 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Guest Editorial Gary Taig editor@melbpc.org.au |
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Isn't it terrific! We are members of a truly wonderful group that continues to grow and thrive and flourish. Every day there is more good news. Bill Ford reports this month that financially we are in good shape. We have another new SIG opening in the Dandenongs and Morris has more good news on the Internet Service. Everything's swinging.
Here's my first ever public confession. It's several years since I bought a computer magazine. After volunteering to produce this interim PC Update I went to the local newsagent to browse the shelves and get an idea of the quality of publication available, and of course, to gain some inspiration. Yep, it's all true; I hadn't looked at a commercial magazine for a long, long time and had to browse the current offerings in order to see just what the others even looked like.
Well, it turned out to be a short visit. I picked up a couple, put them straight down, bought Windows NT magazine for its content only, then went home and read it from cover to cover. There was simply no inspiration available; the shelves were full of the same old thing. A completely new, albeit at this stage temporary PC Update, was going to be born.
Soon afterwards I posted a message in melbpc.general asking for assistance. Several people came forward but one person in particular stole the limelight. Jim Colbert just happened to mention he had a past that included photography and he mentioned he was interested in graphics. Being a keen student of both and knowing some of the content we had available for this month I grabbed Jim with both hands and got him involved immediately. The front cover of this issue is pretty much all Jim's work; we hope you like it.
Jim worked many hours, firstly organising the loan of the old and the new cameras, then setting up his studio and taking the photographs. He threw the lot into his favourite graphics software package and produced the cover background.
Congratulations and many thanks Jim for a truly magic result. A special thanks is warranted here also to John Lee from Shutter Box in Hartwell who lent us the old view camera and to Maxwell Photoptics who lent us the expensive Nikon Coolpix 950 Digital. We don't mind giving a little plug to people who help the group in some way. By the way, the picture of the old camera was taken with the Nikon, but Jim had to use his own good gear to photograph the Nikon. The old box wasn't up to the task.
This issue is very thin; even though I had more material available
there was little time. If you submitted a SIG report that didn't make it, or a members free ad or anything
else please write or email me as soon as you read this so that we can ensure it's included in the November
issue. Also, you won't find a membership application form or an Internet renewal form. I had to learn new DTP
software to do this job and there was no time for mastering any special skills required for fancy work.
Consequently this issue is fairly basic. It will improve. Next month we will have many more features and
reviews and PC Update should be almost if not back to its usual size. I sincerely hope you enjoy these
interim issues.
Reprinted from the October 1999 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group,
Australia
