Melbourne PC User Group Blog

PerfectClock 2.6

noreply@blogger.com (Graham Hurford) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 03:05:09 PDT

ALSEDI Group is pleased to announce our new version of PerfectClock 2.6, a tool allowing you to display any number of high-quality clocks with different time zones on the desktop or replace your wallpaper with clock wallpaper. The program has numbers of skins for both clock modes. The newversion comes with the support of post-processing effects and offers more adjustments of visual properties. Please, find the press release below foryour information.We would also like to offer your group members a 20% coupon discount on thepurchase of the registered version of the product. To get the discount please, visit https://www.plimus.com/jsp/buynow.jsp?contractId=1717144&couponCode=GROUP20P

Live Play Recorder

noreply@blogger.com (Graham Hurford) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 02:54:21 PDT

Record Everything on Your Desktop and Beyond with Live Play Recorder No doubt a picture is worth a thousand words. Demonstrating what happens on one's desktop can save you not just thousands of words, but hours of time. Take another situation: you enjoy watching online TV or listening to online radio and want to prolong the pleasure by viewing your favorite broadcasts once again offline. A reasonable question arises: how can one get the image from the desktop recorded on the hard drive with the following ability to play it? The solution of this problem is Live Play Recorder. LivePlayRecord.com is delighted to announce today the release of Live Play Recorder, an affordable versatile screen capture application for Windows that makes it easy to successfully record desktop, videos from websites, chatrooms and even from YouTube. The user can also record and play online TV, radio and webcam videos. But it is still not the end: the other exciting thing about Live Play Recorder is that it can be easily used as a sound recorder! All the process is extremely easy and is done in a mouse click. On starting the program, the user should define the desired screen area using View Box (a special rectangle just like the one that appears on clicking the left mouse button when you want to select several icons at once) and then click the Rec Screen button. Hardly can one imagine a simpler and quicker process! Live Play Recorder is a real boon for those who have to make presentations of different types, teachers who want to refer to computer tutorials during their lectures and everyone else whose work or hobby is related to video, sound or gameplay recording. Moreover, it is very convenient for those who like chatting via webcam or in a chatroom to save all the history of their communications by saving the videos on the hard drive with the ability to play it later on. There are also no limitations in watching online TV and listening to online radio: the user is welcome to set up as many favourite channels and stations as the heart desires. The recording time is not limited: no interesting broadcast will be gone forever. Live Play Recorder also has the ability to record sound, including voice via microphone. It is especially exciting and opportune for those who like chatting live, playing online games, singing or just want to immortalize the memorable aphorisms of their friends or relatives. Pricing and Availability Live Play Recorder runs under Windows XP and Vista and costs $38 (USD) for five-users license. Licensed users are entitled to free updates and priority technical support. More information on the product can be found at http://www.liveplayrecorder.com/.

Comfort Keys 3.0

noreply@blogger.com (Graham Hurford) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 02:33:13 PDT

EFFICIENT PERFORMANCE BOOSTER AT YOUR FINGERTIPS There are categories of users that often need more than a standard keyboardand a mouse: support and sales managers, programmers, translators,copywriters, advanced Internet users and many others. These people want tobe able to substantially reduce the time necessary for entering standard texts, performing routine operations and running complex macros. They know exactly how they can benefit from doing a lot of things with a single keypress and are still looking for a tool that will make this all happen. Ifyou are one of them or know somebody who matches the description above,there is some good news - a new version of Comfort Keys software is out!February 20, 2008: Comfort Software Group gladly announces the release ofComfort Keys 3.0, a successor to the popular hotkey management tool. The newversion encompasses everything its predecessor had to offer and yet takesits functionality to a new level by presenting several useful features thatwill be much appreciated by existing and new users of the software. The newversion supports new non-standard keyboard types (Ergonomic and DellInspiron 6000), speaks two new languages (Hungarian and simplified Chinese),supports gestures with adjustable sensitivity for fast input of capitalletters, spaces and other characters, tips on the virtual keyboard, theoption of hiding to the system tray and features an enhanced hotkeymanagement window with a full list of hotkeys and new groups.Comfort Keys is a powerful multifunctional hotkey manager for Windows Vista,XP and 2000. Intended for a wide range of consumers, from novices todemanding power-users, this software provides a surprising level offlexibility in terms of creating custom hotkey combinations and assigningthem to a plethora of available actions. Users that require regular input ofstandard texts (e.g. support managers) will highly appreciate the ability tocreate custom templates and then paste pre-formatted text with images into the necessary window with a single keypress, thus saving an impressiveamount of time every day.The integrated clipboard manager greatly extends the capabilities of the standard Windows clipboard and allows you to save an unlimited number ofcopied objects - from Excel spreadsheets to Adobe Photoshop images - in thememory, quickly access them and reuse as many times as you wish. Thesoftware also makes sure that your clipboard data are saved in case of apower failure or a hardware crash. The Comfort Keys software also features an advanced task switcher, sound control tools and a virtual keyboard thatfacilitates the choice and configuration of your hotkey combinations.Regular users will like the ability of Comfort Keys to quickly switchlanguages, convert the selected fragment of text into another language orcase, run keystroke macros, easily manage window and even restart theircomputers using the keyboard.Not only will Comfort Keys drastically improve the efficiency of yourday-to-day work, but also greatly decrease the risk of Repetitive StrainInjury (RSI), which is caused by frequently pressing mouse buttons andswitching between the mouse and the keyboard.If you value comfort and ergonomics of your workplace, choose the best - anddon't forget to add Comfort Keys to your shopping list!Pricing and AvailabilityComfort Keys fully supports Windows Vista/2000/XP operating systems and canbe purchased both for individual and network use. A personal license costsonly $29.95, whereas a multi-user license ranges from $21.95 to $6.95,depending on the number of users/computers. Purchasing a licensed copy ofComfort Keys gives you several advantages, the main ones being immediatesoftware activation, priority technical support and unlimited free updatesin the future. The company offers a 30-day money back guarantee on allorders.More information on Comfort Keys, as well as its free downloadable trialversion and FAQ, is available athttp://www.comfort-software.com/hotkey-manager.html.
Product page link: http://www.comfort-software.com/hotkey-manager.html

Microsoft and Dell go RED

noreply@blogger.com (Melb PC) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:13:44 PST

If you are about to buy a laptop computer or printer and want to help save lives at the same time, check out the (PRODUCT) RED offerings from Dell Australia and Microsoft. The RED concept came from U2 frontman Bono and Bobby Shriver, who want to raise awareness and funds for eradicating AIDS. A part of the proceeds from RED products will go towards the Global Fund, so you can do your bit by buying a RED product.

Here is a link to the YouTube video. Other companies such as Converse, Hallmark, American Express and so on have released RED products or will do so shortly. They are listed in the JoinRED blog.

ReplyButler for Outlook

noreply@blogger.com (Melb PC) — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 21:58:12 PST

ITSTH is offering user group members a 25% discount on ReplyButler for Microsoft Outlook (not Express). This program will suit people who have to send a lot of emails that need several boilerplate elements to be mixed and matched.

The price is a low 15 Euro but if you want your user group discount, write to the developer first.

ReaSoft PDF Printer 3 User Group Discount

noreply@blogger.com (Melb PC) — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 04:48:11 PDT

Reasoft makes PDF Printer 3, which offers the following features:

Easy creation of high quality PDF documents from any application that prints
Use optional PDF saving dialog for detailed document design
Combine documents, drawings and rich media content into a single PDF document
Control your PDF documents security
Available as Server Edition

Please visit the PDF website to find out more about these products. If you are a user group member, you should ask in advance for the 30% user group discount by contacting support@reasoft.com.

ReaSoft PDF Printer runs under Microsoft Windows 2000 / XP (32/64bit) / 2003 Server (32/64bit) / Vista and starts at $24.95 (US) for the Lite edition. Discounts for volume buyers are available. Licensed customers are entitled to free technical support by email and minor upgrades. Additional information on the product, as well as its no cost, 30-day evaluation copy is also available from www.reasoft.com.

ReaConverter 5.0

noreply@blogger.com (Melb PC) — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 23:03:11 PDT

ReaConverter 5.0 is a professional application for graphic files, photos, drafts, and other images of any type, which allows users to convert pictures into a wide range of formats, as well as edit them according to their needs. It comes in Lite, Standard and Pro editions.

We have not tested it but you can download a trial version and, if you wish to buy it, write to Svetlana Zimireva info@reasoft.com and ask for the 30% discount they are offering user groups.

Giveaway of the Day

noreply@blogger.com (Melb PC) — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 06:40:28 PDT

Usually we try to post information about sites that offer a discount to our members. How about a site that offers freebies? Giveaway of the Day offers links to various companies that offer free stuff for a limited time. Today's freebie (which expires in about 17 hours) is a project manager called Concept Draw and it has to be installed within that timeframe. It is free for noncommercial uses.

Windows Blogs from the Vista Team

noreply@blogger.com (Melb PC) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:13:44 PST

These are really two blogs in one:

The Vista Team Blog is, as the name suggests, news from the team that built Windows Vista.
The Windows Experience is about the user experience, authored by Brandon LeBlanc.

Visit the two blogs at http://windowsvistablog.com/

Massive Student Discount for Office 2007

noreply@blogger.com (Melb PC) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:13:44 PST

For University Students

Apologies for this late notice, as there are only 27 days, 15 hours and 16 minutes left to take up Microsoft's massive discount for university students via the special website: http://www.itsnotcheating.com.au.

The offer is for the Ultimate edition of Microsoft Office 2007 for only $75 for an indefinite licence, or $25 for a one year licence. The retail price of Office Ultimate is $1150, so this is a genuine bargain for uni students. A current email address at one of the listed universities (see the website) is essential and is used as part of the purchase process.

Member Discount: Alpha Software

noreply@blogger.com (Melb PC) — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 06:17:49 PDT

The following email was received via APCUG for our members:

Dear User Group Member:

Alpha Software, one of the original software companies, has been developing database software as an independent software company for 25 years.

We have a customer base of over 1 million customers and have always worked closely with user groups. In fact, the original Boston Computer Society was where we got our start!

To celebrate 25 years of building powerful, yet easy and productive database software, we would like to do something special for user group members.

We have just launched Alpha Five Version 8 -- which is the most exciting new product we have ever released.

http://www.alphasoftware.com/AlphaFive/ProductTour/Features_00.asp

In conjunction with our exhibiting at the upcoming SW Computer User Group Conference, we are making 1,000 copies available at very special pricing to User Group members to thank you for the role that User Groups have played in our history and growth.

Alpha Five Version 8 is the first all-in-one solution that lets anyone build both web 2.0 and desktop database applications with full reporting, security and connectivity to any SQL backend or to the built-in Alpha database engine.

Alpha Five Version 8 comes in three editions:

Desktop -- SRP $199, User Group Members Only Pricing - $29.95

(Builds Windows desktop single user applications)

Professional -- SRP $249 User Group Members Only Pricing - $39.95

(Builds Windows desktop multi user applications and web applications using Alpha Five's DBF database engine)

Enterprise -- SRP $349 User Group Members Only Pricing - $49.95

Builds Windows desktop multi user applications and web applications using Alpha Five's DBF database engine or against any SQL database)

To take advantage of this special opportunity:

Please email marketing@alphasoftware.com with the words Alpha User Group Special in the subject line (we will then get back to you with a secure ordering URL dedicated to this special "thank you to User Groups" offer). This offer is only valid for user groups. We must have all the information shown below.

Please sure to include:

Full Name,

Address,

Telephone,

Email Address,

Street Address,

City,

State,

ZIP,

User Group Name,

President's or Chairman's Name,

Please include which edition of Alpha Five Version 8 you want.

Hope to see you in San Diego!

Sincerely

Richard Rabins

Co Chairman and Co Founder

Alpha Software Inc.

www.alphasoftware.com

Melb PC does not endorse any company offering discounts, but makes these offers available as a service to our members.

Monthly Meeting - Wednesday 7th February 2007

noreply@blogger.com (Melb PC) — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 21:32:34 PST

Monthly Meeting Deakin University, Burwood 7:00 pm
It's the Launch of the Millennium - Vista has arrived!
The world has been watching and waiting for three years - Microsoft has ended a gestation period that makes elephants look speedy, but at last the new Windows Vista is here!
Melb PC has been closely involved in this development process, so we will be among the first in the world to see Vista after it is launched on January 30th.
This is going to be a big night with Microsoft experts here to demonstrate the new dimensions you can reach, and to answer your personal questions. Plus of course there will be lots of prizes - you know how exciting it is when Microsoft comes to town, don't miss it whatever you do.
Random Access
This will be a big Melbourne PC meeting, a chance to meet up with hundreds of your fellow members out for a great night.
And don't forget to bring your own computer problems, too - as always this meeting will start with the questions-and-answers called Random Access, hosted by Barry Martin.
Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood.
Lecture Theatre 1, Bldg I.
7:00 pm Sharp.

New Committee 2006-2007

noreply@blogger.com (Melb PC) — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 02:21:25 PST

The new Committee and revised portfolios are:

Lyn Goodall - President
Frank Maher - Vice President
John Swale - Secretary
Dave Botherway - Treasurer

Ash Nallawalla
Bill Dair - Groups Coordination
Dave Botherway - Internet & BBS
Frank Maher - Communications
John Swale - Office, Rules & Procedures, Legal, Public Officer
Keith Beresford - Marketing & Promotions
Lyn Goodall - Strategic Planning, PC Update Liaison
Neil Franks - Member Support Services
Ray Beatty - Marketing & Promotions, Monthly Meetings
Scouse - Swap Meets, Library
Shelagh Black - Training & Monthly Disk
Trevor Gosbell - Communications

You are encouraged to contact the appropriate committee member about anything to do with their portfolio.
We’re looking forward to an active year and as usual the Committee welcomes any feedback you may like to provide. You can contact me at president@melbpc.org.au.

Elections

noreply@blogger.com (Melb PC) — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 20:56:12 PST

The AGM was held on November 1, 2006 and Committee positions for 2006-2007 are as follows:

Executive:
President: Lyn Goodall
Vice President: Frank Maher
Treasurer: Dave Botherway
Secretary: John Swale

Ordinary Committee members (in alphabetical order)
Ray Beatty
Keith Beresford
Shelagh Black
William Dair
Neil Franks
Trevor Gosbell
Ash Nallawalla
Scouse

The committee would like to thank all those members who either attended the meeting or voted in the elections and we all look forward to the challenges that lay ahead.

Melbourne PC User Group AGM

noreply@blogger.com (Melb PC) — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 19:40:37 PDT

Elections:
The AGM will be held on November 1, 2006 at 7.30pm and the Notice Of Meeting will be in the September issue of PC Update. Elections for Committee positions will be held then. Nominations closed at 5 pm on Friday September 29, 2006 and after checking their validity the Returning Officer found the nominations were.
Executive:
President : Lyn Goodall
Vice President: Frank Maher
Treasurer: Dave Botherway
Secretary: John Swale

Ordinary Committee members (in alphabetical order)
Ray Beatty
Keith Beresford
Shelagh Black
William Dair
Neil Franks
Trevor Gosbell
Ash Nallawalla
Scouse
Richard Solly

As there was only one nomination for each Executive position there will not be any election required for these positions. There are 9 nominations for the 8 ordinary Committee members and an election will be required. The returning Officer drew lots to select the position of each candidate on the voting paper.
The Annual General Meeting and the election of the committee shall be held on Wednesday 1 November 2006 at Deakin University, Burwood Road, Burwood at 7.30 pm.You may vote by completing the postal ballot and posting or delivering it to the returning officer or by giving your proxy to another member who can attend the AGM or by personally attending the AGM yourself.Postal ballot papers and proxy forms cannot be submitted by fax, e-mail or the BBS.
Postal Voting Procedure• Use the postal ballot paper link or use the one in the magazine or a photocopy of it;• Indicate your selections by crossing out the one name you wish to exclude;• Place the ballot paper in a sealed envelope.• Put this envelope in another envelope then print your name and membership number on the outside of that envelope and sign it;• Address the envelope to:The Returning OfficerMelbourne PC User group Level 2, Chadstone Place Chadstone Centre VIC 3148• Mail or deliver to arrive by 12 noon on Wednesday 1 November 2006.• Voting is first past the post
Proxy VotingIf you cannot attend the AGM you may appoint another member as your proxy by completing a proxy form and posting it or delivering it to the Returning Officer by the start of the AGM by clicking the link or The proxy form can be downloaded from http://www.melbpc.org.au/committee/proxy06.pdf by following the link from the Committee Web page or you may collect one from the Melb PC Office. Your proxy will have to attend the AGM and will be given a ballot paper to complete at the meeting.

Special Windows 98 & ME Updates Disc

noreply@blogger.com (John Talbot) — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 23:47:57 PDT

A special Members' Disc containing the updates to Windows 98, Windows 98SE & Windows Me may now be obtained from the same sources as the Monthly Disc, i.e. the MelbPC office or the monthly meeting. The cost is $5.00 (plus $1.00 if ordered by mail).

Every effort has been made to ensure that all the Updates relating toWindows 98, Windows 98SE and Windows Me that are available areincluded on this disc.

This is a great time-saver for anybody installing a Win 98 or ME operating system afresh. It's also a good way to be sure that an installed 98 or ME system has not missed any past updates.

Take a new look at Security

noreply@blogger.com (Melb PC) — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 17:23:29 PDT

If you've ever lost a laptop, you'll know the gut wrenching feeling that's associated with it! Not only the loss of the hardware but also the loss of personal or work files and other intimate details that you may have thought were securely stored ....... are no longer so!
An article on the HP site advises us that there is new technology around that can help, so all is not lost! (pardon the pun).

September Monthly Disc

noreply@blogger.com (John Talbot) — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 22:35:45 PDT

Yes, it's time to buy this valuable resource once again. It's available from the usual sources\venues, at the usual price (despite the effect of bananas and petrol on its cost structure!)

A few of the 60 new freeware programs appear likely to have wide appeal:

Autoruns, one of the most effective programs of its type,

Bruce's Unusual Typing Wizard, suitable for those who would like to learn how to type correctly and fast,

Screen Saver Control,

Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor (a reminder to those that want to
upgrade to Vista, whether in the beta or release versions).

It should not be forgotten that as well as freeware the disc includes its bunch of ever-handy regular staples, kept well up-to-date.

Johnt

Aging Computers for Aging Users?

noreply@blogger.com (Melb PC) — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 01:44:26 PDT

Eric Dishman calls it a "demographic tidal wave," and its effects are being felt worldwide.
Dishman, chairman of the Centre for Aging Services Technologies (CAST) and General Manager of Health Research and Innovation Group at Intel Corporation, is referring to the exploding worldwide population of "seniors", people who are age 60 or above. The United Nations estimates that the worldwide senior population was 600 million in the year 2000. This number is expected to double to 1.2 billion by 2025, and surge to over 2 billion by 2050.
See HP article for more information.

Wiping Your Old Hard Drives

noreply@blogger.com (Melb PC) — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 17:07:45 PDT

Apparently old recycled Hard Drives are turning up in places like India, without the data having been properly erased, according to an article by Louisa Hearn, today in the Age newspaper! Information including Bank Accounts, Credit Cards and illegal files are being viewed by new owners and some of the information is being sold for a profit!
Just deleting files or reformatting are not effective methods for wiping a hard drive and its better to use a commercial erasing tool to do the job.

Hardware SIG Workshop

noreply@blogger.com (Melb PC) — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 00:00:58 PDT

The first Sunday Workshop of the MelbPC Hardware SIG was very successful. Over the course of the day (from 10-4pm) the expertise of a large number of volunteers, who made their services freely available, was used to work on a whole variety of computers and problems.
Some of the most challenging problems were with the WIN98 machines, as expected, with one very old laptop suddenly developing a display problem, before work could even start on it. Some of the other WIN98 problems were:- spooling/printing problems, USB flash drive needing driver, USB card reader driver, installing a new DVD burner etc.
WinXP problems included:- ZoneAlarm Pro dialup problems (fixed by reverting to a slightly earlier version), updating WinXP by way of AutoPatcher for those dialup users who were unable to stay on line long enough at their homes to use the normal Microsoft Windows Update system. One system had not had the motherboard manufacturers specific WinXP drivers installed and as a result there was no sound from the speakers, until the drivers were installed correctly. One member experienced a hardware failure and its suspected that it was a hard drive bad-sector problem and/or faulty hard drive.

Those members who had brought along network cards were also able to access the internet to update their systems via the MelbPC ADSL network, in a far shorter time than their normal dialup accounts would have been able to.

We all learned from one another and we have some important messages for members:

Personal data files MUST be backed up, BEFORE asking for assistance! The Motto is BACKUP, BACKUP, BACKUP.!
Make sure that you bring all relevant software and hardware to the workshop - Printer cables, mice, keyboards, motherboard software CD disks etc. More than 50% of attendees didn't bring these things and its impossible to replicate problems or even undertake some of the work without them. Sometimes the occasional screen can be accomodated if we have been notified, but we won't have the full range of mice and keyboards and in particular, cables and proprietary software.

We managed to attract some attention from the younger members of the Faith Christian Church group, who are currently renting the 2 big rooms from MelbPC on a Sunday. Perhaps we will gain some younger members.! :-)

Car parking was easy and all members reported that they thoroughly enjoyed the whole day - successful and entertaining!.

It's Monthly Disc time

noreply@blogger.com (John Talbot) — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 22:56:13 PDT

Once again, a new Melbourne PC Monthly Disc is out - available from the usual sources and venues. And once again it contains no less than 60 programs, ALL OF THEM FREE!
One application which I reckon to be definitely useful is Configinspector, which is simple to install, produces a mass of information about any XP or 2000 PC's system and enables quick and easy selection from, and display of, that information. There are other programs which encompass some of Configinspector's range very well, but they're not as positive or simple in their WYSIWYW ("What you see is what you want", to twist a phrase), IMHO.

Podcast July2006

noreply@blogger.com (Melb PC) — Sat, 22 Jul 2006 18:01:37 PDT

Welcome to the first of Melbourne PC User Groups trial podcasts. We hope you enjoy them. (Just click the Title to listen to the MP3 file - 8mb download, or copy the RSS: syndicate this blog link into your Podcast Receiver, to activate your RSS feed.)
At each of our monthly meetings the President gets to talk about what's happening at Melb PC and also to focus on the work of the committee. The purpose of these podcasts is to convey the majority of the content of the Presidents talk at the monthly meetings and to give members who can't attend the meetings a chance to keep up to date with what is happening at Melb PC . As always your comments are welcome.

New Membership Drive

noreply@blogger.com (Melb PC) — Sat, 08 Jul 2006 20:24:23 PDT

We are undertaking a new Membership drive. If you are an existing member of Melb PC and you introduce a friend as a member - you could be in the draw to win a laptop, car navigation system or an MP3 player. The Two Up Competition means that when you get your mate to take out a membership with the Group, you both go into 2 separate draws to win the prizes! Your new member friends will then start to receive all the same benefits of being a member that you do; the Internet service, the magazine, the iHelp service, the Interest Groups, the meetings, the social contacts and lots more - SEE PC UPDATE for more information - the competition will be run over this year!

Podcasters at Melb PC

noreply@blogger.com (Melb PC) — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 15:30:34 PDT

The interest in Podcasting is gathering momentum with some members forming an email group to discuss Podcasting issues, and others discussing issues in the Newsgroups. An excellent FREE on-line magazine can be found at http://feeds.feedburner.com/podcastusermag and its easy to obtain the PDF version and/or subscribe to the RSS feeds and Podcast version. Freeware is available on the net and its relatively easy to get started.
We're hoping to find that there's enough interest in Podcasting to start an Interest group. Contact Lyn Goodall if you're a member of Melb PC and would like to be included.