 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group PC (President's Comments) George Skarbek gskarbek@melbpc.org.au |
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November is the month for the AGM and annual elections. This year the number
of candidates exactly equals the vacancies, so there will be no election on the night.
Throughout 2001 I have been privileged to lead a group of enthusiastic representatives who have worked hard on
your behalf as the best committee I have ever encountered. They have been focused on improving conditions for
all members and energetically achieved their aims. Each has been allocated a portfolio and usually one of
their own choice. Portfolios are Training, Swap Meets, Membership, SIG & Branches, Library, Internet
& BBS, Volunteers, PC Update, Monthly Meetings, Hardware & Equipment. As well as these
allocated portfolios there are the executive positions, namely the Vice-President, Treasurer and
Secretary.
The best aspect of this committee has been the ability to discuss issues without any personality problems so
that an idea or concept is discussed and examined, not the person who represents that idea. I have summarised
the year in my Annual Report.
Can You Help?
The Dial-Help page that comes with each edition of PC Update is one reason why many members join Melb
PC and it's a valuable resource. However, there are a few vacancies that should be filled in order to further
improve our service.
It you have reasonable knowledge in some subject and it's not on the list, or if there is just one person
currently
listed for that subject, please contact the office with your offer. If other pressures take too much of your
time then you can always ask to be removed from the dial-help list. For many topics there will be only an
occasional phone call and your workload will not be large. Your value to the membership will be
considerable.
Public Address Systems
The committee is continuing to improve the support for Special Interest Groups and has purchased three good
quality public address sound systems with cordless microphones to make it easier to hear the speakers at the
larger SIGs. These units cost about $1250 each and any SIG that has an average attendance of 60 or more
members over a three month period will qualify for such a unit.
Smaller SIGs should be able to borrow a portable unit in the future for their meetings if they need a PA
system.
Essendon Daytime SIG
The Essendon Daytime SIG has been formed by an enthusiastic local group and will hold its meetings on the
first Friday of each month at 10.00 am in the Emerald Street Community Centre, at the corner of Emerald St
and Hoffmans Rd, West Essendon. This brings our number of SIGs to 39.
How Good Is Your History?
Melbourne PC User Group is approaching its 20th birthday and it would be desirable to publish a special
article or series of articles on our history and achievements over this time. Who would like to be involved
in this? The committee feels that input from a variety of sources would be the best way to achieve that goal.
If anyone can write on some aspect of the group from the past 20 years, or has some interesting facts or
figures about any aspect of the group, could they please send them to committee@melbpc.org.au
Next Monthly Meeting
Date: Wednesday 7 November
Venue: Pharmacy College, Parkville.
Microsoft will present its latest operating system, Windows XP This is the
merging of the home operating systems, naively Windows 9x/ME and Windows 2000 (formerly NT 5) to a common
base.
Following that Jack Retman will give a presentation on how to use the refill kits for the Inkjet printer
cartridges
There will also be our AGM and election.
The meeting will also feature our Random Access session (your chance to ask the experts), the regular
giveaways and raffle with usually some thousand dollars worth of prizes, shareware library sales, etc.
For a map of how to find the Pharmacy College see Melway 29 B12. Hope to see you there.
Reprinted from the November 2001 issue of PC Update, the
magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
