System Basics

1. Eliminate Mistakes and Increase Productivity
2. The Rogue's Gallery
3. Just Cool It
4. Do I Need a Digitizer?
5. How to Shoot Yourself in the Foot
6. Selecting Keyboards
7. Computer Cases

<Motherboards : Table of Contents : Storage>

Eliminate Mistakes and Increase Productivity
From Catalog 38, page 13

In one form or another, bar coding has become a very big business. Whether it is tracking railroad cars passing through the yards or totaling your grocery bill, the primary reasons for using it are the same. Speed and accuracy, with the emphasis on the accuracy, seem to be the driving forces.

Using nearly any dot matrix or laser printer and a bar code reader, you too can enjoy the benefits of bar coding. Consider these examples and see if any of them suggest a way you can improve the accuracy or work flow in your area of expertise.

1. Track library books or tapes by putting a bar code on the subscribers' membership cards, and a bar code on the loaner.
2. Report service work on equipment by scanning the equipment number and the work categories. This can be done off a laminated worksheet containing valid coded entries.
3. Record treatments or services for clients for billing by scanning in procedures as they are being performed. This will help avoid lost dollars and improve the accuracy of reporting.

Using a bar code reader requires much less training than a keyboard, and nearly guarantees accuracy. In fact, the user doesn't even need to be able to read!

You think it's easy to make mistrakes? Wrong! I had to twist arms to get this left as it was finally printed. Some people just don't understand my sense of humor.

(Editors note: Nobody thoroughly understands Derick's sense of humor.)

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The Rogue's Gallery
From Catalog 26, page 33

Pathetically, there is no "artist" in me_I can't even draw a decent mustache on the cover girl of a magazine. Even still, I am sometimes tempted to enhance the pictures of bald men to what they would look like if they had hair.

The Logitech FotoMan is the answer to my dream (nightmare). Just point and click the FotoMan to capture an electronic picture in 256 gray levels. Put the camera in its recharging stand and download any of the 32 pictures recorded in the camera, and then use your favorite paint program to decorate that pate with curly golden locks!

Of course, the FotoMan has many practical uses. A realtor might want pictures of a client's house quickly available throughout their MLS area. An insurance agent could capture and send a picture of damages for faster adjusting, and many desktop publishing jobs would benefit from a real picture even if it was only a place holder for a later high-resolution view of the same scene.

With the FotoMan, photo ID's no longer require special equipment. You still need to laminate the card, but the photo will be part of the card and not subject to easy removal and replacement.

The FotoMan provides a high-tech solution to many computer-image related problems. Just the fact that you can "develop" a picture and send it around the world in a few minutes should be sufficient to make one consider the possibilities.

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Just Cool It
From Catalog 26, page 72

Life and death in the computer fast lane is often decided on the basis of who is the "coolest."

The two biggest enemies of electronic devices have remained the same since the very early days of tubes and radio. If you can keep the voltages regulated within the specifications of the device, and keep the device cool, it will probably last a long time.

Mainframe computers have been built on raised floors for decades. The space below is used for running cables and providing cooling. Many mainframe computers are never deliberately turned off because the power surges and temperature cycling that occur during start-up frequently cause problems.

You can extend the life of your computer by plugging it into a surge suppressor and keeping the area around your computer free of dust or anything that can block the free flow of air into and out of the computer case.

Even better protection can be had with a power conditioner or an Uninterruptable Power Supply and an upright case. The upright case takes advantage of natural convection to assist in the movement of air over the warm components of your computer.

Our CASE-100A provides an "extra" mounting location for an additional muffin fan in case you operate your computer in a particularly warm or stuffy location.

You will note from my photo that I take my own advice on this subject, and have provided for the uninterrupted flow of air to the brains of this bio-computing device. Stay cool!

Can we talk? Can I be honest with you? Oh good!

Maybe I'm just covering up an insecurity, or perhaps it's just a mean streak, but I get a kick out of poking fun at being bald. One of my favorite things to do when I'm out in the mall or with a crowd is to notice bald guys with a toupee.

Whenever I see one (the people with me scatter) I sit alongside and quietly whisper, "Good looking toupee, you almost can't tell that you're bald!", and being bald myself, what can they say?

Now be honest, was I too open? Did that make you uncomfortable?

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Do I Need a Digitizer?
From Catalog 24, page 33

Have an old drawing that needs updating? Do others need access to stored drawings that have seen better days? Do you find freehand sketching with a mouse produces drawings that look like you had the hiccups as you drew? These and other problems can be solved with the right choice of digitizer.

Lay a drawing on the surface, set the snap/grid in your CAD program and quickly transfer drawings to a format you can easily edit, retrieve, and transmit. Even larger drawings are easy, once you get the hang of it.

My 12 x 12" digitizer is very useful. Rather than starting from scratch when I want a reference drawing of the switches and jumpers on a card, I digitize only the necessary detail from a printed circuit board photo-plot to create a properly proportioned reference figure for documentation and manuals.

If I were artistic (and I'm not), a 5 x 5 inch digitizer would probably fit my needs. I could do a rough sketch on paper and then easily enter it using the pencil shaped stylus. Digitizer coordinates can be either relative (used when emulating a mouse) or absolute (used when the pad is digitizing). As a digitizer, some programs set up certain areas of the pad to be used for menu selection. Just move to a specific spot and click to select that menu item_a very useful feature when using the digitizer with a CAD program.

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How to Shoot Yourself in the Foot
From Catalog 20, page 8

The length of time you've been using PCs will probably determine your level of dissatisfaction with things like the CMOS setup. If you started 10 years ago, CMOS setup seems like a breeze next to all of those motherboard switches you used to have to contend with.

If you are a new user, then CMOS setup is another of those "nerds only" jobs you would like to avoid. Whichever the case, it is a task you should try to do right the first time, and document your finished product when you finish.

One example may help you understand why it is important to document your finished product. Most IDE drive configurations will not match any of the types listed in the drive type menu. However, since the IDE drives can do an internal translation, you will be instructed to select a type that has the same or nearly the same capacity. Sometimes you will be instructed to use drive type 47 or 48 and define your own cylinders, heads, and sectors.

How can you shoot yourself in the foot? Just forget to write down your IDE drive type and capacity selection. Later, when for any reason you need to remake that selection, hope you can make the same choices. If you don't, forget about all of the data on the drive. It will be inaccessible until you stumble on the correct settings again.

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Selecting Keyboards
From Catalog 18, page 17

Much as I dislike saying it, most of JDR's customers select their keyboard on the basis of price alone! And while satisfaction is very good, even with that criteria, I suspect that many people would be surprised at how much more they might like another keyboard if they paid more attention to the written description in our catalog.

A typist trained on the IBM Selectric would probably appreciate the "click" sound and feel of the K103-A. Other, more generically trained typists will feel especially secure with the Maxi-Switch tactile feedback.

Some typists who exceed 60 WPM want the security of tactile feedback, while others want a "cushion" for their fast flying fingers. Select the MAX-5339 for the former, or the BTC-5339 for the latter.

With a median price of $69.95, you can save $20 by buying the least expensive, or add $15 for the most expensive keyboard we sell. Considering its intensive usage, the right choice here can be critical.

My own choice is the MAX-5339. I type about 25 WPM, and want the feedback that the Maxi-Switch keyboard gives without the audible click to tell everyone how slow I really am.

The model numbers are slightly different, and the prices have changed, going down, but the facts here remain pretty much the same as when this was written. Many people still choose primarily on the basis of price alone.

Some buy the most expensive "just in case", while others don't want to seem easy and select the least expensive. If you are one of those people, here comes a monkey wrench to unbalance the calculation. Have you looked at the

MAXI-PRO II keyboard? I own two myself and would buy two more right away if I thought they might soon be discontinued. They are wonderful for use with spreadsheets, CAD, word processors, and anyplace else where you might want macro capability or repeated operations on some data.

My most recent and intensive use occurred a few days ago. Some friends who own an employment bureau wanted to consolidate 600+ resumes into a data base for faster matching and retrieval.

Because the resumes have similar, but not identical, ordering of the data within, they needed to hand select information. It couldn't be fully automated. I let them borrow my keyboard, after I had configured it for the task, and they were able to work their way through all 600+ in just over 16 hours. I know I saved them well over 100 hours because I worked my way through the first five resumes in a little over an hour while I customized the keyboard.

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Computer Cases
From Catalog 10, page 8

Choosing a case for your computer is a straightforward task, but it's not made easier by having so many choices! Nearly any case JDR sells can be used with any of our motherboards. The only exceptions are "full size AT-type" boards which require a case capable of holding a "standard 286/386" board.

How should you select a case? Begin by deciding how many disk drives you'll be using. Consider such variables as full or half-height drives, 3-1/2" and 5-1/4" slots. Don't forget a tape backup if it's in your plans.

Next, consider your power requirements. A loaded up 8088-based computer ought to have at least 150 watts of power. Consider at least 200 watts for a moderately loaded 286/386 and plan on 250 watts for a fully loaded up 286/386 system. There's nothing more annoying than a computer that overloads on a hot summer afternoon because you decided to save $20 on a $1,000 system!

Now look at reliability. An upright system will almost always be more reliable because it sits on the floor out of the way and is less likely to be bumped or jostled. It will normally run cooler too because of better cooling characteristics due to convection. For these reasons, it's an especially good choice for networks where many users depend on it being operational.

And lastly, think about desk space, convenience, and aesthetics. If you frequently tinker with the inner workings of your equipment, a flip-top case may be important; but more people are concerned with the location of the case and how it looks.

P.S. -- Your computer doesn't necessarily have to be right next to your desk if it isn't convenient. Extension cables for your keyboard and display monitor can move your computer out of sight or harm's way.

If the first 8088 PC's used a 63.5 watt power supply, most 80286's had a 150 watt supply, and most 80386's had a 250 watt supply, why aren't we selling 500 watts supplies with most 80486 machines?

The answer is kind of complicated, but I'll try to make it brief.

The early 8088's didn't have a hard disk or all that much memory, so they could get by on 63.5 watts. Later when 80286's were predominant, most machines had one 20 meg hard drive, and less than 2 meg of main memory.

When the 80386 came on the scene, many people began buying two hard drives of the 5-1/4" size. Power consumption on those drives was considerable, and many people began working with as much as 4 meg of main memory which was available in individual chips that covered most of a large size motherboard.

Today we worry about the power consumed by the processor and the heat it generates, but we seldom notice the reduced power demands that have occurred throughout the rest of the system. IDE and SCSI hard drives now come in 1" high by 3-1/2" configurations that draw less than a quarter of the power required just a couple of years ago. Add to that the reduced demands by the new fine geometry DRAM chips, and it's no surprise that a 16 meg 486DX2-66 system with 2 high-capacity hard drives draws about the same power as a 4 meg 386DX-25 with one low-capacity hard drive.

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