Software fix donated to schools AN agreement between the province and the NewDeal Foundation will provide every school in B.C, with an integrated sottware pack- age. The software has been written specitically to increase The usefulness of older machines. The NewDeal sottware will allow machines as old as 286 oF 380 PES co become Internet capable and run. applica tions such asa web browser, word processor, spreadsheet, database, graphics application, scheduler, electronic contact dist, banner maker, clip-art, and educational templates. ‘The applicauons are included in NewDeal's SchoolSuite 98 package. The $1.7-million value is free of charge, according to Education Minisrer Paul Ramisev said recently. “The NewDeal School Suite 98” software package will provide cdu- cators with the tools they need to teach «computer literacy,” said Ramsey. The software is English and French. Said Gloria Payne, NewDeal Foundation executive director, “The NewDeal Foundation is delighted to partner with the B.C. Ministry of Education in upgrading and extending the useful life of its installed base of computers, and in helping to expand computer literacy both within scheols and in homes.” SchoolSune 98 software has been tested in trials to ensure its rel- evanee fer teachers and students in B.C.’s) elementary and secondary schools and has been reviewed and approved by the | Ministry of Education’s resource licensing focus group. Ranisey said that the availability of this software will help take some of the pressure off those districts and schools with a sigaiticant num- ber of older computers which have less memory and less powerful processors than are needed to use current technology. The software is being provided to the province free of charge and will be available within a month. Schools have the right to dupli- cate the software at no cost. Teachers and students can take advantage of the software at schoo! and at home without any cost to taxpayers, parents or schools, The NewDeal Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Cambridge, Mass., provides royalty- free software from NewDeal and other vendors to educational, reli- gious and non-profit organizations around the world. available in Where nor th shore news Wednesday, March 24. 1999 - ‘North Shore News - 15 BUSINESS HIGH TECH _. Communities connect NORTH Shore Community Library Access consultant Jenny O'Grady, feft, shows Global V's Jennifer Mather how nine local agen- cies have a presence on the World Wide Web. The North Shore Community Web site is located at www.nscweb.org on the Internet. NEWS phote Mike Vaketield AN upcoming forum on community Y2K prepared- ness will be of interest to those bugged by possible probiems caused by comput- er glitches when the clock ticks over to the year 2000. Y2K The Millennium Bug — What You Should Know will be held on Saturday, April 3 at the Centennial Theatre (2300 Lonsdale) in North Vancouver, Tickets — admission is $2 ~- are available at the theatre. Net proceeds will be donated to North Shore Neighbourhood House. The event is being organized by West Vancouver-based brokerage firm United Capital Corporation. Buys You PENTIUM 233 MMX From $569 a speakers & fee ; monitors extra} s%, NEW SPEAKERS $19* FROM MABHESS CONTINUES!!! from $1 gg” United Capital investment adviser Clark Linton said the company’s objective in chairing the forum is to educate the public on the Y2K issue. “The issue has deservedly begun to receive an increasing amount of coverage of which the opinions expressed have been diverse. “At one end of the spectrum are opinions which classify Y2K as the most over-hyped issue of the 20th century, while at the other end are opinions that say Jan. 1, 2060 will be the end of the world as we know it. “Obviously, the majority of the opinions are somewhere in between, yet no one knows for certain what will occur at the turn of the millenni- um. With the diversity of views and the uncertainty surrounding the issue the actions that will be taken by indi- Money #2 PIN EDO Best Prices Guaranteed! Used Monitors RAM iy fram $59 rth Shore Y2K forum pl viduals will range from: nothing to run to the hills and pian for the worst,” he said. The foliowing is a tentative sched- ule for the forum: @ 10 w 10:10 am. — a general overview and history of the YZK problem; 10:10 to 30:50 a.m. — Y2K, the big picture, presented by Aliscair Eagle of Van2K ( a grassroots organi- zation formed around the issuc); @ 10:50 to 11:10 am. — B.C. Hydro’s 72K program, presented by B.C. Hydro; 8 11:10 to 11:30 2.m. — B.C. Gas' Y¥2K program, presented by B.C. as, & 11:30 to 11:50 a.m. — B.C. Tel’s Y2K program, presented by B.C. Tel; 11:50 a.m. t012:10 p.m. — water igre a Rey mets a Weare eel Sheet: = New Pentium Mainboards from $85 On dad < THIS WEEKS SPECIALS! A ey po anned supply and treatment and waste water collection and treatment, presented by Keith Arkell of the GVRD; @ 12:10 p.m. to 1 p.m. — break; l-to 1:20 p.m. — Lions Gate Hospital’s Y2K Program, presented by Alex Salazar of Lions Gate Hospital; @ 1:20 to 1:49 p.m. — North Vancouver RCMP on police pre- paredness and personal preparedness. @ 1:40 to 2:30 p.m. — Y2K implica- tions for home computers, presented by Rill Drake, president of Comp- Consul Integration; B® 2:30 to 3:10 p.m. — preparing your househeld for possible ¥2K dis- ruptions, presented by Ross Peterson of the North and West Vancouver Emergency Program. ~— Michael Becker