Date: Fri 17-Apr-1998

By CURT CLARK

Published: Aug 11, 1999 12:00 am

Publication: Bee

Author: CURT

Quick Words:

iinfo-mouse-scrolling

Full Text:

INTERNET INFO FOR REAL PEOPLE: The Deep Freeze

By Bob Brand

Once upon a time while browsing around the Web, the cursor suddenly froze. The

keyboard continued to send instructions to the computer but any movement with

the mouse would not change the position of the cursor. Suddenly I discovered

how much I relied on the mouse for delivering computer commands. I had to exit

the program with keystrokes instead of clicking File -- Exit. Holding down the

[Alt] key and the first letter of the command ([alt] F) followed by keystroke

x, I was able to exit the program. OK, the only thing to do was press the

three keystroke combination [alt][ctl][del] (this allows the computer to be

re-booted) and start all over again.

Back to Normal

When the computer restarted, everything worked -- mouse, cursor, keyboard, the

works. I thought, OK, a minor glitch, no problem. The next day, I experienced

another frozen cursor. I was running a completely different program when the

mouse stopped taking instructions. Again, I had to shut down, extract myself

from the program and reboot. When I restarted the computer, everything worked

fine.

On day three, I had another frozen cursor. This problem could not be ignored.

My first thought was that a new piece of software was causing the problem. I

had installed a program called ICQ that notifies me when someone on the Net is

trying to get my attention. Because ICQ stays alive in the background waiting

for something to happen, I thought this was the cause of the problem. I

removed ICQ. Unfortunately, the problem did not go away. Maybe the problem was

the mouse itself. I always have a spare mouse around so I plugged it in. The

mouse problems disappeared.

A New Mouse

Many of us look for good reasons to buy something new for our computers. Now,

I had one. I made a special trip to Office Max in Danbury. I like looking at

computer gear. There was a selection of seven or eight mouses (or is it mice

(g)?) The mouse that captured my fancy with just the right "feel" was the

Logitech First Mouse+â. This is a new style that sports a scrollwheel between

the left and right buttons. Price: $30 plus tax. This was the last one in the

store. I scurried home with my prize!

When you buy a replacement mouse today, it comes equipped with an adapter that

allows it to be plugged in to either the PS/2 mouse port or the 9 pin serial

port. The Plug and Play feature (this is software developed by Microsoft)

found in Windows 95 senses if the user has made changes to the hardware when

the computer starts up. I just plugged the First Mouse+â into normal PS/2

port. In order to use the scroll feature, however, new "mouse driver" software

must be loaded. In the past, the mouse driver was a small program, about 7

kilobytes or so. Not today. Logitech's MouseWare 7.5 requires two 3.5"

diskettes. This is crazy. Anyway, the instructions are clear. Put the first

diskette in the A drive, click START, select RUN, type A:setup and choose OK.

Simple. The mouse works perfectly.

Scrolling

By using the scrollwheel, it becomes easy to move vertically through websites.

Many webpages are longer than one screen length. Rather then use the elevator

bar found on the right side of the screen, a few rolls of the wheel and the

hidden portion comes into view. Often frames within websites must be scrolled.

The mouse handles this deftly. The scrolling is not limited to websites. It

works on all Windows applications. It comes in very handy when working on long

word processing and HTML (HyperText Markup Language) documents. Frankly, the

little wheel has not only made my trips into cyberspace more enjoyable, but I

sorely miss the feature when I use a conventional mouse without the scroll.

Newer Computer Systems

Many of the newer premium PCs come equipped with the Microsoft Intellimouseâ.

This is the more expensive (around $90) cousin to First Mouse+â. The software

drivers supplied with Logitech's First Mouse+â allow the user to scroll

through applications on Windows 3.1 systems. It is hard to understand why it

took so long to invent.

URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) of interest:

http://www.cnet.com/Content/Reviews/Compare/Mice/ss05.html

http://www.webreviews.com/97_01/intellimouse.html

http://www.logitech.com/cgi-bin/contact.pl http://wwp.mirabilis.com/

(This is the 99th of a series of elementary articles designed for surfing the

Internet. Next, `X2 or K56flex' is the subject on tap. Stay tuned. Until next

week, happy travels through cyberspace. Previous issues of Internet Info for

Real People (including links to sites mentioned in this article) can be found:

http://www.thebee.com. Please e-mail comments and suggestions to:

rbrand@JUNO.com or editor@thebee.com.)

Track And Field Teams Compete At Masuk

‘Color Our World With Hope’ Filled Newtown With Music, Meaning, And Community Impact

Nighthawk Baseball Team Beats Conference Opponents

Late Goal By Ruddy Lifts Nighthawk Lacrosse Team To Victory, Showcases Chemistry In Midfield

Reed Intermediate Presents Sold-Out Performances Of 'Willy Wonka Jr'

Well that is some spin. The Democrats have a super majority on the LC and passed the Education Budget without serious consideration of if the voters could afford the multi million dollar increase. "Was the request justified?" rather than "is this needed?" and "can the voters shoulder yet another large increase?" The voters rightly sent it back. Then for some reason all the discussion around reductions to the increase seemed to be coming from the classroom, rather than administration and overhead costs. Is this a coercive tactic to manipulate parents into supporting the budget like tacit threat of cutting freshman sports was two years ago? Who believes the Democrats did not caucus privately before the meeting and came in with a number already worked out? This is the Dems budget, they own it.

Education Cuts: Who Voted For What

I think it is important that we do not villainize every black box seen around a home, business, farm, or municipal property. A black exterior station does not always mean rat poison is being used. These stations can hold a number of different products, including monitoring blocks, snap traps, non-toxic bait, anti-tick bait stations, organic salt- or cornmeal-based control products, and newer fertility-control approaches intended to reduce rodent populations without traditional poisons. The better conversation, in my opinion, is not simply “black boxes are bad,” but rather: what is inside them, who is maintaining them, and whether the rodent issue is being managed responsibly. Exclusion, sanitation, trapping, habitat reduction, and careful monitoring should all be part of a responsible IPM strategy. To be fair, on my own property I do use rodenticides, including Bromethalin and Bromadiolone, in secured bait stations. But that is a choice I make for my property, based on my circumstances and the risk I am trying to manage. I also believe property owners should understand the tradeoffs and be encouraged to use the least harmful effective method whenever possible. I support protecting Newtown’s wildlife. I also support giving residents accurate information and not assuming that every black box represents reckless or unsafe pest control. The goal should be responsible rodent management, not fear of the box itself.

Discusses Policy Against Rodenticides

Debora, thank you! I accidentally doubled the project prices by adding the bond to the appropriation. Thank you so much for catching that and pointing it out. With the corrected numbers, the voters approved a combined $1.32 million for a salt shed ($600k) and library pavement ($720k), while rejecting the $1.12 million replacement turf. Regarding the 80s, I truly respect the hurdle of 14% mortgage rates. My point is simply that the math has shifted: in 1980, while the rates were higher, the price of a home relative to earnings was significantly lower. We are facing a different, but equally crushing, financial wall. Ultimately, it is disheartening that voters who recognized safe sidewalks and parking lots as essential, dismissed a playing field in the exact same condition. The turf has passed its life cycle and is just as much of a liability as the library’s pavement, the only difference is that this safety concern affects thousands of children who, coincidentally, cannot vote. These are apples-to-apples needs. I was hopeful our community would agree that all Newtown residents deserve safe conditions, regardless of which facility they utilize. Again, I would be remiss not to mention that when 82% of residents don’t show up, we have to deal with the interests of those who did. Hopefully, the next referendum will have a bigger turnout.

The ‘Me’ Generation

Thanks for the reply. I meant the numbers you presented in your letter. I found one place where other numbers were listed: https://www.newtownbee.com/04232026/get-out-and-vote-on-the-2026-27-proposed-municipal-and-school-budgets/?q=\\\%22advisory%20questions\\\%22. In that article, the numbers were cited as: Treadwell field: $1,125,000 Library: $720,000 Salt Storage: $600,000 As one who started out in the early 80's when inflation was double digits, my 1985 mortgage rate was 14%, and child care costs were comparable (in present value), I shared your grief but never considered the voters ironic or shameful. PS. I agree college tuition is ridiculous. Thankfully, universities are offering (or considering) waiving all or most tuition for middle class families (upwards of $200,000 incomes). Hopefully, they'll also reconsider their need for those funds in the first place.

Sure! Child care costs: https://www.ffyf.org/2022/10/13/data-child-care-prices-continue-to-rise-ahead-of-midterm-elections-outpacing-inflation/ (also from 2021-2025 we had 2 children in a local daycare in Newtown and it cost us $3200 a month, so that's a number I am very familiar with) Home price / median price vs income source: https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/home-price-income-ratios Tuition increase vs inflation: https://feed.georgetown.edu/access-affordability/noting-a-decline-in-middle-class-students-colleges-provide-more-aid/ Hope this helps :)

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Date: Fri 17-Apr-1998

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