 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group President's Annual Report George Skarbek gskarbek@melbpc.org.au |
 |
This has been another wonderful year for Melbourne PC User Group. We are in
a stronger financial position due to some favourable Internet circumstances and with stable membership
numbers the group has good prospects for the coming year. The Treasurer's report in September PC Update
contained the full details. Membership continues to hover at around 10,500. This is in marked contrast to the
majority of other computer groups worldwide who have declining membership numbers. Approximately 70% of new
members join largely due to the group's excellent, low cost Internet service.
Our group could not exist without its office staff, and the office could not function without the volunteers
who regularly assist. My thanks to the good work performed by all in the office.
By far the biggest workload this year for our office administrator was the introduction of the GST. Although
we were able to absorb the GST into Internet subscriptions we could not repeat that with membership fees and
from 1 January this year a pro-rata GST component had to be added. Training and other charges were also
affected. Some members (fortunately very few) felt the group and not the government was responsible for
increased fees and the office staff also had to contend with those issues.
Bpay is nearing final stages of introduction and should simplify the payment of fees and subscriptions.
Commencing soon, reminder notices will be sent by e-mail with only follow-up notices being sent out by
ordinary mail.
Internet usage is good with around 5500 members using the group's Internet service. We are very happy with
this figure. Many members have free Internet accounts with their employment and a large number live outside
the metropolitan area on STD call rates; for those members the group's Internet service would be impractical.
During the year there were many behind the scenes changes with new equipment such as computers, modems,
switched hubs and uninterruptible power supplies being upgraded as well as new cabinets being installed. Most
of this was done without interruption to service. All the Intranet modems were upgraded from 28 kbps to 56
kbps. Intranet lines can be used for e-mail even after members have used up all their allotted time for the
day. However, for practical purposes there is no browsing possible from the Intranet.
Absorbing the GST into Internet subscriptions has resulted in added value for money to members but it
resulted in an annual income reduction of about $70,000. We have given Internet users four hours online
during the off-peak period and introduced bonus time to give even more time online. A few weeks ago we were
voted the best ISP in Victoria and the second best in Australia. I would like to thank our small and hard
working Internet team for this great result.
The PC Update production team changed last year with Gary Taig now producing our high quality
magazine and improving on the past high standard.
Special Interest groups are an integral part of Melb PC and currently the group has 34 active SIGs, both
regional and interest based covering a wide range of computer activities. Our main meeting could also be
considered as a special SIG and it is gratifying to see attendances increasing. All the details are available
in PC Update and I would suggest that most members could benefit from attending a SIG at some time during the
year.
On most Sundays there are two or three Swap Meets in the Town Halls around the suburbs. Melb PC has a stand
at all of these, manned by volunteers who live locally and these members are responsible for signing up many
of our new members. For members who have not attended a Swap Meet, I suggest this is something to experience
as you can purchase computer equipment relatively cheaply and you might consider assisting the group by
spending a few hours on a Melb PC stand.
Although the Bulletin Board Service (BBS) is not as popular as it was in days gone by, this is still a free
service for Melb PC members and it now carries the local Melb PC newsgroups as well as over 20,000 files that
are free for download. Details on how to use this service can be found in September PC Update.
The Webster family has continued for yet another year to provide the shareware library but this year will be
their last. Shareware details can be found in PC Update. On behalf of all members I thank David and Glenn
Webster for the outstanding service they have provided to the group over the years. A fantastic
contribution.
Training is progressing well and many good quality courses are available to members. Again all details are
published in PC Update and I suggest you have a look for courses that cover your area of interest.
Our in house library is quite large and new books are constantly being added. The searchable catalogue is
available online in PDF format.
Finally, thank you to the hundreds of volunteers who make Melb PC an active and worthwhile user group.
Without your contributions this group could not continue to exist. Thank you all.
Reprinted from the November 2000 issue of PC Update, the
magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
