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>> Ray has joined channel #PackardBelltalk
The topic is: PB User
>> pbuserAaron has joined channel #PackardBelltalk
[pbuserAaron] Hey everybody!
Ray> Hey, you made it
[pbuserAaron] Only four people at last week's event?
Ray> Yes, it was a little slow
Ray> But it was the first week
[Thump] The east coast snow storm too
Ray> Subject was upgrades
Ray> I did have a couple of unofficial chats with 2 or 3 people at a time.
Ray> I hope I advertised this enough
[pbuserAaron] Chat is a difficult thing to get people to attend.  The nice part of the internet is that it runs on your own personal schedule.
[pbuserAaron] I've been reluctant to add chat features to pbuser for that reason.
Ray> Yes, It is time consuming as well
[pbuserAaron] Do you use ICQ?
Ray> Yes
[Thump] a good point Aaron when I connect to pbuser I want info right now not  waiting for a chat
Ray> Oh sorry, not ICQ I use Mirc
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[pbuserAaron] There are some users who are looking for a more AOL style chat help kind of thing and they have been disappointed in the past.
Ray> I am putting on my title page a message that we are in here.
Ray> This room is not the greatest, for example I have no control over anything unless I pay them money.
[Thump] money?
[pbuserAaron] Yeah, that kind of thing just won't work on pbuser.  Plus I have that "must program" mentality.
Ray> Yes, this room is free but if I want to change the subject or ban some one etc..
Ray> Then I need to pay the room designers money
[pbuserAaron] So Tom, you've been a pbuser for a while now.  What would you like to see?
[Thump] well not to be interrupted by callers to my bbs when in chat.
[pbuserAaron] Are you running a BBS?
[Thump] actually I was wondering if there was a way to leave a message for a user on pbuser by name?
[Thump] yes running a bbs since 1987
[pbuserAaron] Because you know the person's name, but not their email address?
[Thump] what I meant was if ray answered a post can I leave him a personal at pbuser and not have to go to his email?
[Thump] some folks fear spam to the max.
[pbuserAaron] Ah, I see.  So send messages without having to worry about email addresses and feeling safe about not giving your email address out?
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[Thump] yes I asked several folks via the email in the message areas and got replies from one or two but others seem reluctant to give out the email address.
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Ray> Are you having problems?
[pbuserAaron] I keep hitting tab-enter.... and it logs you off.
Ray> Oh
[pbuserAaron] I'm used to icq popup messages .....
Ray> I uploaded some web pages saying we are in here.
[pbuserAaron] Cool.
Ray> What page do you think most people see other then my title an new pages
Ray> I already posted there
[Thump] upgrades page
Ray> I will post it there as well, thanks
[Thump] Aaron back to pbuser, I find it a great resources for the PB folks without a lot of BS.
[pbuserAaron] I'm working on an off-line message reader that might be altered to include a private message function.  Would that be helpful?
[pbuserAaron] More info -- less bs.  That's the intended purpose.
[Thump] I think it might.  I know people that like to give info but not at home.
[Thump] Oh yeah the lack of BS as found in the alt areas is the best part.
[Thump] I think I have read every message posted at PBUSER and have yet to find a flaming response.
[pbuserAaron] Usenet is so full of spam and garbage that I don't even try anymore.
[pbuserAaron] I delete flamers
[Thump] very good idea
Ray> I like to delete the spam out of the PB news group
Ray> Found you can do it with netscape 3
[pbuserAaron] back in the free message base days, we used to get huge arguments with anti-pb people... it was a nightmare
[Thump] oh man you will never make your million dollars a day that way ray
Ray> I have not had a problem with anti pb people at my site
Ray> Most people are nice and happy to find info
Ray> Most of the spam is for xx sites and chain letters
[pbuserAaron] Nowadays the anti-pb people can relax.  PB sales are down, hate pages are numerous... most of them think they have won.
Ray> Yahoo has a ton of PB hate pages, but I have applied to be listed 5 times and they have yet to list me, do you think they have something against PB
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[Thump] Well I for one needed to find out what mother board I had in my machine, I did the search for pb info and from Rays site went to pbuser and have been happy since that day
[Thump] now if only my MOBD would let me upgrade the damn video!!!!!
[pbuserAaron] Yahoo takes the longest of any search engine to update pages.
[Thump] hello stan
Ray> They have a lot of bad links lately as well
Ray> hi stan
[Stan] Type Hello
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[Thump] here comes the 9 PM rush Ray
Ray> Hi Michael
[Thump] he  Michael
[Michaelshu] Is there a special topic for tonight?
Ray> Yes tonight we have Aaron
[Michaelshu] Hi Thump and Ray
Ray> From PBUSER
[pbuserAaron] Hello Stan and Michael!
[Michaelshu] Hi Aaron
[Stan] Hello Aaron
Ray> PBUSER is the largest  Packard bell based organization on the web
Ray> We will let Aaron tell you more
[pbuserAaron] How many of us are already pbuser members?
Ray> Me
[Thump] me
[Michaelshu] I'm not yet
[Stan] I don't know what it is
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Ray> Hello Missleman
Ray> Welcome, topic is PBUSER
[Missileman] Hi There
Ray> Are you a Member?
[pbuserAaron] I don't have any big agenda here so any questions you care to ask I'll be happy to answer.
Ray> Aaron, why don't you tell us a little about PBUSER?
[Michaelshu] Are there Packard Bell employees in the PBuser?
[Missileman] No, Ray. I'm just a very frequent viewer of your site.
[pbuserAaron] I used to work for Packard Bell, and the group has a casual relationship with the company.
[Stan] Until I found Ray's site all I could find was negative
- I thought I was the only person who liked PB
[pbuserAaron] PBUSER stands for Packard Bell user group and was formed a couple years ago after I quit working at PB.
[pbuserAaron] The idea was to write down all the common questions pb customers had and let them browse around and learn/look at whatever they wanted.
[pbuserAaron] The major draw at first was our free message base, which all my PB tech friends were very good at providing information for.
[Michaelshu] Do PB people answer specific questions posted on PBUSER?
[pbuserAaron] Packard Bell does not supply techs.  There are several techs that answer messages occasionally, but most of the time users help each other.  There are some really experienced people out there who own PB.
[Missileman] Do you have a large data base for specific PB
- machines?
[pbuserAaron] People who are known PB techs do get a free
- membership.  So we try to encourage them to visit.
[pbuserAaron] We have a technical library which gives information about specific hardware.  We get this information from PB, Intel, and any other source possible.
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Ray> Welcome, velix Subject is PBUSER
[Thump] missileman as a pbuser member I will say that the data Aaron has compiled it correct, timely and the information in the message bases is great, Hello Velix
[Velix] hello
[pbuserAaron] As a techno-geek myself, I want to make sure the information we have is correct and as easy to understand as possible.  This is the biggest complaint people have with PB-supplied documentation.
[Velix] Does PBuser have sites in different languages
[pbuserAaron] There was someone in France who wanted to do a french mirror a while back, but at this time pbuser is english only.
[Michaelshu] I must say PB have quite documentation on hardware, but rather poor on software.
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[pbuserAaron] Documentation other than what comes with the software is nonexistent.  The software for the sound cards is the only software I've even seen documents for written by pb.
[Velix] How many users are there in PBuser and sites?
>> Stan has joined channel #PackardBelltalk
Ray> I find it hard to get a lot of info about software as well
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Ray> I think the problem is, PB does not make all the software
[pbuserAaron] At this time PBUSER has just under 800 members.  There are no active mirrors of pbuser.com
[pbuserAaron] When I worked for PB, they considered the other software "free" and offered no support for it.  So any windows question would have to be addressed with the docs that come online with windows.
[pbuserAaron] Even software support was told not to deal with windows questions.
Ray> Unfortunately with new users that is a big number of the questions
Ray> None of them know how to use windows
[pbuserAaron] This all changed with the pay-for-support, but PB still considers the other software as "not our problem"
[pbuserAaron] That's a big issue with any mass marketed computer system.
[pbuserAaron] I've spoken with people who programmed nasa systems in the 70's, and they can't deal with win95.
[Michaelshu] I don't know a lot about software. Are the sound cards unique for PB machines?
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[pbuserAaron] Yes, PB manufactures their own sound cards these days based on Aztech designs
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[pbuserAaron] PB used to sell actual aztech cards but this ended about 3 years ago.
[Thump] sorry about I got logged out for keeping so quiet that is a first
[Michaelshu] What are Aztech designs?
[pbuserAaron] Aztech is a company which makes sound cards.  Gateway and Dell have also used aztech sound cards in their computers.
[pbuserAaron] www.aztechca.com is Aztech's web site.
Ray> www.windrivers.com is a good site for some info on these cards.
[Thump] I have an Aztech in one of my at work 486 machines from dell, works pretty well
[Velix] Do you know who makes the tv cards and radio cards?
[Michaelshu] I got a lot info from www.winddrivers.com
[pbuserAaron] Packard Bell makes the TV and radio cards. With their production plant in Sacramento, they make almost all their own cards.
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[pbuserAaron] Motherboards, sound cards, tv cards... even the new agp video cards.
Ray> welcome mf, subject is PBUSER
[Velix] Can one buy them to add to their system?
Ray> Aaron, you have a nice library on Packard Bell system in PBUSER.  You go back to the old 486 system as well.
Ray> What system do you start with for info?
[pbuserAaron] PB used to have a sister company that sold upgrade parts.  But that ended when NEC merged its US operations with PB.  At this time you have to upgrade using 3rd party parts.
Ray> I know you have info all the way up to the newest system.
[pbuserAaron] PBUSER's tech library starts with the PB 400 motherboard.  A 486 that is upgradable to 6MB using 30 pin simms.
[mf] Hello! I have the PB680 MB. It has the 008 Flash BIOS. Would it help if I downloaded the 12 from PB?
[pbuserAaron] I have documentation on earlier systems when needed.
[pbuserAaron] In general you should leave well enough alone.  So if 008 works without any trouble, keep it.  (Sometimes a new bios does bad things)
Ray> I agree, upgrade bios only if there is a need.
[pbuserAaron] 12 has been out long enough that I consider it safe.  I haven't had any reports of a major malfunction with it.
[Michaelshu] Is PB sound drive compatible to other new audio-video software?
[mf] Could you recommend a good video card for this system?
[pbuserAaron] Drivers for the PB sound cards have good compatibility with other software.  The wavestream wave table synth program causes a number of problems with programs like netmeeting.
Ray> I like the Stealth II for a video upgrade, as you might of seen from my latest pages.
[Thump] MF that is a good one for ray
[mf] DOes it install with out any problems?
[pbuserAaron] If you are using the PB680 motherboard... you may want to have a tech try to install the new video card.  Apparently there are some configurations that do not disable the onboard video for a new card.
[Michaelshu] What is netmeeting?
[Thump] I must run see ya all next week
Ray> Bye Thump
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[pbuserAaron] Microsoft Netmeeting is a Microsoft program that allows people using a network to work together, talk to each other and share documents.
[mf] I am upgrading to a 17" monitor, and I'm not sure if I have enough VRAM to run it 800x600.
[pbuserAaron] Hey, did you count yourself when figuring that 4 last week?
[pbuserAaron] We were up to seven, no?
Ray> 3 visitors one that came and left and me
[pbuserAaron] An S3 card with 2MB ram will run 800x600 at full color.  I wouldn't worry about it too much.
[Michaelshu] I have Pb600 with SND2-288AMSP sound card. I recently found microphone recording problem. The Audio Calendar application can't open
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Ray> Aaron what do people get as a member of PBUSER?
Ray> How much does it cost?
[pbuserAaron] In audio calendar, if you set an alarm and then do not have the computer on when the alarm should go off, it causes the program to fault when you try it again.
[Velix] Is the SND3-336FSP sound card full duplex capable and if so do I just install the drivers for the card that resembles it the closest?
[mf] Thanks for the info. Take care everyone.
Ray> bye, thanks for coming
[pbuserAaron] PBUSER members get access to our technical library, message base, and everything else we add.  The price is currently $39/year.
Ray> The message base is great.
Ray> No SPAM
[pbuserAaron] The snd3 is full duplex capable if you disable the wavestream software.
[Michaelshu] The Audio Calendar goes to fault, how would I re-install it? I failed by simply re-installing from PB bundled CD-ROM.
[pbuserAaron] The drivers shipped with the snd3 should be full duplex already.
[pbuserAaron] To correct the audio-calendar problem you have to delete the .ini file for audio calendar.  Email me and I'll send you the fix.  aaron@pbuser.com
[Velix] Is &39 for the first year and then $29 to renew?
[Velix] How do you disable wavestream?
[pbuserAaron] $39 for the first year, $29 to renew.  This may change later in the year if we start taking advertising.
[Michaelshu] Thanks, Aaron
[pbuserAaron] To disable wavestream go into the system properties page and find "wave table" under "sound video and game controllers.
[Michaelshu] Do you have Chatting sessions inn PBUSER?
[pbuserAaron] Go to its properties and there should be a checkbox to disable it.
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[Velix] I never use my credit cards on the net and I live in Canada. Do you accept US funds money order from Canada Post?
[pbuserAaron] There are no chat rooms like this inside PBUSER.  I have an obsessive need to program everything myself...
Ray> welcome, fulgore Subject is PBUSER
[Fulgore] Hello everyone!
[pbuserAaron] Money orders from Canada are as easy to process as anything else, but the mail takes 9 to 16 days...
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Ray> Welcome Ludowr we are finishing up a chat with Aaron from PBUSER
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[pbuserAaron] Looks like I'm almost out of time.  Any last questions?
[Fulgore] Can ne1 answer this question? Well I have a PB Platinum 40 with a PB680 motherboard. Does ne1 "really" know if it will support MMX CPU's?
[Velix] Is your address on your website and do you need to add sales tax?
[Ludowr] me too
[Fulgore] Did you see my last question? If you didn't I still have one PbuserAaron.
[pbuserAaron] No sales tax, when you complete the sign-up you will receive an email with the address and stuff.
Ray> Aaron, I will post the entire chat  on a web page if you don't mind.  Just email me any info that you did not get to say in the chat.
[Ludowr] I also have a platinum 40 pb860 ... do we need the overdrive processor for an upgrade?
[pbuserAaron] I have never run into a 680 that couldn't do MMX.  I have seen a 680 that would not to 233.  But MMX should not be a problem.
Ray> PB 680?  Question of the week.  A lot of people have been asking about this lately.
[pbuserAaron] Don't buy an ODP for a 680.  They can use regular Pentium Processors.
[Fulgore] Are you certain?
Ray> Rumor has it that there is a small voltage regulator on some PB 680?
[Michaelshu] Thanks for the time. Good bye!
>> Michaelshu has left channel #PackardBelltalk
Ray> and not on others.
[Fulgore] With MMX though?
[Fulgore] Do you know how it looks like?
[Fulgore] I can probably check.
Ray> I don't even know if it exists, I was hoping Aaron would know.
Ray> Oh well, It is 10:00 by my clock, I don't want to hold anyone up.
Ray> Aaron, do you want to post your web URL, email address or any other info as a closing.
[pbuserAaron] The intel orlando docs show an automatic circuit for the 2.8 voltage core.  This is a built-in kind of thing that would be harder for PB to remove than to leave.  I have not seen any source show a 680 without it.
[Ludowr] Ray: I believe I'll drop a 233mmx non-overdrive processor in my 680 board and see what happens. I'll let you know.
Ray> That is what I would do.
Ray> If I had a PB 680
Ray> Any closing remarks Aaron.
[Ludowr] I think my vr is a covered coil-shaped thing to the lower right diagonal of the cpu.
[Ludowr] sorry I was late. Thanks Aaron. Thanks Ray.
[Velix] thanks for the info.
[pbuserAaron] Thanks for having me here, Ray.  Readers can find out about PBUSER by visiting us on the web www.pbuser.com and from there you can say hello, find out more information or even join.  :)
Ray> I will post the entire chat if you do not mind Aaron?
[Fulgore] Thanks for the info everyone!