 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group CPU (Club President's Report) Stan Johnstone stanj@melbpc.org.au |
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Last month I mentioned that 1997 promises to be a very exciting year for
Melb PC. Some of the new activities have already started, and work on some other changes have already
commenced or are in hand. Although the new committee has only met a few times, already it is working together
to improve both the short- and long-time prospects of Melb PC.
BBS
Throughout the world many BBSs have been closing down as more users tend to use the Internet for obtaining
files, patches, and messaging. The BBS has always been a free service for Melb PC members, and we intend to
keep it that way.
As a source of files it is much faster and cheaper both for you and Melb PC if it can be obtained locally
rather that obtaining yet another copy from the other side of the world.
In recent years the success of Melb PC's BBS has been the result of the devoted service provided by Barry
McMenomy and his team. As with earlier systems, Barry stretched the current Maximus system to its limit
and beyond to give you the BBS we currently enjoy. However the writers of Maximus have decided not to develop
or support it any further and consequently we must change if we are to continue.
Of the current systems available, Wildcat appears to be the best available capable of performing all the
tasks we currently enjoy. It also has some additional features we hope to be able to introduce later in the
year. Jean D'Andrea is driving the BBS team in this work, and they are aided by Allan
Michelmore and others who already have gained experience on this software elsewhere. All this should help
to expedite the changeover.
There is an enormous task to be carried out transferring files, creating a new user database, etc, all of
which will occur over the next couple of months. Obviously there will be a period of transition as the new
system is phased in and the old phased out, so a little patience may be necessary.
The BBS is an important resource for Melb PC members, which is provided free, and I recommend those who have
not already used it to call it up today and give it a try.
Internet
At the February committee meeting it was resolved to increase the daily access time for users. From 1 March
1997, the daily access time will be increased from 90 minutes a day to 120 minutes.
In addition it will be permitted for other Melb PC Family Members to share the one account for an additional
charge of only $5 each. For legal reasons we must have the signature of each member using the one account -
each user name is one account (just in case you were thinking of the possibility using separate user names).
As before, users who allow their Internet account to be used by any unauthorised person will have their
account cancelled. Sorry about that.
Naturally this additional access time will increase the load on our resources, and approval has been given
for the purchase of additional lines. The additional lines will probably use an ISDN link to a Remote Annex
instead of the conventional phone lines and modems. As well as being marginally cheaper, this new technology
will also enable us to handle the higher speed modems that are expected to become available later this
year.
Another aspect of this increased access time will be the increased cost for the traffic flowing through our
system which is being charged to us on a volume basis. We will try to reduce some of this cost by adding to
our current caching equipment still further and so increase our capacity and reliability in this area.
As a result of the increased cost of our link charges, together with the investment in some additional
equipment, it has been decided that we will have to increase our annual Internet subscription from the
current $120 to $140. We are still providing the cheapest service around, and the increased benefits will be
worth much more than the $20 increase.
The good news for all users whose Internet subscription is still current is that you will enjoy the increased
access time as part of your old subscription until it falls due for renewal.
By the way - have you tried the new Melb PC Internet Kit? At the end of January more than 650 copies had been
downloaded from the BBS, and over 180 sets of diskettes sold by Shareware. Do yourself a favour and upgrade
now!
Orientation day
The first of our orientation days was held on Saturday 1 February 1997 with 43 members and 2 non-members
attending. The non-members were presented with a small gift together with a membership application form, and
we hope they put both of these items to good use. Come to think of it, I don't think anyone went away
empty-handed.
There was no hard sell, just an explanation of all the benefits Melb PC members can obtain, have a good look
around at the training facilities, and see for themselves the flashing lights on the modems for the Internet
and the BBS and other equipment.
One member remarked that he had been a member for five years, yet he had learned more about Melb PC in those
two hours than in the previous five years. From this one comment we believe that this is a worthwhile
exercise, and we will continue to run these at regular intervals as long as there is interest shown.
Because of the Albert Park Grand Prix, we will delay the next of these days until Saturday 15 March 1997
starting at 10 am. Please register at the office on (03) 9699 6222 to ensure it is not booked out, in which
case we will arrange for you to attend at another session.
Seminar training night
Last month I introduced news of the first of our training sessions to be held in seminar format.
Unfortunately this column is being written before that session was held, but even now most places have
already been booked.
When I proposed these sessions, I had not had the opportunity to discuss it with all the trainers. Naturally
it was with some trepidation that I attended one of their meetings and described what we wanted to do. Their
response to the idea was extremely warm, and they immediately launched into a suggested list of topics for
future months.
As a result, "Windows 95 for New Users" is the seminar topic for this month with the three-hour session
starting at 6.30 pm on Friday 14 March 1997. The cost is just $15, please make your bookings to the office at
(03) 9699 6222. Even after 18 months I still consider myself a "new user" of Windows 95, and I expect this
class will be booked out quickly by others like myself, as well as those who have upgraded more recently.
Training
When we look at the subjects covered in our training courses we find that we cover most of the topics being
taught at the CAE and TAFE institutions. In addition we cover many of the "hobby" courses that they do not.
We know our training is at least their equal, as some of our trainers work for them also.
The training committee want to know what you would like to see us include in our course list. A survey
handout will be distributed at the March monthly meeting to help them plan for future months. For those
unable to attend, this survey will be available on the BBS and on the Internet.
Although our excellent training facilities are used just about every evening and most weekends, they are
unused most weekdays. In April we will be introducing the first of our one- and two-day courses to be held on
weekdays. These will be aimed at our members' individual needs, but we also hope that you may be able to
interest your employers to send you and other fellow employees to these courses.
It is anticipated that subjects such as "Quicken for Small Business," etc, will be very attractive to many
members and their employers, or even their employees. The weekday classes will be six hours starting at 9.30
am, and lunch will be provided at the lunch break, in addition to the normal class material and notes. Refer
to page 27 for details of these courses.
The full price for non-members entitles those attending the one-day courses to enjoy a temporary three-month
membership, and the two-day course charges will include a full year's membership.
Magazine delivery
My mention last month of our concern about members not receiving copies generated quite a deal of action. As
an aside, the February delivery must have been extremely good gauged from the many members who rang and asked
for missing past copies.
Possibly I picked the wrong month to write about this as we had many calls from members who had not received
the "January" issue. I hope no-one was offended when it was explained that there was no "January" issue. This
happens every year with our 11 issues a year, and the previous issue was the combined Dec 96 - Jan 97
one.
After all, the last issue was delivered in the second last week in November and that seems an awfully long
time ago. The PC Update team of volunteers must really look forward to the relief from the stress of
deadlines for January each year!
Deadlines
As I explained last month, the PC Update team has to work to deadlines to fit in with production
dates. Writing this column I am just making the deadline necessary for the team to finalise this edition. If
I had been just a couple of days earlier their job would have been made easier.
Although not wanting to step on PC Update's territory, I do hear of the problems arising from those who
regularly fail to be on time. Might I add my voice to the team and beg that those promised reports, reviews,
and regular columns from contributors are prepared well in time for the deadlines set.
Only by working as a complete team in all aspects of Melb PC can we achieve all the results we are proud to
offer.
Reprinted from the March 1997 issue of PC Update, the
magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
