Here it is only 31 January, and already I am being asked to complete this column for the March PC Update. The year certainly is racing along.

APCUG and CES

You will have seen the acronym APCUG mentioned in PC Update many times. It stands for the Association of Personal Computer User Groups, an organisation based in the USA bringing together the management of some 250 PC User Groups like ours. Through APCUG we are able to discuss experiences and ideas on how to run user groups and we also share articles for our various newsletters.

APCUG has an annual meeting previously held in November of each year, in Las Vegas, concurrent with the Computer Industry trade show Comdex (COMputer Dealer EXpo). However with the recent demise of Comdex the APCUG meeting has been moved to January, and is now held concurrently with CES (the Consumer Electronics Show), also in Las Vegas. In January our Vice President, Ash Nallawalla and I had the opportunity to represent Melb PC at the 2005 event.

With the APCUG event being our primary focus, it was pleasing to see an increased attendance of some 320 UG officers, where we were able to contribute and learn from peer groups. Topics of special interest to us being "How to best meet the needs of Seniors", "How to entice younger members to join our Groups", and "Being a User Group Ambassador". As well, we were able to discuss Melb PC needs directly with Microsoft Head Office staff and expect to have increased participation from Microsoft in the near future. Further details regarding APCUG were published in last month's PC Update.

CES was for us, a new event; 2,400 exhibitors occupying 150,000 sq m and 150,000 attendees — a remarkable difference to the Comdex of a year ago which had only 50,000 attendees. Being PC users, we were attracted to products and trends relative to our members. For me, notable trends were

• The automated home - controlled remotely from any PC on the Web, even having IP addresses assigned to individual light switches. As well as remote control, there are now extensive security features sending appropriate alarms. We have all heard of the LG Internet Fridge. This time, we saw the combo Fridge/Oven so that food can be kept cold prior to cooking, be cooked, and then if needed, re-chilled - all controllable via Internet or SMS messages. However, at US$7,500 it's not yet on my shopping list. See http://www.tmio.com for details.



• The ongoing convergence of mobile phones, cameras, GPS sensors and MP3 players - smaller, smarter, and at constantly lower cost. There was even a wristwatch PC, albeit with rather clumsy and limited keyboard entry. While these are getting smaller, LCD and Plasma displays are getting larger, with Samsung displaying their 108 inch unit, needing a whole wall... Couple these large screens with voice recognition input and voila! why sit at a desk PC ever again.



• Changes in domestic broadband as third parties try to outwit the stranglehold of the telcos and the cable companies. Transmission over the power lines Power Line Communications is now feasible, with Sumitomo offering 10 MB/sec broadband at every plug in the house. It is already installed by Endesa for 2,000 subscribers in Spain and here at home, Aurora Energy are piloting the technology in Tasmania.

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