Williamsport Area Computer Club

Newsletter / Meeting Minutes

August 1999

Our next meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 14, 1999, at 7 PM, in Room B-309 of the Lycoming College Academic Center, Williamsport. We will be finalizing plans for our Second Annual Computer Show, to be held Saturday the 18th. All meetings are free and open to the public, and volunteers are always welcomed.

Our last meeting was called to order at 7 PM on August 10, 1999 at Sovereign Bank by President John Yarosz. The minutes of June's meeting were approved. In Dan's absence, there was no treasurer's report.

Committee Reports:

Advertising / Awareness / Public Relations / Home Page:

• Jim's poll of new subscribers revealed no pattern to the recent increase. Many are subscribing from out of the area, saying that they used to live in Williamsport or have relatives here. Regardless, our web page address is obviously circulating.
• There is a new Local Links Search Engine at www.svcommunity.net a.k.a. www.lycoming.org. This project was programmed by Robert Robbins. It features an online entry form so that webmasters can submit their sites. The Community Net web master will review all entries and confirm them via email. It is expected that this search engine will simplify finding area organizations. However, following a suggestion by Jim Ingram, Robbie will also add the ability to view a complete list of the database for those who like to browse for interesting sites.
• We would like volunteers to go through our old link list and email the webmasters of those sites with an invitation to add themselves to the new search engine. Our list will eventually be retired and a link to the search engine placed on our page.
• Kathy has obtained new business cards for the club. Contact her for a supply.

Computer Recycling (finding charitable uses for old computers):

• The Salvation Army is waiting for one of our systems, but we have no working monitors. If you can volunteer to repair VGA monitors, get in touch with us!

Computer Show:

• The show will be held on September 18th from 8 AM to 1 PM at the Williamsport Parking Deck on West Third Street (there is a map on our Computer Show page, www.sunlink.net/wacc/computershow.html). Vendors can set up at 7 AM.
• Admission will be $3, or $5 for tailgating (children under 12 admitted free with adults.) Vendor pricing will be $25 per table. Limited electrical outlets are available.
• We would like to see a lot of tailgating this year! Load up your vehicle and get rid of your old stuff!
• Vendor response to our invitations has been positive. Early commitments include Compugen, Compumart, The Fourth 'R', and PCS. Everyone likes the idea of having it inside out of the weather, and of being able to sell without having to hand-carry everything from their trucks into the building.
• Thanks to the Sun-Gazette for mentioning our show in the last club meeting announcement.
• Dan is obtaining the insurance for the show. As this is always the single largest expense, we are asking that everyone please check their membership renewal date.
• Late Announcement: Our cable TV commercial is ready! You can see it online at www.sunlink.net/wacc/commercial2.ram
• Second Late Announcement: Kathy Kolb and Mark Gillespie from PCS will appear on the Ken Sawyer show on WRAK radio on Wednesday, September 15, at 11 AM.

Computer and Local Internet News:

• Kolb Net Works is beta-testing Susquehanna Communications' cable modem system. Kathy is getting 20-30k steady throughput, which is much more than on her ISDN line.
• The Williamsport Sun-Gazette has finally put up a web site, at www.sungazette.com

Program:

Our meeting was held at Sovereign Bank (www.sovereignbank.com), where Denise Hauser and Jim Knowlden explained their online banking systems. They explained that banks must expand their services to be more customer-friendly due to competition, and as part of that expansion they have implemented online banking as an alternative method of accessing accounts. They offer two services, "Net Banking" for personal accounts and "PC Connect" for corporate accounts. Their Net Banking system can be accessed through any secure web browser, and offers the ability to check account balances, view account statements, view loan information, and transfer funds between accounts. You can also download your transaction history to be imported into your own financial software.

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