SMUG - December Upgrade

SMUG - December Upgrade



Author: Joe Duroux

Date: December, 1993

Keywords: update bureaucracy

Text:
After an auction of a few donated items and the usual lottery among
members for review products, the November meeting had three speakers.
The fourth  speaker was  rescheduled due to lack of time.
First, Grady Ward described his very effective encryption program
called PGP. It enables the sender of a message to encrypt it, knowing
only the recipient's public code. But that recipient's private code is
needed to decrypt it. Its basic algorithm has been known in the
mathematical community for some time, but only recently have personal
computers been able to use it with high security at practical speeds.
PGP applies it to text or data files and also includes a file
compression capability. It was developed using MSDOS, and the Mac
version is admittedly somewhat clumsy.  The encrypted data is
independent of the platform and can be sent between a Mac and an MSDOS
or Windows computer when both have the PGP software. Encryption devices
like PGP have a problem with law enforcement organizations because of
their possible use to hide illegal activities. At the federal level,
such devices can't be exported or made available to aliens for national
security reasons.
Mark Hall of Capital Business Machines showed us his Newton and
demonstrated some of its capabilities. Its applications are in ROM. The
default application is a note pad An address file and a date book are
also built in. Additional applications and functions will become
available on cards. It really can read your handwriting, but of course
you have to teach it first by feeding it samples. Or a screen palette
can be displayed to act as a keyboard.
Next, Andy Alm described his activities with young people using
Internet and other electronic bulletin boards to learn about other
people's cultures, living conditions, and needs. He gave examples of
cases in which young students, using Internet, had helped people in
other parts of the world to obtain things that they needed but didn't
know how to get. The students are also collecting useful environmental
data, in a network of locations, using simple instruments, and
communicating it to environmental organizations. Can school children
save the world? If this program keeps expanding, they could help.
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I'm starting to coordinate an effort to develop a program of basic
instruction in the use of the Mac. Now that our group has become fairly
large (113 members the last I heard), we have many members who are new
to computers, or at least new to the Mac. And some of our members would
like to get up to speed with the latest system upgrades. So, I'm
starting by asking for volunteers to be instructors in Basic Mac use.
Common applications like word processing and spreadsheets will be used
to illustrate operations that are common to many applications. If you
are willing to teach a class, and you feel that you are qualified to do
so, please send a brief resume to me personally on the BBS, or by mail
at 
P. O. Box 2428, Arcata 95521. I'd also like to hear from those
interested in taking such a class and what you would like to see
covered. Depending on the response, I'll arrange for a time and a place
to hold the class - or classes.
If this initial class is successful, we may try classes in the
intermediate use of certain common applications. For more advanced use,
we will see if there is interest in forming special interest groups
(SIGs) as subgroups of SMUG. Some of the larger Mac user groups have
been very successful with SIGs. Their meetings (held as often as
desired) can be like seminars in different ways of using certain
applications. Or some meetings can be just general discussions about
the SIG topic. Each SIG will need a coordinator. Let me know what kinds
of SIGs you want and whether you would be willing to be a coordinator.
Use the SIG conference on the BBS for this purpose. This conference
will be used for all communications having to do with classes or SIGs.

Reminder: This month is the last chance for students to join, or to
extend their existing memberships, at the old price of $10. In 1994, a
student membership will cost $15.
   -    -     -     -   

Bulletin: New Products Available for Review in December:
*      CopyDoubler - From Symantec. Quick file copier that works in the
background. 
*      Spiral (PB notetaking utility) - From TechWorks. Electronic note
taking application. 
*      Adobe Acrobat Starter Kit (for 12 work stations) - From Adobe.
View and print documents across computer platforms without
compatibility problems.  
*      Print Shop Deluxe - From Broderdund. New for the Mac!
*      Kid Cuts - From Broderbund. Over 200 fun projects to design,
print & assemble for children from 4 to 12 from the publishers of Kid
Pix.
*      Crystal Crazy - From Casady & Greene. A game that continues the
great arcade action where Crystal Quest left off.
*      SpaceWay 2000 - From Casady & Greene. Escape the alien-infested
intergalactic freeway!

Products Available for Review in January:
*      Common Ground - From No Hands Software. Distribute documents
between widely divergent computer setups and applications.
*      Ascend (From Franklin Quest, a Mac PIM, plus ten 60-day Ascend
evaluation disks to give away :)
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