European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 20, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Stulc Grei Hll Ana pcs by Peter a Lewis new York Tinas i inter brings a up Ceil Belot hazards Lor Persona computers and not just ins obvious ones such As eggnog on the keyboard or lined in he disk drives. The main threat to computers Al this Lime of year is Static . Static electricity can leap trom your linger to Iho Metal of a computer Case and travel inside along the circuitry to the delicate logic and memory chips deep within the machine. Ii does t take much of a Opark to try one of these fragile circuits. Thai s Why the people who work in computer factories often tether themselves to a sate conductor such As a table by wearing grounding wires attached to their wrists. While damage to chips themselves is certainly possible damage to data is More Likely. A crackle of Static can rearrange letters and numbers in a spreadsheet insert garbage characters in important documents 01 cause the screen to go Blank unfortunately the damage in t always apparent and perversely it almost always seems 0 occur where it can do the most harm or cause the most embarrassment for example the Static gremlins might decide to replace each a in your Job application letter Wilh three e a deeper sir Plee Eese eee Cepl my Chepli Cecelion Lor Iho Fob of Prool  Stalic electricity thrives when relative humidity is Tow. La us relative humidity tails when the air in a room is heated without adding moisture. The heated air expands like a sponge sucking up water vapor from your skin irom furniture trom carpels from Christmas Trees and trom anything else that s Handy. Water vapor in the air is a Good thing not Only Lor your skin bul also for your computer. That s because Waler conducts electricity. When enough water Vapori is added directly to the air to bring the room s relative humidity to 50 percent or higher the water can conduct or Drain Static electricity belie ii becomes concentrated in your body. A Humidifier might not immediately come to mind when you re thinking of computer accessories but those room sire models Are great for reducing the risk of Static Oleck laity around a computer. Oon l let the Miat from the Humidifier All near the computer and Don t Over saturate Irra room s air. It you see moisture condensing on the inside of windows that s Loo much humidity. Also Don t tempt tale by wearing shoes with hard rubber heels and then shuffling your test across the carpeting in front of the computer. And to careful about pelting your cat or dog before Silling Down at the keyboard. Some companies have even gone so far Aslo forbid their computer operators to Wear pantyhose or silk underwear. As you can see the passive Humidifier approach can be less aggravating. To Light Stalic More directly consider buying a bottle of Anli Zlatic Spray and sprinzing it on the car Poleg near to computer. Such sprays which sometimes come with an Anli Stalic cloth Tor cleaning a computer Monitor. Can be bought for a Tew dollars from most electronics 01 computer stores. There Are also Antistatic pads that sit Unda the computer Monitor or keyboard for example and radio Shack even Sells an Antistatic door mat that Gaes under your chair about 160. It you wan a wrist strap like those worn in Tho Chip factories you can gel one for about $6, my Lavoile Antistatic device however treats Static almost As an Atlar thought. It s a multifunction peripheral that i be had Tor several years and it s called the master piece $149.95. There s also newer version called master piece plus 1159.95and both Are from Kensington Mie Oware limited of new York cily. The plus Model is essentially the same As the non paused Model bul with an additional level of Protection Lor modems and other data communications devices As one might surmise from the Cost the master piece is More than just a Stalic arrester its primary Job is As a surge suppressor but it also functions As a swivelling base for your Monitor and As a Power trip Rullel Lor plugging in your computer. Printer Monitor Modem and any other extra Dovice that requires a separate Power Supply such As an external disk drive. The nameplate of the Masler piece device is grounded so just touch ii before turning on Iho computer and Stalic is drained away. While Static Protection keeps electrical gremlins from coming through the tront door of your computer Saiga suppressors keep them irom coming in Iho Back door. Big screen tvs l associated press arge screen projection tvs a la Price lags of Well Over $1,000 Are not exactly the objects of impulse buying but sales figures Lor them in the United states have been climbing steadily in recent years. According to the electronics industries association unit sales totalled 195,000 in 1984.266.000 the follow my year and reached 304,000 in 1386. Total 1987 figures arc expelled to Rise even More says the Trade group. Once considered trappings of the elite the three to tour foot televisions Are now being viewed As a Long term investment in family entertainment according to Industry sources. When considering a Large screen to investment. People Are asking themselves what it costs per month to entertain their families says Dennis Boudreau president of music world a retail outlet in Quincy. Iii. Believe it or not he most expensive 46-Inch models Are our biggest Sellers because people look at these tvs As permanent fixtures. They want the product with the longest Lite so they go Lor the  the buying decisions in t based entirely on Price or technology he adds. People buy projection to s Wilh much the same Altitude they have when buying Tum iture. About 30 percent of the decision comes Down to cabinetry and recently manufacturers have realty Lumen these products into handsome pieces of  Many buyers Purchase larger Tva to Complete their Media rooms or Home  says Don hassle. Owner of audio video specialists in Phoenix at. My customers have disposable income to spend on tha creation of Lull blown Media centers and Large screen tvs Are certainly an integral  Large screen projection tvs which Range in screen size trom 37 inches to Ovca 50 inches differ irom smaller direct View models in More than just size. Direct View tvs use Only one Picuro lube to reproduce images and viewers look directly at the laced if lube. In contrast rear projection television Mineor Moralas three picture tubes and Iho images Are protected onto a Mirror then reflected onto the screen. Thanks to the development of new Lens Mirror and screen technologies today s Large screen projection tvs provide the same Delalla Ity and Bogh toss of High restitution direct View  says ban a Iiams. Television product manager at Nec Home electronics in Wood Dale. U. January 20,19b8 the stars and stripes Page 15