The February meeting was opened by Fred Ialacci. (Secretary's note: It was especially nice to see that Fred had recovered from his accidental slip on the January ice. It was also nice to see Harry Hoffman able to attend this month's meeting. Harry had quite a bout with a blood infection. Through TLC from his wife Nina, liberal doses of antibiotics and our prayers, Harry is well on the way to full recovery. However we were informed that Nina Hoffman hasn't been feeling very well. Our prayers also go to Nina for a return to full health. This is what makes us a 'family'. We not only learn from and share with each other, we also care for the well being of our fellow TIers and their families.
The January minutes were read and approved. Harry asked if it would be a good idea to post the Chips' minutes on his Web site before printing the bimonthly newsletter. Fred said Harry could post the Chips' meeting minutes on his Web site as soon as the minutes have been read and/or approved (published in the newsletter).
Lin Shaw made the Treasurer's report. Lin had a special announcement to make with this month's report. Lin stated that he had received a donation check for $100 from the Northcoast 99ers to help defray the costs we will have running TIMUG '99 this year. Northcoast's generous donation was gratefully accepted and the members recommended that a thank you note will be e-mailed to Deanna Sheridan to be forwarded to the Northcoast membership. (This is another example of how we are all 'TI family' and that we will always look out for each other.)
In making the membership report, John Parken reported that March is the big membership renewal month for the TI-Chips. (It is hoped that the TI-Chips will be able to maintain or increase it membership during 1999.) Les Kee said there was no activity in the disk library. Therefore he had no report for this month.
I reported that TIMUG '99 planning and preparation is right on schedule. All we need is speakers and guests. I reminded the Chips that rectangular tables will have to be rented at $5.75 each. And that the rental agency will deliver and pick up the tables. (There will be no tables available to those who do not make their table reservations before April 30.) There was a question of sufficient electrical power for the conference. I said the building's wiring appeared to be up to code and had sufficient amperage. Another question was to the availability of a telephone line since Lew King is planning to present a demonstration on how to make the TI-99/4A work with a 56k baud modem. I said this would be looked into and if there wasn't, we would advise Lew well in advance of the conference. We will also confirm the accessibility of Spang Mansion for equipment set up as scheduled for 7:00 AM on Saturday, May 15. It was suggested that both the Brookpark Building Dept. and the Police be contacted and advised regarding our intention to be in the hall at 7:00 AM. Ada Markus said she will also check into parking facilities and said she will need funds for the hall rental and security deposit at the March meeting.
John Parken and Ron Markus suggested an Epson color, ink jet printer be raffled off at TIMUG '99. This is planned to be a 'break even' event. Only enough raffle tickets will be sold to cover the cost of the printer. The membership voiced their approval for the TIMUG '99 color printer raffle.
I reported that the nominations for the 1999 Jim Peterson Achievement Awards was closed February 15 and that the award elections were now open. I passed out ballots for the attending members to cast their votes. Additional ballots were taken to the Northcoast 99ers' meeting. The 1999 Jim Peterson Achievement Awards voting will be closed midnight, April 15 and the presentations will be made at TIMUG '99 (Saturday, May 15).
Matt Andel said he would e-mail instructions on how to connect with Cleveland Freenet through the user's local ISP (i.e., AOL or Compuserve). Several members are presently using the 'Communicator' routine in Microsoft's 'Works for Windows' to sign on with Cleveland Freenet.
I explained that I was able to get the TView Micro to work on my Compaq Presario by reconfiguring the monitor driver to 'Standard VGA'. This enabled the computer to 'look' for an external monitor that will respond to a standard VGA signal. It found the TV set and put the display on the TV screen. However, unlike the Compaq Contura, the Presario will only display on the configured screen. Therefore I cannot get a simultaneous display on both the notebook and TV set with this set up. I guess it's just a matter of, "Nothing's free." John Parken said he still couldn't understand why the TView Micro, set to Standard VGA, wouldn't respond with his system. Ron Markus won this month's 50:50 raffle. Congratulations Ron!