This month the newsletter is on line, as a PDF corresponding to the printed version.
Note that we now have an index of several years of the Prez Letters with topics listed. It's in the table of contents - check it out.
Robert Ackerman gave a fascinating description of the design and operation of the Allen array of radio-telescopes for SETI. The project is in its early stages. We hope to hear from Robert again.
At Bev Altman's home: Bev, Maury Green, John Sleeman, John Buck, Nat Landes, Jim Dinkey, Stan Hutchings, Robert Mitchell
1. Speaker Review - April: Larry Templeton on how to build a media center computer;
* May (John Foliot - Stanford Online Accessibility Program), We need a write up for John. Maury will follow up to get a bio.
* June (a roundtable/panel discussion of how to change your email using your domain to avoid problems when changing ISP; using whois; etc. the problem of leaving one ISP for another is to change your email address. Jim will address that issue. An autoresponder is useful, and an automatic signature line notifying of coming change.)
* July Hank Skawinski (confirmed by email, 21 March)
* August (Gene Barlow in an interactive video conference, Acronis 11 or 2009?) - letter from Linda Barlow
"August 12, 2009, for our Webinar on Backing Up Your Hard Drive using Acronis True Image Home 2009 (version 12). sent Jim Dinkey an email last September 27, 2008, inquiring about a "Webinar" with the SPAUG. All my emails have been deleted from October 1st backwards, so I couldn't find my correspondence with Jim regarding a confirmation date for our Webinar. However, by copy of this note to Jim, I will pencil in August 12, 2009, for our Webinar on Backing Up Your Hard Drive using Acronis True Image Home 2009 (version 12).
Jim: Please let me know if you want to confirm August 12, 2009 for our Webinar.
I've attached 2 papers, one describing what we need to get started and the other is a press release. The most important thing for a successful Webinar is to have high speed internet at your meeting location. Gene will be working with a technical volunteer from your user group who will implement the Webinar with him. A "trial run" will need to be set up about a week before the presentation, at the meeting location, to check out the equipment and internet connection.
I will be working with a sales volunteer from your group, in which I will be sending one of our "sales kits". The kit includes simple instructions, handouts, door prize, and products to sell at the meeting. There's also a self-addressed, pre-paid return address label to return the sales kit after the Webinar.
Just FYI: We have scheduled a Webinar with the SIR Area 2 Computer User Group with Dick Curry for May 21st. This group meets in Walnut Creek. Do you want to schedule the CompuSIR group in Palo Alto for the August 12, 2009, morning Webinar as well??
Look forward to hearing back from you.
Many thanks,
Linda
********************************************
Linda Barlow
linda@ugr.com
Voice 435-652-3005 Cell 801-380-3588
User Group Relations
PO Box 911600
Saint George, UT 84791-1600
www.ugr.com
********************************************"
* September (TBD)
* Oct 14 Red Calub - (movable) [according to JD 5 Mar]
* Nov 11 Hank Skawinski (confirmed by email, 21 March)
* December - no meeting
Note: Maury said he will poll the membership for topics. Maury has a contact who can talk about the legality of photography, perhaps for June.
2. Larry Ackerman did a good job on the Allen Array.
3. We can use the old SPAUG site for archive items, linked from the new site. Maury wants to have a forwarding from the old site to the new one. We want to transfer the archive material to the new site eventually. The web support team (John, Maury and Stan) will meet to coordinate transfer to the new site and responsibilities for the new site. The upcoming events "countdown timer" doesn't seem to be working correctly; Maury is trying to get response from the support person at Drupal. An index of Prez letters for the past two has been created and each letter has its own URL. The updating process needs to be reviewed and clarified.
4. The CD contents link will be updated by John S. on the site. The CD is getting pretty old and sales are down. Do we want to create another one? More people have broadband connections, so it might not be necessary. Maury suggested that maybe "ShareWhere" type page would be more useful with links to programs from the website. If we continue with the CD, it would be good to have demonstrations of the programs just before the break so people will be motivated to buy a CD. Also, for income, we can become an affiliate with Amazon.com, etc. We don't want to compete with Micro Center; but if people go through our site, SPAUG gets 4% or so from Amazon; other companies have similar programs. Some software manufacturers are already linked from the new site. Micro Center does not have an affiliate program. We may be able to affiliate with GoDaddy for domains and hosting.
5. WebSIG - next WebSIG meeting March 23 - Best practices for website design
6. DISIG - last meeting good presentation by Chris Pedersen from NVidia. Jim suggests we may need an amplifier for the room at MicroCenter. Speaker for April TBD.
7. Whatever. Micro Center has a drop down screen for the lecture room. It needs to be installed.
8. Membership - We had 7 renewals, and 2 new members join, last meeting, so have 129 members (includes 2 $50 family memberships). Bev will not be at the next meeting; John Sleeman will take over for her.
9. Controlling ATSIGN to avoid scraper bots. Jim has found several instances of email with @ instead of ATSIGN or other stealth email address.
10. Financial report - we are in good shape.
11. New equipment for club - discussion of a high-quality negative/slide scanner available for membership. The proposed Nikon scanner is about $1500 new; club could purchase new or used and make it available to members after a tutorial. You can do about 50 slides/hour. The discussion covered no-cost loan, fixed borrower fee, or time-based rent to members? Jim suggests a laptop could be bought to accompany the scanner so the software is available and ready to go, which would avoid installation/uninstallation issues. Perhaps it could run from a CD (like a Linux distro with just the scanner software), which would mean a laptop would not be required, just the boot Linux disk? Who would be the keeper of the unit? It would be best to have someone in charge, and ideal if others could use the unit at that person's home. There is the problem of transferring possession, when someone is finished, how to transfer the unit to the next person? Exchange at monthly meetings is inconvenient, only gets 11 people per year, is unreliable, and increases the risk of damage. What about repairs if the unit malfunctions? Based on the membership response, there is considerable demand. However, the learning curve and rental cost may discourage some. Nat made several points about cost and usefulness that make purchase less desirable. Maury will do a study on the system and make a recommendation to the board. A scanner would fit in very well with DISIG, and the leader of DISIG might be a good custodian. The board will set the terms for use, and can poll the general membership before making the final decision.
12. John Buck needs input for speakers, their bio, etc. Maury would like to be copied, especially if more information is available, for posting on the website.
13. Hank has a Standard DG35 System $650 computer for sale, loaded with goodies and several attractive upgrades, and it comes with Hank's standard 1-year parts and labor support. We could advertise this on the site, announce at SIGs and General Meeting, and/or in the next newsletter.
14. Multimedia SIG 6 April will feature Studio 12 Ultimate presentation by Maury, or AVCHD presentation by an engineer from Panasonic.