Tips on Technology By: Bill Michiling

Before starting, I want to say a big thank you to my mother, Martha. She will celebrate her 80th birthday on August 6th. Of course we have only one mother and we should not hesitate to thank our mothers as often as we can…. Remember sometimes you don’t miss someone until they are not around. So don’t wait…..

This weeks column will start out with the bad stuff first, then move on to the good stuff. Everyone confortable? Ok then lets get started.

Bugs, worms, viruses and other nasty stuff….

Bug found in Office 97!!

According to Juan Carlos Garcia Cuartango, the software developer who first discovered and posted the information, a bug found in The Microsoft Office suite of products, specifically Office 97 for Windows, allows for a malicious piece of code to be implanted in a web site or e-mail attachment, thereby compromising the security of the system. The harmful code, which can be hidden inside an Excel 97 file, allows a remote user to do anything from delete files to implant viruses. In general, to create havoc in your PC!!

The problem stems from the fact that Office 97 shipped with a software component call Jet. Office 97 shipped with version 3.5.1 of Jet, which contains the bug.

I recommend that all Office 97 users get an update as soon as possible.

As usual Macintosh users are not affected by this bug.
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Virus: W32/ExploreZip.worm (Active again!)

Virus Characteristics: This is a 32bit Worm that travels by sending email messages to users. It drops the file explore.exe and modifies either the WIN.INI (Win9x) or modifies the registry (WinNT).

Indications Of Infection This worm attempts to invoke the MAPI aware email applications as in MS Outlook, MS Outlook Express and MS Exchange. This worm replies to messages received by sending an an email message with the following body:

“I received your email and I shall send you a reply ASAP. Till then, take a look at the attached zipped docs. ” You can find out more at: (http://www.nai.com/asp_set/anti_virus/alerts/va10185.asp)

As usual Macintosh users are not affected by this bug, although it can be passed on to a vulnerable PC.
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Now on with the good stuff.

The Petiscan mobile scanner….

It is a scanner designed for mobile computing use to allow users to write documents outside their office and send them by email or to meet space-saving requirements.

With one hit on the scan button after putting a document on the scanner, the reader software, pre-installed in an iMac, starts to work and read the document. It is also possible to read documents by putting the scanner on the documents. In this case, users are required to pull off the top cover and place the transparent window in the bottom of the scanner at the point to be read.

It provides 300 x 600 dpi optical resolution, but it is possible to provide 4,800 dpi resolution with the help of an interpolation function. It can read a paper as large as 6″ x 4″ in size. The dimensions are 8.4″ wide by 5.5″ deep by 1.4″ high.

It is connected to the USB interface via a 5-feet-long accessory cable. As it derives power from the connected computer, it does not need an AC adapter or batteries. It works with iMacs, iBooks, PowerBooks with bronze keyboards and other Macs that have USB as well as PCs running Windows 98.
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Video capture and TV on your Mac!

All those that would like to watch TV and or capture video on their iMac, iBook or other USB Mac, raise your hand. Come on, put them way up, you know who you are….. I know, some of you may have heard that the iBook did not have a way to capture video, well enter MyTV and MyTV/fm

Plug and Play USB TV and Video Capture for your iMac, G3, iBook or other USB Mac.

MyTV and MyTV/fm are the first family of products that bring television to your iMac or G3 Macintosh over a simple USB connection. With the additional ability to capture high quality, full frame rate video from any video source, MyTV and MyTV/fm are the perfect complement to your multimedia friendly Macintosh. And because MyTV
and MyTV/fm are USB devices, there is no complicated installation, no opening your computer, no PCI slot to find, just plug them in and go! With MyTV/fm, you can also enjoy FM stereo broadcasts piped directly to your Macintosh and controlled via software. Supplement your web surfing with channel surfing! MyTV and MyTV broadcast media reception for your Macintosh.
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Printer / Fax / Scanner / Copier

Some of you have asked if there was a multifunction printer, fax machine, copier, and scanner for the iMac, PowerMac G3, iBook or PowerBook G3 bronze

Canon Computer Systems announced its new MultiPASS C635, the industry’s first Apple-compatible multifunction printer (MFP), at this past week’s Macworld Expo in New York. It will begin shipping nationwide the second week of August at an estimated street price of US $395.

The MultiPASS C635 brings printing, faxing, copying and scanning to the Mac in a single device. It will initially be available through Apple authorized resellers like Marianas Electronics on Saipan.

The MultiPASS C635, designed specifically for the Apple market by Canon, offers PhotoRealism and Color Bubble Jet printing combined with automatic document feeder (ADF) color scanning, color copying and plain-paper faxing.

To increase productivity, the unit also comes bundled with Canon Creative software for the Mac small office/home office (SOHO) and graphics professional. This robust software suite includes Apple Desktop Manager (from InfoWave Imaging), Adobe PhotoDeluxe 2.0 and ScanSoft’s TextBridge Professional Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

You can find all the good stuff at: (http://www.mespn.com) Scroll down to the bottom and look to your left for links under Hot New Products….