 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Command File Ian Robinson |
Your ever-enthusiastic organising committee has been working hard throughout the Christmas/ New Year break, preparing our 1988 calendar of events. Already, the key themes for all of our monthly meetings during the year have been decided and are listed elsewhere in this issue of PC Update.
We have also slightly revised the monthly meeting structure, and these will now be run according to the following timetable:
- 6:OOpm Random Access (chaired by Ron Lyth), PD Sales Open
- 6:30pm Industry News (Ian Robinson)
- 6:40pm Official Notices (Committee Members), PD Sales Close
- 6:45pm Key Speaker's Presentation 7:15pm (Other Speakers, if scheduled)
- 7:45pm Mini-Reviews (Group Members, 5-10 minutes each)
- 8:OOpm Meeting Closes, PD Sales Re-open
- 8:25pm PD Sales Close
I am particularly keen to see more group members involved in the mini-review section of the meetings, which are brief 5-minute discussions about any new item of hardware or software you may have recently bought or tried out. Our recent survey showed that one of the main attractions of monthly meetings was to hear candid opinions of new offerings from real PC users. We shall be collecting names of volunteers at each meeting, and we would appreciate any notes you may have (on paper or disk) so we can write up the reviews in PC Update after the meeting.
But monthly meetings are just part of what the group provides its members. Also in this issue you will find our long-awaited public domain software catalogue, which details all of the PD software available from the group. This catalogue is in line with our philosophy of adding value to the total membership package, and you can expect other goodies like it to appear during the year.
Our revamped bulletin board system looks set to become one of the busiest in Australia, and is yet another service provided to members of the country's leading PC user group.
But now for the most exciting news. You are all probably sick of hearing about the Bicentenary by now, but nevertheless the group has been given an opportunity to hold its own Bicentennial Event! Last week we were offered the use of a display stand (3m by 3m) at the PC88 exhibition, scheduled to be held at the new Darling Harbour Convention Centre in Sydney during March 20-23.
The group has always done extremely well when we have manned displays at exhibitions in the past, and PC88 in Sydney should be no exception. While the PC shows held mid-year in Melbourne tend to draw the biggest crowds, the earlier Sydney shows always seem to have far more in the way of new products, since they are usually the first Australian event held after Comdex/Fall in Las Vegas. Since PC88 will also be the first PC exhibition to be held in the new Darling Harbour facility, the attendances are expected to break all previous records.
Owing to the group's 'added-value' policy, our interstate memberships have always been fairly high, and the PC88 stand should allow us to boost these numbers even further. At the stand we will be promoting PC Update, the PD software library, the bulletin board, and the group in general, so we will need as much assistance as we can get from members. If you were planning to visit PC88, why not put yourself down for a few hours helping out on the stand?
We will be collecting names of volunteers for the PC88 stand, in order to see if it is feasible to consider arranging transport and accommodation. Please contact either myself or one of the committee members if you think you can help us out. PC88 starts on a Sunday, March 20th, and goes through until the afternoon of Wednesday March 23rd, but we would also appreciate any help set-ting up our display on the Saturday.
One of the ideas for our PC88 stand is to prepare a 'showbag' for new members, containing PC Update, a membership card, our introductory disk, the PD software catalogue, and special offers from sponsors. If members know of any companies which may be interested in providing special offers, or the actual bags themselves (including a company logo), please contact me.
PC88 looks set to be a high point of the group's most exciting year yet, so I hope at least some of you can make it there.
Reprinted from the Jan-Feb 1988 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
