometimes tardy, we are here to bring you the computing world the way it is! Please tell every on-line friend about us! CompuNotes B440 1114 West Essex Ave. St. Louis, MO 63122 notes@compunotes.com (C)1999 Patrick Grote ISSN: 1525-4534