The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group
President's Update
 Lyn Goodall

Lifestyle Group

The inaugural meeting of this new interest group was held on Friday 13 May at Chadstone. Ngaire Denne agreed to take on the role of convener, with John Olver as coconvener and Jill Renison agreed to develop the group's Web pages. Full group details and its purpose will be printed in PC Update along with other Interest Group information.

Everyone thought there would be a wealth of information and good links to share amongst the members and they were right. After a short brainstorm members came up with this list of potential topics that will keep them going for a long time.

  • Promoting good health and happiness
  • Keeping mentally healthy and helping others
  • Alternative therapies
  • Coping with mid-life crisis
  • Keeping a positive attitude
  • Researching specific "illnesses", medical problems etc
  • Sharing useful Internet resources
  • Enjoying the company of like minded people
  • Stopping work (other than for retirement)
  • Retirement - retaining ability to learn (especially about new technology)
    • financial advice
    • legal / wills / powers of attorney other activity groups
    • volunteering (getting involved in projects)
    • social connectedness (activities?)
    • Book club
    • mentoring (offering skills and services)
  • Transitions to retirement - staying in work longer or retiring early
  • Managing pain (as you get older)
  • Travelling experiences
  • Local Councils
    • What are they doing?
    • What information do they have that could be useful for us as a group?
  • Joining the SKI Club (Spending the Kids Inheritance)
  • National Seniors (finding out more about what is available for older people)
  • CentreLink and other provider bodies (finding out about what they do)
  • Environmental issues (furthering knowledge and how we can help)
  • Guest speakers wherever possible
Computers will be used to research a lot of the information and Michael Roberts has agreed to develop a small newsletter each month for members to collect the information coming out of the group. The committee wishes the new group every success and if you'd like to join please either contact me or Ngaire.

New Look Training

Due to a lot of hard work by Shelagh Black and Trevor Gosbell, I am happy to report that our Training Web pages have come in for a much needed revamp! Take a look at http://www.melbpc.org.au/training/ where you will see new information and images that show our courses and facilities. We also have revamped our Training brochures, so we have professional looking information to send out to members and prospective customers.

In Print

A newspaper article written by Garry Barker appeared in The Age and in a Sydney newspaper during early May. The article told the story of User Groups and how they had transformed over the years. They are classified almost as a dying breed the world over. Garry cited iMUG (Internet Macintosh User), AUSOM (Apple Users' Society of Melbourne) and APCUG (Association of Personal Computer User Groups) and reported that they were all experiencing downturns in membership, with some groups becoming totally online groups.

As I have seen from my visits to the US and the APCUG Conferences, some American groups that are also experiencing downturns in member numbers, have made the transition from group magazines to online newsletters and email. The cost of producing and sourcing good articles for hard copy publications, now makes the exercise unattractive for them. With dwindling membership, the type of production method may have also had to change. If you couple this with the complexity of managing the process by coordinating volunteers, it is easy to see why some groups would choose an online only method of operating.

When I was interviewed by Garry for the article I said it was clear that these days younger people tended not to turn to clubs or organised group activities. They prefer to communicate and obtain their information in a whole range of faster ways - preferably hand held. They also don't have the same need to explore what is under the bonnet of a computer, as some of us did in the early days of computing. If they need to get something fixed, they'll more than likely pay for it, rather than try and learn how to do it for themselves.

Melbourne PC User Group has members who want to know about the use of software applications, how they can turn their treasured images into fine looking works of art or family heirlooms. How they can scan in a myriad of old slides or negatives, burn them to DVD or CD and leave them to posterity. They are also interested in Genealogy, Video production and supporting each other in retirement. Our wide range of Interest Groups shows quite clearly where our members' interests lie and articles on these topics will feature in our new look magazine.

The Committee welcomes all feedback - contact me president@melbpc.org.au or the office on (03) 9567 8000.

Reprinted from the May 2007 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia

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