 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Editorial Ash Nallawalla ash@melbpc.org.au |
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The theme of this issue is "Fun and Games". Historically, we have been less
than successful in obtaining games software for review, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that we have
many thematic articles.
Book Reviews Editor
Please join me in welcoming Major Keary as our Book Reviews Editor. He will look after book reviews
and contribute to the magazine in other areas. If you wish to review a computing book, please write to Major
at majkeary@netspace.net.au.
Committee Movements
I have resigned from the Melb PC Committee of Management (as has Morris Tobias, our former President)
owing to pressures of work and frequent absences from Melbourne. It is best to vacate the seat when one
cannot devote the requisite time, so I took my own advice. I will continue to oversee the magazine and help
with the Internet Service.
Please join me in congratulating George Skarbek for agreeing to be our new President. He is a regular
contributor to this magazine and I would like to make particular mention about his short piece about our
Library. Many members are unaware that we have a book library, so it was very fortunate that George chose to
provide a photograph and write about it at page 13. Please drop in at Dorcas Street and check it out.
Silicon Valley
In a previous issue I had said I would write about my experiences in the Valley. The frequent flying itself
is tiring, but my family loves the miles it earns. United Airlines (http://www.ual.com/) has a section for its Mileage Plus frequent flyer scheme, but
a more interesting site is the Unofficial United Help Desk (http://members.aol.com/millionmileflyer/main.html).
When I am not at home or at the US office, I need an Internet connection to get my e-mail and use other
Internet resources. Before I joined AT&T WorldNet, I had AOL and found to my chagrin that there was no
dial-up in Auckland. CompuServe, which is also owned by AOL, is apparently a much better choice for
international travellers because it has dial-ups in more places. It is a delight to use a T3 connection at
work and watch 10 MB files download within seconds. Back home I am contemplating getting Telstra's Big Pond
Advance cable Internet offering, as Optus@Home hasn't reached Werribee. 400 kbit/s isn't quite T3, but is
certainly better than 56 kbit/s.
I was issued with a Palm V, which enables me to carry a copy of my address book, appointments calendar,
e-mail, etc in my pocket. I find it quicker to "type" with its little simulated keyboard than its "Grafitti"
method. Of course, it is more convenient to edit a record on the laptop and pressing the Sync key to
synchronise the two machines. Its US power pack is useless here, so I bought the Palm Travel Pack, which is a
lightweight auto-ranging power pack with three international plugs and a Sync cable that does not need a
power source to be present. A good place to find Palm software is
http://www.palmgear.com/.
One aspect of Silicon Valley culture is that nearly everyone seems to own shares and they talk about them all
the time - at work, in restaurants, everywhere. There is a jargon all of its own, which I will have to
learn.
My favourite stock site is http://www.island.com/. The Valley is full of
pre-IPO startups, all hoping to turn its employees into millionaires, although only one in five survive. The
local newspaper is the San Jose Mercury News. One of its many URLs is
http://www.sjmercury.com/ and is an excellent source of computing news (and employment classifieds).
I learnt about a practice that seems to be fairly common in the US. My employer has a well-stocked cafeteria
offering microwaveable meals, premium soft drinks and juices, crisps, and other nibbles - all free of charge.
Others also offer cooked meals. Although some of my past Aussie employers have offered free beer on Friday
evenings, I haven't heard of anyone serving free meals and snacks. The US thinking is that it is cheaper to
offer such snacks than to have employees drive away for half an hour to satisfy their hunger pangs. This
makes a lot of sense.
Reprinted from the April 2000 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
