Getting to Know the Special Interest Groups

As part of my duties this year as Special Interest Group (SIG) Coordinator I am endeavouring to visit each of our SIGs at least once before the next SIG Leaders meeting that is to be held in late April. As we now have some 35 active SIGs this is a task that requires an extended leave pass from the Commandant at Peters Divisional Headquarters.

Some things have impressed me as I get to know this coordination task. Firstly the range of interests of our user group members is really very extensive. I have listened to and partly understood discussions involving advanced mathematics in the Graphics SIG convened by Yahya Abdal Aziz; been completely envious of the knowledge and professionalism of the members of the Windows 2000/NT SIG under John Bade, many of these members earn their daily bread in the systems administration field, and I have marvelled at the bright young minds of some 12 year old and younger programmers who form our Teen Games Development SIG.

Unfortunately there are two SIGs that I shall not be able to get to see as their meeting times clash with some other commitments I have in our User Group. The Video Editing Non Linear SIG headed up by Lawrie Weston meets on the first Tuesday each month at the same time as our Melbourne PC User Group Committee meeting, and the newly formed Berwick SIG under the leadership of Noel Sealey meets on the second Friday, which is exactly the time the hardware subgroup of the Retired and Interested Persons SIG, which I convene, gets under way. However, I have been in touch with both Lawrie and Noel and have an idea of their needs and the aspirations they have for their groups.

Hardware SIG

	I have just attended the Hardware SIG that meets in the main SIG room at Dorcas street on the third Wednesday evening each month, and together with twenty or so other members listened with interest to the answers to the hardware problems that were presented to the convener Felix Hofmann. With fast access to the Internet via our internal network, the Web sites of hardware manufactures can be accessed and motherboard specifications, even manuals if necessary, can be projected via a video projector on the large screen for all to see and comment upon in detail. After the coffee break the defective equipment brought along by participants is opened up and investigated. We see in Figure 1 Roy McLean about to set up a faulty machine for attention.
	As one can see from Figure 2 it is "first in best dressed" to see the action when the investigation gets under way.
	It is also necessary for the fixing party to let the uninitiated know exactly what is needed to fix the fault. Figure 3 shows Felix Hofmann explaining a finer point in a repair technique. All in all the Hardware SIG is really putting into effect the "Users Helping Users" principle upon which our group is based. Some members are learning what makes their machines perform and others are honing their faultfinding skills.

WASINT SIG

Another SIG that I found of interest during my visits operates under the peculiar title of WASINT SIG but when I tell you this is an acronym for "Web And Software INvestment Tools" the veil will lift the light will burst through.

If you have a share portfolio or even if you are thinking about investing in some shares it may well be in your interest to sit in on a meeting of this SIG. There are a number of software programs that will let you monitor the different parcels of shares you may have, record the price paid and price sold, dividends they pay and other information. Other software lets you chart the performance of sections of the market and determine trends to assist in decisions to buy or sell stocks. The way the Internet can be of use in keeping up with the Stock Market is a topic covered by the convener Richard Solly.

Now I have mentioned only a very small number of the thirty five active SIGs and only a few of those that hold their meetings at our South Melbourne club rooms. However you can see from this small sample that I'm not exaggerating when I say Melb PC members have a have a very wide range of interests. There is a wealth of knowledge to be gained from coming to a Melbourne PC User Group Special Interest Group meeting. Look at the SIG web pages for details of the full range of meetings and read some of the reports of SIG meetings. I think you will find something of interest to you.

Reprinted from the April 2001 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia