Melb PC User Group is a self-help type of association. On the survey contained in this month's magazine there is an opportunity to offer whatever special skill you have towards helping others less expert than yourself. You can also say what facets of computing are of interest to you, and the areas which you would like to see expanded. 

The New Member's disk has been updated to version 2.1. The disk covers the history, objectives, Articles of Association, how to access the BBS and what the menus do, the PD library and how to make use of it, what the SIGs do, the type of training courses available, and the magazine and how to submit articles. That disk will be available to anyone who joins the Group, on request. Existing members can obtain a copy for $2. It will be available at the monthly meeting and PD SIG meeting, or by post with other disks. The space that remained after assembling the above files has been used to add some of the best utilities and they will will assist new users to make the PC more friendly. 

The Sony projector was not very friendly in projecting a steady picture, the past few times it was used. I borrowed the signal splitter I use at work for one of the sessions, and it worked OK. The Group's "black box" was the culprit. The source from which it was purchased found any rectification was too hard. Our thanks for restoration to its pristine glory are expressed to Max Skop, an active member of the hardware SIG, who unravelled the mysteries of the device. It works perfectly now. 

The PC90 exhibition will be held in August. Tom Coleman is organising the stand, and Sam Brown is taking details from volunteers prepared to assist in manning the stand, or in any other way. The organisers have changed the way they will target the people they wish to attend. The corporate sector is the group who will be enticed to attend. Consequently, as last year, the under 18-year-olds will not be admitted, also there will be no free passes. We have negotiated for a $5 discount on the entrance fee for our members. More details and a coupon will be in a later edition of PC Update. By the time you read this, the second line will be operating on the BBS. Initially it will be available only to people who have registered on line one. Colin will investigate using Windows version 3.0 instead of Desqview, to enable multi-user operation. He has advised that traffic on the board is very heavy, and the second line will help to reduce congestion, or more to the point, waiting time to gain access. 

There are a few items of procedure which should be addressed. Any correspondence to the Group should be sent to the club address at 12 Cecil St. South Melbourne, for the attention of, or care of the Admin. Officer. It is expected that authors will try to achieve balance in their articles and take more than one opinion into account when writing criticism of people or products, or when writing about any matters that could be disputed. Failing that, it is the duty of the editor to refer contentious articles, submitted to PC Update, to the people who might want to answer contentious points. Unfortunately, most authors do not think their manuscripts are contentious, and of course they cannot offer right of reply, particularly in the same issue. Also the item may not be accepted for publication, in which case everyone's time has been wasted. 

The offer of disks to authors for articles was proposed by the editor to induce members to write for your magazine. The initial concept was for substantial contributions to have two disks from the PD library, or in the case of a special pack, three disks. Unfortunately the vouchers were printed with $20 value, or a third disk if three disks were packaged together. Many vouchers are arriving with three unrelated disks listed, so don't be surprised if you receive only two. To spell out the award of PD disks, and encourage authors of small articles: if an article is less than one page, one disk is awarded. If the article or articles are more than one page then two disks will be awarded, with a third disk if a special three-pack is requested. 

Have those numbers ready. 

Many people are requesting PD disks at the monthly general meeting by filename or disk description instead of by catalogue number. The copiers have requested that it is brought to your attention that they can supply what you want only if they know the disk number. Occasionally they may remember the number, but don't bank on it. They are all volunteers and on most occasions they miss hearing the main speaker, because they are copying your disks for you. They are not unreasonable in expecting you to look up the details on the catalogue disk, or in the supplement published in PC Update before attending the meeting. If the request you make is for assistance in choosing which program is most suitable for your purpose, it is preferable to attend the PD SIG where more time can be devoted to satisfying your needs, and several programs can be compared. Of course if an indication can be given beforehand, it will make the convenors' task easier. The disk number also applies to orders by post. The student who does the copying of those disks is not conversant with PD programs per se, or which programs do what. 

The next few months' programmes for the monthly meetings have been finalised. The July meeting will appraise MAPINFO, a desktop mapping software program. The subject for August will be Electronic Trading, and in September Microsoft Windows 3.0 will be looked at. For October there is the possibility of an excursion into dBASE IV.

Reprinted from the July 1990 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia

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