Dear Editor

Sitting at breakfast yesterday, I said to John, "Have you noticed that our e-mail is now arriving with some messages marked **SPAM**? It must be a new service of the PC Users Group." "Can't say I've noticed it", mumbles John, head deep in the newspaper. I grumble, "If they recognise it as Spam, why don't they just delete it? Why send it on to me?"

This morning the answer to my question was demonstrated graphically. An e-mail arrived with the title **SPAM** Ebixa. I recognised it instantly as the answer to a question I had asked of my mother's geriatrician concerning her new medication which goes by the trade name of Ebixa. If my ISP had wiped out something that had been labelled SPAM, I would never have got the answer to my question.

Thank you, PC User Group, for the great service you provide as my ISP, and thank you for letting me make the decisions.

Robyn Whiteley
[Ed: The characters have since changed to ??Spam??. See President's Comments in this issue - GT]
 

Dear Sir

The Melbourne Museum of Printing is about to re-open after being shut down since 1998. The new location at 36 Moreland Street Footscray is, quite by coincidence, a former printery. The frequent bus from the city is just 200 metres away, while Footscray station is just eight minutes walk.

This new building can house only 5% of the collection: the other 95% of the collection is still in jeopardy, waiting for a sponsor to assist with storage.

At the Museum we are still busily setting up displays, producing descriptive labels, cleaning and adjusting exhibits, painting the walls and other vital tasks. When we are ready, the Museum will be open to the public on perhaps two days per week, depending on availability of volunteers. In addition, we will be running classes for secondary and tertiary students of typography as well as professionals and enthusiasts involved with graphic design or print production.

In our Access Studio, artists, writers and interested persons use movable type to compose and print text of many kinds, often accompanied by lino cuts or other illustrations.

The Museum's Web site http://www.BalanceResearch.com/museum/ includes a number of well illustrated documents with enlargements (look for "download index"), as well as our Glossary of Typography and other material.

Our regular volunteers are welcome to make use of the Museum's facilities for their own enjoyment or education. All volunteers are encouraged to become multi-functional, comfortable with a range of duties including explaining or demonstrating, admin, sales, catering and housekeeping.

Members of Melbourne PC User Group will be most welcome to take part in our volunteer program. Please send me an e-mail (with your phone number) or telephone the Museum on (03) 9689 7555, to find out more.

Michael Isaachsen
Honorary Curator,
Melbourne Museum of Printing.
volunteer@BalanceResearch.com

Reprinted from the October 2003 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia

[ About Melbourne PC User Group ]