Southwest Computer Conference

2011-09-30T04:21:00.000-07:00

2012 Southwest Technology & Computer Conference
Enhance Your Life with Technology
June 22 – 24, 2012

Another successful Southwest Computer Conference was held June 3 – 5, 2011 at the Town and Country Resort & Conference Center in San Diego, with over 200 attendees. The conference started 18 years ago with 35 attendees – and many of them haven’t missed a year as well as one sponsor, Gene and Linda Barlow (User Group Relations). The Microsoft Store tours were one of the highlights of the conference. Interest in the Windows phone was high and many planned on getting one when their current contract expires. This was a banner year for the number of sponsors who expressed interest in making presentations to user groups…either in person or as webinars.

Are you an early adopter of what’s new in technology or are you someone who is satisfied with what you are currently using. SW has something for all levels of experience whether it is the latest gadget or tips and tricks for using your favorite application.

What’s new for 2012?
• New date: June 22 - 24, 2012
• Lower hotel rate: $99.00
• On line registration and pay by PayPal as well as check. For those who want to mail their registration, you will still be able to do that with the fillable PDF form.
• Same registration fees ($100.00 / $75.00 early bird fee)
• Moving to the Regency Conference Center, a more casual setting
• A block of sleeping rooms has been reserved in the Regency Tower and Garden Rooms
• Mini hands-on bring-your-own-laptop sessions
• The Hospitality Suite is next to one of the swimming pools…we’ll be able to relax and meet & greet pool-side. Don’t forget to bring your bathing suit.

SW will again be hosting tours of the San Diego Microsoft Store on Thursday, June 21, 2012. This is the third year that a member of the Store team has presented at SW and he is already working on the presentation for the tours as well as their breakout session. Look for lots of information about Windows 8 and all things touch that make your computing experience easier and really fun.

Photo Contest Label

2011-03-11T11:06:00.000-08:00

With the photo contest rapidly approaching I created a word template for the photo label. It uses the Avery 8163 labels (10 on a page)

Sample Label

Download Document

Microsoft Store Field Trip

2010-10-29T09:35:00.000-07:00

Microsoft Store Field Trip
Thursday, June 2, 2011

There will be two tours
2:00 – 3:30 pm (includes Apple & Sony stores + dinner at the food court)
7:30 – 9:00 pm

Each tour can accommodate 30 people.
If you plan to make one of the tours, please fill out the registration Form and submit it to Judy Taylour.

Thanks from you tour guide,
George Holloway

Southwest Computer Conference Recap

2010-07-17T15:27:00.000-07:00

By Douglas Agee, SWIPCC member

The 17th annual Southwest Computer Conference (SWCC) was held at the Town and Country Resort and Convention Center in San Diego, CA, from 4 through 6 June 2010. Conference venues included 30 workshops, a vendor exposition and special presentations by representatives from Microsoft, Smart Computing Magazine, Sunbelt Software and Markem Communications. Also featured were interesting presentations by Rick Edwards on digital photography and Abby Stokes on computers. And, of course, there was the digital photography contest!

The highlight of the conference for SWIPCC members, and in particular for our President Kathy Beltran, was that she won one of the coveted awards in the digital photography contest--third place in the digital art category for her entry “Fractured Stars.” Her prize was Corel Painter Essentials, a popular painting and illustration software program. Congratulations Kathy!

As in previous conferences, the workshops were arguably the best and most productive sessions of the conference. The five workshops I attended were very informative, laced with information to keep computer users updated on the latest developments. Recaps of these sessions are summarized below.

The Identity Theft workshop was presented by Wayne Widener, President of the Lake San Marcos Computer Club. His presentation stressed the importance of personal vigilance in countering ID theft and summarized the actions you can take to protect yourself (see the workshops link on www.swcc.org). Additionally, he identified a number of websites where you can obtain current information relating to ID theft including

• www.SpendOnLife.com/IDtheftKit (ID Theft Kit PDF Download)
• www.idtheftcenter.org (The ID Theft Resource Center)
• www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/ (FTC-Fighting Back Against ID Theft)
• www.javelinstrategy.com/research/research/Brochure-169 (ID Fraud Survey)
• www.idwatchdog.com or www.idtheftassist.com (Resolution Assistance)
• www.annualcreditreport.com (Credit Report Request)
• www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2351669,00.aswp (Safest Browser)

The Communications workshop was presented by Terry Currier, President of WINNERS and Cheryl Wester, Program Chair of the Temecula Valley Computer User Group. This was a broad based presentation that highlighted a variety of methods to “stay in touch” with friends and acquaintances using the Internet, including e-mail, video chat sessions such as Skype or modestly priced subscription services like Magic Jack.. Among the free e-mail offerings you can sign up for are Gmail from Google, Yahoo Mail from Yahoo and Hotmail from Microsoft. Terry and Cheryl also mentioned some services that Skype users can avail themselves to make free conference calls, record and edit video calls and share desktops with people to whom they are talking. The presentation further highlighted services like Magic Jack, Tokbox, Share My PC, Log Me In and Team Viewer:

• Magic Jack (www.magicjack.com) is a subscription service that enables you to make unlimited calls in the U.S and Canada for $20 per year. You simply install the Magic Jack software on your computer, connect the Magic Jack hardware between your PC and phone line and you’re ready to go! You can obtain Magic Jack from places like Fry’s or Wal Mart for around $40.
• Tokbox (www.tokbox.com) is a free video conferencing service for up to 20 parties that you can use to make video calls to your friends. You can use this service by accessing the website (no downloads are required) but you’ll need to install Adobe Flash on your computer to use Tokbox.
• Show My PC (www.showmypc.com) and Log Me In (www.logmein.com) are services that allow you to share your PC with others, providing desktop viewing and other capabilities such as allowing others to remotely access or control your computer. These services can be used to expeditiously resolve some of your computer problems with the help of friends who are more techno-savvy than you.
• Team Viewer (www.teamviewer.com) enables users to do a variety of things including chatting, video calling, executing file transfers, remotely controlling computers, and giving team presentations. You can download a free version for non commercial use or purchase a full version for commercial use.

The MicroSoft workshop was presented by David Lynn, Woody Pewitt and the tech support staff of San Diego’s new MicroSoft Store. The workshop was essentially a follow-up to MicroSoft’s special presentation at Saturday’s luncheon. Some of the topics discussed included Windows 7, BING, Windows Live, Windows Phone 7, Windows Security Essentials and MicroSoft’s new stores. Some highlights are summarized below:

• Windows 7 has an embedded “easy transfer” capability that enables you to efficiently transfer files from your old computer to your new PC. If your old computer isn’t running the Windows 7 operating system, you’ll first need to download and install the “easy transfer” software on your old computer. You can then connect the two computers via a LAN and quickly transfer the files.
• The new Windows Phone 7 is MicroSoft’s answer to Apple’s IPhone. The phone is currently under development and is expected to become available during the coming holiday season. The phone will feature MS Office applications, e-mail capability and x-box gaming.
• Security Essentials (www.microsoft.com/Security_Essentials/) is a virus and malware protection program available as a free download from MicroSoft for Windows XP and above. It is easy to use, provides real time protection and is automatically updated. One of our SWIPCC members, George Holloway, has been using it for awhile and is an enthusiastic advocate.
• MicroSoft has opened stores in Mission Viejo, CA and Scottsdale, AZ and will soon be opening stores in San Diego, CA, Denver, CO and possibly other cities. The stores will showcase MicroSoft technology and sell MicroSoft products and services. The stores will also sponsor special events for community outreach, provide personal training and host a variety of workshops.

The Klassic Specialties Ink Products workshop was presented by Don Baker of Klassic Specialties. He provided a detailed tutorial on digital printing, discussing the different printer technologies as well as paper, ink and toner characteristics. Klassic Specialties offers a variety of refilled ink and toner cartridges at very reasonable prices. (www.klassicspecialties.com)

The I’s workshop was presented by Kate Gertz, a member of the Sunland Village East Computer Club. The I’s, of course, refers to the plethora of products available from Apple—the iPods (Shuffle, Nano, Classic, Touch), the iPhone, the iPad—and iTunes, the software application you can use to manage your digital music and video files. Ms. Gertz discussed the features and capabilities of iTunes and then demonstrated all of the aforementioned iProducts, highlighting their capabilities, specifications and costs. You can find out about all of these products on Apple’s website, www.apple.com.

Vendor Exposition. The Saturday evening vendor exposition featured a dinner buffet as well as myriad opportunities to dialog with the vendors and discuss the latest computer hardware and software as well as new books and services available. The exposition had many interesting and informative exhibits, far too many to summarize in this recap, but two that piqued my interest were those of Abby Stokes and Rick Edwards.

Abby was selling autographed copies of her book, “Is This Thing On?’ The book, billed as “a computer handbook for late bloomers, technophobes and the kicking and screaming,” is a guide to computers for older adults who grew up before the computer revolution. The book is paired with a website, www.abbyandme.com, which contains tutorials on the Internet, e-mail, instant messaging and photosharing. It also contains a Q&A web page with information on computer terminology, how to buy a computer, website navigation and other topics.

Rick Edwards, a professional photographer who spent a lot of time in Africa photographing animals and nature, was selling prints of two of his photographs. He described to interested attendees how the pictures were taken and showed them the cameras and lenses he used. Proceeds from the evening’s sales were donated to the Southwest Computer Conference. If you’re interested in viewing his images of African animals and people, check out his website at www.fotodimensions.com .

Rumors

2010-07-11T09:53:00.000-07:00

Rumors a plenty:
Tentative conference dates are June 3-5, 2011
A special Thursday outing
Facebook

Another very successful conference!

2010-06-14T19:01:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to say THANK YOU! You guys did a great JOB! Another very successful conference! Many people commented to me about the great effort you and all your staff have done.

Thanks Again!!

Don Baker
Klassic Specialties
www.klassicspecialties.com

Thanks to the Team

2010-06-14T13:53:00.000-07:00

I want to thank you and your whole Southwest conference team for a great conference.

I enjoyed every minute of the conference and the presentations that I attended were fantastic. I look forward to next year's Conference.

Thanks for allowing me to have a part in your well planned conference.

Sincerely,
Ed Zarr, VP / Program Director
Sunland Village East Computer Club, Arizona

Southwest Conference Team goes above & beyond....

2010-06-14T13:36:00.000-07:00

As always you went beyond the call of duty. The conference was wonderful and had some great presentations. I wanted to go to more of them but couldn't do everything. Karl and I really appreciate all the hard work you put into this conference. We enjoyed it and came back with some marvelous ideas.

Cheryl and Karl Wester
Temecula Valley Computer User Group, CA

Thanks to Southwest Computer Conference Team

2010-06-14T13:19:00.000-07:00

Greetings! Let me congratulate you all for another great conference, well-run, and enjoyed by all! I totally admire each of you for your ability to keep smiling all these years as you contribute so much to so many while keeping alive the great user group tradition that seems to be struggling almost everywhere else.

Dave is the CEO of Webworking Services, a marketing consulting firm; and the Founder and President of CoolHotNot Corporation.

Sincerely,
Dave Whittle
http://coolhotnot.com/

Southwest Computer Conference 2010 Wrap-up

2010-06-14T05:37:00.000-07:00

We had a great time at the conference. The event started with a trip on Thursday afternoon to Old Towne San Diego. Many took the trolley and visited the shops, olive oil tasting, and walked to the Old Mormon Battalion Visitor’s Center as well as the beautiful redwood synagogue. Twenty-three attendees had dinner at two restaurants.

Many of the attendees also attended the Aging Summit 2010 event that was also held at the Town and Country on Thursday.
The conference was kicked off on Friday by a presentation by Abby Stokes, author of “Is This Thing On?” Abby told us how she came to write her books and gave us tips for teaching computers to seniors. She had a great time being in a room full of people who are enthusiastic computer users. She usually speaks to beginners who are just learning about computers.

Abby was followed by Rick Edwards, A.R.P.S. He is a member of the Big Bear Computer Club as well as the official photographer for the Kenya Wildlife Preserve. He gave the attendees many tips on how to take great pictures and showed us some of his beautiful pictures. He also answered many questions from the audience.

Friday dinner was followed by a talk by Andy Marken, Marken Communication .... Storage - Stuff...To Have and To Hold.

Saturday brought us a breakfast presentation on Vipre by Sunbelt Software’s president, Alex Eckleberry. The presentation was via Skype and everyone left the ballroom with a copy of Vipre.

Microsoft was at Saturday lunch – David Lynn & Woody Pewitt talked about many things and several techs from the soon-to-be-open Microsoft store spoke about the new store and what it will offer.

Saturday evening was the Expo and featured many vendors as well as a Linux InstallFest, Gadget table where attendees could see iPads, an iPhone, iPod, etc. up-close-and-personal as well as the Droid phone. Abby was there to sell and sign books and Rick answered more questions as well as signed two of his pictures that were printed poster-size. All proceeds from the poster sale benefitted SW. We went around the room and each vendor had the opportunity to talk about their product(s) and give away one or more items.

Sunday breakfast featured a Smart Computing tech from Nebraska. He walked us through how to use their tech support features – free online support and one free call (other calls for help are $29 per solution).

Attendees had 24 sessions to choose from and found that there were usually a couple that they wanted to attend at the same time. From Sing2Learn a foreign language to Digital Scrapbooking, Time Management, Social Networking, The i’s – how much fun can you have!, 3D TV, Free Software, Your Life in a Comic, ID Theft....the decision was difficult.

Andy Marken

2010-06-14T05:34:00.000-07:00

We want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who participated in the recent Southwest Computer Conference and to the dedicated volunteers who ensured the event was a success.

We were delighted at the volume and depth of interest in the Q&A session. It just proves our premise that boomers/boomers plus are a key - very key market segment that manufacturers need to stay in touch with … constantly.

If for some reason you're interested in having our ppt presentation from the evening just let us know and …BAM!!! Yep we'll get you the complete set.

The question asked was “How big is a Zettabyte?” if we are now beginning to track content and information in this way.

Ok let's start from the bottom, up:

Byte - smallest tracked amount of data - basis for all discussion Kilobyte - 10 to the power of three bytes
Megabytes - 10 to the power of 6 bytes
Gigabytes - 10 to the power of 9 bytes
Terabytes - 10 to the power of 12 bytes or 1000GB
Petabytes - 10 to the power of 15 bytes
Exabytes - 10 to the power of 18 bytes or 1M TB
Zettabytes - 10 to the power of 21 bytes

The next higher capacity? Yottabytes.

It was indeed our pleasure though to meet with well over 250 people who are involved in PCs and who want to continually learn more and share that information/assistance with others.

Your groups and the teens/tweens are what make the industry go around and push so hard for acceptance and new technologies, new products.

We talked with and exchanged ideas/information with so many outstanding people we can't document it all.

I learned about United Through Reading's Grandparent Program at San Diego's Aging Summit. Their focus was on people in the military who faced separation from their families while on deployment. It has been such a success that the program is being expanded to include separated families outside the military. Here is a link to their website: www.unitedthroughreading,org/grandparent
http://www.unitedthroughreading,org/grandparent

You know of families in your area who are split up because of the conflict overseas that sends men and women over to do their part - however you feel about these wars.

Helping family members put together videos that can be sent to the deployed men/women is a great boost for people in harm's way. It's a great way for kids/family members to feel close to those who are overseas. It is a fantastic way for you to feel good - really good - about how your computer group is helping people from your community.
It will probably be one of the best things you do this year and please do it all year long. Thanks, we're very proud of the work you've done in the past and the work you're going to do going forward.

Andy Marken
Marken Communications
408-986-0100
andy@markencom.com

TheBest3d.com

2010-04-21T10:43:00.000-07:00

Hello, this is Philip Staiger from TheBest3d.com - yes, that guy with the funny German accent you may have met at the San Diego conference last year :-)

A lot has happened since last year. A new version (v2) of Curvy 3D has been announced and is coming soon. If you like to dabble with 3D creations for use in Photoshop 3D layers, or if you like to sculpt 3D objects from a 2D illustrator's mindset and work flow, you may want to take a look at Curvy 3D. Visit www.thebest3d.com for more details on Curvy 3D.

If you like to learn some programing, scripting with LUA is a great skill to learn. If you have kids, especially boys, you may have heard that Lua scripting is used in World of Warcraft - see wowprogramming.com - Well, the same programming, or rather scripting, language is also the basis for making filters in Dogwaffle, the Gimp, Artweaver and Pixarra Twistedbrush. See www.gluas.org for more info.

Then there's the iPad - did you get one yet? Or are you waiting to see the HP Slate? If you have an iPad you may want to look into creating 3D models - fully textured - such as 3D avatars for use in Second Life. Archipelis Designer for iPad is about to be released, see previews at www.thebest3d.com/archipelis/ipad - there's also a version for iPhone, but it's a little simpler, no image based textures there: www.thebest3d.com/archipelis/iphone - still, who would have thought you could make 3D design happen on iPhone? Of course, the real serious users will want the iPad version, or MacOS and Windows versions and check tutorials at www.thebest3d.com/archipelis/tutorials

Finally, let's talk about Digital Painting with Project Dogwaffle - PD Pro sale for members of the SWCC - regardless of whether you attended the show last year. From now through June 1st, 2010, get a 30% discount if you order with this discount coupon: SWCC2009

Use the code in the order form under BMTmicro when you select the desired product at www.thebest3d.com/dogwaffle/sales/#BMT

The discount applies only to the download edition, not applicable to the boxed edition. The discount can be applied to new licenses as well as to upgrades from v2 to v3 or from v3 to v4: PD Pro 3, PD Pro 4 (Project Dogwaffle Professional), or Dogwaffle 2.

Have fun with our digital art creation and exploration tools, be safe online and we hope to see you again soon!

Southwest Computer Conference Announces Partnership with Aging Summit 2010

2010-03-28T15:24:00.000-07:00

The biennial Aging Summit 2010, sponsored by the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency, Aging & Independence Services and AARP-CA, kicks off four days of technology activities at the Town and Country Resort & Convention Center. The Summit is on Thursday, June 3 from 9:00 am to 2:30 pm. The Southwest Computer Conference begins on Friday, June 4 and ends on Sunday, June 6.
Aging Summit 2010: Focus on Technology that has the potential to improve the lives of older adults by increasing their safety, security, and independence in everyday life. Summit 2010 will highlight options about how technology can contribute to healthy aging. Topics include: Don’t be Timid about Technology; Use Technology to Keep you Connected; Beneficial Technology for Healthcare and Caregivers; plus So Many Gadgets: Tips & Tricks. www.agingsummit2010.org

To register for the Aging Summit 2010, call 877 926 8300 (AARP Event Registration line) or go online at (http://agingsummit2010.eventbrite.com). Registration is limited and includes a box lunch; coffee will be available in the morning.

The Southwest Computer Conference features three days of computer and tech-related sessions, workshops, and networking with other technology users plus a digital photo contest. There is also up-close-and-personal time with vendors at the Saturday night exhibition. To register for the Southwest Computer Conference go to www.theswcc.org.

Keynote Speaker

2010-03-10T05:31:00.000-08:00

The Southwest Computer Conference is honored to announce that Andy Marken of Andy Marken Communications will be speaking at this year's conference. The conference is scheduled for June 4, 5 & 6 at the lovely Town and Country Resort & Convention Center. Read on for more information . . .

Stuff...To Have and To Hold

Yes, friends, like a bad penny, a splitting migraine...your toothless father-in-law...the smart*** know-it-all kid next door. Andy Marken is back and he's ready to make sure you have a fantastic time at this year's Southwest Computer Conference. No holds barred stories from the content and storage war zone with all the subtlety of a Mac truck coming to rock your world!!!!!

You have probably noticed you're seeing more information...more news...more dumb people tricks...more movies...more everything whizzing by in recent months. Your Twitter account is overdrawn. Your smartphone data bill is out-of-sight. Your camera is overloaded. Your significant other is beginning to wonder who you're carrying on with because you're never disconnected. Stuff has taken over your life. What's a girl/guy going to do? Well Andy Marken is back to give you the latest update on why your eyes are blurry and your mind feels like it is going to Explode!!! He'll take you down memory lane to see how your information overload got so bad, things you might want to consider with the weight of the world on your pocketbook and hints on how you're going to store all your stuff. Like the soft, fluffy, innocent clouds? Attracted to the cute, rugged little Flash drives? Love the elegant toughness of portable hard drives? Enjoy the status symbol of your home network server? Stashing away DVD and BD discs of content so when global warming hits you'll still have something to watch, listen, play with? It's a big, wonderful world with more information flying at you every day and sometime, somewhere, somehow you're going to want to store part or all of it. You know throw it in the drawer and you'll sort it out...later!!!! Make your stuff look good so its worthwhile to look at and worthwhile to store/share. Andy will be ready to open the goodies drawer for you this year . . .

Reservations may be made by calling 800-772-8527 or 619-291-7131 and identifying yourself as an attendee. Or you may access our portion of their website at https://resweb.passkey.com/Resweb.do?mode=welcome_ei_new&eventID=1456717
Rates are $99 per night, single or double occupancy. Discounted parking is $4 for both hotel & local guests.

See you there!

2010 Digital Photo Contest Guidelines

2010-02-02T12:20:00.000-08:00

Guidelines for 2010 Digital Photo Contest have been posted.
Please goto: http://theswcc.org/

Photo Contest
____Guidelines

To view the Guidelines

Conference Videos

2009-08-16T04:39:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Terry Currier for hosting conference videos on his group’s Website at http://www.windowsusers.org/swconference.html. The videos were taken by Terry, George Holloway and George Margolin.

2009-06-26T13:38:00.000-07:00

16th Annual Southwest Computer Conference
YouTube Video

Klassic Specialties Offers Discount on Ink & Paper Supplies

2009-04-06T21:52:00.001-07:00

Don Baker, of Klassic Specialties, has announced he is giving all SW2009 attendees a 10% discount on pre-ordered ink and paper supplies to be delivered at the conference. This offer also saves on shipping costs. Place your order at www.klassicspecialties.com prior to May 28, 2009. Indicate in the comment section of the order form “SWCC 2009” and your order will be delivered to you at the Saturday night Expo. The discount will appear on the invoice delivered with the product. (Orders not picked up will be subject to any subsequent shipping charges that may apply.)

Baker is a long-time Southwest sponsor and his products are already discounted and 100% guaranteed. Save yourself some money by taking advantage of this generous offer -- many of us in southern CA have been buying from Don for years.

Viejas Casino and 60-Mall Day Trip Deadline Extended

2009-04-06T21:46:00.001-07:00

The deadline to reserve your space on the bus for the Viejas Casino & 60-mall day trip on Thursday, May 28, has been extended to April 20. The $20 fee includes a Casino fun book and discount coupons to use at the mall that is across the street from the casino. You will find the reservation form at www.theswcc.org / click on Special Offer on pre-conference orders of ink....

Bruce Pechman to Kick-off SW with his Gadgets Workshop

2009-04-06T21:39:00.001-07:00

Bruce Pechman, the Muscleman of Technology, will kick off the conference with his popular gadgets workshop on Friday afternoon. He will have many cool prizes and the 3 we can announce now are the Kitchen Technology Center, Xbox 360 Console Game System, and the very limited Special Collector's Edition of World of Warcraft "Wrath of the Lich King" with a complete set of Brady Games Offical Strategy Guides.

Here is a brief overview of the Kitchen Technology Center giveaway (www.pandigital.net $399). This is one of the best products at CES 2009. The Kitchen Technology Center (KTC) is an amazing 4-in-one device! It's a Digital Cookbook pre-loaded with a huge selection of Recipes from Bon Appétit (collection offers dozens of recipes in different categories: Drinks & Appetizers; Soups, Salads & Breads; Meat & Poultry; Seafood & Fish; Meatless Dishes; Sides; and Desserts). It's a huge 15" Digital Photo frame with 1GB of internal memory (store and watch thousands of photos) with TouchScreen user interface to make navigation simple and fun to use! The KTC is also a true 15.6 inch HDTV to watch all your favorite shows right in your Kitchen and it's also a wireless internet device that lets you receive news & weather updates (you can also share photos from internet photo web sites).

Conference Hotel Reduces Room Rate

2009-04-06T21:30:00.001-07:00

The Town & Country Resort & Convention Center has reduced the room rate to $109 from $119. To obtain the conference rate, reservations must be made by May 1. http://tinyurl.com/d8cjqr will take you to online reservations or you may call 1‑800‑77‑ATLAS and mention the Southwest Computer Conference.

Plan a mini-vacation before or after the conference. The $109 rate is available May 27 through June 4.

Are you ready for Southwest 2009?

2009-02-15T14:12:00.000-08:00

This year's event will be held on May 29, 30 & 31 at the beautiful Town and Country Resort & Convention Center in San Diego. In this time of economic decline the registration and hotel room rates remain the same. Registration is $75.00, however if you register by May 1, the Early Bird special is $60. (Many people have already registered.) You will find the registration form at: http://theswcc.org/registration/registration.htm

To obtain the same conference rate as last year ($119 single or double), hotel reservations must be made by May 1. http://www.theswcc.org/hotel/hotel.htm

The conference team has been busy planning new and exciting events such as a day trip to the Viejas Casino and 60-store outlet mall on Thursday, May 28. A bus will be provided and you will receive a casino Fun Book, $10.00 cash and discount coupons for the stores at the outlet mall. A $20 deposit is required and you must register by April 1. http://theswcc.org/registration/Casinoregistration.pdf

Mr. Bicep, the Muscleman of Technology and television personality, will kick off the conference on Friday afternoon with his infamous Gadgets workshop.

And don't forget about the Digital Photo Contest. We have a new category this year - Digital Art. This category is appropriate for those who dramatically change a photo in software such as Corel® Painter or Adobe Photoshop®. This is a category exclusively showcasing such art. If the digital darkroom work is the main attraction of the photo, or plays a big part, enter it here. See the Website for details. http://theswcc.org/Contest/contest.htm

Fun in the Sun & Golfing, Too!

2009-02-14T13:08:00.000-08:00

Are you interested in joining Al Hill on Friday, May 29 for a round of golf at the Riverwalk Golf Club in San Diego? It’s just across the street from the Town and Country Resort & Convention Center.

We can have starting times at 9:00A, 10:00A, 11:00A or noon. Price is approximately $95, which includes cart and range balls. If we start at 9:00A we can have lunch at the Club. The festivities for the SW Computer Conference begin at 6:00P.

If we have 5 foursomes, we can have some prizes. We’ll play a scramble format.

If you are interested, e-mail Al Hill at booteral@aol.com by April 1 and he’ll send you more information as it becomes available. Be sure to indicate your preferred starting time. The most votes wins!

Steeped in a rich tradition of golf legends past, the Par 72 Riverwalk Golf Club offers a classic golf-
ing experience. Formerly known as the Stardust Country Club, the course hosted the PGA tour during the 50's and 60's. Today's players are treated to the challenge of the original course at the newly reborn Riverwalk. What was once flat now features undulating fairways, waterfalls and well-protected bent grass greens. Water comes into play on 13 of the 27 holes
with a spectacular waterfall surrounding the green of the signature hole.
The San Diego River, a prominent feature of the layout, contributes to the beauty and challenge of the course

Special Event - Day Trip to Viejas Casino & Outlet Center

2009-01-03T09:13:00.000-08:00

On Thursday, May 28, 2009, a special day trip to the Viejas Casino and Outlet Center for a fun afternoon of gaming and shopping is planned. A charter bus will pick up passengers at the Town & Country, drop them off at the combined casino & outlet center and, when finished, return to the Town & Country. The bus will leave the Town & Country at 1pm and return about 7pm. Seating is extremely limited so reservations are necessary and must be made ahead of time. You must be at least 18 years of age and have photo identification.

In order to confirm your reservation a non-refundable deposit of $20.00 is required. Participants will receive a casino “Fun Book” and discount coupons for the outlet center plus $10.00 cash to spend. If the excursion is canceled the deposit will be refunded. The $20.00 registration fee is due by April 1, 2009. Visit www.theswcc.org for more information and the registration form.

TUGNET Newsletter Contains Review of SW2008 Workshops / Tech Sessions

2009-01-03T07:11:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Marian Radcliffe, TUGNET president, for launching the 2009 Southwest Computer Conference for TUGNET members by including recaps of some of the 2008 workshops/tech sessions/presentations in their January newsletter to let them know how much they can learn at the event. She talks about the conference at each meeting and has registration forms available on the sign-in desk -- no wonder TUGNET always has more attendees than any other club.

New Digital Photo Contest Category

2009-01-03T06:51:00.000-08:00

We have a new contest category this year, thanks to Karl Wester's suggestion.

Digital Art (This category is appropriate for those who dramatically change a photo digitally in software such as Corel® Painter or Adobe Photoshop®. This is a category exclusively showcasing such art. If the digital darkroom work is the main attraction of the photo, or plays a big part, enter it here.)

FIRE UP YOUR IMAGINATION! LET YOUR CREATIVE JUICES FLOW! Here at last is a photo category where you can take your photographic skills to a new level.

We all apply some form of enhancement to our images already--cropping, color management, etc.--so why not turn it into a legitimate category. Why not stretch the limits of Photoshop, Painter, Corel Draw or whatever program or method you wish that will create something wonderful and new. Something sparkling and shiny out of something mundane or common. Be creative!

The rules are simple. You must start with a standard digital photo and the finished product must be in good taste--same as in the existing categories. Remember, you may be bugged by the rest of us to reveal how you came by your creation.

The Secret’s out

2008-12-11T06:40:00.000-08:00

Special attractions

Every year the Southwest Conference team tries to showcase some of San Diego’s special attractions and this year will be no exception. The first two of these possible attractions would be on Thursday before the conference and the third would be on the Monday after the conference.

1. A chartered bus ride to a local gaming casino & shopping at the attached outlet mall
2. A trolley ride to tour Old Town and do some wine and / or olive oil tasting then enjoy a meal at a local restaurant.
3. Watch Monday Night Wrestling

Its a secret

2008-12-05T09:26:00.000-08:00

Ever year we try to bring you something new and exciting. In the past we have brought you special guest speakers, keynotes from community leaders and special appearances from movers & shakers. This year should prove to be no different. Next week we are going to San Diego to organize a special group outing. I can not comment more until plans are finalized but I am sure you will enjoy the activity. Details to follow my return for San Diego. Jerry

Southwest User Group Conference 08 Part 1

2008-11-20T07:56:00.000-08:00

Southwest User Group Conference 08 Part 2

Southwest User Group Conference 08 Part 3

Southwest 08 Vendor Information - Pinnacle Systems Unveils Webinar Series

2008-09-27T18:22:00.000-07:00

Live, Interactive Webinars Focused on Ensuring High-quality Video Editing and Sharing Experiences for End Users

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., September 26, 2008 - Pinnacle Systems, Inc., a part of Avid Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: AVID), today announced a series of free Pinnacle Life webinars designed to help users optimize their video editing and sharing experiences with Pinnacle Studio™ version 12. The monthly series of webcasts will premiere September 30th with a webinar on how to master Pinnacle Montage, a unique theme-based Pinnacle Studio feature that can be used to edit movies with up to 181 video tracks in minutes.

Pinnacle Life Interactive Webinars http://www.pinnaclesys.com/PublicSite/us/PinnacleLife/webinarintro
will be live streaming events that highlight the various innovative features included with Pinnacle Studio version 12 and how they make it easy to quickly create and share professional-looking videos. Specialists will be available during the webinars to help beginners and experienced users gain new skills that will make their video editing experience even more rewarding.

Each live webcast will be about one-hour long and will include a 15-minute real-time demo on the subject of the webinar. By using a live camera feed and screen sharing, rather than static slide presentations, Pinnacle Studio version 12 users will be able to see the various features and capabilities that are being demonstrated right on their own screen. Demonstrations will be followed by an interactive Q&A session with questions submitted prior to the webinar or during the live event.

For the Pinnacle Life Interactive Webinars http://www.pinnaclesys.com/PublicSite/us/PinnacleLife/webinarintro,
attendees will be shown how to quickly create entertaining, multi-track videos. With the Pinnacle Montage, professional high-end effects and animation capabilities are available in automated templates that are easy-to-use. Photos and video clips can be combined and up to 181 tracks can be overlaid to enhance a video with titles, sounds, music, transitions and other effects-all without the time-consuming
and complex task of having to drill into the various video tracks. Future webinars include:

· Pinnacle Studio Ultimate Plug-ins-a webcast to show users how to optimize the highly acclaimed professional video tools included with Pinnacle Studio Ultimate version 12: Boris Graffiti for innovative title and graphic animation, Magic Bullet Looks for professional film styles and proDAD VitaScene for sophisticated effects and transitions with key frame control.

· Photo Editing and Slideshow Creation-a webcast that shows users how to remove red-eye; rotate and crop images; adjust lighting, brightness, contrast, to optimize the quality of their photos using the photo editing features available with Pinnacle Studio. Attendees will also learn how to animate their photos with pan-and-zoom to create engaging slideshows. In addition, this session will include information
on how to import photos. With Pinnacle Studio's expanded format support, users can now import photos in Photoshop's native PSD format and the GIF format.

Space is limited and pre-registration is required. Future webinars will be available in additional regions, including some countries in Europe.

Videos of the Pinnacle Studio webinars will also be available on-demand 48 hours after each event on the Pinnacle Life Page http://www.pinnaclesys.com/PublicSite/us/PinnacleLife/
of the Pinnacle Systems website to enable users to view them at their convenience.

For tips, tricks and techniques on all Pinnacle solutions go to Pinnacle Life http://www.pinnaclesys.com/PublicSite/us/PinnacleLife/.

Andy Marken
Marken Communications
3375 Scott Blvd. #108
Santa Clara, CA 95054
(408) 986-0100

Heard from a 2008 attendee

2008-09-24T08:07:00.000-07:00

Words of encouragement.

You along with all of your helpers have done a great job on the Southwest Computer Conference recently held in San Diego. It was the most enjoyable I have ever attended. Everything was wonderful. Each workshop I attended was quite interesting, informative and well presented. The meals were especially good this year and I was overwhelmed with the welcome bags and the prizes that we all received. I am looking forward to attending next year and have already told a bunch of people about what a great time I had. I'm sure some of them will attend next year.Thank you both for all the effort, time and work that you put into making it all happen.Be sure to count on me to help out in any way I am able in the days preceding the conference. It is so enjoyable to do so.

--Ann MartinSeniors Computer Group

SW2008 Vendor Information

2008-09-22T13:26:00.000-07:00

Hi SW2008 attendees, here’s information about some of SW’s vendors.

SAVE THE DATE – May 29, 30 & 31, 2009

The contract has been signed and I am already receiving registrations. We’ll be at the Town and Country again with the same room rate - $119. Please check out the website for up-to-date information.

Computer Outlook Radio Show

One of John Iasiuolo’s co-hosts, Dave Ciccone of Mobility Today (www.MobilityToday.com) has started a petition to gather signatures in support of John’s show. He thinks that the show should be broadcast on one of the satellite stations and made available to those listeners. Many of us frequent listeners certainly agree with him.

With that in mind I ask for your help in making this happen…please sign the petition and maybe pass it on to your friends – business associates – club members and family – this would really be great for John and the computer community.

Here is the link: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/computeroutlook/signatures.html

John’s Roboform discount expires September 26 – hopefully you let your members know about the discount.

AiSquared

I talked at length at SW with the Ai Squared rep and their involvement with user groups. They weren’t sure that UGs was the way to go with their product. The presenter put me in contact with another person at AiS and during the summer we exchanged e-mails on AiS providing a discount for ZoomWare, review copies and a PIAB. Bayle from PC Community in Hayward and Jim from the Glendora Seniors Computer Club were kind enough to help with the PIAB by providing information they thought their groups would like to know about the product (they both attended the workshop and loved it) and some Q&As that could be included on the CD. A few weeks ago, AiS sent some SW attendees (don’t know why they didn’t send it to all) the discount offer as a trial run and I sent it out to the APCUG-member groups last week. AiS followed that up with a discount offer to all SW attendees with a different coupon code. Please let me know if you did not receive the offer. And, if you did, please forward it to your members. Bayle has scheduled the PIAB for her November meeting (hope it’s finished by then J. The review copy e-mail will be going to APCUG editors this week. Whenever SW gets a discount, etc., I always share it with the APCUG-member groups.

www.aisquared.com

LapWorks

Jose has almost completed his PIAB on laptop ergonomics. As soon as it’s available, I’ll let you know so you can schedule it for your group. I’ve seen a preview and it’s really going to be first class and quite informative. He’ll send along a script, product for raffle, brochures, and discount information. I’m telling my students that I think it’s OK for them to buy a laptop as long as they also buy a wireless keyboard and mouse plus a laptop desk and give them a handout I put together from Jose’s script – he’s offered them the discount, too. As far as I’m concerned, that’s the only way using a laptop as a primary computer is ergonomically correct. www.lapworks.net

Seniors Service America

Reminder! Help is available for PC refurbishing projects

Gabe Goldberg / ssa@gabegold.com

As most SWCC attendees heard at the conference, I'm helping a DC-area

organization that helps "civic engagement and employment opportunities

for adults over the age of 55 who wish to re-enter the workforce".

One initiative we're pursuing is helping these folks get and use computers. Money is available -- as seed funding for new projects, as grants to help existing projects ramp up, as awards for successful and valuable projects, etc. We're looking beyond simply providing computers, considering also supporting delivering and installing computers, providing training and ongoing support, helping with connectivity, etc., perhaps structuring a "computers on wheels" program modeled after Meals on Wheels, a successful and widespread support service for seniors.

At the conference, I collected contact information for many groups/projects/individuals and have followed up with these.

But several people took my card to contact me and haven't yet done so. If you have a refurbishing project or would like to start one and we didn't talk at the conference, please contact me. If we talked at the conference and you promised to get in touch after event, PLEASE do so.

Komputers4rKids

Do you want to involve your members in a win-win situation? Have Komputers4rKids come to your meeting with a truck to pick up your members’ and families & friends electronic equipment (advertise in your local newspaper). You benefit the organization and it can be a fund raiser for your group. Get in touch and let them know you attended SW. They picked up two trucks full of electronics from TUGNET and sent them a check. I just about cleaned out one side of my garage last Friday and took all the computer equipment to them in Long Beach (I didn’t get any $$ but sure like the looks of my garage). Marian Radcliffe and I attended Terry Currier’s meeting in Orange County, drove up to Long Beach and dropped off the stuff – the GrammyMobile was completely full!!

www.komputers4rkids.org

Symantec

Over 130 computer club members in the LA area will attend Norton Night tomorrow at Symantec’s Culver City building. We’ll be having dinner, presentations, a tour of one of their labs that hasn’t even had a press review yet, door prizes, raffles, etc. At SW, both Jerry Clarke and I talked (separately) with the Symantec rep. They realize their anti-virus reputation is not the best and think that computer clubs might be the way to get the word out about their new 2009 anti-virus product. Hopefully they will come up with a PIAB that we can show to our members. When I talked with the rep at SW, she thought they also might be putting on presentations – more about that later if it they want to go that route. Instead of that, they offered Norton Night, open to LA, Orange & Ventura county groups – within a reasonable driving distance of Culver City.

See you in San Diego next May,

Judy

Roxio Buzz 2 Lite

2008-09-12T15:39:00.000-07:00

While looking for an easy way to create YouTube videos/slideshows i cam across a product from Roxio which fit the bill.
The product "Roxio Buzz2 Lite" is available for down load from >

The free version of Roxio Buzz Lite supports Windows Media Video, AVI, MPEG-1, QuickTime, and Divx.

A full version is available for $29.95 and supports Direct video Capture from DV camera or Webcam.

The slideshow video below was created and posted to YouTube with the program.

2008 Conference YouTube Video

2008-08-30T12:32:00.000-07:00

While "googling" Southwest Computer Conference, I cam across a nicely done YouTube video produced by Jack Koonan on location in San Diego.

Great Negotiations

2008-08-05T09:03:00.000-07:00

We are all aware of constant rise in prices but due to some solid negotiations by our event planner we were able to keep this years conference pricing the same as last year. This goes for both the registration fees and the hotel room rate. Great Job Team.

Registration for the 2009 conference is now open just click here

A Wail of a Tale

2008-08-03T09:25:00.000-07:00

It all began at the 15th annual Southwest Computer Conference that was being held at the beautiful Town and Country resort in San Diego, California. As a long time volunteer I was busy helping run the conference when I was introduced to Robin Ziegler from Google. For a long time I have used the Google tool bar and search engine on my computers so I said hello and went about my business. During the Friday evening meal Robin was scheduled to demonstrate Google Earth. This was something I had played with in the past but after once looking at my house from the satellite view I was done. When the lights went down and he started his presentation I, and the rest of the audience, was amazed and awed. When his presentation was over I had an opportunity to talk with him further. He casually mentioned stopping by if I was ever in Mountain View. Little did he know a visit to Google had always been a dream of mine. I said thank you saying to myself I will have to follow up on this after the conference.

I waited a couple of weeks giving Robin time to recover from the conference but not so long as to let him forget the offered invitation. After several emails and checks of calendars, it was arranged for Judy “JT” Taylour, the conference chair, Judy Clarke, my wife, and I to visit the Google Campus. We were excited.

We quickly made airplane and car reservations by computer for the one day trip. We were scheduled to leave the Long Beach Airport at 7 am on a Thursday morning which meant we had to be at the Airport no later then 6 am. We would arrive in San Jose at 8 am giving us plenty of time to pick up the car and arrive at Google for our 10 am tour and lunch with Robin.

Thursday morning started with three excited people arriving at the Long Beach airport ahead of schedule and boy was that a good thing! Although we had confirmed reservations the kiosk computers were down and everyone in the airport had to visit one of the two service clerks at the Jet Blue window to confirm seating. This delayed everything. After seating confirmation we were given boarding passes and headed for security. Because the airport is remodeling security checks were backed up beyond belief. Once our flight was called for boarding we were moved to the head of the security line. Going through security I was chosen for the extra security pat down, I passed. We then boarded the plane just as they were about to close the doors. Once on and seated, we thought everything was good to go. It was not to be.

First the pilot explained the water on the plane had not passed health standards so be careful in the restrooms and of course there would be no coffee. Oh well, when we were on the plane and seated, in 54 minutes we would be in San Jose and could do breakfast. After ten or twelve minutes the pilot announced over the intercom that a jet was parked behind us and we could not leave until they moved it. Some thirty minutes later we are in the air. With all this behind us the rest of the day should be perfect. Not so.

We arrived at the Hertz desk to pick up the “mid-sized” car we ordered which turned out to be way too small for three people. After several minutes, a larger car and street maps in hand we headed out to US 101 north for our 15 minute drive. After forty minutes, traffic was terrible, we had arrived at the Google Campus. They refer to it as a campus because like many universities it is spread out over one square mile. Although Robin had sent us a map and asked us to meet him in the lobby, he omitted the building number he worked in. After driving around in circles we located a sign that said lobby this way. No one was around, but we found a note attached to a computer screen asking us to register and sign the NDA (nondisclosure agreement) which we all did. Our visitor badges were being automatically printed. Once they finished printing a young man entered, asked us for the name of the person we were to meet, then offered us free refreshments and to please be seated while he contacted Robin, our host for the day. After waiting almost an hour and just as we were about to give up Robin arrived. Apparently two things had happened; the first was our fault as we were in the wrong building. It seems every building has its own lobby and second, Robin was packing as his office was about to move to a new building that has just been renovated for the Google Earth staff and apparently his phone was in one of the packed boxes. It’s now ten o’clock and we are about to start our tour.

He started the tour by taking us to his office and showing us many, many neat features and fun things that could be done with Google Earth. Remember we all signed nondisclosure agreements. After about an hour or so we continued with a walking tour to several of the buildings. During this part of the tour we saw and heard about many of the free or subsided perks for employees.

The first thing we noticed was that all the parking structures and most of the buildings had solar panels on the roofs which not only supplements the electricity usage, but allows employees the ability to recharge their electric vehicles of which we saw many. Next we learned that the campus has twenty-one individual restaurants specializing in various cuisines and, of course, meals are free to all employees. Every building has at least one snack area filled with sandwiches, goodies, hot and cold drinks. The working environment seems very relaxed as noted by all the pool and other game tables. They have a gym, pool, laundry facility, a barber and dentist who work out of Mobil vans, a full time health office, day care and the list goes on.

Employees are encouraged to decorate their office, halls and buildings and each building takes on a theme and all items such as copiers, mail boxes, supply cabinets and the like take on this theme.

Google provides company buses that pick up employees from several park and ride spots through out the area. They also provide mini-buses for inner campus travel and of course there are bicycles everywhere. All the blue, one speed, balloon tired bikes with baskets are provided by Google. Need to get some place on campus - just pick a bike, ride to your location and leave it for others to use, if the bike has a problem just remove the seat and place it in the basket and soon a mysterious van pulls up, picks up the bike and the next day it is repaired and ready for use.

Five years ago the average age of the 5,000 world wide employees at Google was twenty-two and now with 10,000 employees the average age has risen to twenty-eight.

We were sorry to see our tour end as Robin had to get back to work. He had to finish packing as the entire Google earth department was moving two blocks down the road to a new building that had just been remodeled for them. He mentioned how sad he felt about the move because it was going to almost double his travel time to work each day because he lives three blocks away as it is now.

On the way back to the airport we managed to visit the both the Computer History Museum and the Intel Museum. The Computer History Museum was just exactly that - a history of computers and computing devices. What amazed me was that, between us and over time, we had used many pieces of the equipment. The Intel Museum on the other hand was a hands-on, touchy, feely interactive place. A great spot to get an understanding of how things work.

Upon returning to the airport, with time to spare, we were informed our flight back to Long Beach had been canceled and the next possible flight was two days later. This would not have been a problem except we all had plans for Friday and none of us brought a suitcase as this was only going to be a one day trip. After much running around we managed to get seats on a Southwest flight to LAX. Now we had to rush as Southwest was located in another terminal across the airport. After checking in, getting our boarding passes and going through security where, once again, I was chosen for an extra pat down, I guess I look the part, we were informed the plane’s arrival had been delayed. Once we boarded we learned that over half the flight was filled with people from the canceled Jet Blue flight and we all had to return to Long Beach as that’s where our cars were. The three of us shared a cab ride with another gentleman who offered to split the $75.00 cab fair with us. He was pleasantly surprised when we produced a travel voucher from Jet Blue to cover the ride.

You would think it ends here but not so. The cabbie had never seen a voucher before and wanted us to pay cash. After much hassle between the cabbie and the night shift Jet Blue manager and calls to the cab company, the cabbie accepted the voucher.

The three of us arrived at my house at 11 pm at which time, JT picked up her stuff and headed home to the Santa Clarita Valley where she arrived at 12:19 am.

Wow what a day! What an experience! Would I do it again? You bet!!

The Ink Has Dried

2008-07-21T05:00:00.000-07:00

It's official the 16th annual Southwest Computer Conference will be held at the Town & Country Hotel in San Diego California on May 29, 30 and 31st of 2009.

Secrets

2008-07-07T09:29:00.000-07:00

I cannot let the cat out of the bag at this time as we are still in the process of crossing the "I"s and dotting the "T"s. But I would not be a bit surprised if we were able to once again celebrate my birthday during the conference.

Rave Reviews

2008-06-20T08:26:00.000-07:00

The 15th Annual Southwest Computer Conference ended with rave reviews. From the attendees we received comments like these "best conference ever", "workshops were top notch", "food and the proportions were great", "spent to much money at the Expo". From the sponsors we received comments like these "what a great time I had", "we really enjoyed the conference", and the best one yet "plan on coming back next year".

The 16th Annual Computer Conference is in the works. Contracts are being circulated and the fine print is being read.

15 years and Counting

2008-06-04T06:52:00.000-07:00

Facts from the close of the 15th annual conference. This conference had twice the number of special or keynote speakers then any other conference. As always the food was delicious and plentiful. Everyone commented that because the Saturday night cheer leader was so active surely she would be loosing weight, the fact is she gained 2 pounds. A special birthday was celebrated Friday night. I am sorry for those who missed the marathon runners party. A rowdy time was had by all who attended or heard the 3 am party.

1,442 and Counting

2008-05-01T07:31:00.000-07:00

The door prize count grows every day. Right now we have 1,442. Some will be put in welcome bags, a few will be offered for special drawings, in some cases everyone at a table will win and still we will have individual drawings. This means everyone goes home a winner.

The Count Down Has Begun

2008-04-08T09:18:00.000-07:00

With less then 60 days left untill the start of 15th Annual Southwest Conference both sponsors and attendees are signing up fast. Attendees have until May 1 to take advantage of the early bird discount special registration fee. Sponsors have untill May 12 to have door prizes and Welcome Bag goodies shipped. Both have until May 1 to register with the hotel in order to take advantage of the special discount rate. The hotel special rates are good from May 22 - June 6, for those wishing to vacation in San Diego for the Memorial Holiday weekend just before the conference.

Guess Who is Coming to Dinner

2008-03-27T17:27:00.000-07:00

Follow the link to see who is coming to dinner. Dinner Link

Remember This?

2008-02-22T07:12:00.000-08:00

"Is it live or is it ....."? If you know the answer click here to see our newest sponsor. If you don't now the answer click here.

I Can Help

2008-02-10T06:55:00.000-08:00

Every year during the registration process we are asked "Is there anything I can do to help". Because of the large number of requests to help we usually have more volunteers than jobs. This year is different. We need each and everyone one of you to volunteer for a very important project. Once the conference is over and you have returned home and are looking at your spoils we need you to register that software and send those thank you notes telling the sponsors you appreciated their support of the conference.

Something New

2008-02-05T09:14:00.000-08:00

For those who arrive Friday after noon the conference has two special features for you. First from 3:30 - 4:30, Jim Perry from the Prescott Computer Society will give a workshop on the history of computers. Second from 4:45 - 5:45 we will have a special guest Keynote speaker. For more information on the keynote speaker visit http://theswcc.org/sponsors/keynote.htm.

Annie Get Your Computer

2008-02-02T07:07:00.000-08:00

I can do anything better than you. No you can't. Yes I can. For the answer to this age old question besure to visit the PC / MAC workshop.

From the Water Cooler

2008-01-29T08:01:00.001-08:00

We expect this year’s conference to be the best ever. Already we have more vendors signed up then we did at this same time last year and what really is exciting is that this is the first time at Southwest for many of them. Also the attendee registration is ahead of last year. I wonder if this has anything to do with the extended discounted room rates before and after the conference for those wishing to add some vacation time and sight seeing to their trip to San Diego.

Viva Las Vegas

2008-01-12T06:50:00.000-08:00

Just returned from a week of touring CES in Las Vegas - WOW! We literally walked for miles visiting vendor booths and listing to product discussions. I saw a neat portable device leash that was invented by a nine year old, a 10,000 dollars USB flash drive that took an artist six months to hand paint with a brush the size of a human hair, a production model of a device to keep from loosing a child, robotics devices galore. Talked to a lot of nice people and made some valuable contacts. Glad we have a year to rest up before we do it again.

New Home Site

2007-12-31T07:26:00.000-08:00

The Southwest Conference was in need of a new home and we found it at www.theswcc.org which is short for "The Southwest Computer Conference". Not only do we have a new home but we also have a new look. Not to worry if you happen to log into the old address you will automatically be redirected to our new home.

Don't forget to bookmark the new site.

Pix from conference floor

2007-12-26T09:50:00.000-08:00

This year we are going to have several volunteer photogaphers taking pictures and we hope to upload images from the conference right to the web site as they happen. At this time I have sent some pictures of the five us preparing for the conference click here to check them out

We Are On Our Way to San Diego

2007-11-27T13:59:00.000-08:00

Plans are underway for the 15th Annual Southwest Computer Conference to be held May 30, 31 and June 1, 2008 at the Town and Country Resort & Convention center in San Diego, CA.
Over 300 Windows, Mac and Linux end users will converge on San Diego to learn about the latest offerings in the technology marketplace. Many attendees are members of computer user groups or clubs that represent 25,000 computer users known for being early adopters of technology.
The Conference includes workshops, seminars, tech sessions, networking with other computer users, vendor presentations at meals and the ever-popular Vendor Expo. It’s all included in your full conference registration fee! San Diego is the place to be the end of May, 2008. Enhance your computer skills -- meet like-minded people – smooze with top-notch vendors. What better place to learn from each other and sponsoring vendors than the 15th Annual Southwest Computer Conference? Attendees for more information visit our new site at www.theswcc.org
The Conference is dedicated to computer users who own one or more computers and use them daily for more than just e-mail. They are leading edge consumers who buy the latest in technology -- from software upgrades to new devices. Many are known as respected influencers and knowledgeable experts by their peers and are familiar with their group's and community's buying habits. All are vocal enthusiasts and products will be eagerly discussed - both orally at meetings and via publications. Attendees are teachers of technology, from computer labs to Special Interest Groups (product-specific small group meetings) -- they are eager to spread the word about your products.
John Iasiuolo from the Computer Outlook Radio Talk Show will broadcast LIVE on Friday evening from the conference floor. Vendors and attendees alike will have the opportunity to be interviewed for future shows.
Vendors are encouraged to contact Patricia Hill, to learn about the many opportunities to participate in Southwest 2008.

How Hot Will It Get?

2007-10-26T05:58:00.000-07:00

The view from Judy Taylour's window

A New Look

2007-09-07T06:29:00.000-07:00

Check out our new look

Its A Coming

2007-09-01T06:45:00.000-07:00

14th Annual Southwest User Group Conference

2007-08-08T13:57:00.000-07:00

George M. Holloway
Southwest International PC Club

Doug & Rosie Agee and George & Mamie Holloway attended the 14th annual Southwest User Group Conference held July 13th to July 15th at the Town & Country Resort and Convention Center in San Diego Ca.
There were over 270 attendees from Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Nevada, Ohio and Texas.

No conference is successful without sponsors and there were over 70 sponsoring vendors with 27 attending the Saturday Vendor Faire. I will be sending a thank you note to the vendors.

Smart Computing, Pinnacle Systems, AMD, Corel and Microsoft sponsored the meal and presentation events.

For the first time in the conference history a key note address was given by Andy Marken of Marken Communications. The subject of his address was Digital Rights Management (DRM) – How will the show End? The subject of DRM is the protection of digital property, i.e. music, movies, and digital images.

Between meals and presentations there were 20 workshops to choose from.
Of particular interest to me was the two digital photograph workshops presented by Cathy & George Margolin. The attendees at the first workshop were invited to take pictures on the grounds of the Town & Country property and submit them for judging and token prizes at the Sunday workshop.
With 60 entries yours truly won 2nd prize in the nature category.

Since it was impossible to attend all workshops, the hosts of the workshops provided Power Point presentations of their topics which were included on the conference CD. This will be a source of future SWIPCC presentations.

As you know, the winning entries of our local digital photo contest were submitted to the Swug digital photo contest. Winning entries were announced at Sunday’s breakfast. I am sorry to say none of our entries won in the available categories.
Judging is somewhat subjective. To illustrate, the attendees voted on their favorite photo to be awarded Best of Show. The voters did not choose any of the winners in the different categories. Instead they choose La Union Sunrise by our very own Garry Bentley.

Congratulations to Gary.

With Sunday lunch the conference came to an end and plans for next year began.
The 2008 conference will be held May 30, 31 and June 1.

Changes R A Coming

2007-08-08T06:44:00.000-07:00

I can't spill all the beans yet but I can say the plans are big and the time is short so we will just have to wait and see how much gets accomplished.

The secret is out

2007-07-21T07:54:00.000-07:00

After everyone left Sunday afternoon we spent the next 4 hours going over all the evaluation forms that were returned. We do this every year to see how we did and what we can do to improve next years' conference. Monday, at breakfast we had our first planning meeting for the 2008 conference. The meeting lasted several hours many suggestions & ideas were discussed and we think we are of to a good start.

We "R" on Our Way

2007-07-13T04:44:00.000-07:00

Our Welcome bags are packed and we are on our way to San Diego. It is 4:45 am California time, I just finished loading the car and about to head out. Oooops I almost forgot my wife. I guess I had better wake her so she can go too.

San Diego

2007-06-02T16:31:00.000-07:00

My wife and I drove for 2 hours. Patricia & Al Hill drove for 7 hours. Judy T rode the train. We all wound up in San Diego to do pre-conference work. For 3 days we met with the hotel people, conference room management, catering, and the media department working out one detail after another. We also chased leads for other participants from the local area, hammered out many problems and got Macy's to give each attendee discount coupon. The evening of the last night we even managed to spend a few minutes in the spa. The next morning after breakfast all of us headed home. Not sure about the rest but I am exhausted.

Xmas in July

2007-05-09T11:07:00.000-07:00

It's beginning to look a lot like Xmas each and every day. Almost daily the door bell rings and it's another delivery service with packages to drop off. No, my wife and I have not spending our time on EBay we have been designated as the official receiving place for all door prizes and welcome bag items for the conference. I have been told that this is only the start and to expect more.

It's Official

2007-04-19T11:58:00.000-07:00

After much paper work, a complete background check, and checking seven references we were allowed to sign a contract covering the proper care of our new mascot "Cyber" who just happens to be a dog. Once my wife and I got him home and he was comfortable in his new digs he told us he was anxiously awaiting the conference. He also told us this would be his first trip to San Diego. So far he has been a great addition to our household

Mascot

2007-04-18T07:10:00.000-07:00

At the last SCRUGs meeting it was suggested that the SW Conference needed a mascot. After much searching we found the cutest, friendliest, best trained, mixed mutt to fill the position. We thought "Cyber" would be a good name for him. We will bring him to the conference for all to "see".

We Listen

2007-04-16T07:21:00.001-07:00

During the '06 conference user groups and vendors discussed the difficulties in getting presenters to show up at user groups, especially the smaller groups. I was task with trying to resolve this problem. After researching and testing several methods I think we have come up with both an easy and cost effective method to achieve this goal. I hope to have a finished presentation ready for this years conference.

It's Official

2007-03-10T10:10:00.000-08:00

We now have an agreement with Mr. G that he or a stand-in Representative will appear at the Conference. A special thank you goes to Miz Pris for her help with this negotation.

Rumors Continue

2007-02-17T07:51:00.000-08:00

An agent named Lex Luther is negotiating head to head with Mr. "G" trying to convince him to attend the Military Achievement Computer event, more commonly known as the MAC show. We may have to bring in some outside help to swing things our way.

Rumor Has It

2007-02-12T05:57:00.000-08:00

Doorman and Door mouse have a special friend, Ms. Mouse, who happens to be the agent for the owner of a large software company in Redmond. Between them they they are negotiating with Mr. G. for an appearance at SW. More to follow as things develop.

SC Linux Expo

2007-02-11T05:50:00.000-08:00

Saturday was the fifth annual Southern California Linux Expo. My wife, Judy and I went. It was her first time with any version of Linux and she became a little confused with Red Hat, Fedora, Ubantanu, Debian and the rest. By the end of the show she decided she did like Penguins, the stuffed ones that squeak.

Pasadena Photo Show

2007-02-10T07:39:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Judy and I met JT in Pasadena for the Photo Expo being held there. We toured the floor and met vendors. Hopefully some of them will be at SW this year. After the show the three of us had a two and one half meeting going over final editing of the conference PR kit. Tomorrow the Westin.

Three meetings two days

2007-01-26T06:18:00.000-08:00

After a 6 hour drive we arrived at our hotel in Arizona. Shortly after settling in we went to the airport to pick up JT - back to the hotel. The next day immedately after breakfast the first meeting started. It ended late when the cleaning lady needed to clean the room. The next days meeting started first thing in the morning and ended at lunch. After our short lunch break the next meeting started and ended just in time to get JT back to the airport.

WOW are we tired

Cars, Planes & Reservations

2007-01-13T09:53:00.000-08:00

For those flying tickets are bought, for those driving GPS coordinates are programmed and all have their hotel reservations.
This years pre-conference meeting is taking place in Arizona at the home Al and Patricia Hill. The meeting is to take place on the 24 & 25 of January. Topics of discussion will include type of workshops to hold, possible new vendors to attract, the direction of the conference, delivery and storage of merchandize and products, transportation needs and hotel planning and staffing. Once all the goals have been established we will spend the next few months trying to meet them.

Preparations are on the way

2007-01-03T06:12:00.000-08:00

Along with the start of the year 2007 we have started making preparations for the 14th Annual Conference. The first project on the vast list of things to do is produce the new registration form. With this years form you will be able to enter your information right into the PDF file and then print it. This is being done to make it easier for you to fill out the form and easier for us to read once they are returned.

The conference co-chairs are planning a face to face meeting later this month. This is not an easy task as one is in Arizona and the other lives in California. More on this meeting as it develops.

Counting Down

2006-12-05T07:30:00.000-08:00

Because I wanted to let people know exactly how much time they have before the next conference I have added a count down timer to the bottom of this blog. Now all anyone has to do is look at the bottom of the page and they will see exactly how long it is to the start of the 14th annual conference.

Getting Started

2006-11-30T06:19:00.000-08:00

Preparations are well on the way for the 2007 conference. Judy is working on breathing new life into the Southwest Web Site while working with a dysfunctional computer. Patricia and Al are gearing up for APCUG conference in Las Vegas where they will play meet and great with potential sponsors. In the mean time Judy and I are working on some new signs, additions and changes to the Welcome CD and in general helping out as we can.

Winners

2006-09-21T14:11:00.000-07:00

Newsletter
1st Place – Jim Sanders, North Orange County Computer Club
2nd Place – John Weigle, Channel Islands PC Users Group
3rd Place – Sue Crane, Big Bear Computer Club

Website
1st Place - Linda Gonse, Orange County IBM PC Users’ Group
2nd Place – Helen Long & Toby Scott, Channel Islands PC Users Group
3rd Place – Anne Clark, Laguana Woods Personal Computer Club

Digital Photo
Best of Show – Alan & Kathy Krause, Prescott Computer Society

Nature
1st Place – Alan & Kathy Krause, Prescott Computer Society
2nd Place – Sanford Shapiro, Under the Computer Hood User Group
3rd Place – Ed Sinderman, TUGNET

People
1st Place – Bill Harkins, Temecula Valley Computer User Group
2nd Place – Ed Sinderman, TUGNET
3rd Place – Jerry Abbanat, Monterey Bay Users Group

Other
1st Place – Bill Harkins, Temecula Valley Computer User Group
2nd Place – Ed Sinderman, TUGNET
3rd Place – JB Burke, Prescott Computer Society

Detective Contest
Pkg #1 ($879 value) – Greg Skalka, Under the Computer Hood User Group
Pkg #2 ($844 value) – Dave Steward, Alamo PC Organization
Pkg #3 ($813 value) – Herb Roth, Seniors Computer Group

Two Weeks Later

2006-08-29T07:08:00.000-07:00

Here it is not even a full 2 weeks after the 06 conference ended and the background preparations for the 07 conference have already started. This slow pace will continue until January 07 at which time things will start to get hectic.

For those interested Miss Pris wanted me to say high to all and mention the fact she had a wonderful time flirting at the show. Right now she is on tour at "Burning Man" and although she thinks the name is sexist her and her group of special friends are having a great time.

The Top Five

2006-08-14T10:54:00.000-07:00

The top five comments fron the conference.
5. The food was great and the portions were to large to eat.
4. Because of the abundance of prizes the give-a-way took longer then expected.
3. Miss Pris was an unusual addition to the conference.
2. Secret agent man game was fun.
1. Judy and Patricia did a terriffic job.

The Party Is Over

2006-08-13T15:16:00.000-07:00

The Party Is Over
I had a wonderful time. I was able to visit with many attendees and get my picture taken with most. Its time to start planning for next year after all only 333 days left. I hope everyone had a great time as I did and with any luck my schedule will allow me to return. Remember to thank all the vendors.

Lovingly yours
Miss Priss
Super Model

To upgrade or not

2006-08-13T09:42:00.000-07:00

What a breakfast meal, thank you Corel. I was trying to decide if I should up grade my software, I should and I will as soon as I get home.

I Wonder.....

2006-08-13T05:32:00.000-07:00

Who was that stranger who came to dinner last night?
Did the secret lovers who wrote on the message board find each other?
Other than JT, ~P~, JC, John eye and the young karate champion how many others had their picture taken with Miss Pris?
How many members used the lobby computer? Non members?
Who was that man and woman in the strange hats?
Why Doorman had to make so many trips to the watering hole?
Are Terry Currier and Jerry Clarke really half brothers?
How much longer my battery is going to last?

More for me

2006-08-12T20:28:00.000-07:00

It is about 8:30 at night and the vendor faire is in full bloom. I am sorry to say a few people left early so I guess they will miss the drawing for prizes provided by the vendors. Oh well more for me.

Here I come to save the day

2006-08-12T20:15:00.000-07:00

Six o'clock and time for dinner. The attendee's are in line and ready to eat, after all lunch was only 4 hours ago. When all of a sudden we are informed the electricity went out in the vendor faire room. I became electrified and sprang into to action. I decided it was time to make a calming announcement. Once my announcement was over the electricity returned and once again Doorman had saved the day. Tomorrow it starts again.

12 NOON

2006-08-12T16:01:00.000-07:00

Here it is time to eat again. Microsoft feed fed us lunch and introduced us to Vista. After that, time for more workshops. This is turning out a very busy day and before you know it time for dinner.

Sat AM

2006-08-12T09:54:00.000-07:00

Sausage & eggs to much too eat. Discussed Welcome CD. User group updates and by Patricia Hill, Judy Taylour and Gene Barlow. Off to see some work shops.

Off to start

2006-08-11T22:13:00.000-07:00

The conference was scheduled to start at 2 pm but registration did not start til 2:15 not too bad considering all the work that was done. The dinner sponsored by Smart Computing was great, and plenty of it. The performance by Jen, Marcy and Brynn was terriffic. More tomorrow. Breakfast starts at 7:30.

A Long Day for All

2006-08-11T10:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a long day. I started working at 1 am, and worked until 3 am. I then took a nap until about 5:30 we stopped for the day at 7pm, whew! Today was a little easier did start until 6am. The registration room is looking good. Most of the hard work is over now we just have to finish paperwork and prepare to open the doors at 2. Oh yes Miss Pris the fashion model is already started posing.

Well here we at are

2006-08-10T15:39:00.000-07:00

Well here we are at the T&C in San Diego. The weather is great, lots of sun, but don’t let that fool you the hotel air conditioning is working very well so remember bring a sweater or coat. The work of setting up the conference has been begun. It is hard work but very rewarding. More latter.

Today is the Day

2006-08-09T07:51:00.000-07:00

Today is the day we leave for San Diego. I was up early (3 am) to work on the Welcome CD, I finished it at 5:15 this am. I made a copy of all the files and also transferred everything to my laptop, better safe then sorry. After packing computers and other boxes I started loading the car about 6:30 and finished about 8:00. Now waiting on Miss Pris to finish packing, once she is done we will go out for breakfast, then leave for the 2 hour drive to San Diego. Once we arrive we will set up the duplicator to make CDs for all.

550 and Counting

2006-08-06T06:21:00.000-07:00

Decided to take a break from working on the “Welcome CD”. So far the CD has 550 MB of great information on it. Other groups newsletters are on the CD so you or your editor can compare them with what is happening in your club. It contains software for you download and use. This year it has a new section that can be used for that last minute presenter cancellation. Most important it gives you email links to all the vendors to make sending your thank you notes easier.

House Guest

2006-08-04T06:59:00.000-07:00

Having a super model as a house guest has certainly proven to be interesting. She will strike a pose and then hold it for hours. She has posed both with a red Boa and some very expensive looking jewelry. When she speaks you can’t see her lips move. One of my neighbors came over to visit with her but he went home mad when she refused to talk to him. Her dietary needs are strange, she refuses to eat or drink anything that contains calories, sweeteners, fiber, vegetables, fruits or dairy products of any kind.

Surprise, Surprise

2006-07-31T16:45:00.000-07:00

Earlier today, while working on my computer, I was interrupted by the door bell. When I answered I was surprised beyond belief for standing in front of me was Miss Pris the famous fashion model, who has agreed to make an appearance at SW. To keep her out of sight from the paparazzi, it was agreed she would spend this week with me and my family and then drive to San Diego with us. Wow! What a thrill! My wife managed to take a picture when no one was looking and I have included it here.

Today

2006-07-29T08:16:00.000-07:00

Today I fell like the Mad Hatter who kept saying I’m late, I’m late for a very important date no time to say hello, goodbye , I’m late, I’m late. Lots left to do and only a few days left to do it in.

Hot News

2006-07-24T08:09:00.000-07:00

After much negotiation with her manager Rachel Clarke, it has been agreed the famous fashion model, Miss Pris would appear at the Southwest conference. She will be modeling Southwest attire with special emphasis given to the proper wearing and display of the badge holder. Miss Pris has promised to pose for pictures so bring your cameras, sorry no autographs. Her next appearance, at the end of the month, will be at Burning Man in the Black Rock Desert. To see the entire Miss Pris story visit http://www.dreamtimers.net/blog/?p=46

John Iasiuolo

2006-07-22T06:39:00.000-07:00

A little mouse told me that the Welcome CD which is handed out to each attendee will have a special audio message from John Iasiuolo a friend and supporter of the conference.

24 days left

2006-07-16T07:45:00.000-07:00

Only 24 days left and we still have lots to do. Doormouse, some times referred to as TOJ or The Other Judy, has to finish making posters & signs for voting, outside activities, camera ticket sales and others as needed. I still have to finish the computer I am bring for attendee use, finish the “Welcome” CD, and get Miss Priss ready. Patricia and Al are boxing software and equipment they bring to SW, finalizing rooms and room arrangements and preparing for the 2007 conference. Judy is busy with last minute registrations, designing and laying out the hand book, ordering T-shirts and making sure all the contest are going OK.

Busy, Busy, Busy

2006-07-13T06:48:00.000-07:00

TOJ, the other Judy has been very busy. She has put together three additional points of interest to tour for those who are interested in outside activities. This brings the outside points of interest to six. I was told to keep my eyes on the message board for any last minute changes or additions.

Favorite Gadgets and Web Sites Work Shop

2006-07-08T17:40:00.000-07:00

Everyone has a favorite web site that they go to everyday. It is usually a site that they feel they couldn't live without. I find that I always want to know what other people are looking at, so everyone start writing down your favorite sites. In this workshop we'll share them-put them on the screen-and everyone can see why you like them. We should all come away with new sites to use. They can be for anything-fun, information-a favorite blog-the skies the limit. It is also going to be show and tell time! Bring your favorite electronic gadget for all to see. (Of course I'll bring my favorite Windows Mobile device) Once share time is over we'll have a discussion on how to implement this as a program for your group. This is definitely a must attend workshop.Cheryl Wester

So little time

2006-07-03T10:03:00.000-07:00

So much to do and so little time to do it. With only 37 days left until the opening of X3, this years Southwest User Group Conference, I wonder how everything is going to get done on time. As far as major projects go I still have a CD ROM to put together, make copies, print and attach labels. Door Mouse has to set up and display all the significant other activities. Judy Taylour has to finish the early registrations, order the T-shirts, and make sure all the contest are off to a good start. Patricia Hill is finishing up hotel & conference details and make arrangements for all vendor deliveries. Al Hill is preparing and testing all the video & sound equipment he needs to bring

If you can read this

2006-06-21T07:57:00.000-07:00

Setting up this blog was my first encounter with blogging and the original set up was basic although setting up a profile for others to view was a minor hurdle. As time went on I learned how post to the blog from within MS Word. Once that was accomplished I learned how to insert pictures. A few days ago I added the ability for readers to email the blog to friends just by clicking the envelope at the bottom of each individual blog. If you are reading this I was successful in posting via email.

$TAY a little bit longer

2006-06-19T05:18:00.000-07:00

Many people go to a special event like a concert or ball game and leave just as its ending in order to beat the last minute rush which sometimes causes them to miss some last minute excitement.

Well if you are not rushed to leave the conference on Sunday, don’t mind a thirty minute drive and would like some last minute excitement stop by the concierge desk and ask for directions to Barona. Not only will they give you a map but a discount coupon that is good for valet parking and $25.00 cash. This is not a gambling credit but real US currency you can put in your pocket and take home with you. However if you are like most of us you will leave it and probably a few dollars more with the nice people at Barona