The following is the eighteenth newsletter of Digit-Eyes:
the Chicago Blind computer Users' Network. The initiative is
built on the principles of self-development, mutual aid,
cooperative learning and peer mentoring. For back issues and to
learn more about us, check out our home page at
http://homepage.interaccess.com/~b_b
to join us online, subscribe to the visually Impaired computer
User group List at [log in to unmask] In the body
of the message, simply type "subscribe vicug-l" without the
quotations.
Kelly
COMPUTER USERS NETWORK NEWS
Adaptive Technology
for the Blind and Visually-Impaired
Vol. IV, no. 2 Spring, 1998
Published quarterly by
Digit-Eyes
Blind Service Association
22 West Monroe Street
Chicago, Illinois 60603
voice-mail: 312-458-9006
Copyright 1998
Editor: Cindy Brown
Project Coordinator: David Porter
MISSION STATEMENT
Our mission is to provide a vehicle for our consumers to
share information with each other. This is accomplished by
stimulating the pro-active involvement of our readers.
CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE
SUBSCRIPTION/MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION .................. 3
CHECK US OUT ......................................... 3
WHAT CAN I SAY . . . ?
by Cindy Brown .................................. 3
COGNOSCENTAE NEWS .................................... 3
DIGIT-EYES: ANNUAL REPORT
by David Porter ................................. 4
WINDOWS 95 EXPLAINED by Sarah Morley
reviewed by Cindy Brown ........................ 9
TEAMWORK ............................................. 10
JUSTIFICATION FOR HIGHER EDUCATION
contributed by Steve Zielinsky .................. 12
THE CHIP by T.R. Reid
reviewed by Nate Branson ........................ 13
VIRUSES CAN BE FUN!
contributed by Steve Zielinsky .................. 14
FYI .................................................. 17
DATES TO REMEMBER! ................................... 17
SUBSCRIPTION/MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION
A subscription for the Computer Users Network News is
included in the Digit-Eyes annual membership donation of fifteen
dollars or more. The newsletter is available on cassette tape or
in print. It is also accessible on-line. Each annual membership
entitles you to all issues for that particular calendar year.
To begin or renew your membership in our network, please
send your contribution along with your name and address to Blind
Service Association, indicating your intention to join Digit-
Eyes, and specifying in which of the above formats you wish to
receive your newsletters.
--------
CHECK US OUT
You can check us out on the web page made available to us
through Vipace. You'll find current and back issues of this
newsletter. That's at
http://www.city-net.com/vipace/friends/chicago.
You can also check out our upcoming events by listening to
the message on our voice-mail line: 312-458-9006.
----------------
WHAT CAN I SAY?
by Cindy Brown
Yeah--I know--this issue is w-a-y overdue! It has not been
for lack of trying. But again we have had problems with this
wonderful apparatus which we pay homage to in our newsletter.
Oh, well--each problem brings new opportunities for learning.
So--one thing I've learned is that Windows 95 won't run with a
DOS version less than 7.0. And the second thing I've learned is
that I should not use a boot disk for DOS 6.2.
We also want to apologize for the blank space in the middle
of the last taped version. Those involved with the taping will
do their best to avoid such occurrences in the future.
--------
COGNOSCENTAE NEWS
by CindyBrown
At the May 13 meeting of the Cognoscentae, the following
decisions were made:
The annual membership directory will be reinstituted, with
Anna Byrne in charge of the project.
The voice-mail announcement will be updated every 2 weeks,
and will include information for the next 4 weeks.
A committee is studying the possibility of developing a
library of technology-related materials, available to Digit-Eyes
members only.
The newsletter will reduce the number of issues from six to
four per year. Thus there will be only two more issues for
1998. --------
DIGIT-EYES: THE CHICAGO COMPUTER USERS NETWORK
1997 ANNUAL REPORT
by David Porter
I have been the project coordinator of Digit-Eyes, the
Chicago blind computer users network, for three exhilarating,
challenging, engaging, and sometimes frustrating years. I have
seen initiatives kick in and faze out. I have seen many people
sift through our bevy of projects and come out more confident,
purposeful, sometimes confused, and perhaps more focused. It has
been an enlightening, intriguing, and exciting experience. A
look at the past year's happenings will best tell our story.
Over the past year, 186 of us engaged in a blizzard of
network projects. We held 12 general seminars. They continue to
occur on the First Saturday of each month. In January we
conducted an Opening Windows-95 overview and training session.
In February we held a Computers from the Beginning seminar which
included
installation of programs, what various components are, look like,
feel like, and do. In March we had a Lynx based online seminar.
April saw an adaptive low vision equipment technique show&tell.
In May we took our first stab at audio on the Internet. It
included a Posse computer-repair workshop, and a peer training
Windows presentation. In June we conducted an Internet Web tour
using Commo, a site show&tell and a peer training strategy
workshop. In July we had a Computers-for-Kids day--Pathways to
Careers: High School Internet as a Tool. August saw an advocacy
presentation called Adaptive Technology and the Rehabilitation
System. In September we held an intensive advocacy seminar--What
Do You Want? What Do You Need to Know About Manipulating
Information About Adaptive Technology? and a Note-Taking and
Personal Information Coordination Organization chautauqua. In
October we had a JFW W95 access to windows seminar. We also made
two off-site presentations at the Discovery97 Low Vision
Conference--Casting the Net (about getting on the Internet) and
Opening Windows Using W95 with Speech and Low Vision Aids. Our
November event was a discussion of products and observation about
the Closing the Gap conference and a scanning and Braille-output
training seminar. We wound up the year with our December end-of-
the-year open house.
Our seminars included guest speakers from the fields of
rehabilitation, adaptive technology, employment, and high school
administration.
In this last year our teams were busy.
The All-Write team, under the able guidance of editor Cindy
Brown, wrote, produced, duplicated, and distributed 6
newsletters. That makes a total of 16--all the articles
submitted by network members.
Our Posse computer repair team, led by David mcClain,
procured, refurbished, and circulated eleven computers (seven
less than last year), five printers (one more than last year),
and numerous miscellaneous computer parts to network members or
other people who needed them for work or school.
Our Preview Crew coordinated our beta-testing program try-
outs on various adaptive software and hardware.
Our Membership team, led by Tom Jones and Carlos Hranicka,
set up and managed a phone tree and network information
distribution initiative to keep us all on top of what's happening
and when.
Once again I had the honor of guiding our peer training team
through nine training seminars and five college lab tune-ups. The
Computers for Dummies miniseminar series has introduced a new
tier of users to the wiorld of adaptive technology. I assisted
eight people with full-time job placements and eleven job
expansions (using adaptive technology enhancements to achieve job
promotions), and eight job retentions using advocacy and adaptive
technology to retain jobs.
Our Lynx Squad online team, ably coordinated by Steve
Zielinski, has established a commendable presence on the
Internet. Steve assisted scads of members in getting connected
to Internet Local bbs's, etc., and working with our advocacy
coordinator, Kelly Pierce, expanded the local conduit for the
emerging Internet linking to other forming networks around the
world.
Over the past year our Cognoscentae, the network governing
board, met every second Wednesday of the month. Here is where we
made all the decisions that Digit-Eyes followed through the
course of the year. In 1997, under the excellent leadership of
Dan Neuwelt, We drew on each other's strengths, experiences, and
insights to further shape the network's progress, operations,
programs, and policies. we gave the network a new name
(Digit-Eyes), and established a voice-mail calendar-of-events
line. We chose Larry Bickhem to facilitate us in 1998. Our
minutes are now posted on the Internet and are included in the
newsletter mailings.
The network has seventy-eight paying members and four
honorary members.
We now produce seminar tapes (available to members only),
provide a speakers bureau for conferences and other gatherings,
and set up other area satellite networks. We have started a
vibrant senior team for our senior citizen members headed by
Doris Berry.
Our Advocacy team, energetically headed by Kelly Pierce, has
worked with the Chicago Tribune to make its Website text
accessible. Now the full text of the print edition is available
to us online.
We have played a role in making a major state university
accessible, expanding computer information and access for all
students there. We assisted in shaping policies for accessible
textbooks and course materials in alternative formats, and
assisted network members there in gaining networked computer
screen
magnification on the entire network and speech on one third of
the labs on the university campus.
Finally, the Cognoscentae is currently working up a complete
set of by-laws to serve as a template for other network
initiatives.
By tapping in to each other's strengths we are continually
measuring information prudently and making exciting decisions.
We are using the networking infrastructure to convert threatening
problems into challenging opportunities.
We are assisting our public library to coordinate its programs to
our benefit, planning a research and information library summit,
and opening a library of our own, lending technology-related
materials, recycled speech and low-vision devices, software,
hardware, and tools to our members.
So what about this next year?
Last year in this report I put eight challenges on the
board.
1. Do what ever we can to convert our image as grateful
consumers of services to resourceful providers of services for
ourselves.
well, we now have our Advocacy team chief on the Techwatch
committee of the National Council on Disability, a federal
disability policy planning body. We have produced Brailled
information for the Chicago Public Library information service
and several local banks.
2. Change our relationship with other service providers
from their willing subjects to able peers.
We now have a speakers bureau that goes out and touts the
network's doings. We expect to see that expanded greatly this
next year. Experience plus mastery of techniques divided by
focused energy = expertise.
3. Get more directly involved in the development of
research standardization and marketing of adaptive technology
products and services.
Any adaptive technology artifact can be effective if it can
be efficiently operated by an end-user. The network model
provides the best stable of end-users I know. We are about to
unveil our own help desk for members--another product of the
Cognoscentae.
4. Become involved in developing training curricula for
hardware and software use by blind end-users.
If I really want to learn something, I seek out people who
are doing it. Those who can do can teach by example. So we are
now unveiling our virtual vision seminar series--intensive
seminars targeted not only towards consumers but also employers,
teachers, and service providers.
5. Pool our resources with other worldwide network
initiatives. There is power in numbers, strength in a
concentrated sense of purpose, and wisdom in divergent
experiences. A goal is a dream with a deadline. We are now
working to promote the actualization process to assist other
groups in organizing and carrying out their goals.
6. Tap into the individual talents of network members to
provide opportunities for each other. From idea to
actualization, expert witnesses, adaptive technology consultants,
small business administrators,newsletter to magazine, Lynx Squad
to web-page, phone tree to conference, and peer training to
school and
job-support venue. We have it within us and we have the tools to
bring it out in each other.
7. Expand the network to embrace senior citizens, kids,
parents, teachers, and anybody else who feels lost in a computer
quagmire.
We have a vibrant senior team in place now and are
establishing an after-school kids team. We've been there, done
that, got there by trial and error, and wished we had a resource
like this one to get us started. Lucky for them--they do. If we
play our cards right, it's win for them, win for us.
8. Expand the concepts in the adaptive technology arena to
embrace other facets of the rigors of our daily lives.
We have seen that the idea is catching on and we continue to
see new people in many different places mirroring what we're
doing --skill building, job placement, political advocacy, etc.
Digit-Eyes is not about numbers but about end product and about
things coming together and working out right over the long haul.
We are continually breaking new ground. It's about determined
people working hard, being persistent, and reaping satisfying
results. It's about choosing battles wisely and carefully and
fighting them strategically and rigorously. It's also about
people adopting and maintaining convictions and sticking to them.
Through 32 seminars, 16 newsletters, and 24 Cognoscentae
meetings, we have kept this baby afloat.
We need an intensive web initiative next year. We will need
to get more people on line to nurture our ongoing projects and
the projects proposed here. And one more project--in order to
expand our income we plan to offer Braille output.
Over the next year, a trove of new technologies will be cast
upon us. The Internet will become an audio- as well as video-
text-driven resource channel. Windows 98 Nt and a myriad of
other operating platforms will further cloud, crowd, and confuse
the marketplace.
Furthermore, takeovers, mergers, bankruptcies, greed, and
mismanagement will continue to obliterate the adaptive technology
landscape and seep into the entire retinue of agencies and
service providers for the blind. Changes in funding, structures,
policies, and politics, will diffuse and demoralize social
service delivery systems into chaos.
By continuing to do what we've been doing for the past 3
years we will continue to impact this frenzy. And the more we as
individuals put into it, the more we will get out of it.
As coordinator I will provide as many opportunities for
people to do things as I possibly can; and with the help of the
whole network we'll get the job done.
(Dave Porter is president of Comp-Unique, an adaptive
technology development and consulting firm. He is coordinator of
Digit-Eyes.)
--------
A BOOK REVIEW:
WINDOWS 95 EXPLAINED
A GUIDE FOR BLIND AND VISUALLY-IMPAIRED USERS
by Sarah Morley
(produced and published by
Royal National Institute for the Blind
Peterborough, 1997
distributed in the U.S.A. by
National Braille Press
88 St. Stephen Street
Boston, MA 02115
tel: 617-266-6160
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
Available in Braille (3 volumes, 270 pages),
on disk or tape--$13.00.
Reviewed by Cindy Brown
I don't know about you, but I find accessing Windows 95 by
speech a struggle. Yes--I found the Henter-Joyce taped tutorial
(JFW 3.0)very helpful in getting started, but I could only get so
far with it before looking for additional resources. Maybe I
tried to make too great a leap from DOS directly to Windows 95,
skipping over other versions of Windows. Nonetheless, spurred on
by the changing computer environment at my job in the mental
health field, I did it--and here I am--feeling, at times, like a
lost lamb.
But I have been very excited to find Morley's windows 95
explained and the companion (in Braille only) windows 95
explained: tactile diagrams ($10.00).
This book is written in plain English including detailed
descriptions to help those of us who cannot see the layout of the
screen. Then the companion book (well worth the extra ten bucks)
gives tactile representations of the various configurations which
appear on the screen. Morley's narrative includes much
repetition which I found very helpful in understanding, and also
in developing a sense of familiarity with the subject.
In the Introduction, the author indicates that the book is
not meant to be a how-to manual, but its primary purpose is "to
provide you with a firm understanding of the basics of Windows
95,
following a logical progression of topics." Nonetheless, how-to
instructions are included.
We learn in the first few pages that the reason access
technology programs have such difficulty reading the screen is
that, the shift from ASCII (pronounced, askey) to GUI (pronounced
gooey) means a shift from characters with finite coded values to
tiny color-coded dots called "pixels." She explains that the
screen is a grid of 480 by 640 pixels, and that the color
groupings are what determine how images are displayed. Those of
us who cannot see the screen depend on verbalizations to prompt
appropriate responses; but interpreting the non-numeric codes is
understandably more complicated.
But she lists "three main reasons for working in the Windows
environment:
"1) To reduce memory load and make working easier,
"2) To run multiple applications at the same time, and share
information between them,
"3) To use standardised applications."
She even suggests (perhaps with tongue in cheek) that
keyboard users have an advantage over mouse users
because "... in well developed applications many ... icons
represent the most common commands such as New, Save, Open, and
Print which generally have keyboard hotkeys ..., and keyboard
users don't even have to waste time taking their hands off the
keyboard!" This may be true for the really advanced keyboard
user, but my own experience tells me (and I have heard it voiced
by others) that memorizing the seemingly endless number of
keystroke combinations takes much practice, and may require
frequent referring to
reference cards.
However, whether we can accept her positive observations as
absolute truth, Windows 95 does seem to be taking over the
workplace, and it probably behooves us to attempt to keep pace.
Morley's book makes this easier to do. She not only details the
layout of the screen (including menu bars, toolbars, cascading
windows, status bars, icons, etc., but she describes the
functions of the above, as well as of radio buttons,
checklists,sliders, spinners, and many more features. The
Braille reader of her book is likely to need to take time to
adjust to the British version of Computer Braille, but in most
cases it is not too difficult to figure out.
The book includes a glossary, a list of keyboard commands,
and a reference to Resources.
(Cindy Brown is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker at the
Community Counseling Centers of Chicago and has a small private
practice.)
--------
TEAMWORK
by Cindy Brown
with updates by Nate Branson
The Computer Network is made up of teams. The word network,
for most of us, connotes a system of interactive parts.
Interaction among peers is meant to be the fuel that keeps this
network alive. The teams are the parts of the Network which
address specific tasks. Become involved by joining one of the
teams described below. To express interest, leave your name,
phone number, and the name of the person you wish to contact on
our voice-mail line: 312-458-9006.
Outreach. "You-all come!" is the motto of this team. Its
job is to spread the word to youth and adults in the community-
at-large about our activities--Jim Ferneborg, chairperson.
Membership. Welcoming, orienting, and hooking in new members
is this team's raison d'etre.--Tom Jones, Chairperson.
Tom and his committee are continuing to develop a membership
survey.
Preview Crew. "What's new?" That's what these computer
veterans are asking, as they are eager to beta-test new
technology products.--Dan TeVelde, chairperson.
Lynx Squad. It seems the whole world is talking about the
Internet, the World Wide Web, and e-mail. To join in, sign up
with this team. Reasonable word processing and typing skills are
helpful. Meetings are held the second Thursday evening of each
month.--Steve Zielinsky, chairperson.
Steve informs us that Ripco, a text-based ISP, offers a
trial membership free for three months with up to two hours of
Internet access a day. After that, one hour is free daily. The
trial period includes an e-mail account and access to US Net.
Full membership includes such services as TelNet, FTP, IRC, and
Lynx.
Peer Training. "Each one teach one." Planning and executing
monthly seminars for novices and the advanced is the focus of
this team. Ideas for events as well as volunteers to help are
welcome. --Dave Porter, chairperson.
Larry Bickhem reports that in the February meeting of
Computers for Dummies, Dave Porter dissembled a computer,
explaining the different parts. The topic for the March meeting
was Setting Up Documents.
All-Write! "All I know is what I read in the newsletter."
We think this is a cop-out! We hope you will add what you know
to the pages of future newsletters by contributing technology-
related articles.
Between now and the upcoming newsletter, we will be
changing editors. Our new editor will be Steve Zielinsky. I
enjoyed being your editor for the past three and a half years and
I am grateful for all those who have supported me with articles,
technical assistance, and suggestions for improvements.
Steve is approaching his new post as editor with energy and
creativity, and I hope you will join me in supporting him
enthusiastically.
Submit articles to Steve Zielinsky at [log in to unmask]
(preferably as a file attachment), or on audio cassette to the
will-call drawer on the eleventh floor at Blind Service
Association, 22 W. Monroe St., Chicago, IL 60603. Articles
should not exceed about 1100 words or 7500 print character
spaces. The deadline for the next issue is Wednesday, July 15,
1998 at noon. The Newsletter cannot come out on time unless you
get your articles in.
Then, that evening at 5:30 we will have our meeting of the
All-Write team. We hope you'll join us if you have ideas for the
newsletter and/or talents to lend us.--Cindy Brown, Editor.
--------
Justification for Higher Education...
submitted by Steve Zielinsky
In answer to the eternal question "Is it better to be a jock
or a nerd?":
Michael Jordan will make over $300,000 a game: $10,000 a
minute, assuming he averages about 30 minutes per game.
Assuming $40 million in endorsements next year, he'll be
making $178,100 a day (working or not)!
Assuming he sleeps 7 hours a night, he makes $52,000 every
night while visions of sugarplums dance in his head.
If he goes to see a movie, it'll cost him $7.00, but he'll
make $18,550 while he's there.
If he decides to have a 5 minute egg, he'll make $618
while boiling it.
He makes $7,415/hr more than minimum wage
(after the wage hike).
He'll make $3,710 while watching each episode of Friends.
If he wanted to save up for a new Acura NSX ($90,000) it
would take him a whole 12 hours.
If someone were to hand him his salary and endorsement
money, they would have to do it at the rate of $2.00 every
second.
He'll probably pay around $200 for a nice round of golf, but
will be 'reimbursed' $33,390 for that round.
Assuming he puts the federal maximum of 15% of his income
into his tax deferred account (401k), he hit the federal cap of
$9500 for such accounts at 8:30 a.m. on January 1st, 1997.
If you were given a tenth of a penny for every dollar he
made, you'd be living comfortably at $65,000 a year.
He made about $19.60 while watching the 100 meter
dash in the Olympics.
He made about $15,600 while the Boston Marathon was being
run.
While the common person is spending about $20 for a meal in
his trendy Chicago restaurant, he'll pull in about $5600.
This year, he'll make more than twice as much as all of our
past presidents for all of their terms combined. Amazing isn't
it?
JORDAN WILL HAVE TO SAVE 100% OF HIS INCOME
FOR 270 YEARS TO HAVE A NET WORTH EQUIVALENT
TO THAT OF BILL GATES.
NERDS RULE! NERDS RULE! NERDS RULE!--author unknown.
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A BOOK REVIEW:
THE CHIP
by T.R. Reid
Simon and Schuster, 1984, 207 pages, $7.95
rc 23393
Reviewed by Nate Branson
December, 1997 marked the fiftieth anniversary of the
invention of the point contacttransistor. The transistor freed
the electrical world from vacuum tubes and their innate problems
such as heat and bulkiness. But freedom from tubes allowed
another tyranny to impose itself--the tyranny of numbers.
Electronic devices became increasingly complex with more
resistors, capacitors, and transistors being wired together,
space and the work of putting them together by hand made them
expensive.
Reliability was also a problem. A broken wire in a multi-
unit device could stop the entire device. Scientists knew in the
early fifties that the solution to this problem would be a great
benefit to society.
The solution would come from two American inventors--Jack
Kilby of Texas Instruments and Robert Noyce of Fairchild
Semiconductors. The solution was the monolithic idea: carving
the circuit out of a single piece of semiconductor material. The
use of semiconductors was not a new idea. It was known to early
electrical researchers such as Michael Faraday in 1883. Reid
muses that if Faraday or one of his contemporaries had made
sylicons work, would the semi-conductor revolution have come
fifty years earlier? Electrical research followed the line of
vacuum tubes, though, and all the problems with bulkiness, heat,
frgility, etc. that were connected with them.
Reid lays his foundation in the past. Recounting the
discovery of the Edison effect and the discovery of the electron,
he introduces the reader to the inventors of the diod and of the
amplifier. Readers will learn that the threat of World War II
led to the invention of radar, and radar's development led to the
re-emergence of semiconductors. William Shockley wrote in his
lab notebook in December, 1939, that an amplifier using
semiconductors, instead of vacuums, was possible in theory.
Shockley, along with Walter Brattain and John Bardeen, received a
Nobel Prize for their invention.
After meeting the transistor inventors, Reid introduces us
to Jack Kilby. Kilby left a job in Wisconsin to work at Texas
Instrumentsin 1958. His new colleagues were trying to solve the
tyranny of numbers problem that Kilby's previous company had had
no success with. In July of 1958, with other employees on
vacation, Kilby wrote in his lab notebook: "The Monolithic Idea".
When the others returned, Kilby persuaded his immediate boss to
allow him to manufacture a circuit made entirely of sylicon.
The engineer's basic job is to solve problems, and Kilby
believed he had solved his. Still he had trepidation. The
following month when, with colleagues standing around, Kilby
tested the circumit made of sillicon. It worked! Kilby had
solved the problem.
Reid frames the book in such a way as to hold the reader's
attention, though his divergence into the foreign takeover of the
Ameridan electronics industry does not fit with this book's
theme.
While the book is not recent, it is informative about the
history of the computers we use today, and I recommend it highly.
(A graduate of Roosevelt University, Nate Branson has worked
for The Chicago Tribune and for the Chicago Sun Times. He is a
freelance writer.)
--------
VIRUSES CAN BE FUN!
submitted by Steve Zielinsky
Beware of the following computer viruses...
Federal Bureaucrat Virus--Divides your hard disk into
hundreds of little units, each of which do practically nothing,
but all of which claim to be the most important part of the
computer.
Dan Quayle Virus--Their is sumthing rong with your
compueter, ewe just can't figyour out watt.
Gallup Poll Virus--Sixty percent of the PC's infected will
lose 38% of their data 14 percent of the time (plus or minus a
3.5% margin of error)
Paul Revere Virus--Revolutionary virus doesn't horse around.
It warns you of impending hard disk attack once if by LAN, twice
if by C:
Politically Correct Virus--Never calls itself a "virus," but
instead refers to itself as an "electronic micro-organism."
Right to Life Virus--Won't allow you to delete a file
regardless of how old it is. If you attempt to erase a file, it
requires you first see a counselor about possible alternatives.
Ross Perot Virus--Activates every component in your system
just before the whole thing quits.
Mario Cuomo Virus--It would be a great virus, but it refuses
to run.
Oprah Winfrey Virus--Your 200 MB hard drive suddenly shrinks
to 80 MB, then slowly expands back to 200 MB
AT&T Virus--Every three minutes it tells you what great
service you're getting.
MCI Virus--Every three minutes it reminds you that you are
paying too much for the AT&T Virus.
Ted Turner Virus--Colorizes your monochrome monitor.
Arnold Schwarzennegger Virus- Terminates and stays resident.
It'll be back!
Government Economist Virus--Nothing works, but all your
diagnostic software says everything is fine.
New World Order Virus--Probably harmless, but it makes a lot
of people really mad just thinking about it.
Texas Virus--Makes sure that it's bigger than any other
file.
Adam and Eve Virus--Takes a couple of bytes out of your
Apple.
Congressional Virus--The computer locks up, screen splits
erratically with a message appearing on each half blaming the
other side for the problem.
Airline Virus--You're in Dallas, but your data is in
Singapore.
Oedipal Virus--Your computer becomes obsessed with marrying
its own motherboard.
PBS Virus--Your PC provides you with wonderful service, but
stops every few minutes to ask for money.
Elvis Virus--Your computer gets fat, slow and lazy and then
self destructs, only to resurface at shopping malls and service
stations across rural America.
Ollie North Virus--Turns your printer into a document
shredder.
Nike Virus--Just Does It!
Sears Virus--Your data won't appear unless you buy new
cables, power supply, and a set of shocks.
Jimmy Hoffa Virus--Nobody can find it.
Congressional Virus II--Runs every program on the hard drive
simultaneously, but doesn't allow the user to accomplish
anything.
Kevorkian Virus--Helps your computer shut down whenever it
wants to.
Imelda Marcos Virus--Sings you a song (slightly off key) on
boot up, then subtracts money from your Quicken account and
spends it all on expensive shoes it purchases through Prodigy.
Star Trek Virus--Invades your system in places where no
virus has gone before.
Health Care Virus--Test your system for a day, finds nothing
wrong, and sends you a bill for $4,500.
George Bush Virus--It starts by boldly stating, "Read my
text....no new files!" on the screen, proceeds to fill up all the
free space on your hard drive with new files, then blames it on
the Congressional Virus.
LAPD Virus--It claims it feels threatened by the other files
on your PC and erases them in "self-defense."
Chicago Cubs Virus--Your PC makes frequent mistakes and
comes in last in the reviews, but you still love it.
Maddona Virus-plays OK, but odd music at boot up. Removes
$14.95 from your on-line bank account for each song. Modifies
your word
processor and desktop publishing applications to write and layout
pornographic books and fills the hard drive free space with dirty
limericks. After completing this procedure it them alters its own
code to appear as if it was an entirerly new virus. Can not be
removed using regular procedures - requires a tire iron to the
CPU.--author unknown.
--------
FYI
The following radio and television shows may be of interest
to our readers:
Sundays--11:00 AM, "TV.com," ABC, channel 7 in Chicago;
Sundays--3:30 PM, "Life on the Internet," WYCC, Channel 20,
Chicago;
Sundays--4:00 PM, "Computer Chronicles," WYCC, Channel 20 in
Chicago;
Tuesdays--9:00 PM, "Real Computing," WDCB, 90.5-FM, Glen Ellyn;
Fridays--8:30 PM, "Computer Chronicles," WYCC, Channel 20,
Chicago;
Saturdays--10:00 PM, "WGNradio.com," WGN Radio, 720-AM.
If you know of other technology-related shows that are not
included here, please contact Steve Zielinsky through the voice-
mail: 312-458-9006.
--------
DATES TO REMEMBER!
All of the meetings listed below take place at Blind Service
Association, 22 West Monroe Street, Chicago, Il 60603. For
current updates, consult voice-mail announcement line:
312-458-9006.
Prospective members and new members are encouraged to show
up at Saturday seminars a half hour early, or stay after the
meeting, to get answers to your questions about Digit-Eyes.
PLEASE NOTE CHANGES (IN JULY, ONLY) OF COGNOSCENTAE AND ALL-
WRITE MEETINGS.
Sat., July 4, 1998--nNO SATURDAY SEMINAR! ENJOY THE
HOLIDAY!
Thurs., July 9, 1998, 6:00-8:00 PM--Lynx Squad meeting;
ninth floor; (Internet activities).
Wed., July 15, 1998, noon--DEADLINE FOR NEWSLETTER ARTICLES;
highly preferred file attachments in an e-mail
([log in to unmask]), or or on audio cassette (in will-call drawer,
eleventh floor at BSA).
Wed., JUly 15, 1998, 5:30-7:30 PM--newsletter team; ninth
floor; (for those who are interested in helping out with the
newsletter).
Thurs., July 16, 1998, 10:00 AM-noon--Senior team meeting;
ninth floor.
Wed., July 22, 1998, 5:30-7:30 PM--Cognoscentae meeting;
ninth floor; (governing board, all are welcome).
Thurs., July 23, 1998, 6:00-8:00 PM--Computers for Dummies;
ninth floor; (for beginners).
Sat., Aug. 1, 1998, 9:30 AM-noon--seminar, topic TBA; ninth
floor; (all are invited).
Wed, Aug. 12, 1998, 5:30-7:30 PM--Cognoscentae meeting;
ninth floor; (governing board meeting; all are welcome).
Thurs., Aug. 13, 1998, 6:00-8:00 PM--Lynx Squad; ninth
floor; (Internet activities).
Thurs., Aug. 20, 1998, 10:00 AM-noon--Senior Team; ninth
floor.
Thurs., Aug. 27, 1998, 6:00-8:00 PM--Computers for Dummies;
ninth floor; (for beginners).
Wed., Sept. 2, 1998, 5:30-7:30 PM--All-Write team; ninth
floor; (for those interested in helping out with the newsletter).
Sat., Sept. 5, 1998--NO SATURDAY SEMINAR! ENJOY THE HOLIDAY
WEEKEND!
Wed., Sept. 9, 1998, 5:30-7:30 PM--Cognoscentae meeting;
ninth floor; (governing board; all are welcome).
Thurs., Sept. 10, 1998, 6:00-8:00 PM--Lynx Squad; ninth
floor; (Internet activities).
Thurs., Sept. 17, 1998, 10:00 AM-noon--Senior Team; ninth
floor.
Thurs., Sept. 24, 1998, 6:00-8:00 PM--Computers for Dummies;
ninth floor; (for beginners).
Sat., Oct. 3, 1998, 9:30 AM-noon--Seminar, topic TBA; ninth
floor; (all are welcome).
Thurs., Oct. 8, 1998, 6:00-8:00--Lynx Squad; ninth floor;
(Internet activities).
Wed., Oct. 14, 1998, 5:30-7:30 PM--Cognoscentae meeting;
ninth floor; (governing board; all are welcome).
Thurs., Oct. 15, 1998, 10:00 AM-noon--Senior Team; ninth
floor.
Thurs., Oct. 22, 1998, 6:00-8:00 PM--Computers for Dummies;
ninth floor; (for beginners).
Wed., Nov. 4, 1998, 5:30-7:30 PM--All-Write team meeting;
ninth floor; (for those interested in helping with the
newsletter).
Sat., Nov. 7, 1998, 9:30 AM-noon--Seminar, topic TBA; ninth
floor; (all are welcome).
Wed., Nov. 11, 1998, 5:30-7:30 PM--Cognoscentae meeting;
ninth floor; (governing board, all are welcome).
Thurs., Nov. 12, 1998, 6:00-8:00 PM--Lynx Squad; ninth
floor; (Internet activities).
Thurs., Nov. 19, 1998, 10:00 AM-noon--Senior Team; ninth
floor.
Thurs., Nov. 26, 1998--THANKSGIVING DAY; NO COMPUTERS FOR
DUMMIES; ENJOY THE HOLIDAY!
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