March '98 Meeting Notes
 
 

MAGIC: Live on The Internet
 
Members present were able to participate in a live multimedia / internet event of music and artwork by joining the MAGIC celebration at the Pavilion via computer in the meeting room at the library.   Using the HRIA Monorail portable computer, a telephone line, modem, connection to the internet, Netscape, and RealAudio -- live music and digital camera scenes from the stage of the Virginia Beach Pavilion were projected "big as life" in the auditorium.

As with all things technology related, there was a small amount of "yeah right" about the possibility that it would actually work as the meeting began.. perhaps a comfort zone kind of attitude to avoid being disappointed when technology "breaks" for technology's sake???  At any rate, all were pleased to see the work in progress and a healthy round of applause was given to all who made MAGIC happen.

In September of 1997, Michael Goldberg visited and spoke to the HRIA membership about this vision and encouraged interested people to dive in and be a part of this extravaganza.   Details about MAGIC can be found at http://www.magic98.org/ -- truly a unique experience for internet professionals, hobbyists, novices, and the Hampton Roads Community and Schools.
 

Stocks on the Internet - Mary Warren Pinnel
  Merry's Money Links:  http://wwwp.exis.net/~marywrn/money.htm

Mary is an active member of HRIA and teaches classes about stocks and the stock market at the Adult Learning Center in Virginia Beach.  Many helpful resources are made available to interested surfers on her personal web pages, particularly Merry's Money Links (http://wwwp.exis.net/~marywrn/money.htm) During the session she explained terms such as "Dogs of the Dow" and Insiders (the legal kind), demonstrated various methods for information gathering regarding the stock market, and showed how to actually trade online.

Some highlights of her overview include:

http://www.dogsofthedow.com/dogs98.htm

Dogs of the Dow - the ten highest yielding Dow stocks as of the close of the prior year.

http://www.bloomberg.com/bbn/sec/sec1.html

Insiders - a look at which executive officers are buying their own company stock

http:://www.stocksmart.com

World Markets - recommended by Mary as being user friendly

http://quote.yahoo.com

Yahoo Finance Pages which offer a passworded login where the user can create a stock portfolio.  Particular attention was given to the wealth of information provided for each "ticker" in the way of charts, news, SEC filings, profiles, research, and messages.

http://www.waterhouse.com

Waterhouse was used as the example for actually buying online.
 

In the Trading Online section of Merry's Money Links, Mary emphasized that of the 100+ possible sites, she listed three for specific reasons.  Particularly for a novice online investor, it is beneficial to have a local facility to visit in person as well as the online services.  The two local to this area were Schwab and Waterhouse.  E-Trading was listed, while out of the area, because of its ease of us and reliability of service.

http://www.stockpicks.com

A graphically intense site that was cumbersome in loading and navigating was one example cited of sites not to rely on in the presenter's opinion. One should look more for reliable information than busy scenery.
 

Merry's Money Links:  http://wwwp.exis.net/~marywrn/money.htm

  Respectfully Submitted by
June Ritchie, Secretary
March 19, 1998   Return to Meeting Notes Page | Return to HRIA Home Page