Howdy Fellow Commodore Users!

For those with web access, you probably know that on March 6 and 7 we will be at Cincinnati Gardens promoting the Commodore name at the local Computer Show sponsored by Tradeshow Productions. If you are reading this via the newsletter it is already in the history books. Thanks go to the volunteers that manned the booth in March!

Last month, I mentioned a return to basics should be emphasized in our demos. What sparked this idea? Probably one factor was an incident at work, a customer called in looking for tech support for her surge suppressor. It would seem she lost her instructions that came with the unit, and it was affecting her computer in a way that she found hard to explain.

It seemed that her suppressor was a good quality brand with a built in connection for the phone line. It is a good thing to have, since I have had an experience with lightning coming through my phone line in recent history. She could not connect to the internet with her computer, and was suspecting that it was a problem with the suppressor. The associate explained to her over the phone, that the device was pretty simple to operate, and then proceeded to do a step by step detail of checking the connection of the phone line from the wall to the computer. The customer set the phone down to check those connections. In less than thirty seconds, a dial tone was heard...the customer disconnected the phone while checking her setup. She never did call back that day, so her problem must have been discovered, thanks to the helpful employee.

Problems that seem overwhelming to some, are simple to us "experienced users". This is a learning process that we all experienced at some point in time. It doesn't matter if you have a simple setup, or a complex setup. A state of the art Intel Pentium III setup, Atari 2600 game machine, or a SX64 computer. Unpacking the unit from the box for the first time, or using it, we all had that first day.

While I was at the Commodore Expo in Chicago this past fall, I was able to acquire a video tape of Jim Butterfield, well-known expert in the 6500 series of processors, like those found in the Commodore computers, and Associate Editor of Compute Magazine. The title of the tape is called "Commodore 64 Training Tape". It is a very basic and thorough explanation of the operation and identification of the C64. I found it to be informative, even after owning a C64 for over 15 years. Would you like to see it in it's entirety? The tape totals almost two hours, so a multi-session of viewing is necessary, or one evening of tape viewing. Get with me if you would like to see this tape. If enough people wish to see it, maybe a special screening can be arranged at someone's (like mine?) home.

Remember that life is a learning experience. Learn all that you can, and ask questions along the way!