President's Message

You probably noticed that dacs.doc is arrived late this month. That’s because things always tend to slow in mid-summer-SIGs close down for the season, members go on vacation, and the editorial committee gets its hands dirty out in the garden. When deadlines get backed up, we send out a card to remind members of the upcoming meeting, and put the editorial content of the newsletter up on the Web site.

Last month, you may also have noticed that we had two reviews of the June meeting. We were running tight on our deadline without a review, so we asked our Windows business applications guru, Richard Corzo, to come up with one as a hedge. Then our review editor, Jack Marsella, came through with his own carefully honed piece. The result was two excellent reviews, a fitting tribute to the informative and stimulating presentation from Gartner Group on Windows 2000. Special thanks to Richard and Jack for their efforts.

The new old world

We have all been awed by the revolution in computers and the role of American companies in creating it. But we forget that in some technologies, other areas of the world are advancing even faster than we are. On a recent vacation in the Netherlands and Luxembourg, I found out firsthand how wireless telecommunications technology has leapfrogged our own. On every street corner, in restaurants and cafes, on planes, trains, and automobiles, Europeans are talking, e-mailing, and crunching numbers on their cell phones. Consumers are leaving wires and modems behind-so fast that road signs on the old technology superhighways are warning motorists to slow down, hitch their
cell phones between a jack and their ear, and keep both hands on the wheel.

Bridging the digital divide

Several months ago, DACS embarked on a new program to refurbish old PCs and distribute them to area nonprofits. In a remarkable show of support from the business community, we received more than 300 486 PCs from Danbury Hospital, Cendant Mobility, and Raytheon Corporation, along with promises from Microsoft of operating licenses for Windows and MS Works. Ed Heere offered the facilities and support of AMSYS computer in Ridgefield, and DACS rounded up about two dozen volunteers to evaluate the PCs, strip them of memory, and install the new software.

Of the 300 computers, 200 passed the turn-on test, with the remainder set aside for debugging. Of these, 80 units have been completed, and we have distributed about 50 to needy organizations. Recipients include The Danbury Volunteer Center, St. Joseph’s School, Literacy Volunteers of America, and TBICO (The Bridge to Independence and Career Opportunities), an association that helps to foster workplace skills. You can read more about this program at http://www.newstimes.com/archive2000/jul13/bza.htm.

Volunteer teams are working at AMSYS Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings and Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. To join a team, please call Charlie Bovaird at (203) 792-7881.

If working with people is your preference, Voice for Joanie is looking for a few good men or women to help give the gift of speech to victims of Lou Gehrig’s disease. Volunteers are needed about one weekend each month to look in on clients and help with the kinds of problems we all have with computers and software. Call Shirley Fredlund at (860) 355-2611, X4517 to become a VFJ
volunteer.

--Allan Ostergren
dacsprez@aol.com