Bits & Bytes Online APCUG NOOZ

NEWSLETTER / WEBSITE CONTESTS. As of writing this NOOZ, 65 APCUG-member groups have entered both the website and newsletter contests. Group size ranges from 27 members to a little over 3,000 members. Nine newsletters were entered via U.S. mail, 29 groups post their newsletters on their websites and submitted links to the PDF files, and 27 groups submitted zipped PDF files.

The winners will be announced at the Annual Conference in January and an e-mail will follow to all groups announcing the winners. Contest winners do not need to be present at the conference - awards will be mailed to the group.

A big thank you to all of the groups that entered the contests.

NOTE FROM DAVE: So far only 4 Region 5 Groups have entered the Newsletter Contest and only 3 have entered the Website Contest. There's still time to make your Webmasters, Editors, User Group Members and Region 5 proud !!!!

DON'T FORGET to enter the community service JERRY AWARD CONTEST. The deadline for submitting your entries is October 31. There are three areas where you can enter your group's community service projects:

New - A program run by or in association with the user group. The program has to have been in existence since December 2004.

Ongoing - A program run by or in association with the User Group. The program should have been in existence for a number of years.

How - This category requires you to provide documentation on how you run your program.

You can find out more information about the Jerry Awards at http://apcug.net/events/conference06/contests/Jerry_06.htm

ANNUAL CONFERENCE - January 2 - 6, 2006 at the Stardust Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas. The next registration deadline is October 18, 2005-November 30, 2005 - $100.00. After December 1, 2005, the registration fee is $150.00. For those of you who registered by October 17, your check must reach the office in Las Vegas by October 25.

Information about Registration, Conference Schedule, Special Events, Hotel Reservations, Las Vegas Office address, etc. may be found at: http://apcug.net/events/conference06/index.htm

APCUG's special negotiated room rate ends on December 2. Please reserve early.

ANOTHER NOTE FROM DAVE: I certainly am excited that I'll be attending my 1st APCUG conference in many years. I hope to see my fellow Floridians in Las Vegas. If you plan to attend CES (Yay!!) you'll have to register seperatley for that at http://www.cesweb.org

ELECTIONS are coming up in November. To review the candidate bios prior to receiving your ballot, visit http://apcug.net/APCUG/election/05/candidates.htm

The APCUG Representative for each eligible member group will be sent a user name and password along with a link to our online voting. Newly elected officers will start their term on January 1, 2006.

MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL - 2006. Also coming up in November is the start of the Annual Membership Drive. We'll again have a contest for those renewing their membership by December 31, 2005. A drawing will be held and the winner(s) will be announced at the Annual Conference. The prize will be sent to the group(s) if they are not present at the conference.

NEWSLETTER IDEA. Publish a list of all the local computer-related radio / TV shows in your area. Also include those that can be accessed via live Internet stream. Two of those are:

Computer Outlook Radio Talk Show with John Iasiuolo. John is a member of the Las Vegas PC Users Group and you can listen live Monday through Friday from 5:00 to 6:00 PM Pacific time to his show at http://computeroutlook.com/. You have the opportunity to chat with John and his co-host, Rob Winchell (currently President of the Las Vegas group) live during the shows or via 'live' e-mail (time permitting during the show) by sending a message to live@computeroutlook.com. If they don't have time to answer your e-mail on-air during the show, it will be answered after the show. Find out more information about the live chat at the above URL. John's show is Your One Stop Connection to Discovering in Plain English … What's New, What's Best, and What's Next in the computer & technology industry. The first Monday of each month is devoted to User Groups.

The "Bits & Bytes" Computer Show features Dave Gerber (Sarasota PCUG, Florida) and his fellow co-host, Forrest Paradise. Just turn on your speakers and access the live Internet feed at www.bitsandbytesradio.com The Internet feed is live on Sunday from 9:30 - 10:45 am Eastern time. If you live in their neighborhood, you can also listen to the live show on WIBQ AM 1220. The call-in numbers are: Sarasota Area: 954.2339; Toll Free: 866.952.1220. You can also access the schedule of upcoming shows and listen to the archived shows at the above URL. Each week they will give you the latest news from the Digital World, Computing Tips, Industry Guests and Prizes!! They are also testing a Chat Room that is only a click away, again via the above URL.

If you have someone in your group who also has a computer-related show, please send the information to Judy Taylour at jtaylour@apcug.net. The info will be included in an upcoming NOOZ.

That's all for this NOOZ. Please let me know if you find this useful information to share with your group - it's a benefit of your membership in APCUG. If you have anything you would like me to include in NOOZ, just let me know.

---For your APCUG membership and support, THANK YOU!

Sincerely,
Your APCUG Region 5 Advisor
Dave Gerber
E-mail: dgerber@apcug.net

November 2005

APCUG NOOZ

October 2005 APCUG NOOZ

(Association of Personal Computer User Groups)

by Dave Gerber APCUG Advisor, Region 5

by Dave Gerber
APCUG Advisor, Region 5