Howdy Fellow Commodore Users!

We are now into the 11 month countdown to the year 2000. I for one was glad to see January end. How many of you are still working on your New Year's Resolutions? Hopefully one of them was to learn more about your computer, or something new.

It has been a while since we have done the basics of the C64, and maybe we should refresh our memories, and get back to it. The wealth of knowledge in our club is astounding, all you need to do is ask. But who is the person to ask? Each month, we have a demo, or a show and tell, but how many of you ask questions, either related to the demo or not related? Do you think you know everything there is to know about BB Writer? Data Manager? Print Shop? Geos? Or even a handy public domain utility?

As a host on Genie, I sometimes get to be a tech support person with fellow Commodore Users around the country, and even around the globe. I am amazed that programs I have been using for over 10 years, some people are just now discovering. They are the neophite, and I have become the seasoned veteran in their eyes.

A fellow user had just found the program Zipcode Version 2. He heard many great things about it, but had no idea how to use the various utilities. Of the four people in the room, I was first to volunteer information that I knew about the program. I asked the user if he had looked at the help files. He confirmed my suspicion by saying no, and then proceeded to ask me where they were. I refreshed his memory by reminding him of the menu after the disk is first loaded and run. He remembered that menu. I then remarked that to get the help files, just type the letter R, which changes the menu from loading the program to a menu of help files. Just type the corresponding letter to the program you wanted to know about, and your help file appears. It turned out that nobody in the room knew about that feature.

Ask me a question concerning something I haven't tried? I'll tell them, and maybe someone else in our little discussion room has heard of it, or knows about it. I learn in the process. Contrary to popular belief, I do not know it all!

Here is your opportunity to show off your special talents. Has there been a time when you wanted to see a demo of something, in hopes that it can help you and your knowledge of your favorite program? Let Roger Hoyer, our Publicity Officer know you would like to see such a demo. Would you like to be the Demo Leader? I'm sure that can be arranged as well.

This month, I will be showing a wonderful utility I've found on the internet called GeoDOS. What is it? Well, considering I've downloaded it for the first time this month, I have yet to discover it's full potential. What I have found out, so far, is that it can convert to and from DOS based text files, to and from Commodore based text files, even Geos! Combined with Wheels, this utility is amazing!

Bring your suggestions, and questions to this month's meeting. We CAN learn together!