APCUG Reports
January-March 2008

The Tokyo PC Users Group (TPC) may sound like a club for users of Windows-based computers -- but, in fact, many members use Macs or various flavors of Linux as well as Windows. Nor is the focus limited only to personal computing. TPC is a club for technology enthusiasts of all sorts, from beginners to seasoned pros.

TPC members benefit from networking with like minded folks. The club meets monthly to conduct club business and hear a lecture on a salient topic of interest to members and guests.

Meetings are attended by between 30 and 50 people, comprised about equally of members and non-members. Generally the audience is about 95% male and 80% non-Japanese, i.e. a wide spectrum of different nationalities. They range from computer-literate pc users to subject area experts; and people involved in the business or technology side of IT.

Most members work in the computer industry or in related fields, and their level of technical expertise is quite high. You can expect to leave the meeting with your questions answered, or with a lead to get the information you seek. The meeting and presentation is conducted in English.

The TPC was formed in the early 80’s by a number of independent businessmen with a need for English-language support of internet and computing issues. It’s early members found that more money could be made in a shorter period of time using PC’s, and they needed a way to support their early adopter stance. Membership grew throughout the 90’s and then like many other computing clubs, membership started to decline. Now, it holds steady at about 30 members annually.

Around 1986, the award winning full color magazine, Algorithmica Japonica, was established. The magazine was free and distributed by placement in local foreigner’s hangouts – bars, pubs, coffee houses – anywhere where permission could be obtained to drop off some copies. The TPC stopped publication about 10 years later due to cost considerations. Back copies can be reviewed at http://www.tokyopc.org/newsletter/index.html

In addition to the monthly meetings, the TPC maintains about 25 very active mailing lists, which can be read in a variety of ways. The lists are loosely categorized into General, Tokyo and Japan, and Computing. These lists form a first line of communications for computing problems, or to share a humorous story. http://www.tokyopc.org/tpc/newsgroups.html The mailing lists are maintained using GNU Mailman http://www.gnu.org/software/mailman/index.html and a former webmaster still maintains the links from the mailing lists to news and web readers.

Along with the Tokyo PC Users Group, there are several other computing groups in Kanto including the TLUG – Tokyo Linux User Group http://www.tlug.jp/guide/tlug_user-guide-2.html the International Computer Association http://www.icajapan.jp/index.php and Digital Eve http://www.digitalevejapan.org/