|
|
|
 |
Monthly General Meeting
The SPCUG conducts a monthly general meeting (usually on the third Wednesday of
the month). This meeting is free and open to both members and the general
public. (Visit our home page for date, time, location and
information about the next meeting. Here are some of the things that take place at our general meeting:
- Membership sales and renewals.
- Our membership table is open prior to the meeting for new or renewal
memberships (and for answers to any membership questions).
- New User Tutorials.
- Free tutorials for members and non-members are held prior to
the monthly meetings from 5:45pm to 6:30pm. The tutorials cover
Windows operating systems, MS-Office and other standard applications usage,
and getting on and getting around the World Wide Web. Audience
participation is encouraged and new users' questions are
answered.
- Q&A table.
- A general question and answer table is staffed before the start of the meeting.
Experienced computer users are available to try to answer your questions.
- Interactive Q&A.
- During the meeting, a question and answer period allows any attendee to
express a question (or an announcement) to everyone attending the meeting. Our
"experts" will try to answer your technical questions, with help from
everyone else in the audience.
- User group business.
- We use a small amount of time at each general meeting to conduct some group
business. This usually involves reports from our officers and some committees
(BBS, newsletter, etc.).
- Local vendor sales.
- We provide space (subject to prior arrangement and fees) in the lobby prior to
the meeting for local vendors to offer their goods and/or services for sale to
our members. These vendors are also (usually) provided a few minutes during
the meeting to advertise their wares.
- The show!
- We try to schedule at least two presentations of new or improved software or
hardware solutions for each general meeting. The presenters are usually
representatives of the manufacturers of the hardware or software. We try to
schedule presentations that are of immediate interest to our members. Our
general meetings have seen the introduction of important new hardware or
software products (sometimes the first time the general public has seen the
products).
- The prizes!
- Many of our presenters offer samples (or prizes) of their products for
distribution to those attending the general meeting. These prizes are available
for SPCUG members only. Members receive a numbered ticket prior to the meeting
(ticket distribution stops at 7:00) which, if it matches a "drawn" ticket number,
entitles the member to a prize.
- The Pig SIG!
- After the meeting, "the Pig SIG" (an "unofficial" Special Interest Group)
meets at a local restaurant (for dessert or whatever else you care to eat).
This is an informal gathering, open to anyone, which sometimes includes the
evening's presenters and usually includes many of the group's officers and
steering committee members. Discussions at the Pig SIG usually revolve around
the presentations from the general meeting, but can also go off into any other
direction. The dessert is also great!
Program Coordinator
Companies wishing to present their products or services to our group should
contact our program coordinator. You will find yourself speaking to an enthusiastic group of computer users
ranging from beginners to experts. Please prepare for live and lively demonstrations. (Door prizes are always welcome!)
Membership Information
SPCUG annual membership is a bargain at $30 (US$50 outside of the United States). Membership includes:
- Notification of upcoming meetings and availability of the latest issue of
our award-winning Sacra Blue newsletter (in PDF format).
- Eligibility to win door prizes at the general meeting,
- Access to the SPCUG Mentor list, for hardware or software assistance,
- And more!
New and renewal membership payments accepted (check or money order payable to
"Sacramento PC Users Group") by mail to:
Sacramento PC Users Group
P.O. Box 162227
Sacramento, CA 95816-2227
Click here for a printable membership form. To request additional membership information, please contact our
Membership Director.
Membership Benefits
SPCUG membership brings with it many benefits:
- Discounted prices on retail software, hardware, books, and services,
- Limited low or no-cost in-home technical services provided by SPCUG Tech Staff,
- Training opportunities at excruciatingly significant discounts,
- And more!
To request additional training information, please contact our
Training Coordinator.
SPCUG E-mail Accounts
As a member, you have an e-mail account courtesy of the SPCUG. This document,
in Adobe Acrobat's PDF format, explains how to setup your account, read and send messages, and other administrative tasks. This tutorial was prepared by Dennis Duffy.
Volunteer Information
The Sacramento PC Users Group encourages all prospective volunteers to contact the
Volunteer Manager with ideas for positions and activities at all levels of expertise.
The following pages contain positions with job descriptions.
Steering Committee
Would you like to participate in the governing of the Sacramento PC Users
Group? The SPCUG Steering Committee meets on the second Wednesday of each month. A no-host
dinner (that means "you buy your own!") is available from 5:30 to 6:30p.m.
The meeting generally runs from 6:30 until about 8:00p.m. All SPCUG members are welcome
to attend. Please contact the SPCUG President prior to the meeting with agenda items.
Meeting location: Sizzler restaurant, 2030 Fulton Avenue (Fulton and Cottage Way), Sacramento.
Sacra Blue Newsletter
Sacra Blue is the award-winning newsletter of the Sacramento PC
Users Group. Edited by a dedicated cadre of volunteers and published
monthly, Sacra Blue contains over 60 pages (if printed in its entirety) of
information about the PC industry, including:
- General meeting report: A recap of what happened at the last general meeting.
- Chapter/SIG reports: Summaries of the local chapter and special interest group meetings.
- Editorials, Columns and Features, and Reviews (hardware, software and books).
- Calendar of upcoming events.
Contact our Advertising Manager to reach our membership.
Book Reviews
Contact our Book Review Editor for available titles
ready for review. In exchange for your review, the book is your to keep.
Your review must be submitted within 30 days. Read the on-line versions of
book reviews
previously published.
Product Reviews
Contact our Product Review Editor for available software and hardware products
ready for review. In exchange for your review, the product is your to keep. Your review must be submitted within 30 days.
Game Reviews
Contact our Games Review Editor to suggest titles for review. We welcome
independent reviews. Please submit your article and screencaptures directly to the games editor.
Educational Product Reviews
Contact our Educational Product Review Editor to suggest titles for review.
We welcome independent reviews. Please submit your article and screencaptures directly to the education editor.
Regional Chapters
In addition to the main users group, SPCUG supports regional subgroups
(chapters) which meet in various outlying areas. Chapters generally hold
monthly meetings and feature presentations from industry organizations
(hardware and software) and local members. For chapter meeting locations,
days and times, view the current Chapters list.
Special Interest Groups
Special Interest Groups (SIGs) meet at various times and places to allow
members to explore subjects in greater depth than is possible at general meetings.
For Special Interest Group meeting locations, days and times, view the current SIGs list.
Mentor List
Our "mentor list" consists of SPCUG
members who volunteer to answer questions
from other SPCUG members about specific hardware or software products. Use of
this service is free to SPCUG members and available at specific times (as
specified by the mentors). You will need the username and password printed on
the Sacra Blue notification card to access the list.
Answer Guys
The SPCUG Answer Guys attempt to answer your computer
hardware or software questions regardless of the complexity. Use of this service is free to the public and questions
are answered strictly as time permits.
Email-based Message Conference
More properly known as a "listserv", on a daily basis, a collection of messages submitted by members like yourself
are collected into a single digest message and then e-mailed to you. You are invited to submit questions, make comments and
observations, and reply to other messages on almost any topic that concerns you. Note: When replying to a digest message,
be sure to delete everything that does not pertain to your reply.
To subscribe to the SPCUG Member listserv, send an e-mail:
To: postmaster@sacpcug.org
Subject: Subscribe members@sacpcug.org
Body: -- leave blank --
Once you are subscribed, e-mail your messages to members@sacpcug.org.
To unsubscribe, send the same e-mail except use "Unsubscribe members@sacpcug.org".
Shareware Library
The SPCUG Shareware Library contains innovative and worthwhile software. The following file descriptions may be helpful in determining if any of these programs would be helpful to you.
Shareware is a distribution/marketing method whereby the publisher/author has made available their programs for review and evaluation but only for a limited time. Typically after 30 days, you are obligated to pay for the product or cease to use it. In many cases, a mechanism has been coded into the product to enforce this policy.
Each volume is available from SPCUG's Shareware Librarian and most of the Windows95/98 volumes are available on a single 100MB Iomega ZIP disk which may be purchased at the SPCUG Main Meeting. The cost is a replacement ZIP disk plus $5.00.
Our Business Documents
Our Constitution, By-laws, and Policies & Procedures are
individually downloadable Microsoft Word 97 documents, zipped. Additionally, our year
2000 IRS Form 990,
2001 IRS Form 990,
2002 IRS Form 990,
2003 IRS Form 990,
and 2004 IRS Form 990,
"Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax" is available in .PDF format.
|
|
Information
April 2004
