Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 23 October 1998 — Page 26

PAGE 02

THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23,1998

A little advice on personal computers

IMF

By JAMIL SHABAZZ President of Information Services Net Power Links http://www.netpowerlinks.coni Every once in a while (a few times a year), friends ask me for advice about buying a computer. Or maybe they just mention that they are thinking about buying a computer, or that a friend of theirs is about to buy a computer, and I take that as permission to start talking. Either way, I love computers and love to be involved in buying computers, so I frequently end up writing out pages of information on the subject. This time. I’m putting my advice in the Indianapolis Recorder, and maybe next time this can help you. So this page was written basically for my friends, and anyone looking into buying apersonal computer. If you are thinking about buying your first computer, I think this article will be very helpful. You will probably also find it useful if you want to upgrade from an older system but haven’t been paying much attention to the current market Can you trust my advice? Well, for starters, you should read my disclaimer, which says that I guarantee nothing and accept no responsibility for any colossal blunders you might make. What do you expect for free? However, over the years I have bought fourteen computers (and been given two more), the most recent one in October of 1997, so I’ve had at least a little experience. I’ve also upgraded some of them, and of course I’ve bought multiple monitors, hard drives, etc. If you want formal credentials, I have BS in computer science from Chicago State University, and my entire career has been spent in the

field.

I have no connection with any of the companies that I talk about, other than as a user of some of their products. My opinions are entirely

software on a Mac, you have to buy either special software (called an “emulator”) or special hardware. Special software is cheaper than special hardware, and can be used on a wider variety of machines, but it runs quite a bit slower than special hardware. The emulator that I use (“Virtual PC”)costsabout $1 SO and does an excellent job. It’s fast enough for most office-type work and for many games, but is not adequate for really demanding games (flight simulators and shoot-

’em-ups).

For some (but not all) Macintosh models, you can buy special hardware ($350 to $1000or more); this way, you end up basically with a Mac and a PC in the same box. A few (very few) Macintoshes come with this extra hardware built in. For a long time, there was no way to ran Macintosh software on a PC machine. I have recently seen an advertisement for a Mac emulator, but I have my doubts about the quality of the emulation. Which is better, Mac or PC? Apple has advantages (surprisingly, they seem to have found good reasons), but I have found comparable information giving PC advantages. Anyway, here are the two most important factors: The Macintosh is still a great graphic computer to leam and to use (and it crashes less often). Everybody has PCs (they are great computer develop, and other applications). Basic Concepts and Vocabulary Here are the basic components of any computer system; you need all of these. * The computer itself, containing a CPU, RAM, a hard disk, and a floppy drive. * A monitor (looks like aTV) so that you can see what the computer

is doing.

* A keyboard, so that you can type things in to the computer. * A mouse, so that you can point

at things on the screen.

computer without a hard disk, you need to buy an external hard disk for it A hard disk provides inexpensive, low-speed memory for storage of your data, documents, and programs. Hard disk storage is also measured in megabytes; 250MB is small, 500MB is medium. lGB(1000MB)is large. You can buy external hard disks as your needs growThe Floppy Drive Most software comes on diskettes or “floppies” (so-called because primitive diskettes had a soft envelope, rather than a hard shell). The floppy drive is the thing you shove diskettes into. All modem PC’s take 1.4MB HD (high-density) diskettes, but can also use the older, 800K DD (double density) and 400K SD (single density) diskettes. The Monitor The monitor is the screen you look at. If you only use the computer occasionally, a cheap monitor may be OK. If you spend hours staring at the screen, you really need a good monitor, or you ’ II have problems with headaches and eye-

strain. ROM

You may have heard about ROM (Read-Only Memory). Your computer probably has some. There’s nothing you need to know about it. The keyboard A keyboard is a keyboard is a keyboard. Some keyboards have a lot of extra keys. Some PC programs require you to use those extra keys. If you have a Macintosh, all those extra keys are pretty useless. You might find a use for some of those keys, but you don’t need them. If you really want to put those extra keys to work, buy a program called Quick Keys, which a lot of people really like. Most keyboards have a numeric keypad, which isconvenient if your

Continued from Pago D1

Last August, the Progressive Natfonal Baptist Convention endorsed the Jubilee 2000campaign. The American Friends Service Committee (Quakers) and the Unitarian Unfversalist Service Committee endorsed the movement just prior to the IMF meetings. On October 1, the Vatican renewed its appeal for debt relief for developing countries, saying the well-being of millions of poor people cannot be postponed. “The needs of the poorest countries should not be considered second class,” said Archbishop Francois Nguyen Van Thuan, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, in a statement quoted by the Catholic News Service. "These debts are unpayable, and requiring African nations to service them only takes food out of the mouths of starving children and deprives people of necessary services,” said Bishop McKinley Young, Ecumenical and Urban Affairs Officer of the AME Church. “We think the time has come to

cancel the debt# pf the poorest coun- low on most of the agendas betries in a responsible, careful man- cause of the financial crisis in Asia,

ner. The wealthy nations, including the U.S., can easily afford to do so, and God requires us to cancel debts that are an oppress! ve burden to the debtor. Our church will be an

Brazil and Russia. It was virtually swept off the table, according to

financial observers.

“If African countries did not have to pay debt,” the United Na-

active partner in thishvorthy cam- tions Development Program con-

paign. Africa’s “debt burdens are the new economy ’ s chains of slavery,” the Rev. Jackson said after meeting with Jubilee 2000 campaign members. The Jubilee 2000 movement is now active in more than 40 countries. It draws its inspiration from the Biblical book of Leviticus, which describes a Year of Jubilee every SO years. In the Jubilee year, social inequalities are rectified: slaves are freed, land is returned to original owners and debts are canceled. Since Jubilee2000was launched at the Denver Summit of the Group of 8 (industrialized) Governments in June 1997, debt relief has been a major item on the IMF-World Bank meeting agenda. This year it was SUIT Continued from Page D1

eludes, the money released could “save the lives of about 21 million children by 2000 and provide 90 million girls and women with direct access to basic education.” In 1997, the IMF took at least $600 million more out of Africa than it put in. America’s relatively strong economy may bear the brant of helping failing Asian economies recover, by drawing in a steady stream of competitively priced imports. Over time, the U.S. balance of payments will continue to soar, leading to an erosion of American market share and jobs. IMF figures show the American balance-of-trade deficit rising from $155 billion in 1997 to $236 billion this year, and to $290billion in

1999.

the settlement should send a message that housing discrimination will not be tolerated. Henry Spalding, an attorney for Wedgewood, said apartment complex officials would not comment. The 160-unit Wedgewood Village gets federal subsidies in exchange for renting to low- and moderate-income families. Last November, HUD accused Wedgewood of a seven-year pattern of discrimination against

blacks.

HUD said Wedgewood rented only 9.6 percent of its units to blacks. Surveys found that at least

Village manager Rita Baines Lewis told Hazel Clark, a white tenant, that she was trying to keep blacks out and asked her not to baby-sit

black children.

Larry B. Hall Jr, who is black.

were not immediately returned. HOME sent three black women and three white women to Wedgewood posing as prospective tenants. According to HUD, Ms. Lewis discouraged the blacks from

claimed he tried to rent an apart- applying while telling the whites ment, but Ms. Lewis told him a that apartments were available,

person had to be handicapped, a single parent or a Social Security recipient to live there. A white friend living at Wedgewood later told Hall that no such requirements

were placed pn whites.

Rokena Dunaway, a black mother of two, was on a waiting list for eight months while six

HUD also alleged thatMs. Lewis chastised white tenants with black friends. The complaint quotes Cheryl Evans, a white tenant, as saying Ms. Lewis told her to “tell your son not to bring any more niggers on this property who don’t

live here.”

Ms. Lewis has denied making

65 percent of the tenants in nearby whites who applied after her got the comment, using racial slurs and

discriminating against blacks. There is no local telephone listing

for Ms. Lewis.

properties were black.

The investigation began when

apartments, HUD said.

Telephone messages left at the

•SoftwMe.'sothmhecomputer

my own, based mostly on my own can do something besides take up oddly shaped to help prevent car- « r0UD Rnusintr OnnorOnii^es " experience but also partly on what desk space. Almost certainly you pal tunnel syndrome—they prob- Fmial filed similar com-

ably help some. ^

Well-made keyboards have a better “feel” than cheap one

I have read in magazines and on the

Internet.

I don’t claim to be completely unbiased. I prefer the PC (Personal Computer) operating systems to Macintosh OS, and these notes are largely oriented toward PCs. I do try to provide some object! ve criteria for choosing between Macs and PCs, but you should be aware of

my bias

Which is Better Macintosh or

PC?

This is the single most important decision you have to make, because the two machine types are incompatible. You can’t run Macintosh software on a PC. You can’t easily ran PC software on a Macintosh. You can, however, exchange data between the two types of machines. For example: WordPerfect is a word processing program. You can buy one version of WordPerfect for the Macintosh (and ran it only

want a GUI as part of your soft-

ware.

Here are additional components that you probably want: * A printer—needed to produce “hard copy” (paper) documents. * A modem, so that you can communicate with other computers and get on the Internet (also called cyberspace). * A CD-ROM (hive, so that you can use really big software—like encyclopedias, atlases, * large reference works, and really neat games. In order to understand what you are buying, you need to understand a little about what’& inside your computer. In particular, you need to know about the CPU, RAM, and

harddisks. The CPU

The CPU, or Central Processing Unit, is a component somewhere

plaints after white tenants reported discrimination against blacks. HUD said former Wedgewood

Complete Dentistry

on a Macintosh), or you can buy a within the computer, and is the different version of WordPerfect “brain” of the computer. There are

for the PC (and ran it only on a PC). The Mac version won’t work on the PC, and vice versa. However, if you have the PC version of WordPerfect on a PC and the Mac version on a Mac, you can fairly easily move that half-written novel back and forth between the two. Even if you don’t have the same program on both a Mac and a PC, you can always exchange plain text between the two. (“Plain text” is text without formatting information, such as specific fonts. Italics, boldface, indentation, etc.) Virtually any wood processor will read and write plain text You can fre-

<* _ mg on the particular programs

many kinds of CPUs, and they mostly have numbers rather than

names.

PCs use a CPU made by Intel. These CPUs are called the 80186, 80286,80386,80486, and Pentium. Since the 80 is always there, people refer to them by the last three digits, e.g. “four-eighty-six”. Smaller numbers are older, slower, and generally no longeron the market. The Pentium, the only one with a name, is the newest and fastest.

RAM

RAM is Random Access Memory. It’s expensive, highspeed memory that your computer uses as working space. The more you have of it, the larger a program you can ran, and the more programs you can renal once. If you have too little, some programs

The Mouse A mouse for a PC has two or three buttons on top, and different programs use the buttons in different ways. A Macintosh mouse has a single button, and all programs use it the same way. Unless you buy a fancy optical mouse, you need to open up the mouse and clean it occasionally, whenever the mouse pointer on the screen doesn’t seem to move smoothly. A lot of people put up with a jerky mouse because they don’t know they need to clean it. Hint: those ridges in the middle of die rollers aren’t supposed to be

there

Software Software is what makes your computer do things. A computer without software is like a VCR without tapes—pretty useless. The GUI Once upon a time there were no windows, menus, or mice. The computer put a prompt on the screen, usually A>, and you were expected to type in commands in a special language you had to leam in order to make the computer do anything. (If you have a PC running DOS rather than Windows, it’s still this way.) Strictly stoneage stuff. A GUI (pronounced “gooey”), or Graphical User Interface, provides a much better way: you point at thinp with the mouse, and click on them. All the commands are on menus, so you don’t have to memorize them. This is better for amateurs and professionals alike. The GUI for Macintosh is cal led MacOS, and it comes with every Mac. You have a choice of GUIs

BRIEFS Continued from Page D1 tance network over the Internet. The organization, which provides resources and referrals regarding victim assistance, serves victims statewide. People in need should contact the organization by typing www.victimassistance.org on their computer. For those individual without access to the Internet, help can be found by dialing (888) 7924826, which is a toll-free number.

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