August 2002 Volume 20, Issue 8

Kokomo PC

Users Group

August 2002

Presidents Message:

Welcome to another exciting month of PC computing.

I hope you all had a nice vacation in July. I know I did. We vacationed at the Wisconsin Dells. Although we had vacationed there before, I was able to find out a fantastic amount of information from the world wide web. If you go to my favorite search engine - Google - and type Wisconsin Dells, you get a huge number of sites like dells.com to guide you to all the ins and outs of the Dells. How did we ever take vacations before the internet?

If anyone would like to do more to support the Users Group we have openings for at-large directors. Please feel free to join us at the Officer’s meeting. We meet the Tuesday of the week before the general meeting. (Sometimes it is the first Tuesday and sometimes it is the last Tuesday of the month. Just count nine days before the general meeting.) We discuss the type of presentations we would like to see as well as any other ideas for improving the operation of the Group. We normally meet at the Wendy’s restaurant on South LaFountain street at 7pm.

Another way to support the Users Group is to contribute your thoughts to the User Group newsletter. Just about any topic you wish to discuss is welcome (as long as it is PC related.) Those of you who read the newsletter regularly know we have a wide tolerance for story quality, length and intensity. If you write a full page we can get you a user buck for your efforts. We also welcome interesting articles that you received as e-mail or found on a web site. (Please make sure we have appropriate attribution for other author’s works.)

This will be our last meeting of the year where we don’t have to fight for space. I do not know how we will do once school starts again. Ivy Tech has always taken good care of us, but with their huge growth recently it is getting harder and harder to find space and equipment to keep us going. My thanks to Richard Ingles for the fine job he has done keeping us off the streets on Thursday night. Also thanks to Ivy Tech for the fine job they have done keeping us in business.

Mark Pendergast

Da Prez

[email protected]

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Civilization II - a great game

I am not normally a big fan of video games, but one computer game has really got me hooked. Civilization II from Microprose simulates the development of civilization from a simple cave man through the space race to another galaxy. You must guide your civilization by balancing several game factors. Do you invest in a strong military or build up your culture. Do you grow your population or develop new technology. The turn based format plays more like a chess game than pac-man, and allows plenty of time for reflection.

You begin the game with one settler on a map of the world that is hidden from view until it is explored. You look for a good location to build your capital city and begin your civilization. You must divide your revenue between science, trade and luxuries. You can also hire tax collectors, scientists or entertainers to cover shortfalls in any area.

Next you must decide what your industry will produce. Will you develop military units to defend your city and go explore the world looking for other civilizations? Will you build more settlers to found other cities? Will you build a temple or barracks to increase your security? The way you invest your resources will determine your success.

As you explore you will encounter other computer-generated civilizations that inhabit your world. You can form alliances with them or declare war and attempt to build your empire. The negotiation process is entertaining and you have a lot of latitude in offering exchanges with the other world leaders. Just be careful, because the other leaders remember how you have treated them in the past and are also aware of your treatment of their allies.

As your scientists develop new technologies you will have more options for investing in your civilization. New units are available and old units may be upgraded with new capabilities. Eventually you will develop sailing ships, cavalry, tanks, planes and cruise missiles. You will be able to build harbors, factories, recycling centers and even an SDI nuclear missile shield. There are also several wonders of the world that you can create that will give your society special powers.

The major challenge is to keep your people happy, growing and safe all at the same time. As you progress your civilization will face new challenges as old ones fade into insignificance. To help you balance your judgement there is a computerized council of advisors. They represent each of the major interests in the game - military, science. trade, diplomacy, and the general happiness of the people. They are animated and pretty funny on their own.

The system comes with some tutorial exercises that help you understand how the game is played. There are also scenarios like World War Two and the Roman Empire that you can play. Most games begin on a random world with random opponents.

The game ends when your spaceship gets to the Alpha Centauri galaxy or when you have conquered all your rival civilizations. At the end the computer will give you a civilization rating and add your name to the hall of fame.

An average game takes about 16 hours to play. If you set up a small scenario it can run in 4 hours or a long one can go for a week. You can save the game and come back to it whenever you want.

I have played games with my son several times. We negotiate a strategy and vote on courses of action. Other times I control production and he works our diplomacy. Either way the game is simple enough to play that it is fun almost immediately, yet complex enough that there are always things to learn or improve.

Civilization II is a great bargain at $10. It will run on a 486 computer or above, but works best on a Pentium 100 or above.

I have had many hours of fun playing this game alone and with my son. I highly recommend it to anyone who has an interest in the history of civilization or would like a challenging strategy game that doesn’t require lightning fast reflexes.

Mark Pendergast

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Integrated and wearable networked computing - a vision of the future.

You are sound asleep. Your alarm clock checks your calendar and notices you have an early meeting. It decides to get you up a half hour early to compensate. Fifteen minutes after waking you the sensors in the bed have detected that you are still snoozing . The alarm goes off once again and does not stop until you have left the room.

As you shave, the bathroom mirror displays the news highlights and scores for your favorite team. It also shows a news clipping of the latest progress in the lawsuit against Microsoft for bundling ESP software with Windows 2032. This threatens to bankrupt competitor ESPress software’s mind over matter interface software.

In the car you state, to nobody in particular, "I want to go to the Headquarters of Body Computers Inc.". The car recognizes you and starts the ignition. You back out of the driveway and the car advises in a cheery voice "Ahead three blocks and left on Ridge Road".

After directing you on your way to your destination, your car finds a parking spot and beams the payment directly to the computer in the parking meter. If you run late the car will just pay as needed until you return.

As you enter Headquarters the computer in your suit negotiates with the security computer in the building lobby as you walk by. The security computer opens the doors as you pass and reminds the cafeteria that there will be one more for lunch.

In the meeting you know almost everyone. The conference room computer beams the e-business card information for the people you don’t know into your wearable organizer. Your organizer whispers the identify and vital stats of the people you don’t know into your ear-piece.

As the meeting starts your organizer computer records the meeting for later reference. As the meeting progresses you put on your reading glasses. (Not to read, of course, but so you can access your mobile CRT display. You compare the figures in the display with your budget and with previous proposals you have seen. Your organizer highlights a row in the new proposal - it believes that the cost of shipping is too high. You raise this point in the meeting and begin to negotiate better shipping costs.

As the argument over shipping costs escalates, your organizer notices that your blood pressure is getting high and your pulse is racing. It whispers into your ear-piece that you should calm down and plays some soothing background music as well. Rather than exploding you back off and take a different approach. The deal is concluded calmly and efficiently.

As you leave the meeting and walk to your car you speak to your organizer and thank it for calming you down in the meeting. This reinforces its behavior and ensures that it will continue to monitor your vital signs. You also thank it for the shipping cost analysis.

Your organizer then reminds you that your spouse’s birthday is tomorrow. You tell it to make dinner reservations for two and order flowers and candy. You also set a reminder alarm two hours before dinner.

As you pull into your driveway the organizer reminds you that the sink in the back bathroom still drips. You remind the organizer to mind its own business.

This is my vision of a future with computers integrated into everything we do. They are in our cars, our clothes our homes and offices. While this could be a privacy nightmare, it could also make us very effective and allow us to do much more than we can today.

The major hurdle in achieving this vision is the lack of progress in speech recognition software. Even the best software in existence has a hard time telling if a stranger said "Please pass the potatoes" or "Peas hash thick tomatoes". And many times it is not even that good. The scene in Star Trek IV when commander Scott tries to talk into the mouse of a Macintosh computer is funny for exactly this reason. We are light years from the computers of Star Trek.

I don’t know if my vision into the future is very clear, but be assured elements of this vision are on drawing boards of major computer manufacturers and entrepreneurs as you are reading this.

Mark Pendergast

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New Program Ideas

The officers of the Users Group have been brainstorming ideas for presentations that we think the Group would like to see at upcoming meetings. We believe that good meeting presentations are one of the key services that the Group can provide to its members.

We would like your feedback on these ideas so we can better serve your needs.

• Cable Modem Access
• Ivy Tech - Continuing Education Classes and Tour
• IUK - Continuing Education Classes and Tour.
• Verizon Quick2Net - Internet access via your cell phone.
• Circuit City - Presentation of their fine line of products and services.

If you like one of these topics or if you have a burning desire to see something else, please contact one of the officers and let us know. You’ll be glad you did.

Mark Pendergast

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