As the agenda for the meeting will depend on the interests of those attending, would members who intend coming please contact either Elizabeth or Barry prior to the meeting. SESSIONS

NEW iMACS & iBOOKS

An overview was given of the current models of iMac and iBook, including prices and specifications. Of course, there was particular interest in the latest G4 iMac (illustrated), with its powerful processor, flat adjustable screen and hemispherical casing. Different! Also more expensive than standard iMacs, so time will tell how well it sells. A number of new iBooks were available for members to inspect and use.

ENCYCLOPEDIA SOFTWARE

Barry led a session in which various encyclopedia applications were discussed.  Grolier, Britannica, World Book, Encarta and TVNZ Encyclopedia were mentioned, with World Book being particularly commended. Some of these applications came as bundled software with new computers, but most are no longer available for Macintosh.
Sheryl also showed some encyclopedia applications, particularly the Dorling Kindersley range published mainly for children.

VIRUS PROTECTION

Sheryl gave a very informative overview of the need for virus protection.  Some salient points included:

• the need for protection against viruses will continue to increase in the future.
• although there are few viruses which affect Macintosh computers, protection is still needed.
• some viruses are sent unwittingly by friends via e-mail.
• viruses can also be received from other people's CD's, and from magazine CD's.
• messages forwarded with from PC's may have viruses attached which may not affect a Mac, but remain active when forwarded from a Mac to other PC users.
• be wary of accepting e-mails with attachments from unknown senders.
• if a message's subject looks suspicious, turn off the message preview pane (Netscape menu: View/Show/Message, or Outlook Express menu: View/Preview Pane), so that the message can be selected (for deletion or otherwise) without opening it.
• unwanted messages can be deleted without selecting them by visiting your e-mail server's Web Mail site and deleting them from there.

    NORTON ANTI-VIRUS:  ($120 = $10/year) New versions are needed for new systems. Virus Definitions must be updated regularly (monthly, or when there is a virus scare). Visit Symantec site for hoax information. Scans for Mac viruses only.

    VIREX 6:  ($104) Scans for Windows viruses as well as Mac. "Snapshot" feature checks only files which have been changed since last check. Automatically warns of the need of updating.

    SOPHOS:  ($300/year) Designed for business use, not home. Very comprehensive. Can be downloaded free on 30-day trial (but only once every 18 months).

Tony took a session on SPREADSHEETS in AppleWorks, explaining some skills and techniques, and outlining their uses beyond basic number crunching (eg for charts, timetables, sorted lists).

Other groups focussed on aspects of MacOS X, and also performed system updates.