The North Shore Computer Society (NSCS) holds its monthly meetings on the second Thursday of every month from September to June. Previous meetings have featured Adobe demonstrating the latest releases of Photoshop, Acrobat, and Pagemaker, an on-line tour of the Internet and Apple sharing the company's strategy for the future and demonstrate some of the Mac's leading edge technologies.
Meetings are held in the McCarthy Auditorium at the Peabody Municipal Light Plant, 201 Warren Street Extension, Peabody, MA (directions). The meetings run from 7:00PM to 9:30PM. Light refreshments (drinks and snacks) are available.
December 11, 1997
Help for the Holidays!
This month's meeting was designed to help members with the holidays. Our own Fred Gardner and Don Orifice provided some insight into what computer-based gifts we might add to our holiday wish list. If you have any great wish list ideas of your own, let us know!Up to IndexHere are a few Holiday Goodies we found on the Web.
November 13, 1997
The Year 2000 Problem, Buying a New Computer &
a Birthday Party!Birthday PartyUp to Index
This month's meeting was a big ONE, we marked our first anniversary as an independent organization with a birthday party featuring cake, refreshments, noise makers and gifts. We're 350 members strong -- and growing!Thanks goes out to CompUSA for their donation of books to update our lending library and to Shore.net for their donation of two online gift certificates, given away as door prizes.
Year 2000 Problem
And keeping with the theme of important dates, we discussed the biggest date of them all - December 31, 1999 - when many in the computer industry, to say nothing of the lawyers, are preparing for the Great Year 2000 disaster.Don Orifice, NSCS Executive Director, spoke about the possible problems which we will face as well as offering solutions for the Year 2000 dilemma and what you can do to minimize its impact on your life. We will provide details of his discussion as well as online links within these pages. Check back soon.
Buying or Upgrading?
Another big date this year is December 25th, the focus of the holiday season and the time of year when many people consider buying or upgrading their personal computer. It's also the time when many parents find themselves being pressured to buy, without knowing exactly what they are buying.We had scheduled Bradley Koltz, Director of Production and Systems for the Salem Evening News and Essex County Newspapers, to help us explore the options. Unfortunatly, a virus (not the computer type) got the better of him. We will try to re-schedule this presentation for sometime after the first of the year.
October 9, 1997
Power Protection & Computer Mapping
This month's meeting was a double-header, Power Protection and Computer Mapping.Up to IndexAmerican Power Conversion Corporation of West Kingston, Rhode Island offered information on the best ways to protect your computer equipment from power problems. They are a leader in the design, manufacture, and marketing of power protection equipment, including surge suppressors, uninterruptible power supplies, power conditioning equipment and related software.
The Computer Mapping portion of the meeting was presented by our own Fred Gardner, who demonstrated several products from DeLorme of Yarmouth, Maine. DeLorme has been producing high quality maps since 1976 and computer mapping products since the mid 1980s. Tripmate, their first hardware product, is a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver which can be plugged into your laptop computer to show your position, speed, direction of travel and altitude on a map, as you travel. Attention men: no more need to stop to ask for directions!
September 11, 1997
Mobile Computing
With today's portable computers rivaling the features and performance of full size systems, what's the best choice, laptop or desktop? Two of the industry's leading edge companies presented their most recent products and discussed how mobile computing will impact our lives in the future.Up to IndexTim McCaffrey, Sr. Systems Engineer, assisted by Thomas Bartlett, Business Development Executive from Apple Computer demonstrated the Macintosh PowerBook notebook line. They covered the PowerBook 3400 at 200-MHZ and 240-MHz, the PowerBook 2400 at 180-MHz and the PowerBook 1400 at 133-MHz and 166-MHz.
Tom Spaulding, President and Lee Moss, Sales Engineer from Ergo, the Brick Computer Company demonstrated the Ergo NoteBrick notebook line. This included the E-Brick at 200-Mhz and 233-MHz, the CD-PowerBrick3 at 166-Mhz and 200-MHz and the ThinBrick at 133-MHz and 166-MHz.
August 14, 1997
The Third Annual Non-Meeting Meeting
Continuing the tradition we started two years ago, over 70 people attended our Third Annual Non-Meeting Meeting. No topic, no agenda, just a good time sitting around and socializing with each other. We even have photos!Up to IndexIt was a gorgeous summer night, even the bugs stayed away until the very end. Many volunters brought homemade dishes, with six foot long subs, pizza, ice cream and ice cold drinks rounding out the menu. So much food and such great company, and even the politicians stayed away this year!
Thanks to all those behind-the-scenes workers (you know who you are) who made it possible!
June 12, 1997
Computer Voice Technology
Lots of us "talk" to our computers, but think of the possibilities if your computer could talk back. Or even better, if you could tell your computer to handle a task without having to type a command or click the mouse.Up to IndexA representative from Wildfire is scheduled to demonstrate their voice-activated phone assistant. Two other local voice technology companies have been invited to display their products. Check back for details.
May 30, 1997
SPECIAL EVENT - Tech Talk Nite with Don
Don Orifice, our Executive Director, will be answering your questions at this special Friday night event at the Peabody Municipal Light Plant.Up to IndexMaybe you've always wanted to know what EIDE or SCSI or PnP or MMX or MPEG or RSN or DHYB stands for, but never quite knew where to turn. Or you want some advice on the best computer to buy or where to buy it, but everyone you talk to seems to have their own agenda. Or you just want someone to explain why you should/shouldn't buy Windows95.
Whatever the question, bring it to Tech Talk Nite and Don will try his best to give you straight answers.
May 8, 1997
How to Protect Your Computer from Viruses
What's all this talk about computer viruses and just how do we protect ourselves? With more and more ways for files to arrive on our computers these days (e-mail, Web site downloads, shareware, CDs, removable media, etc.) it's more important than ever that we understand what it means to practice "safe computing".Up to IndexRepresentatives from Dr. Solomon demonstrated their product and told us how to protect ourselves from these modern technological scourges, while still having fun. Symantec and McAfee were invited but were unable to attend.
April 10, 1997
New Ways to Access the Internet & Elder Services on the Web
Lowell J. Gray, president of Shore.Net, an Internet service provider on the North Shore (and the gracious host of the North Shore Computer Society's Web site) spoke to us about some new (and not so new) technologies for access to the Internet. This included ISDN and ADSL, which will be able to provide you with higher speed access.Up to IndexHe also discussed what you should be looking at when you pick your Internet service provider. Additional speakers were scheduled to discuss cable modems and WebTV but were unable to attend.
We also heard from Karin Martin of Marblehead, a Senior Advocate. Karin said that "It is becoming more difficult for people on fixed incomes and low incomes to make ends meet nowadays. Especially for elders." She shared with us her experience in using the Internet as a tool to stay informed and to affect change.
Karin told us of two Web sites that deal with issues of concern to elders. Check out National Council on Aging and North Shore Elder Services. She also uses the Mass State Legislature Tracking System to follow Senate bills of concern to elders (S1608 and S1501, regarding taxation and S572, regarding installing computers and the Net in senior centers) and sometimes Common Cause for other issues.
March 13, 1997
Apple Computer - What's NeXT for the Mac?
As Apple celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, Macintosh stockholders, developers and end-users are all looking to the future and wondering where Apple will be tomorrow. We had a chance to hear from the "horse's mouth", as three representatives from Apple Computer (no, it didn't include Steve Jobs) shared the company's strategy for the future and demonstrated some of the Mac's leading edge technologies.Whether you were thinking about buying your first Mac, a long time Mac user or even sure you would never own a Mac, it was interesting see what Apple Computer, who put the original "windows" on the desktop, is doing in 1997 and beyond. This presentation was of interest to both Macintosh and Windows users alike, since some of the technology demonstrated is supported on both platforms.
February 13, 1997
Investments and Taxes
One of the first, non-hobby uses of personal computers was as a tool to manage investments and taxes. After all, what better way to be able to deduct the cost of your computer at the end of the year.Wayne Cook , an independant tax consultant, provided us with a demonstration of tax preparation software. By using Turbo Tax from Intuit, a program for both businesses and individuals, he demonstrated how easy it is to complete various tax forms and to get an instant summary of your tax/refund status. Wayne provides federal and state income tax consulting services and can be reached in Waltham at (617) 891-3547.
Our own Don Orifice took us on an Internet tour of investment and tax related Web sites. Check back soon and we'll post these links to this page.
January 9, 1997
Computers and the Weather
Everyone talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it. Right? Wrong!Meteorologists Mishelle Michaels, from Channel 7's Weather Team, demonstrated how she uses computers in modern weather forecasting to make our world a safer place to live. This turned out to be one of our more popular meetings.
Check out Todd Gross' Weatherman.com site, there are a wealth of weather related links here. Also the University of Michigan's WeatherNet has a listing of weather related software for both PCs and Macs.
December 12, 1996
Adobe Presents: Desktop Publishing
A representative from Adobe demonstrated the latest releases of Photoshop, Acrobat, and Pagemaker. For you Mac enthusiasts, the demonstrations were on a PowerMac, though PC users need not despair, the Adobe products run quite well on your platform as well.
December 7, 1996 - Saturday, 9:00AM - 5:00PM
Special Mall Event: FREE Holiday Computer Consulting
For the past few years, members of the North Shore Computer Society have set up a FREE information table at the Liberty Tree Mall to help the public with their holiday computer purchases. We'll have a computer or two set up to demonstrate what's currently available and to let the children show their parents how to really use a computer.Join us for a fun time and get some FREE advice. Near the Old Navy store on the Food Court wing of the Liberty Tree Mall. For more details, contact Carl Gates at 508-774-0274.
November 14, 1996
Buying a New Computer
It's almost the holiday season and the time of year when many people consider buying or upgrading their personal computer. It's also the time when many parents find themselves being pressured to buy without knowing exactly what they are buying.Join us as Bradley Koltz, Director of Production and Systems for the Salem Evening News and Essex County Newspapers, helps us explore the options. Discover what technology is right and the pitfalls to avoid when buying your new computer.
Bradley also writes two columns for the Essex County Newspaper group and they are available online at Web Wise and Tech Notes.
October 10, 1996
Mass Storage Technologies
Joe Paolillo from Seagate Technology was scheduled to reprise his spring visit with an updated review of the state of the art in mass storage systems. Seagate is a leading manufacturer of both disk and tape storage products as well as a software company with diverse products.We also discussed our plans for the future, membership fees and the benefits of joining the North Shore Computer Society.
September 12, 1996
Telecommunications - Modems and Other Technologies
A representative from U. S. Robotics gave a presentation on the state of the art in modems and other technologies used by your computer to telecommunicate. The meeting was of great interest to everyone, from those of you who were unsure how to pronounce ISDN to those who can now whistle in V.34.
August 8, 1996
The Second Annual Non-Meeting Meeting
Continuing the tradition we started last year, we held our Second Annual Non-Meeting Meeting. No topic, no agenda, just a good time sitting around and socializing with each other.Refreshments were great, ice cold soft drinks, light munchies and some very tasty home cooked goodies. The weather was warm and breezy and the bugs held off until dusk.
Thanks to all who came by to say hello, both old and new friends alike!
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