 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Editorial Ash Nallawalla ash@melbpc.org.au |
 |
Pres Said Column
In my previous editorial I made a remark about the Committee, which may have led to a misunderstanding, judging by John's remarks this month. There were no insinuations about the effectiveness of the present incumbents. I intend to attend Committee meetings as often as I can, as I have done for the past year. Several people have shown an interest in standing for the (soon to be expanded) committee, so you should see some new faces.
Criticism of Layout
Please don't write to me and tell me about readability, typefaces, and other aesthetic considerations, because it shows that you don't read my standing apology on this subject. This column has seen some atrocious (for the purpose) typefaces in the last two issues mainly because I had to fit in the text without reducing the point size. I persisted in using my scanned photograph as I wanted to maintain the 'computer-produced' image of this magazine, and it also served to illustrate the fact that most scanned halftone images are unsuitable for reproduction. I am sorry that my covers (and those done by Stephen Davey, like this issue) look home-made, but the artwork and separations don't cost the club a cent. One of these days when I need to pad out an issue we'll try all those good things.
Microsoft Communiqué
A reader sent an item on this topic but it has been withdrawn at his own request. He had made certain remarks that we needed to clarify from both parties, (Thanks to Charles Wright for his work in this matter). Microsoft MD Daniel Petre has written to us and has welcomed a clearer communication path between his company and our group, and I will be contacting their Victorian manager shortly. How about writing about some of your good experiences with PC dealers or hardware/software companies?
Snippets From Overseas
I wrote to several US groups to arrange magazine and article swaps. Many of the US groups have magazines more humble than ours, and many do what we do - reprint good items from other magazines. But there is always something of interest to a reader living here.
For example, the 200-strong Space Coast PCUG based near Melbourne, Florida has a 1500-disk PD library. For a sub of $15 (cheapest in USA) they get a laser-set 20 page magazine and the usual benefits. In their re-cent magazines I noted that Interleaf costs US$750 for a limited time; that hard disks last better in 50% relative humidity than in dry air and 50 times longer than in a vacuum; the Assn of Shareware Professionals sends free copies of new PD releases to members of the Assn of PCUGs (what about us?); Lotus Corp provides free copies of CHECK 1-2-3, a program that tells you whether your 80286 or 80386 is compatible with Lotus 1-2-3 Release 3.0; Ashton-Tate's Product Test Dept is looking for volunteers for their Beta test Program.
The Connecticut IBM PCUG August magazine The CPC Newsletter says that WordPerfect 5.0's latest bug fix release is dated 12 June. A new man-ual replaces the one released last year. It also says that MS Word is in-compatible with some VGA cards (Sigma VGA, Paradise EGA 480 autoswitch in Hercules mode, Tecmar VGA and Corona 400).
Epson Users
If you have an Epson computer with any operating system you should seriously consider subscribing to the Epson Lifeboat. For US$40, overseas dwellers get '6 to 9' copies of this 60-page feature-packed magazine. Second year membership gives you free participation in the Part Replacement Service. Life Membership (whose life?) is US$160! It too has the usual reprints but also covers non-MS-DOS matters. They have a co-op where they buy bits for old machines and could save you hundreds of dollars. I am only quoting from their magazine. They have over 8000 members and are a non-profit body.
Association of PC User Groups
We are already members of the APCUG, as our efficient Secretary had sent off the cheque a couple of months ago. I used the Borland-sponsored APCUG BBS today and also had a chat with Jim Moody, the Sysop (not at club expense). The BBS has a few files and many user group newsletters. We won't have to waste money downloading online as Jim will mail us anything we need and will upload our articles for others to share. The APCUG represents over 100,000 PC users around the world, so good articles from you will reach many more people than you think. I soon hope to have the information on US magazine discounts available to all of us.
Your Computer and Computing Australia
Your Computer's recent list of user groups is as much as six years out of date (many of the MicroBee clubs, for instance). I have given them our current details, as the contact person listed is apparently no longer a Melb PC member. Computing Australia said recently that only some overseas groups were collecting shareware royalties on behalf of the authors. We don't know of any, but we don't claim to know everything. We do know that our group has a very successful Shareware project and I sent reprints of John Drake's articles on the subject as they don't seem to read the free copy of PC Update we send them every month.
Yes, More Articles (again)
Believe it or not, the famine-or-feast principle applies here. This month you have a thick issue to compensate for last month's effort. Next month will be a slim issue as I have an exam on Nov 13, but the combined Jan/Feb issue will be another feast, with your help.
I need some more 'beginner' items, as much of the material appearing these days in this magazine will soon set off those "I don't understand any of this." letters. Do not think for one second that I am giving preference to material from other clubs - if I have 48 pages worth of local material I will use it. I need more screen dumps - use the shareware program GEMCAP (Melb 1129) for this purpose.
Special Stories
If you are doing something interesting with PCs then just drop us a line. We are trying to get commercial magazines to write a feature article on our group, and your story may be worth telling. All you will have to do is smile for the camera and answer the reporter's questions.
Reprinted from the November 1989 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
