July 1999 Meeting Report
by Howard L. Bonar
Secretary, Alaska Computer Society

The July 1999 meeting of the Alaska Computer Society was held at its regular location at Providence Hospital starting at 7:10 pm.

Questions and Answers

President Gene White opened the meeting with the question and answer session. A member reported on some weird problems with his Office 2000 beta software. When it was loading up, it began automatically archiving his existing e-mail. It also had a problem with the date, thinking it was 2099 instead of 1999. Bronwyn Hillman suggested he check out the MicroSoft News Forums. To access them, set your news server name to msnnews.msn.com and then choose msn.forums.oncomputers as the news group and subscribe. Select the category that is nearest to the type of problem your are experiencing.

There are hundreds of other focus groups on this same server. It is a good site to find answers to problems with Microsoft products. Once you have subscribed, you can post a question and will probably receive several answers in short order. There are many experts from all over the world (not necessarily Microsoft people) who are active in these forums. Bronwyn also reported that she has received a beta copy of Windows 2000 and so far is pleased with it.

Ray MacDonald reported that he is experiencing an unusual freeze up on his Win98. Either the keyboard or the mouse will freeze up but not both at the same time.

Meeting

The official meeting started at 7:20 pm. President Gene White introduced the board members, SIG (Special Interest Group) leaders and volunteers present.

Karen Ciocchi reported on the upcoming August meeting of the AITP (Association of Information Technology Professionals). It will be held at the Regal Alaskan hotel on August 4th. A representative from the Alaska Railroad will describe how computers are used to run their trains. See the Techno Events Schedule for information about AITP meeting times and locations.

Ed Caldwell reported that next month's meeting will be "Surfing the Web" to favorite sites of our members. All are urged to E-mail their favorite web sites and and a brief description as to why to Ed. There will be a special door prize drawing for those who submit sites. Ed also reported on the membership cards. Anyone who has not yet picked up theirs should stop by the registration desk and get it.

Howard Bonar reported on the Software Evaluation Program. We still have some interesting programs to try out.

Member Randy Aman was the lucky winner of the door prize, a $25 savings certificate provided by Denali Alaskan Federal Credit Union.

The Presentation

Mr. Keith Fernandez of the Denali Alaskan Federal Credit Union of Anchorage introduced us to banking over the Internet.

Denali Alaskan is the state's third largest credit Union, with more than 31,000 members served by seven branches; five in Anchorage, one in Fairbanks, and one in Juneau.

The State of Alaska is way ahead of the rest of the country in the acceptance of on-line banking because we are the leading state in ownership of personal computers and users on the Internet.

Personal Computer Banking was introduced in this state by Denali Alaskan. The On-Line personal banking program was started in the fall of 1996. It gives members remote access to their account information and allows them to do a number of banking functions without ever leaving home.

Security of the system is extremely high as gaining access to account information requires entering a name, social security or account number, and a password. If the unthinkable happens and some unauthorized person does gain access to your accounts, the Credit Unit is covered by insurance and will make good any losses.

Services that can be accomplished on line are: check your savings account balance; checking account balance; apply for a loan; order checks; check on latest interest rates; transfer funds from one account to another; get financial planning assistance; and set up electronic payments. There is no charge for any of these services except for the bill payer program. There is a charge of 50 cents per check.

The technology is not yet ready to actually deliver cash but most other banking functions can be done on line. With on-line banking services and an ATM/ money card, you may never have to stand in line at the bank again.

When signing up for the on-line service, you may elect to forego the monthly bank statement and get all the information you need over the Internet. If you need a hard copy of your statement, you can just print out what you need.

Denali is establishing a new program to offer paying bills via the Internet. You will be able to do electronic cash transfers to businesses which accept them. Otherwise, checks will be mailed to them by Denali.

If you attempt to do a transfer payment and do not have sufficient funds, you will be advised at once. You then could immediately transfer funds from another account and go on with the payment process. If you set up an automatic bill payment program, you can program in limitations so that any variation from the budgeted amount will automatically trigger an alert that something is wrong.

Whenever two people are using the same checking account whether by check, money card, or transfers, it is not unusual for an account to be emptied. To avoid problems, it is wise to take out overdraft protection which will automatically transfer funds to cover the overdrafts.

ACCESSING YOUR ACCOUNTS ON LINE

The software used by Denali to handle the On-Line banking is by Ultra Data. Customers must have Netscape 3.0 or later or Internet Explorer 3.0 or later to access their accounts and, of course, be signed up for the service.

Once you are signed up the process is simple: Sign on to the Denali web page at www.denalifcu.org. Click on the line "Access Your Account on Line." This takes you to the log-in screen where you must enter your name, account number, and password to gain access to your private information. From there it is menu driven and will require just a few key strokes to make your selection and do your business.

Y2K ISSUES

Many people have expressed concern about the effect of the Y2K problem on their ability to access their funds. Denali Alaskan has been at work for several years to insure that the bug won't "bite" your account. All of Denali's "critical" systems have been tested and upgrades implemented wherever needed. During the testing phase, "We successfully tested 15 dates for processing member and account transaction information". The dates tested were identified by the computer industry as having millennium date-related issues. "Our readiness has been audited by federal regulators and a private auditing firm."

Other computers that are not in critical systems are being checked and are expected to be compliant by the years end.

One of the problems to be faced on D-Day, (1/1/2000) is a massive withdrawal of funds by nervous customers. Analysis has determined that in the worst case, from $15 to $25 million dollars may be withdrawn from Denali by people fearful of the Y2K problems. This is a significant number but would be manageable. To help counter and hopefully reduce that exodus, Denali is exploring a program that will offer a 1/2% bonus on CD rates for members who leave their money in over the critical period. There will be plenty of cash on hand to take care of your needs.

SYSTEM SUPPORT

The Information Systems group is on call 24 hours a day with technical staff available in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau. Most of the Denali office functions are networked. Most back office operations are conducted on dumb terminals but the system is being upgraded to an all PC network.

Denali Alaskan is a partner in the Alaska ATM Alliance (AAA) which consists of 12 Alaska financial institutions. Members of Denali Alaskan and other of the Alliance financial institutions may use AAA Alaska Option ATMs without any fees! This includes all Alaska Option, Exchange, Accel or Plus network locations. There are about 110 machines in the state in the program.

The Alaska Computer Society and Denali are working on a program to make it possible for ACS members to join the Denali Credit Union. We have a few details to work out before we can make an announcement.

If you are interested in learning more, log on to the Denali Alaskan web page at www.DenaliFCU.org and check it out.