dacs.doc electric

At the August general meeting, DACS welcomed Ed Heere, founder and owner of Amsys Computer as its speaker. Ed, a past board member, has a very broad and comprehensive inside knowledge of the industry of computers.  He generously shared that information with members and visitors, some of it with tongue-in-cheek comments.

One of the first topics was how miniaturized computers had become, especially in the laptop area. To Ed, laptop computers, while still higher in price than desktops, pack in tons of features, with mega capacity. The result is a computer so small that it can almost get lost in one's briefcase. On the desktop side, prices are becoming more competitive by the week but with more capability than ever. This is good news for consumers in the market for a new computer.
As far as brand names, Ed recommended Dell, HP/Compaq (a combined company now that the law suit has been won) and IBM, which has good years and bad years due to continuous in-house battles taking place, according to Ed.

With all the price wars going on, something has to give, and according to Ed, the "human factor has been removed;" service is no longer in the picture. Forget about calling toll free numbers to get help when your computer does not do what it is supposed to. For every little computer problem one may encounter, there is a price attached to trying to fix it.

Ed talked about the operating systems available. As for the Windows, XP home is ok, but Pro is better, 2000 is solid. 98 is being phased out and Me was a big catastrophe as per Ed. For the servers, there is now more Linux than Unix. Ed says that Linux will eventually be a major player in the desktop world.

While on the topic of operating systems, Ed briefly mentioned that lots of damage can be inflicted to computers by games. I tend to agree to a certain extent, but it shows that Ed is a parent of girls and not of boys!

On the subject of Internet connectivity, modems as we know them are basically dead and being replaced at a fast pace by broadband, be it cable, DSL or satellite. As users and companies move to broadband acess, firewalls and routers that protect "always on" computers are very important. The hardware types of firewall are more efficient. On that topic, Ed mentioned routers that let a user plug in extra computers onto the line. This is technically being discouraged by providers but not stringently enforced. Ed also mentioned Net Switcher that lets users switch between cable, DSL or ISDN at will, should one service become unavailable.

Monitors also have greatly decreased in price. Flat panel displays have a better view than regular monitors, but work only at the native resolution.  They are more energy-efficient, have a sharper and brighter image, and have less heat emission, with a positive effect not only on the environment but on your eyes, plus the fact that they are much easier to fit on a desk.

Ed continued then on the advantages of using a GPS in your car. The technology makes a car more expensive but Ed seems hooked on its rewards. The way I can picture it, GPS is like having mapquest in your car. Ed moved on to how he uses the web routinely, when the question arose of "How did we live before the Internet was commonly accessible?" He gave us a laundry list of why and how he uses the Internet that is too long to remember, but I recognized about half of the items he described that are also done in my household.

At one point, Ed got sidetracked with a multitude of specific questions and had to rush to finish up on his planned presentation. He closed by predicting, as he removed from his pockets keys, credit cards, garage door opener, passport, tape, CDs, MP3 and different other items, that within five years, for a cost of less than $500.00 all those items would be in a hand held device with all information being available remotely. Only the owner of the device would be able to use the information, especially convenient if the device is stolen or left behind. Surely, with all articles on one device, there's lots of stuff that could be removed from purses, pockets and briefcases.
During his presentation, Ed covered many more areas that were all interesting. He gave DACS members a run down of the industry and a glimpse into the future of the computer technology.