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


Distribution Update
Willem Borman, editor for SW Indiana PC Users Group, asked to start using the column. He will publish them monthly on their group's Web site. Brenda Oakley, editor for Alaska Computer Society, asked to resume using the column after a short period without it. Both groups are listed on my Web site's distribution page.

What a Loss To User Groups
I was distressed to hear that Adobe may dismiss Louise Miller from the user group program. Louise has worked very hard for both Adobe and we user group people. The decision was not final at this writing, but in the user group community, Louise has made Adobe a household name, and dismissal certainly doesn't seem like a just reward for her hard work. Not only will Adobe be the loser, but user groups will also lose. I hope they find a spot for her without dismissal. I understand it's a consolidation of Adobe's user group activities, but I hope it doesn't mean closing us out completely as Ambassadors for Adobe's fine products.

A few other hard-working friends have also gotten the ax for all their hard work during these slow economic times. Ever wonder why anybody should worry about doing a good job when they could be history at any given time, in spite of their best efforts? I guess conscientious employees will always give their best automatically.

A Moment of Carelessness
I thought I had become pretty good at recognizing e-mail with a virus attachment, and I had, but I still found a way to get careless. At the time of my carelessness, I didn't realize I had triggered a virus, but in the middle of the night I woke up realizing what I had done, and that was to click on a file that I actually should have remembered was virus infected. I'll handle them in a different way and will try not to get in a hurry from now on. I'm sure it didn't use my Eudora address book, but the SirCam virus finds other places to get addresses to send a familiar- looking, but infected, file out to friends.

I sent a message of warning to my address book people, but almost nobody in it had received an infected file. There were a few and I'm not sure where it found those addresses, but I thought perhaps in my trash bin, because I had about 40 returned messages with infected attachments that had addresses looking like the spam type I always delete. That would have been a perfect place to send those infected files, but alas, they all bounced back. The few friends who received an infected file were people I had communicated with recently so that may be a clue.

I receive several newsletters in PDF format and a couple in ZIP format. I decided simply to catch up printing the files by clicking on them right from my "Attachments" folder. In the process, I accidentally clicked the wrong zip file (left there for further AV checking) and had failed to notice the double extensions this time. After this, I'll move suspected files to a safe place and not depend on my 'superior' intelligence.

An interesting sidelight to this disaster is that some of the bounced e- mail containing contaminated attachments were bounced by network administrators who detected the infected file and returned it telling me that. I hope that network administrators trend continues to grow for everybody's sake. My computer is now a mess and I'm ready to reformat and start over.

Still Good
The LapDog is still good so visit [http://www.laptopoffice.com]. inKline's Stay Connected is also still good. [http://www.inklineglobal.com/register].

Don't forget the Mouse Bungee Pro deal is still good. [http://www.mousebungee.com].

inkline Global is Back With Another Special Offer
If you are still using a dialup connection to surf the Net, how about something to improve the performance of your modem. "Modem Booster" from inKline Global is designed for getting the downloading done, but faster and more dependably. Here is their offer: "We are pleased to offer your column readers 15% off 'Modem Booster' (normally $19.95) in your October column. For the Modem Booster promotion in October, 2001, simply mention "MB-DEALSGUY-1001" in the COMMENTS field of the order form [http://www.inklineglobal.com/register] when purchasing Modem Booster. The offer is valid till 30th Nov. 2001."

Again, ordering must be done on their Web site URL above.

Get Better Organized, Not Unionized, But Yourself
I am not a fan of PIMs (Personal Information Managers), but I must admit that they are popular. It so happens that inKline Global has a very good Personal Information Manager called RedBox Organizer 4.1 and they have offered you a deal on it. I have not had the time to review this product, although they offered it to me. Below is their description:

"Now you can manage your daily activities more efficiently, and have the flexibility and ease to plan, organize and schedule virtually whatever you want. Use the Calendar, Planner, Reminder, To-do, Sticky Notes and Globe to manage daily occurrences like Expenses, Reports, Appointments, Contacts, Addresses and Travel information all within an enjoyable 3D interface. Save loads of time, send e-mails, quick-dial your contacts, keep conversation logs and even publish your activities on the Web. Extraordinary features like Multi-User capabilities, password protected program sharing, Time Converter and Global Distance Calculation abilities. All these features in one compact program make it an ideal planner for all home and small businesses. Free CD with online purchase!"

My readers get the program for just $29.95, regular $39.95. Use the special code "RBODEALSGUY" (enter in the "comments" field) when ordering. Below are more URLs and info for the product.

Security Just For Your Pocket??
Yes, but I meant for your "Pocket PC." I received an announcement recently for Cresotech PocketSafe 1.16 for Windows CE, a Pocket PC security tool for protection of personal data. It's a convenient PDA-based tool for safe storage of confidential information. PocketSafe provides easy management and secure storage of passwords, contact names, credit card numbers, bank account and document data, as well as other confidential information. The records in the database are encrypted and password-protected. All popular models of PocketPC are supported: Compaq IPaq, Casio Cassiopeia, HP Jornada, Symbol, etc.

System Requirements: Pocket PC running Windows CE 3.0 or higher. 400Kb free on Pocket PC and 1Mb free on desktop PC. Supported Processors include ARM, SH3, MIPS. I was unable to test this product because I do not own a Pocket PC, but it looks very interesting. The price is only $19.00 and my readers are even offered a 10% discount by going to [http://www.regsoft.net/purchase.php3?productid=36402&pc=M6M64] and using the password "dealsguy." If you simply want a trial version, use [http://www.cresotech.com/ftp/pocketsafe.exe]. The company URL is [http://www.cresotech.com] should you just want information on the product.

Classes For Office
Keystone Learning Systems is offering all users group members a special. Their offer follows: "Purchase any, that's right any, OFFICE related course at Full Price and get a 2nd set within the OFFICE selections at 40% off! You may get as many additional sets as you want at 40% off. Call now to start enhancing your User Group Library, and help individuals learn skills they can use. Check these courses: Excel, Access, Word, Power Point, PhotoDraw, Publisher, Outlook, Project, or Windows 95, 98, and 2000. This Special Offer will expire Friday, October 26, 2001. Reference Code UGem2.

"If you haven't requested any yet and would like to receive a free demo of our training materials or information please contact Evan Jones at 888- 299-3647, EXT. 7002, e-mail: [evanj@keystonelearning.com]. Or fill out the application at: [http://www.keystonelearning.com/about_keystone/user_group/index.html] and indicate in the field provided what products you are interested in."

Also listed are 32 other courses newly introduced or coming soon, and 1000 other topics and titles to choose from. Be aware that these courses are not classes, but come to you on CD, or VHS video format. The offer was signed by Evan Jones, Sales Representative KeyStone Learning Systems, a GlobalLearningSystems Company (888) 299-3647 ext. 7002
(801) 418-7002
Fax: (801) 373-6872

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.

Click here to return to top



==================================================================