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APCUG Reports
July-September 2006

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The APCUG Toolbar
by Ash Nallawalla,
APCUG Director

APCUG is proud to announce the APCUG Toolbar for use by member user groups and their members. It is free to download from http://apcug.ourtoolbar.com/ and it works with the two major browsers - Internet Explorer and Firefox.

Features

The APCUG Toolbar provides handy links to content that would interest the typical user group member, such as links to useful websites, RSS feeds from other user groups and sponsors, and a search box. The toolbar is provided by Conduit (http://www.conduit.com/) which makes its money through the ads that appear in the Google search above the organic results. Updates are made by APCUG and users will see an option to refresh their toolbar data.

Why Use the APCUG Toolbar?

APCUG needs the toolbar to be used by many people because we want to keep our annual dues low. One way to do this is by inviting sponsors to have their RSS feeds linked from the toolbar. If you know of a suitable, family-friendly product sponsor, please let us know. They pay just $100 a year for the privilege.

The primary benefit is providing useful information to members. This can be from your own user group’s RSS feed, which is built-in if you use a blogging platform such as blogger.com or Wordpress.

It is also a great way to promote your own user group to other user groups and sponsors.

Yes - if you want your user group’s RSS feed to be included in the toolbar, just contact your APCUG Advisor and provide a link to the feed.

Please explore the Conduit website and read their information, especially about Privacy. The toolbar collects anonymous information, but if you use any major Internet provider, it is likely that it allows companies such as Hitwise or NetRatings to collect such information. Regardless of your personal preference for using or not using toolbars, please let your members decide whether they want to use it or not.

Check it out at http://apcug.ourtoolbar.com/ and let us know if your group plans to promote it to your members. Thank you!