FAQS! FACTS! FAX! 034 (26/11/96)

PORTABLE PROTECTION

I own a laptop PC and have read somewhere that there is a security product, that works as follows: a transmitter attaches to the PC carry-case and transmits a signal to the receiver, on a key-ring, or worn on the PC owner’s belt. If the PC is stolen or moved more than a pre-set distance away from the receiver an alarm is triggered. I have been unable to find anyone who knows what the product is called, or where it can be obtained. Any ideas?

E. O.

A

Various ‘tagging’ and inventory control systems -- similar to the one’s used in shops and offices -- might suit the bill. However, the receivers are not portable and they depend on fixed antennas or sensors placed close to a building’s entry and exit points. The closest thing we could find to the gadget you describe, is an abduction alarm for children and pets. Daily Ease Industrial manufacture a compact portable wireless alarm system, which looks as though it can do the job, though it’s not clear whether or not it’s approved for use in the UK.

A company called Protecta Tag in the UK are developing a portable version of their ‘asset and personelle tracking system’. This uses a credit-card sized identity module, that’s bonded to the product. They’re currently working on a battery-powered receiver, and a system that will contact the user via a belt-worn pager. Contacts: Daily Ease Industrial (Hong Kong), 00 852 2790 1398

Protecta Tag (01959) 540830, Bairds Bellow (laptop security systems) 01799 520755. 

ANCIENT APPLE

In the mid 1980’s I worked on a project compiling a large bibliography on 5.25-inch floppy discs, using Visidex software on an Apple II machine. We now wish to publish this data, but the Apple II broke down long ago, and we have no hardware capable of processing it. Can the data be transferred from the floppies to 3.5-inch discs, so they can be read by a modern Mac? The two data conversion agencies we tried so far have failed to come up with a solution. Do you have any suggestions, short of retyping whole thing?

R. H. , Dublin

A

Visidex writes its own operating system which makes it extremely difficult to process the information on any other machine. Apple tell us that the only solution would be to carry out a data transfer from an Apple II to a Mac, using a serial port connection. It’s a slow, and potentially expensive job, that few people are capable of doing. They suggest you get in contact with Mike Jones, who runs Apple Cracker Bulletin Board; he can be contacted on 01268 784244. Another possibility might be to find someone with a working Apple II, print out the data, then scan it into a Mac or PC and convert it to text using OCR (optical character recognition) software.

MEMORY MAYHEM

I'm after a 4 Mb upgrade for a HP Laserjet 4 printer.  I've looked in several magazines and original HP upgrades cost around £170. Eventually I found a mail order company who wanted £25 for the same thing. They said it's just a normal SIMMs memory board. How can HP justify charging this much?

M. L., via e-mail

A

HP printer memory boards are virtually identical to regular SIMMs modules; the only points to bear in mind is that the memory must have parity, and the jumper settings are different. Providing the module is correctly configured for your printer, and it comes with a guarantee, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t buy by mail order. We contacted HP for a comment about their pricing policy but we’re still waiting for a reply...