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December 9, 1999 - Thursday

Corel Software Review

Deciding on a software suite or desktop publishing program? This meeting is a must!

This month's main meeting will feature a presentation by Richard Solomon of Corel Corporation. Mr. Solomon will be demonstrating their Corel WordPerfect 2000 suite of office software products as well as their CorelDraw 9 package. They are coming down from their offices in Ontario just to visit with us, so plan on dropping by and seeing what they have to offer. Rumor has it that . Mr. Solomon and Corel will be adding some really great prizes for this month's drawings. But remember, you have to be an NSCS member to win.

Corel Corporation is an internationally recognized developer of award-winning graphics and business productivity applications. Development of market-leading products such as the CorelDRAW line of graphics applications and the Corel WordPerfect Suite of business tools is continually evolving to meet the demands of the corporate, retail and academic markets. Committed to performance, compatibility, value and open standards, Corel develops products for the Windows, Macintosh, UNIX, Linux and Java platforms.

Do you have some ideas of your own for upcoming monthly meetings? Please, let us know!

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November 11, 1999 - Thursday

Hasbro Interactive & Bradley Koltz

It was another double header meeting. As the holiday season approaches, your child's and perhaps your thoughts may turn to what new computer game might be under the tree this year. Hasbro Interactive of Beverly and Bradley Koltz of the Essex County News organization joined us to help with this year's gift list.

Bradley Koltz of Essex County News made a presentation on What's Hot and What's Not in the computer industry. If you've been trying to decide whether or not to buy some new gadget or software for your computer, or if you were looking for suggestions for something to buy for your favorite computer person,then you didn't want to miss this meeting.

Also appearing at the November meeting was Gale Steiner, Business Unit Manager for Leisure Entertainment at Hasbro Interactive, who presented some of the newest game titles for 1999. This includes Hasbro Interactive titles for all the popular gaming hardware platforms. She also give a behind-the-scenes look at what's coming in 2000.

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October 14, 1999 - Thursday

Y2K Update & Online Banking

We had another double header for this month's meeting. Don Orifice, Executive Director of the North Shore Computer Society, provided us with updates on the status of the Year 2000 problem. He explored whether there's still reasons to head for the hills or if the dawn of the new millennium will be the biggest non-event in the history of computing?

Don outlined what we could expect and what we can do to minimize the impact of any problems which might occur. We also explored some of the Y2K related links on the Internet.

Also appearing at the October meeting were Susan Keyes and Neal Katz from Heritage Bank. They presented Heritage Online, a home banking product. Heritage Bank is a local community bank based in Salem.

Both Internet banking and PC banking were reviewed. Their discussion covered how the product works, minimum hardware required, costs, Internet access, PC access, security issues, transaction flows and a demonstration.

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September 9, 1999 - Thursday

Digital Photography & the Big Dig

We planned a dual program for this month. John Crookes of Zeff Photo Supply gave a presentation on Digital Photography. He discussed the trends in digital camera design, the methods of digital image capture, image storage media types and image transfer methods (from the camera to the computer).

Also appearing at the meeting was Jason G. Gibbs, Deputy Director of Public Affairs for the Central Artery / Tunnel Project, better known as the Big Dig. He gave a great visual presentation on the progress of the project.

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June 10, 1999 - Thursday

What Can I do with a Scanner?

Ever wondered what you could do with all those snapshots tucked away in that shoebox?

We invited a representative from Agfa to talk about computers and scanners. If you've thought about adding a scanner to your toy box, this was a good presentation to check out. If you're already a scanning "master", perhaps you shared some of your tips! We've also gathered some related links from the Web, check them out.

Do you have some ideas of your own for upcoming monthly meetings? Please, let us know!

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May 13, 1999 - Thursday

The Lighter Side of Technology!

Too often, technology is a bit too dry, too sterile.

Our courageous captain, Don Orifice, explored the Web and unlocked his e-mail archives, sharing with us the "The Lighter Side of Technology". Whether your tastes run to topical political satire, animated dancing characters, or perhaps enjoying your favorite comic strip online, Don had something for everyone.

Also, one of the industry's premier technology cartoonists, Rich Tennant, shared with us some of his humorous insights and previews of his current work.

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April 8, 1999 - Thursday

Investing and Your Computer!

By now, most of you have already completed your tax returns or if not, you will shortly. No doubt everyone feels that they have paid too much to the government. Now, there are at least two ways we know of to keep more of your money - you can either find a way to have them take less or you can find a way to make more.

This months theme, Investing and Technology, examined the ways we can use our computers to make more money. The main speaker was scheduled to be a representative from Charles Schwab who will be discussing the resources available to the online investor. Other speakers are still unconfirmed at this time.

And of course, we will have the usual door prizes. But remember, you must be present AND you must be an NSCS member to win.

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March 11, 1999 - Thursday

Taxes and Technology!

April 15th was just around the corner again and as you gathered your receipts, W2s and 1099s, we thought we had some help you can use.

The Internal Revenue Service
The IRS says that it's putting a smile on its face, wants to answer questions better and solve problems faster. To demonstrate, a representative from the Taxpayer Education office discussed some of the changes they're making to "put service first".

Topics covered include their new hot line (1-800-TAX-1040) phone hours (toll-free, 24 hours a day, seven days a week) to reach an IRS expert, expanded FAQs and helpful facts on their Web site www.irs.ustreas.gov, special Problem Solving Days at IRS offices for walk-in, on the spot help and of course "e-file" for filing AND paying your taxes electronically.

Tax Prep Software
If you don't have someone to do your taxes for you and you want to make good use of that new computer you got for the holidays, we had two tax preparation software packages to offer for your review. Intuit the makers of TurboTax and Block Financial Software the makers of Kiplinger's Taxcut were scheduled to demonstrate their top selling financial products. Trial software was available for those interested and some full packages were raffled off to NSCS members.

Keeping Good Records
Last but certainly not least, is the importance of "good record keeping". Karen Langlois, a local Bookkeeping Services Consultant and QuickBooks Professional Advisor demonstrated how applications like Intuit's QuickBooks can make the dreaded task of sorting a shoe box full of records a thing of the past.

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February 11, 1999 - Thursday

The Internet in 1999!

This topic was re-scheduled from our January meeting which was cancelled due to weather.

The use of the Internet is expanding at incredible speeds. So fast that it is difficult to get a handle on all of the new services and technologies that are out there. Cable modems, xDSL, V.90, ISDN, IMAP4 and more.

Lowell Gray, the President of Shore.net, helped us to understand what is real and what is only a figment of the minds of marketing madmen. The leading Internet service provider (ISP) in the area, Shore.net is also the host of our website and a long time supporter of our group.

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