The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Quick Reference Guide to Melb PC David Jitts - Editor

Here it is. Welcome, new members. Usually we have an Editorial on Page 3 in which I attempt to bring you up-to-date with the Group's gossip, but I felt that two non-technical articles by the Editor would strain both my mental capacity and your patience. So, no Editorial. 

The following paragraphs are intended to provide you with a guide as to how the Group functions, how you can derive enjoyment and practical use from your membership and how you can plough back in a little of what you get out of the Group.

What are we all about?

What has become the standard answer to this question is that if it were posed to ten different members one would get ten different answers. I guess that is another way of saying that the Group is to you want you want it to be. Hmmm . . .

User Groups have sprung up in every corner of the globe, the main motivation being the pooling of knowledge about a particular aspect of computing. In Boston, U.S.A., for example, they have a Group which is some 10,000 strong. The London IBM PC Users Group have around 7000 members. 

Our Group, here in Melbourne, (at last count, a modest 1350 of us) concerns itself with all aspects of the IBM Personal Computer and its myriads of "Clones". Perhaps one could say that we cover all computers with an Intel 8086, 8088, 80186, 80286 anti 80386 Central Processing Unit. Of course, the NEC V20 and V30 CPU's also fall within our ambit of interest. 

All the Office Bearers and outer workers in the Group give their time on a completely voluntary, unpaid basis. The increasing membership numbers arc inevitably putting a strain on those who do the work and the time may well be approaching when we will need paid staff. Not only will this cost money but some of the fun will go out of the operation. So please step forward and delay the time when we will have to appoint hired help.

The Management

The affairs of the Group are managed by a Committee which is elected annually. The next elections will probably happen at the November meeting. The current incumbents are listed under "AT THE HELM" on the inside front cover. 

There is currently a vacancy on the Committee, so if you would like to help in the running of the Group, please ring the Secretary, David Owen. 

Committee meets regularly, once a month, and any and every member (and this includes you) is welcome to attend the meeting to observe what is happening. Visitors may, with the permission of the Chairman (and this is practically automatic), address the meeting. Of course, visitors do not have a vote.

Monthly General Meetings

On the first Wednesday of each month, a general meeting is held at Clunies Ross House in Parkville. These are very popular and normally have 150-200 people in attendance. 

These meetings start of with a "Random Access" session in which any member with a problem poses a question and everybody else tries to provide answers. Likewise, any member with news is able to pass it along to all present. A great time is had by all. 

Following the random access, one or more speakers sue introduced to deliver a talk on software, hardware or other topical subject. These are often accompanied by slides, big screen VDU's, and other demonstrations. 

If you are at all sociably inclined, you can join the members who forgather in the Bar of the Sciences Club (which is located in the same building) after the meeting for a chat and, possibly, a gentle quaff. This also provides a good opportunity to sidle up to some knowledgeable member and ask that dumb question that you were too embarrassed to ask in the open meeting. There is a growing band who stay on for dinner. The food is not exactly haute cuisine, but it is reasonably priced and the company is great.

Special Interest Groups

Within the Group, there are several sub-groups called Special Interest Groups, which are abbreviated to SIG's. Again, refer to the inside front cover to see the listings of the current groups plus the name and telephone number of the co-ordinator. The co-ordinators would welcome a telephone call from you if you have any questions about their SIG 

If you have a particular interest which is not covered by a SIG, do not despair. Unless it is pretty freaky, there is a good chance that there may be other members who have the same interest and a SIG could be formed, perhaps with you as the Coordinator, to cover this special interest. 

I particularly recommend that every new member should go along to at least one meeting of the Public Domain Software SIG. The very nature of this SIG ensures that its range of interest covers the entire spectrum of PC Software. These delightfully informal gatherings provide a great opportunity to meet one's fellow members and also learn more about the vast library of public domain software which is available to members. More on this later.

Training sessions

Our Group is dedicated to the dissemination of knowledge of micro-computer related technology. To this end we are always planning various courses which you, as a member, may participate, either as an instructor or an instructee. 

The main difference between our courses and the hundreds of commercially available courses is that ours are only a fraction of the cost of the others. This is only possible because the instructors are unpaid volunteers and the classroom facilities are made available by such fine organisations as RMIT and Chisholm Institute.

PC Update - the Group's Voice

Since you are reading it, PC Update needs no introduction to you. The intent is that we issue 11 copies a year. There is no December issue because the Group tends to go into recess over the holiday period. You may be interested to know that PC Update is also sold on the magazine stands of Melbourne's leading computer book shops. There is some talk about sending it to interstate stores.

This month's Edition is a bit of a bumper (unusually voluminous). It happens like that because we try to publish everything that comes our way and which we feel is of interest to members. 

We are always on the lookout for material to include in its pages. You don't need to be a Walter Winchell to make the grade. We have a particular interest in the kind of articles that do not find their way into the glossy computer magazines. If you have had interesting an experience or have gained some knowledge that may interest your fellow members, then publish! There is a column for you to buy, sell or swap computer related items. If you want to sound off, well write us a letter and we will insert it into the Byte Box column, even if it criticize the Editor!

The Public Domain Library

The Group maintains a library of Public Domain and User Supported Software. There are over 1000 floppy disks in the Library. Leon Cohen and John Beck preside over this treasure. To find out what is available, we recommend that you purchase a set of the Catalogue disk which cost $20 for a set of three. 

There is a definite distinction between the two different classes of software which the Group distributes. The authors of Public Domain software make their products available without any charge to everybody that wants it. User Supported software is also freely available for evaluation purposes, but the authors expect any person who consistently uses it to send them a sum of money, usually only a modest one, on a strictly honour system. 

The Group charges $10 a disk to cover the cost of creating, maintaining and distributing the Library with any profits going to the common weal. This is understood and encouraged by the authors. Unfortunately, there are a few unscrupulous people who exploit the generosity of the authors by copying and selling this kind of software for their own personal gain. Members are encouraged to shun such low forms of life. 

The material in the Library ranges considerably in subject matter and quality of execution, but do not be misled by the modest cost. Some of it is equal to, if not better than, a commercial equivalent for which you may pay several hundreds of dollars.

Dial Help Service

If you look at the yellow insert in this Edition, you will see the Dial Help listing. This service is, once again, staffed entirely by volunteers and is absolutely free to all members. There are a few conditions attached to its use and since these are set out at the top of the listing, they need not be repeated here. Subject to the observance of these requirements, the volunteers are always delighted to receive your call; there is no need to be hesitant about using the service. 

Of course we are always looking for more volunteers to enhance the service or to give relief to the stalwarts who have been fielding the questions for too long. BUT, let's be frank. There is no point in offering to help unless you have a pretty good grasp of the subject, since the caller is supposed to have exhausted the resources of the software manual.

The Bulletin Board

The latest service which has been introduced for the Members is our BBS. The Board's modem will automatically switch to the baud rate of your modem, 300, 1200, 2400 and 1200f75 are supported. Set your comms package to 1 start bit, 8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit. 

If you have a modem, dial it up. It is very user-friendly (ugh!).

The Final Word

It is obviously impossible to cover every aspect of the Group in an article such as this. If you have any further question, new member, please feel free to call any one of the Committee on the numbers listed on the inside front cover. 

We would like to think that all members feel that it is worthwhile to belong to the Group and that they say so to every PC user they know. 

The one thought with which I would like to leave you is this:
Ask yourself, "What can I do for my fellow Members?", and the Group's benefits to you will flow automatically.

Reprinted from the June 1987 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia

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