 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Editorial David Jitts |
Before getting on to PC Update matters, I would like to share with our readers an observation that I have made and which I find most gratifying. I believe that Melb PC has at long last begun to take on its responsibilities within the community at large. Micro computer folks, from my experience, seem to be a rather introverted bunch. They tend to want to sit in front of a terminal at work during the day and then rush home, gobble their dinner and escape to their home computer instead of helping with the washing-up. They are often so preoccupied with their profession/hobby that the ebb and flow of life around them often goes unnoticed.
So the reaction of the Committee to a letter from an inmate of a penal institution (printed in Byte Box, elsewhere in this edition) was gratifying. They voted to send him and his associates a collection of Public Domain software and invite them to contribute reviews to be published in PC Update. The Secretary went to a lot of trouble to contact our correspondent by phone to find out more about the situation and I expect we will hear more about how Melb PC can help these people to become useful members of the community upon their release from prison.
But this is only the beginning. There are currently two other projects under
way in which we will be participating in worthwhile community endeavours. It is too early to go into details
just now, but be prepared to answer the call for volunteers when it is made. They tell me one gets a good
feeling after doing altruistic deeds, so I am determined to try it real soon.
That's enough from the Cymbals and Tambourines Dept.
Well what has been cooking? Lots. Firstly, let me welcome a new member of
the PC Update team. His name is Dudley Horque and he hails from Bendigo. Dudley is our very own PC Update
Cartoonist and his work is fantastic. Judge for yourself by the offerings in this Edition.
The Desk Top Publishing SIG got underway after the February general meeting, as planned. About fifteen
members gathered in the Sciences Club and agreed to form the SIG. We were fortunate in getting Merv Adler to
agree to act as Co-ordinator. Merv is well known in the Desk Top Publishing world as he was involved with
Pagemaker while working at SCA. He has recently joined HiSoft, working with Lloyd Borrett.
Well the SIG met the following Wednesday at the premises of HiSoft and we were regaled by a dissertation from Merv and Lloyd on Desk Top Publishing. The rest of us sat and listened, a bit like stunned mullets, but no doubt we will participate more as our knowledge grows. For more details of this SIG, see Merv's announcement elsewhere in this Edition.
One interesting bit of information that we gleaned, is that there exists a PostSript SIG which meets at the premises of Pica Pty. Ltd., 38 Ardoch St., Essendon. I hope to get along to their next meeting and will report my findings in a future edition of PC Update.
Another exciting event is that we have had a chance to try out the latest Desk Top Publishing package, Ventura Publisher. It is really impressive. Don't be surprised if you see a little improvement in the visual impact of PC Update in the next edition. Trouble is, one keeps on asking oneself is there anything better? To be continued...
I mustn't close without telling you about Australian Computing Society. I
sent a letter to their Secretary which enclosed a copy of the January edition of PC Update and drew their
attention to Ron Lyth's comments about their Organisation. Why? Because I believe that constructive
controversy is the lifeblood of Groups such as ours and Organisations like ACS, without which we stagnate and
eventually become moribund. And the reply? Well, I'm still waiting, but have stopped holding my breath.
Reprinted from the February 1987 issue of PC Update, the
magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
