get more out of your computer

1.0 EASY RUNNER SOFTWARE 
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      If you are interested in buying quality software at an affordable price,
 please consider our Easy Runner software line. Every program works the same 
 as all the rest. Every program has complete editing and search capabilities, 
 multiple files, user defined macros, help screens and more.                 
      To appreciate what these programs are like, try out our free program   
 called TASKIT. It is a task (things to do) filer. It has all of the Easy     
 Runner features in it. You will find it on many BBS's under the filename     
 TASKIT.ZIP or you can order it direct from us at the COMPUTER WORKSHOP       
 Rt. 2 Box 331-A  Wytheville, Va. 24382. If you order it from us, please     
 include a check for $2.00 to cover the cost of a disk and the shipping costs.
      The Easy Runner programs that are available as of 11/01/91 are:         
                                                                             
      HOME FINANCIAL RECORDS ... $15       SMALL BUSINESS RECORDS ... $15     
      TELEPHONE FILER .......... $15       MANUFACTURING ESTIMATOR .. $15     
      LABEL MAKER .............. $15                                         
                                                                             
          We can also create a custom Easy Runner program for $159.           
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1.1 SAVE WITH MAILORDER 
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      Computer hardware and software are not cheap. I personally have noticed 
 software prices are starting to rise. I bought a software package a year ago 
 for $80 and now the price has risen to over $200 for the latest version of it.
      You may be wondering if it is safe to buy hardware or software through 
 the mail. The answer is, YES IT IS ! But you must be careful in what you buy 
 through the mail and from whom you buy it. Here are some tips:               
 (1)     There is no advantage of buying software at a computer store. There 
      is very little they can offer you except their time. The problem is that
      they can't learn how to use every software package they sell, so their 
      knowledge will be limited. You are better off buying by mailorder and   
      using the money you save to hire a proffessional to help you. You can   
      save even more if you take the time to READ THE INSTRUCTIONS that comes 
      with your software. You wouldn't buy an automobile, if you haven't     
      learned how to drive, would you ? The same holds true with computers.   
      A large percentage of the problems that people experience with computers
      is directly related to their failure to take time to understand more   
      about computers. The time spent learning is worth it !                 
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1.2 MAILORDER TIPS       
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 (2)     Buy small orders from a mailorder company and test out how reliable 
      they are first. Many mailorder companies have an excellent reputation. 
 (3)     Choose mailorder companies that have the biggest advertisements. It 
      costs thousands of dollars for a company to put an ad in a major magazine
      They wouldn't be spending this money if they didn't have a good business.
 (4)     Compare prices. Cut out the advertisements of a least five different 
      mailorder companies and then compare their prices.                     
 (5)     Try to stick to brand name products when purchasing something that   
      costs more than $100. It may cost a little more, but you probably won't 
      end up buying a lemon.                                                 
 (6)     On the other hand, don't be afraid to try a lesser known product that
      is in the less than $100 range. There are many very good companies with 
      very good products at a reasonable price.                               
 (7)     Try to be informed as much as possible before you buy. One good habit
      (especially for expensive software) is to request FREE Demo disks of the
      software when they are available. To do this, flip through all the ads in
      a computer magazine and order any or all the Free Demos you see offered.
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1.3 MAILORDER TIPS       
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 (8)      Buying a complete computer through the mail should be done very     
      carefully. I suggest cutting out the ads for at least ten different     
      mailorder companies that sell complete computer systems. Then either show
      them to a friend who knows a lot about computers and get his/her opinion
      on which is the best deal or hire a computer consultant in your area and
      be willing to spend at least $50 to get his professional opinion. The   
      money you spend will be worth it.                                       
 (9)      Before buying any software or hardware, see if there are any reviews
      of these products in a computer magazine. Many computer magazines compare
      products of similiar design and tell which is the best according to their
      experienced opinion.                                                   
 (10)     Find a good mailorder company that sells computer supplies and be   
      willing to buy your supplies in bulk. Buy disks 50 or 100 at a time. Buy
      ribbons 6 or 12 at a time. If you don't use a lot of supplies, why not 
      find a friend or another small business that would be willing to combine
      their order with yours, so you can get the cheaper prices buy buying   
      larger quantities.                                                     
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2.1 BUYING A COMPUTER   
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      If you are considering buying a better computer or maybe you need a     
 second computer for your business, here are some tips that will get you more 
 for your money:                                                             
 (1)     If speed is an important criteria for your next computer, don't be   
      fooled into thinking that you have to buy a 386 or 486 computer. First 
      you must answer this question ....                                     
           Is the software that I am running disk intensive (that means does it
      read and write to the disk files allot) ?                               
      If you answer yes to this question, then a 12 mhz 286 (AT) computer will
      probably be satisfactory for your needs. What is really needed is a     
      faster hard disk. I suggest that the hard disk should be at least a 28 ms
      (millisecond) drive. The optimum would be a 17 ms drive. PLUS DEVELOPMENT
      (they make hardcards) makes a 9 ms hardcard for a reasonable price.     
      You may spend from $100 to $200 more for your hard drive, but you will 
      save from $300 to $500 by buying 286 computer instead of a 386 computer.
         If your software is graphic intensive (CAD, WINDOWS, etc.) then you 
      will probably need a 386 or 486 computer. A 386sx is a good buy here.   
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2.2 BUYING A COMPUTER   
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 (2)     If you would like a low cost, but yet quality graphic display and you
      can live without color, I suggest buying a Monochrome (black & white)   
      VGA monitor. This could save you up to $200 or more.                   
 (3)     An important tip on buying a computer is not to buy more than you need
      . Especially in a business is this true. Believe it or not, as a computer
      programmer, I have done most of my programming on an 4.77 mhz XT computer
      . Even an XT can keep up with my typing speed. Seriously consider what 
      the computer will be used for, before you decide what type of computer 
      you need.                                                               
 (4)     Do not buy a computer that has a slimline case (very small and not   
      very high) if you can. It makes it difficult to upgrade and may cost   
      you extra. Buy a computer with a standard size case and it will cost you
      less to upgrade it, in the long run.                                   
 (5)     Two things you should never buy too cheap are the keyboard and the   
      monitor. The keyboard should be of good quality. The problem you can have
      with a monitor, is when buying a color monitor. Some are very hard to   
      read. Always get a color monitor with at least .41 dot pitch. .31 is best
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2.3 PROTECT YOUR COMPUTER
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      One very costly expense with a computer is when it breaks down or fails.
 Computers are generally extremely reliable. But there are two areas that in my
 experience I have seen problems.                                             
      The first is Lightning. When lightning hits a power line, it can send   
 thousands of volts of electricity through your wiring into your wall outlet 
 and ultimately into your computer. When this happens, it's bye, bye computer.
 I have seen this happen. To protect your computer follow these rules:       
 1. Always use a power surge protector between the computer and the wall outlet
 2. Always purchase a quality surge protector. It should cost at least $25 or 
    more.                                                                     
 3. Don't forget to use a power surge protector for your modem, if you have one
    I saw a computer get fried through the modem even though the computer was 
    unplugged.                                                               
 4. Always unplug the computer at the end of the day. PLAY IT SAFE.           
 5. Always unplug the computer if a lightning storm is close. Some power surges
    can go right through your surge protector.                               
                                                                             
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3.1 PROTECT YOUR COMPUTER
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      The other problem that can create havoc for a computer is when the hard 
 disk crashes. There are few tips that can help here:                         
 1.   First, always backup important data on floppy disks.                   
      I suggest using this method that I call ARCHIVING. Figure out how many 
      floppy disks it will take to back up the hard disk. You need five (5)   
      times that amount of disks. If possible color code the disks in five   
      groups. Label the first set MONDAY. The second TUESDAY and so on up to 
      FRIDAY. When you do your backups, use the disks for whatever day it is. 
      Remember, you should backup every day if you are in a business. At least
      once a week if it is your personal computer at home. The reason for this
      method of doing backups is that I have seen hard disks crash and then   
      when the person tried to restore the backups on the new hard disk the   
      backup disks were corrupted.                                           
 2.   I suggest using a hard disk testing software package to see how good of 
      shape the hard disk is in, on a regular basis. I suggest using SPIN RITE
      by Peter Norton. It should only cost about $60 from most any mailorder 
      company.                                                               
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3.2 TRICKS OF THE TRADE 
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      In the years that I have been a computer consultant and programmer, I   
 have found a few tricks of the trade that have made a real difference in using
 computers. Here are some of them:                                           
 1. Learn how to write batch files. A batch file is a list of DOS commands that
    have been typed up on a word processor and then saved in a file with the 
    file extension (the three letters after the . in a filename) .BAT  .     
    For example, say you always do your hard disk backup by manually typing in
    at the DOS prompt the commands,                                           
    C:                                                                       
    BACKUP *.EXE A:/S                                                         
    BACKUP *.DAT A:/S                                                         
    You could type the same commands in a word processing file and then name it
    B.BAT            Now to do your backup, all you have to do is type B at the
    DOS prompt. This is a real time saver. I suggest buying a good book on how
    to write batch files. The book I have is "MS-DOS Batch File Programming ...
    Including OS/2" published by TAB books                                   
    (see if your library has this or another book on this subject)           
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3.3 TRICKS OF THE TRADE 
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 2.    Another good trick of the trade has to do with using printers. Have you
       ever noticed that when you have a lot of printing to do, your computer 
       sends the information to the printer in what seems to be a very slow   
       manner. The computer program seems to just stop until your printer is 
       finished printing. For example, you may have sent 10 pages from a word 
       processor to your printer which may take 5 to 15 minutes to print. Now 
       the only thing you can do is to walk away and wait until the printer is
       done printing. All you see on the screen is that little box that says 
       "PRINTING ..." .                                                       
           In reality, the computer is not slow, but the printer is what holds
       up the process. The computer can actually send those ten pages to the 
       printer in a few seconds. What happens is that the printer can only   
       receive information at a certain speed (it's like trying to eat another
       byte, when your mouth is already full).                               
           The solution to the problem is a small device that is connected   
       between the computer and printer, that is called a PRINTER BUFFER. You 
       can buy a 64K buffer for less than $150. It's worth it's weight in gold!
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4.1 MAILORDER COMPANIES 
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      Here is a list of some very good mail order companies:                 
                                                                             
 Name                     What they sell                       Telephone #   
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 LYBEN COMPUTER SYSTEMS   (computer supplies)                  (313)649-4500 
 THE CONNECTION           (programmers software)               (800)336-1166 
 USA FLEX               (hardware & systems)                   (800)872-3539 
 JDR MICRODEVICES       (hardware & systems)                   (800)538-5000 
 MIDWEST MICRO-PERIPHERALS (hardware & supplies)               (800)423-8215 
 MEI/MICRO CENTER          (floppy disks)                      (800)634-3478 
 SWAN TECHNOLOGIES      (hardware & systems)                   (800)468-9044 
 GATEWAY 2000           (computers systems)                    (800)523-2000 
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 Call these phone numbers and ask for a catalog or prices.                   
 Two personal favorites of mine above are LYBEN COMPUTER SUPPLIES and         
 THE CONNECTION                                                               
                                                                             
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4.2 SOURCES OF INFORMATION
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      To get more out of your computer at the least cost requires knowledge. 
 More and more devices, software, and tricks of the trade are showing up that 
 can help you accomplish more with your computer. But where do you learn about
 these ? I suggest you do what I do. First, get a subscription to a computer 
 magazine. These are the best sources of information about computers. Some that
 I would recommend are:                                                       
                                                                             
             PC WEEK  -  General and advanced subjects                       
                                                                             
             HOME OFFICE COMPUTING - General and business subjects           
                                                                             
             COMPUTER SHOPPER - A mail order bonanza the size of a phone book 
                                                                             
             PC MAGAZINE - General and advanced subjects                     
                                                                             
                                                                             
                                                                             
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