C-Message Weighting Messaging System (408)-377-7441 14,400 V.32/V.42bis ======================================================================= B A S E L I N E N E W S - S E P T E M B E R 1 9 9 3 Alfred Deisner, Editor ======================================================================= "News about technology and technology policy" _____________ including an electronic digest of published reports_________ This Month: =========== - Modoc County Fair - SJPD Officers Misused Databases - New Software Utilities =========== SIGNALS OF INTEREST (MHZ) 151.445 CDF Santa Clara Ranger Unit, Morgan Hill (Santa Clara/Alameda Co.) 151.355 CDF Command 1, Statewide 151.265 CDF Command 2, Statewide 168.350 U.S. Government - interagency (simplex) Nationwide 169.125 Boise Interagency Fire Cache, California Travel Net, Statewide 452.325 J. F. Shea Construction (paving), Redding 460.825 KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, San Jose 463.850 Ligtelyn Communications, Mountain View (radio shop) MODOC COUNTY FAIR The Modoc County Fair opens 9 September at the county Fairgrounds in Tulelake. Running through 12 September, the fair is billed as the only no- alcohol, free (gate admission) fair in the state. Other area attractions include Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge, SP/Burlington Northern interchange at Newell, Lava Beds National Monument, Kingsley Air Force Base, and the remnants of the Japanese Internment Camp at Newell. Stop by the fast food drive-in in Newell for Buffalo burgers and the best shakes in the known world. PD OFFICERS CONVICTED: DATABASE MISUSE Sentencing for two former San Jose Police officers who sold criminal records and Department of Motor Vehicles records is scheduled for 17 September. The two were convicted of felony conspiracy on 23 August according to the SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS. The two officers, Brian D. Blackford and Robert W. Brownlee sold confidential police database information to a Mountain View private investigator. The investigator, Shiela Jean Klopper, used the information to locate individuals involved in civil and criminal cases. Klopper purchased between fifty and several hundred records from the officers for $25 each. She was convicted of misdemeanor charges. The Criminal Justice Information Computer (CJIC) -- used by police to retrieve information on criminal records -- is accessed in San Jose using the officer's badge number. The two officers used nonexistent badge numbers and the badge numbers of other officers in an attempt to remain anonymous while obtaining the information. "We hope this case will send a message to those who might otherwise abuse the computer system," said a Deputy District Attorney involved in the case. AIR FORCE DEVELOPS MEDICAL LASER Phillips Laboratory in Kirtland, New Mexico has developed a 10W, solid- state argon laser that can be carried on a belt pack. The laser's output is carried through a fiber optic cable to a disposable tip. The tip cauterizes a severely bleeding wound and may be useful to stop arterial bleeding. LEADING EDGE says the medical laser has applications on the battlefield as well as in civilian EMS use. CAMERAS, CAMERAS, EVERYWHERE Video cameras are being installed in more grocery stores, banks, and automatic teller machines every day. Why? With increased use of electronic credit systems like credit cards and electronic funds transfers using ATM cards, more fraud is taking place. Droves of people are charging items or making withdrawals and then claiming their ATM cards have been stolen, (or some variation of this scheme). According to one corporate security employee we spoke with, it makes a good court case to have a video picture of the individual -- who claimed their card had been stolen -- making the withdrawal or purchase. The person can then subsequently be charged with filing a false report as well as whatever fraudulent activities they have been involved in. In some cases the card has really been stolen; again, a photo of the perpetrator is handy. A loss prevention team member for a large retail chain tells us that new video security cameras are on the market that are virtually invisible to the shopper. In the past, we've seen surveillance cameras that look like loudspeakers. Many cameras are currently hidden behind mirrors or displays that appear to be opaque. Yet another camera looks like a fire sprinkler and mounts on a business establishment's ceiling. NEXT COMPUTER LIQUIDATION Many people are aware that Next Computer has given up the hardware end of the business in order to concentrate on its software (operating system) products. Ross-Dove Company will auction Next's Fremont hardware manufacturing equipment on Wednesday, 15 September. To find out about previewing material in the sale or to get a list of auction items, call Ross-Dove at (800) 445-DOVE. CHEAP SOFTWARE We think a package called Calendar Creator (for DOS) is handy to have around. It prints calendars and can make use of PCX clip art -- like the stuff we have in the Clip Art file area here. Some stores have bargain bins for software that is not the most current version. A recent visit to the Sunnyvale EGGHEAD store revealed a bin with software like Calendar Creator Version 5 for $9.95. We also noticed that some MCWHORTERS stores have a similar selection of inexpensive business software. Some record stores also carry inexpensive software. WORDPERFECT HELP Although we don't have a copy, we occasionally use WordPerfect on other people's machines. Recently, we ran across a copy of WordPerfect Magazine. The magazine has a selection of tips for doing many shortcut tasks that WP is capable of. There are many macro tricks that save keystrokes, improve printing speed, and tips for using graphics in documents. A host of third- party add-on software is also offered to help you with specialized tasks like foreign language translation, fonts, and display characteristics. A companion floppy disk for each issue containing graphics used in magazine articles, macros and the like is also available. WordPerfect Magazine is $24.00/year for one year. To subscribe, call WordPerfect at (801) 228- 9626. By mail, their address is WP Magazine, Circulation Department, 270 West Center Street, Orem, Utah, 84057-9927. WHAT WAS THAT PASSWORD? Access Data offers password recovery programs for Word for Windows, WordPerfect, Novell Netware, Lotus 1-2-3, Microsoft Excel, Paradox, and Quattro Pro -- as well as others. If you've chosen such a great password that even you have forgotten it, Access Data can help. A free demonstration disk is available. Access Data, 87 East 600 South, Orem, Utah, 85058 (801) 224-6970. KODAK COLOR PRINTER Kodak is offering a color printer model XLS 8300 that prints images up to 8.5 inches by 10 inches. Using XLS Ektatherm paper, the printer has a suggested price of $10,995.00. The printed output is hard to scratch, and resistant to smudging or fading. Digital scanners, cameras, image files and Kodak Photo CDs are possible input sources for the printer. For further information: Eastman Kodak, 343 State Street, Rockchester, New York, 14650. NIKON DIGITAL STILL CAMERA Nikon Electronic Imaging has developed a color, digital, single lens reflex camera that records still images on a 4 MB PCMCIA-type memory card. Images are stored in a JPEG (.JPG) format. Image resolution is 1088 x 840 pixels and can be downloaded to a PC for storage or manipulation. The system is still in development, but targeted markets include journalism, medicine, law enforcement, and real estate. Nikon Electronic Imaging, 1300 Walt Whitman Road, Melville, New York, 11747-3064, (516) 547-4355. JASC OFFERS PAINT SHOP PRO VERSION 2 The best graphics file viewer and format convertor we have tested is a shareware program called Paint Shop Pro Version 1. For $74.00, Version 2.0 will read, display, and convert between the following graphics file formats: BMP (OS/2) MAC (MacPaint) TGA CUT (Dr. Halo) BMP (Windows) MSP TIF JPG (JPEG) DIB PCX WPG (WordPerfect) JIF (JPEG) GIF PIC IFF PCD (Kodak Photo CD) IMG RAS RLE (CompuServe) EPS (Postscript) JAS RLE (Windows) LBM (Deluxe Paint) WMF (Windows Metafile) CLP (Windows Clipboard) Further, Paint Shop Pro can manipulate images by making gamma corrections, enhancing edges or detail, blurring or softening, and adjusting brightness or contrast. Microsoft Windows Version 3.1 is required. A display, VGA card, and display driver capable of running Windows in 256-color mode is recommended. VISA and MasterCharge are accepted. JASC, Incorporated, 10901 Red Circle Drive, Suite 340, Minnetonka, Minnesota, 55343, (612) 930- 9171. DOCUMENT CONVERSION UTILITY Two packages that convert documents from one word processing format to another are offered by Advanced Computer Innovations, Inc. A fifteen day return period is offered in case you are not satisfied with the product(s). R-Doc/X (TM) ($155.00) converts many obsolete word processor formats like IBM PC-Write and Volkswriter to formatting used by programs like Microsoft Word, Microsoft Word for Macintosh, and IBM DisplayWrite. WordPort (TM) ($156.00) converts between many current word processor formats like Word for Windows, AMI Professional, and WordStar. Advanced Computer Innovations is offering both programs bundled for $205.00. To find out more about these software packages, contact Advanced Computer Innovations, Inc., Suite R-31, 30 Burncoat Way, Pittsford, New York, 14534- 2216, (716) 383-1939. ANTARCTIC TRIVIA We recently spoke with an individual who is responsible for part of the supply operation to support the exploration of the Antarctic continent. As you can imagine, disposal of sewage in an area where the ground is frozen all year is a problem. Disposed material freezes, leaving a permanent mark on the land. Sewage must be hauled out of research camps in containers and disposed in a warmer climate. The containers used to transport the sewage are marked: Used Food. SITUATION REPORT: UKRAINIAN ENERGY Much of the area south of Moscow to the Black Sea is encompassed by the Ukraine. This area is famous for successful coal and oil production as well as vast farmland. Despite the communist government's exalted failures, problems plaguing the Ukraine have worsened since breakup of the Soviet Union. Environmental damage in former-Soviet industrial areas is remarkable. "Chernobyl epitomized the poor planning, mismanagement, blind devotion to technology and indifference to the public health that characterized the Soviet regime," says D.J. Peterson in the RAND report, "Troubled Lands: The Legacy of Soviet Environmental Destruction." Several coal mining areas, like the Donets and Kuznetsk coal basins are described as "beyond reclamation." A photo in the report showing a lifeless stand of trees is captioned [in part,] "Lack of even rudimentary pollution controls has created moonscapes like this one around a petroleum processing plant..." The report claims that smelters in a SINGLE CITY create more sulfur dioxide emissions than all industries in Italy. Energy industry output is declining. According to the United States General Accounting Office, oil production declined by 70% between 1970 and 1991. Oil fields use a technique called "water flooding" where water is injected into the ground to create barriers. This forces oil out of target wells. The technique is described as an inappropriate production technology by officials who claim only 25-40% of the wells' potential output is realized. Between 1970 and 1990, gas production dropped about 54% from 5.6 billion cubic feet a day to 2.6 billion cubic feet a day. Improper pipeline maintenance is the standard operating procedure because the country uses compressors and pipe technology from the 1950s and 1960s. Pipelines leak, rust, and need to be disassembled and coated with anti-corrosion linings. In addition, coal production declined 20% between 1970 and 1990. See the file REACTOR1.ARC in File Area 1 to find out more about Soviet- built reactor types and safety. BAY AREA EXPORTS An Air Resources Board report says that the Bay Area is responsible for exporting tons of ozone from various ozone sources. Winds carry the air pollutants to Vacaville, Crows Landing, and Pinnacles National Monument. Air quality in these areas still meets federal standards in spite of us. VOCABULARY BUILDER acerbic: (a-ser-bic) adjective. 1. bitter. 2. sour. 3. edged with harshness. example: acerbic wit. Source: THE NEW LEXICON: WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, (Encyclopedic Edition), 1989. THOUGHTS for September... --------------------- T-shirt: STOP PLATE TECTONICS! "Considering the cost of operating a large aircraft (as much as $12,000 per hour) a one hour delay of 100 aircraft, not atypical at a major airports such as Chicago's O'hare, could cost more than $1 million dollars." Open Software Foundation "[In one] case, a computer system, which contained sensitive pen register data used by [Drug Enforcement Administration] agents to monitor suspected drug traffickers' telephone calls was located in a room that was not secured because of a broken lock on the door. ...the password to the computer system, as well as instructions on how to retrieve system data, had been left beside the computer. ...we noted many instances in which Office Automation system passwords were not adequately safeguarded by DEA personnel. Instead, DEA personnel shared passwords, and in a few cases, left them taped to computer terminals or used passwords such as "DEA" that could be easily identified." COMPUTER SECURITY: DEA Is Not Adequately Protecting Sensitive Drug Enforcement Data GAO/ IMTEC-92-31 _____________________________________________________________________ Thanks to individuals who contributed information for Baseline News. _____________________________________________________________________ Baseline news is not affiliated with Bay Area Scanner Enthusiasts (BASE). This document represents a simplified overview of a few activities taking place in the world. Baseline News (C) Copyright 1993 C-Message Weighting Messaging System (408)-377-7441 1200/2400/9600/14400 baud. As long as you distribute this file in its entirety, (including this statement) it is okay to redistribute, print, or copy this file for any lawful purpose without other restrictions. (end)