Tips on Computer Technology

Welcome back, this week I will talk about my experience at a Superstore.

I would also like to remind everyone that all the year 2000 articles on the website ( http://www.mespn.com/forms/tech_articles ) are now searchable by keyword(s) or article date. This has been requested a number of times from many of my loyal readers, and now it is available, check it out as well as the online version of the Saipan Tribune, which you can access by clicking the banner on that same page.

At the Super Store

Apple requested me to help out at one of the local superstores here in Texas. This super store is very large and carries not only computer equipment but all sorts of electronic equipment from DVD players to Digital Cameras, to home appliances.

This store looks like what you might expect when you go to CosCo or Sam’s Club for example. The main difference is there is no food items available and the store is really BIG!
Let me set the stage of what one might expect to see in the computer section.

Computer section

The computer section contains all manner of computers and just about all of the top brands, from Sony, to Dell, to IBM, to Apple…..

An interesting observation is most if not all the sales people are men. They wear white shirts and some even had on ties, very sharp looking.

The computer section also contains all manner of accessories for the computer systems. There is also a printer section with Epson, Hewlett Packard, Cannon, and other printer brands.

This section for sure goes on volume. Lets face it there are millions of people in Texas and this superstore is very popular. There is a constant stream of people in and out from opening to closing of the store, we should be so lucky. Of course this has a lot to do with a booming economy as well.

So What did I do

My main purpose for being there was to show people how to create there own movies using iMovie on the Apple Macintosh. In this respect some people were astounded how easy it is to create very high quality movies of your own on the Macintosh using iMovie! I showed iMovie creation on the iMac, G4 tower, iBook special edition, and of course the new PowerMac G4 Cube.

I also demode the new Microsoft Office 2001 for Macintosh and Appleworks 6 as well as how to use DVDs on the macs that support them.

Speaking of DVDs, I had the G4 Cube showing the Batman movie ob the new Apple Studio flat panel display. The Cube setup was always drawing a crowd of onlookers. I practically had to wipe of the “drool” on the Cube system as people were drooling over the G4 Cube system! And why not the Studio flat panel display is so clear and shows such vivid colors, people could not help themselves!

I demoed Microsoft Office 2001 for he mac and I must say even I am impressed at the quality of MS Office 2001 for the mac. All the modules have been updated, MS Word, Excell, PowerPoint and a new module called Entourage.

Entourage, included a Calendar, address book, task manager with reminded function, searchable notes, and link maker, to link various items to other items. The spelling function works in all modules including email. It can even auto correct as you type if you prefer.

Summary

So if you are looking for a high end office suite of software tools, check out Microsoft Office 2001 for the Macintosh and “Only for the Macintosh”!

Software

If your office suite requirements are more modest then check out AppleWorks 6. Remember Appleworks 6 is carbonized and works with MacOS X beta.

If you interested in making your own high quality movies check out iMovie2. You can still download iMove 1 from: – copy all between () – (http://a1536.g.akamaitech.net/7/1536/52/20000425/download.akamai.com/apple/i Movie/iMovie_1.0.2.smi.bin ) This may not be available for long, so don’t wait. Also it is a large download, about 19.2MB compressed.

Hardware

Looking for a very fast computer but don’t have a lot of space to put it? Then check out the G4 Cube. You can see a movie at: ( http://www.apple.com/hardware/video/powermac_g4_cube.html )

If you want a very fast computer and space is not a problem and you want expandability to the max, then check out the G4 tower, available in single and multiple processor models.
Of course if you are looking for an all in one computer, the iMac is just the ticket! Need that in a portable, then the iBook is for you!!

Need more info, looking for equipment?

If you are in need of equipment or have any questions, just send email to: ( bill@mespn.com )

Have a wonderful week.

See you here and on the web next week.

Bill Michling is a computer professional and welcomes any comments or questions you may have. Just send email to: bill@mespn.com or michling@usa.net.

You may also go to Marianas Electronics and ask help from the friendly staff there, or call them at: 234-5424, Just ask for Annie, Jun or Joseph.

For world access this Wednesday column is also on the Saipan Tribune website at: (http://www.saipantribune.com) or at the mespn.com site at: (http://mespn.com/forms/tech_Articles/ ), now connected to the Internet via broadband T1+.