APCUG Reports
January-March 2009

User Group Highlights

At the top of my list this quarter for recognition is the Seattle KEGS group as they have revitalized their web site over the past year along with a monthly newsletter, and the monthly meetings are informative and educational. KEGS is short for Komputer Enthusiasts of Greater Seattle and they are located on the east of Seattle, just across the pond (the “Sound”) in Bellevue, Washington. In October, 2008, KEGS along with Microsoft was recognized by the City of Bellevue Parks and Recreation Board for their continued support of the Computer Training Lab at the North Bellevue Community Center. KEGS has been in partnership with the City Parks and Recreation Board since 1999 when KEGS designed, installed and networked the computers in addition to soliciting donations of software, hardware, and furniture along with installing a server and took on the ongoing maintenance of the lab. Microsoft was recognized for the part it played in meeting the request for software and software upgrades which has been valued at $75,000. The support of the KEGS volunteers has been invaluable as volunteers continue to fix problems as they arise, upgrade equipment and continue to solicit donations of software and hardware for the lab. On the meeting front, according to the Presidents notes they had a great November meeting with an excellent guest speaker who presented on using Digital Cameras. The December meeting would have a member presenting to the group on using You can find out more about KEGS at http://www.kegs.org.

Moving south to Portland, Oregon, the Portland PC Users Group is doing well. Their December meeting had on tap New Digital Cameras and Technologies along with the “Hot Selling Items This Year.” They also have an ongoing feature at their meetings called “Did you Know...?” – a series of hints and helpful information provided by one of their members. The November meeting was focused on the very timely discussion of HDTV and the upcoming transition to Digital Television in February. The group has about 6 Special Interest Groups meeting on a regular basis. You can find out more about the group at http://www.ppcug.org.

The Idaho PC Users Group (IPCUG) is excited about finding a new meeting home at the Meridian Public Library in Meridian, Idaho. They have been meeting for the past several years at the Boise Public Library Auditorium where they had a partnership and provided volunteers to teach evening computer classes 4 nights a month but due to changes in management, the library took over the classes and ended the partnership. The move to the Meridian Library is a positive one as it will aid in growing the group by being centrally located in the center of a population area of over 400,000 residents and the group is looking forward to having a positive community relationship there. Meeting monthly, the December meeting provided an informative presentation by group’s President on the new features of WinAmp and WinAmp remote along with a showing of the many Internet music sources where you can listen to almost any kind of music you want. At the close of the December meeting, they had their annual Christmas Card exchange. Their website is located at http://idahopcug.apcug.org where if you go to the “About Us” page, you will find a link to the monthly newsletter under the red tack.

The Las Vegas PC Users Group finished up their year with a Holiday Social potluck dinner get together instead of a regular meeting. The dinner included music being provided by one of the members. As part of the evenings activities, they had a drawing for a GPS system, very nice. They maintain a very extensive website at http://www.lvpcug.org/ where current information can be found along with links to past meeting content along with other helpful information.

Concluding the Region 12 report for the October-December quarter, I am excited to see this level of activity among our member groups and the great work that is being done within the groups to support, involve, and educate the members of these groups.