NWA-PCUG Newsletter Article
The Deals Column
by Bob Click, The Deal Making Man, September 2001
Greater Orlando Computer Users Group
dealsguy@dealsguy.com
(click to email author)


My Profound Apologies
When putting the finishing touches on this month's column, I received e- mail from Rich Gray of the Dayton Microcomputer Association letting me know I had done my readers a disservice in the July column concerning the company offering free closeout software just for the price of shipping. He suggested I make my readers aware of the facts. Here is an excerpt from Rich's e-mail:

"Unbeknownst to you, I'm sure (I HOPE!), the g7ps (name in the ordering URL) folks are [questionable] netizens who have been spamming me, and presumably countless others, incessantly over the last few months. I administer a local community network (freenet). They snarfed two of our addresses from the list at www.ofcn.org and so I see their garbage multiple times! They've also recently discovered an old version of my work e-mail address from a listserv post that made it to the Web. So I'm getting their crap in triplicate!"

Rich included much more and also suggested a way for me to run a check for companies that spam, but I'll have to become more knowledgeable on that one. It is so easy to get in trouble trying to do this column, as you may have noticed in the past. Please forgive me for another blunder as I was completely oblivious to the intent of the free stuff.

Still Good
The Recipe Analyzer software may still be good if you haven't ordered it yet. I don't know how they do it for that price. Refer to the August column for ordering information. The ClipTrakker deal should also still be good [http://store.yahoo.com/sharewareonline/clipforregme.html]. I was hoping for a deal on their Mem Turbo, but they have not yet offered. Perhaps it's because there has been no response to the ClipTrakker. I had to make several changes to keep the word count down because of last minute announcements, so please bear with me on all the quotes. In fact, next month's column is already partially written because of last minute changes.

I was pressed for time this month and have not worked on more signature animation deals. There was no feedback on that item anyway, so perhaps it's not popular enough. I'm finishing this column while out of state, hoping everything goes better than last year when I was out of state. I well remember that fiasco when, during the conversion, WordPerfect stripped all the hypertext from my Word file while making a small change. Now Word and WP are both on my laptop.

How 'Bout Your Very Own Lapdog?
I received this from Shawn Jackson Design. Dave Gerber, from the Sarasota, FL user group, who also has the TV show about computers, also forwarded the announcement to make sure I knew about it. I have inquired about similar products, and in comparison, Lapdog offers a better price. Announcement below:

"We are the designers and manufactures of the award wining Lapdog. The Lapdog is an elegant solution to the problem of using a laptop computer on your lap. Lapdog is a padded carrying case for your computer that unfolds in seconds for use on your lap, on an airline tray, or on any work surface and becomes a completely functional mobile office or work station. At the most recent Comdex Chicago, many reviewers flattered us by suggesting that we were "best of show." You may learn more about this and our other products at [http://www.laptopoffice.com].

"The Lapdog's street price is $139.95, and we will offer them to your users group for $79.95. You will need to enter the code "ugspecial" on our site when prompted in order to receive the discount. Feel free to post this on your site. You may capture any images you like from our own site. Please let me know if you have any questions/comments. I hope this can help your group out! "Sincerely, Mark Zadvinskis, Shaun Jackson Design Inc. PO Box 130500, Ann Arbor MI 48113-0500, phone 734.975.7500, fax 734.975.7501."

Sick Of Getting Knocked Off?
I found this in the Northwest Arkansas PC UG newsletter and e-mailed Inkline Global about their special offer. Here is the description and their response:

"Tired of being disconnected when you are reading a long article or writing an e-mail? Frustrated with those AOL pop-up windows? Use Stay Connected! and never get disconnected again. Stay Connected! resumes broken connections for all dial-up networking ISPs and AOL. As seen on ZD TV and PC World, with more than two million downloads and 19 releases, Stay Connected! has the widest compatibility with major ISPs like AOL 6.0, CompuServe2000, NetZero, MSN, Prodigy and AT&T WorldNet. Supports NetZero Z4, AT&T WorldNet i495 service and handles MSN disconnection dialogs. Download: [http://www.inklineglobal.com/download/sc]

"We are most pleased to offer DealsGuy readers 15% off 'Stay Connected!' (usually $19.95) in your September column and will offer another product for your October column. For the Stay Connected! promotion in September, simply mention 'SC-DEALSGUY-0901' in the COMMENTS field of the order form [http://www.inklineglobal.com/register] when purchasing 'Stay Connected!.' The offer is valid until 31st October 2001. The promotional code identifies your readers so they are not billed the full license price."

System Requirements: Pentium processor, 8MB of RAM, 4MB of free space
Operating System: Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000
Filesize: 1.61 MB/ 1650 KB/ 1,688,946 Bytes

Upgrade Your Mouse Bungee To The Pro Version
Jim Packard e-mailed me to announce a new product from the Mouse Bungee Company: a Mouse Bungee attached to a frame-type base. You can lay your favorite picture in the frame, then lay the glass provided into the frame for your mouse to roll around on. I was pleased to find glass instead of plastic that might become clouded and scratched. To see it rather than visualize it, go to [http://www.mousebungee.com] and click on the "Pro" version. MSRP is $29.95, but your special price is discounted by 33% to about $19.95. I believe S&H is $3.95.

You must order it on their Web site's order page. Type the special ordering code "Click" into the "promotional code" panel and you receive a 33% discount on any of their products. They have other nice products on the drawing board and I hope to help introduce them.

This Announcement Is Almost Too Late, So Act Fast
Best I quote them: "WACOM USER GROUP SPECIALS!!!! VERY limited time offer!

"Wacom would like to extend some extremely special pricing considerations to your organization. For a very limited time, you can obtain one of the following graphic tablets for as much as 50% off the suggested retail price. Offer expires August 31st, 2001 and WILL NOT be extended.

"The Intelligent Graphics Tablet System: Intuos 9x12 (USB) $299.62, SRP-- $509.99 Intuos 9x12 (USB SE-Graphite) -- $299.62, SRP -- $509.99 We are also offering a CAD Special: Intuos 12x12 w/Pen & Bundled Lens Cursor* (USB or Serial) -- $299.62, SRP -- $579.94. *Lens Cursor normally available as an accessory purchase, a $69.95 value!

"For product information, check out [http://www.wacom.com/productinfo/intuos.cfm]

"Save even MORE on a Wacom Refurbished tablet:
Intuos 9x12 (ADB - for vintage Macs) -- $199.00, SRP -- $509.99
Intuos 12x18 (USB or Serial) -- $399.37, SRP -- $819.99
Discount Source Code: BigAugust
Customer Service: 800-922-6613

"This is an exclusive offer that Wacom is making to select associations, organizations and user groups. To order, simply contact Wacom's Customer Service at 800-922-6613 and give them your name, organization, and the above discount source code. Please post this offer on your website, hand it out at your next meeting, distribute it via email, etc. If you have any questions about this offer, wish to provide a membership list, please feel free to give me a call or simply reply.

"Bill Lindsay
Southeastern Regional Sales Manager Wacom Technology
19046 Bruce B Downs, PMB201
Tampa, FL 33647
813/994.0383 voice
813/994.0382 fax
http://www.wacom.com"

That's it for this month. Meet me here again next month if your editor permits. This column is written to make user group members aware of special offers I have found or arranged, and my comments should not be interpreted to encourage, or discourage, the purchase of products, no matter how enthused I might sound. Bob (The Cheapskate) Click [Bobclick@mindspring.com]. Visit my Web site at [http://www.dealsguy.com] for past columns. Also, I keep adding interesting articles (taken from user group newsletters) to my "Articles of Interest" page for viewing or downloading.

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