 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Editorial Ash Nallawalla ash@melbpc.org.au |
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It seems as though all our members other than myself are gainfully
employed, studying or happily retired. There has been a zero response from unemployed members who
wish to write about their experiences or are interested in helping out with our Job Seekers
network. I know that some of our members work for recruitment agencies. Perhaps you can get someone
from your firm to speak to our members one day? Please subscribe to our mailing list at the new address at
http://communities.msn.com/MelbPCnet/_whatsnew.msnw and express an opinion there. It is for
members wishing to work in any sector of the economy, not just IT.
On a personal note, my re-acquaintance date with Centrelink looms closer, but they say the IT
employment scene is the worst it has been in ten years. The recruitment agencies are also laying
off staff.
Telstra ADSL Improves
Recently I criticised Telstra's Big Pond ADSL service. At the time there were reports in the papers
that tallied with my frustrations with that service. I am pleased to report that, for the past two
months, I have been mostly satisfied with my ADSL connection, both in availability and speed. I
have encountered only four problems all in the three days before this went to press, so I hope this
is only an aberration. I am also happy to report that Telstra refunded me almost one month's worth
of subscription for my troubles.
Survey Said
We have experienced an unavoidable delay in publishing the results of the 2000 PC Update survey. A
vandal submitted a response that succeeded in damaging the data file for three verbose questions.
That created some extra work for us and data analysis became a tedious affair.
Some survey respondents were concerned about the lack of statistical validity. We have used truly
random samples in the past and used an external bureau at some expense and found the results to be
nearly identical to our own amateurish efforts. I don't mean just the survey results, but also the
subsequent results for the group.
A couple commented that some questions needed a "no opinion" or "same" options. It was easy to skip
a question if you had no opinion. The questions on topical coverage were intended to elicit their
popularity. Last year we found that many people chose "same" for topics that had never been offered
before. Did they want zero coverage for such topics? The "more" question is a similar trap, as we
cannot have more of everything. Thus we will have to look at the "less" or "none" responses for
guidance.
Several readers still object to reprinted articles from other user groups. Sometimes we reprint
articles because they are universal and they fit a theme but there is also another reason why we
reprint some of those overseas articles. Our writers are not paid and their numbers are thinning,
which makes it difficult to produce a 64-page magazine every month. PC Update is now
published under a commercial arrangement. Gary decides the themes and the content and gathers the
material. As the Group's formal representative of our interests, I have no veto over PC
Update content other than this page and the product reviews. I hasten to add that Gary and I
speak to each other nearly every other day and I have not seen anything that has alarmed
me.
Typos sneak through occasionally and we received some comment about that. I still cringe every
time a typo is seen in print. Some of the material is sourced minutes before it is set and often
there is little or no time for proofreading. This usually happens when a promised piece is delayed
or has to be sent back to be rewritten. I see typos in respected daily newspapers and magazines -
who knows, even a 100% paid infrastructure cannot achieve perfection.
Reprinted from the June 2001 issue of PC Update,
the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
