CPU (Club President's Report)

One of the highlights for Melb PC during April was the visit of Gene Barlow who presented PartitionMagic for PowerQuest at the monthly meeting.

Back in November 1986 at the Comdex Exhibition in Las Vegas, IBM sponsored a summit meeting of the larger User Groups including those from Washington, Boston and Houston. Out of this meeting came the beginnings of the Association of PC User Groups (APCUG).

Melb PC's involvement with APCUG is a very important feature that enables us to develop close ties with the major vendors of computer software and hardware. Here in Australia we rely heavily on local agents and distributors, however through APCUG we maintain a direct link to the major companies that are located in the US and elsewhere.

Ever since that original meeting, IBM has been one of the major sponsors of APCUG especially at the conferences that are held at the time of Comdex each year. Without the network of APCUG and the constant interchange of ideas it is unlikely that user groups would have been able to continue as successfully as they have.

With Ash Nallawalla currently as Vice-President, and Carol Daniels on the Board of Advisors, Melb PC is well represented in APCUG. At the recent conference during April they continued the sharing of expertise and knowledge that can only be gained from experience in groups of all sizes.

Gene mentioned how he had been looking forward to visiting Melb PC for many years, andit was a great pleasure to welcome Gene Barlow to Melbourne. It is doubtful that without his influence Melb PC, and user groups like us would be able to exist today.

Office activities

If you visited the office during the latter part of March and April you probably saw everyone moving as a blur. March is our busiest month for the renewals of memberships and Internet subscriptions, and mountains of mail went out, and equally large mountains arrived back.

So many of the office volunteers were involved in this activity that I can only express the general thanks on behalf of all members to all of the volunteers who contributed. Yet despite all that activity, they were also able to keep up with their normal work.

A sadder note came with the resignation of Tom DeLosa. Tom worked in the office initially as a volunteer for many months before becoming a member of staff almost two years ago. He has been a great support to Tracy Swan at all times, he will be greatly missed, but I am sure he will always be close by.

When you consider that we have only two (and a half) paid office staff to cater for the needs of our 11,700 members, it is one example of how we run a very lean organization. There is an enormous pressure on those working in the office - phones ringing, and all manner of constant interruptions occur continually throughout the day - yet despite this, they still are able to keep their cool.

But there again, without the willing band of office volunteers it would not be possible, and their continued support is essential and appreciated.

Orientation days

The orientation days continue to be a great success, and I must admit that I welcome the opportunity to get to know members, while explaining to them how to enjoy all the benefits that Melb PC has to offer.

Please come along yourself, and bring a friend with you who we might subtly induce to join also. The next orientation day will be on Saturday 10 May 1997 starting at 10.00 am. Please ring the office on (03) 9699 6222 to make a reservation, as we are limited to the number we can handle at the one time.

Seminar nights

These training sessions continue to be a great success, and our next one is on Friday 16 May 1997 starting at 6.30 pm.

It had been planned to run a night on the latest Internet applications, however following the success of the previous Windows 95 night, we have held that back a month and repeated the topic of Windows 95 for New Users.

For just $15 for the three-hour course, we hope those who missed out last time will be able to attend this month. Please ring the office on (03) 9699 6222 as bookings are essential.

Shareware

The Webster family continues to do a wonderful job of maintaining the Shareware library as they have for many years. They have introduced new methods and continue to offer the latest and the best material available worldwide.

For his Queen's Scout Award, Glenn Webster undertook as one of his tasks the further extension and development of our Shareware library. This he accomplished in his normal keen and thorough manner, and on behalf of Melb PC I would like to congratulate Glenn on achieving this award.

Until next month

There are many things happening at Melb PC and planning was not helped with the rumours of Telstra's introduction of timed local calls. So many matters are influenced by the actions of others, that at times we feel that we are almost running on a month-by-month basis.

Long term planning is always difficult particularly in these confusing times, but let me assure you we are continuing to work and plan for long future.

Reprinted from the May 1997 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia