 |
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
CTPC News |
Mike Alcorn |
I’ve been reorganizing my attic recently (adding more shelves!) and I came across my file of past CTPC newsletters. I was reminded that I’ve been editor of the CTPC newsletter since October, 1998.
Then I noted, in putting together this month’s newsletter, that the Club is already into its 27th year. I know the FCUG is older by a year or so but both were user group pioneers. Members of both clubs beta tested products that most people today have never heard of. People have been seeing the end of user groups for about as long as I’ve been the editor, yet we keep on doing our thing.
Our web master, Harold Frost, posted me on the September meeting where several subjects were raised that I wanted to comment on.
1. the Wall Street SIG. My last communication from the group was back in March so it does seem that things have come to an end. Pending new news, I have removed the links to the WSS from our website and newsletter. I had an email from Dick Orenstein who used to run the SIG. While he spends a lot of time in Florida, he is willing to assist if there is anyone to take up the task of reviving the SIG.
2. the Help Panel. This has existed since the early days of the Club and was designed to allow knowledgeable club members to answer software and hardware questions from other members. My experience may not be typical but I hadn’t had any requests for several years - until last week. This request was from a non-profit seeking an Access programmer to undertake a project. Not exactly the type of help we had in mind for the panel. It may be that the help panel has run its course and should be disbanded. I would like to hear what others think.
3. the Past Meetings page. Mea culpa. This page doesn’t get updated as frequently as it should. Its main reason for being is to show prospective new members the types of subjects we cover. I suspect Helen Sienkiewicz’s news releases to the local papers are a much more effective tool.
The CTPC is a member of APCUG - the Association of Personal Computer User
Groups. I have to give them credit for providing a steady stream of interesting
and informative articles for member newsletters.
I receive periodic communications from APCUG that they suggest should be
communicated to CTPC members. I hesitate to push more email at you, so I’ve
elected to post such communications to the website. They can be found on the
Newsletter page in the white section reserved for content that is only online.
Talking about online-only newsletter content leads me to the Deals Guy column. Bob Click has been writing his column for many years. He tries to focus on setting up deals with vendors for discounts on interesting software. His columns are worth checking out.
Ditto for our page of vendor information - a link is available at the top of the Newsletter page. Over the years as editor I’ve managed to get myself on hundreds of PR firms email lists. I get a couple of dozen announcements a month. I try to match what I post to the interest and experience level of our members. The listing is worth checking periodically.
On the Vendors page I also post the regular columns from Marsee Henon of O’Reilly publishers. O’Reilly are APCUG sponsors. Many of their book offerings don’t seem to be aimed at our members, but, if you know a geek, this is a place to go for a gift.
Happy computing.