NOOZ June 2011
May 27th, 2011Your User Group is a member of APCUG; you have received this e-mail to inform you of updates, changes, or special news and information. Our policy is to send e-mail messages only to announce such information, and we will continue to honor this policy. If you no longer want to receive these e-mails, please reply to the sender. Thank you for being a member of APCUG.
We urge you to share the information in NOOZ by including it in your newsletter, posting it on your Web site, or e-mailing it to members of your group.
In this edition of NOOZ:
- New Combined Database
- 2011 and 2012 Annual Meetings and Regional Conferences
- APCUG Newsletter, Website and Photo Contests
- Website Re-design
- Gene Barlow Offers Online Presentation
- Region 5 Specific
- New Member Database –As most of you know, we have not had a member database for the past few months. Well, that is about to change. The programmers have been busy creating an entirely new database, aptly named the User Group Locater Service or UGLS, that will provide much needed functionality for all of our members. It will allow the management of APCUG to track its member groups, provide a central place for vendors to find information on a specific group, and give the Regional Advisors the assets to readily communicate with all of the groups within a specific region or geographical area.
The Presidents and/or the APCUG Representatives of each of the member groups will soon receive the login and password for the UGLS, and they can start populating their groups data. It is very important that his be performed by each group, as having the correct data in the UGLS will allow us to help you when contacting vendors and/or potential members. The Advisors for your region will be ready to help wherever possible.
- APCUG Plans 2 Annual Meetings and Regional Conferences – The 2011 APCUG Annual Meeting will be held in conjunction with the Cleveland Regional in Cleveland, Ohio, on July 15 – 17. Early Bird Registration is open until May 31st. More information can be found below and at http://cleveland.apcug.org/
The 2012 APCUG Annual Conference is tentatively scheduled to be held in conjunction with the FACUG Technology Conference Bahamas Cruise. The Conference at Sea will be held on the Norwegian Sky Cruise Ship, leaving on January 23, 2012 and returning on January 27, 2012. Again, Early Bird Registration is open until August 15th. Conference details can be found at www.facug.org . Annual Meeting details will be made available soon on the APCUG website at http://www.apcug.org/.
- APCUG Contests – Time is running out to enter the APCUG Web, Photo and Newsletter contests. Please encourage members of your groups to enter. Information and entry forms are on apcug.org. The deadline for all contests is June 17th. Winners will be announced at the Cleveland Regional Conference 15th to 17th July 2011.
- APCUG Website – The APCUG website is being completely redesigned to make it easier to find information and to make it much more “user friendly”, and we are looking for volunteers with experience in website design using “Drupal” and graphic designers. If you, or any of your members would like to volunteer to help, and to make an impact on our website, please contact:
David Williams at dwilliams@apcug.org or (515) 957-1339
Gene Barlow offers Online Presentations – Gene offers two online Skype presentations: Moving to Windows 7 using Disk Director and Acronis. You need to have good broadband to host one of his meetings. Contact Linda at linda@ugr.com to find out what is needed and to get on their schedule.
- Region Specific -. Put your regional specific NOOZ items here.
Region 5 NOOZ
Technology and computers have always been about independence and this year we are gathering for the APCUG Annual Meeting & Conference in Independence, Ohio, just eight miles from the Cleveland Hopkins Airport. The conference will start with a sign in and registration on Friday afternoon, July 15th at approximately 3:00 PM EDT and will be followed by a meet & greet in the lounge. The early bird attendance fee for the conference is $50. This will cover the Friday night meet & greet a full day of workshop sessions on Saturday & a half-day on Sunday. The fee goes up to $65 on June 1st.
The final conference schedule is being worked out, but some of the currently booked workshops and general sessions will include
Virtual Machines
MAR’s Refurbishing & Recycling
iPad features along with using iPad for e-books
Windows Tips & Techniques
The Linux Guy
Linux and the future of computers
Safe data destruction
Ins and Outs of Skype
Fundraising
OneNote
Q&A sessions with the Boards of Directors & Advisors
We have several slots that need to be filled for presentations as well as a possible Digital Photography, Genealogy and Tips for Maintaining & Growing User Group Membership. See the tentative schedule on the web page.
APCUG has negotiated a $79.00 night room rate plus applicable taxes at the Crowne Plaza Cleveland South—Independence. Additionally this rate will apply for 3 days before the conference and 3 days after for those who would like to arrive early or stay over and do some sightseeing. Conference registration, hotel reservation and other conference links are available on the conference web page on the APCUG website
(cleveland.apcug.net).
APCUG Website Contest
The contest is open to all current APCUG member groups. Prizes will be announced soon. All submissions must be made by June 17, 2011. Judging will begin on June 18th. Winners will be announced at the Annual Meeting in July. Now is the time to examine your website and be sure it is current and working properly.
The judging will be based upon the following criteria: · Communication (20 Points) · Organization/Navigation (20 Points) · Visual Presentation/Design (20 Points) · Creativity/Original Ideas/Content (25 Points) · Follow Standards of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (15 Points) Total Points – 100 Questions and a request for the application can be addressed to Hewie Poplock hpoplock@apcug.org
There are some very interesting information and opportunities for members being provided for members of Region 5 (Florida).
The 2012 APCUG Annual Meeting will be held upon the Norwegian Sky, as we navigate the Bahamas Islands. The Conference is January 23-27 2012. Since the 2012 FACUG Technology Conference Bahamas Cruise was announced, we currently have in excess of 340 registered and paid for the conference. This is well above the critical mass needed for any successful conference. The cost of the 5 days/4 nights (interior cabin) is $269/person + tips including the FACUG $25/person incentive rebate; ocean-view is $319/person + tips. The $25/person early-bird rebate of the registration fee is valid until August 15 when it will end, so the sooner you book, the better the availability. Please see the FACUG website (www.facug.org) for more information.
Membership & Leadership Development Forum
We are delighted to announce Judy Taylour (President, SCV Computer Club, CA and recipient of the FACUG Lifetime Achievement Award), David Steward (APCUG Board of Advisor Chair), Don Singleton (APCUG Director and former President), Hank Feinberg (FACUG Director and President, Rockland, NY PC User Group), Stu Silverman (FACUG Vice-President and APCUG Advisor), Sam Wexler (FACUG President and APCUG Advisor) and many others will be helping with the Monday, June 13 FACUG Membership & Leadership Development Forum meeting which will discuss User Group issues, problems and anything else User Group.
This event will be open forum style to discuss what you want and exchange ideas with experienced User Group leaders to get new ideas with different viewpoints. This idea comes from conversations with people during last two technology conference cruises as well as the last three Town Hall meetings. Register by Thursday, June 9 to get the audio and video links. Please forward this email to appropriate members of your User Group. All User Group topics are on the table including but not limited to the following list below. This is your meeting so please feel free to add to this list by sending your specific questions, issues and concerns in an email to forum@ariesmart.com.
Officer burn-out
- Finances
- Program Planning
- Meetings (programs, speakers, publicity, giveaways, venues)
- Presentations
- Vendor relations
- Industry matters
- Cooperative arrangements, partnerships, opportunities
- User Group associations
- Communication (newsletters, Web sites, etc.)
- Social media/networking
- Volunteers
Keystone Learning Systems
- For the last FACUG Technology Conference Cruise, Keystone Learning Systems provided access to their DVD classes for Microsoft Office 2007, Microsoft Office 2010 and Windows 7, which are free to anyone in the State of Florida, who uses one of the licenses they gave us. If you are interested in taking any of these classes at no cost, send your name, email address and “Office 2007” or “Office 2010” to keystone@ariesmart.com. Windows 7 training is included in both options. There are only a limited available so it is the early bird that gets the worm.
Access to these free classes went out earlier today to those who had previously requested so send an email to keystone@ariesmart.com if you have not received your requested access link.
Stu Silverman
APCUG Region 5
Advisor
