Association Newsletter - January 9, 2003 Edition IN THIS EDITION: 1. NEW YEAR'S MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT 2. MATCH COMPUTER WELCOMED AS NEW ASSOCIATION SPONSOR 3. INSTAPOLL QUEUE FOR THE COMING MONTHS 4. REMASTERED OPENVMS HOBBYIST KITS 5. SELF MAINTAINERS SIG 6. ON-LINE ADVOCACY 7. OpenVMS HOBBYIST LICENSE 8. GETTING IN TOUCH WITH OTHER USERS GROUPS IN CANADA 1. NEW YEAR'S MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT Dear Fellow Members, Now that 2003 is upon us, the Association is starting the New Year by continuing with its development road map that was initiated 16 months ago. To carry out the plans that are outlined in the next phase of the Association's development, we are going to concentrate on marketing ourselves to make the Association better known to HP customers, improving communication between the membership and HP, and increasing interaction amongst our members. (Details on the Association's development road map is available at http://www.canacu.org/aboutus-home.htm) Since the Association's development activities are focusing on marketing, communications and interaction, our strategy for this year will center on the development of our Web site because it is currently the Association's most visible asset and effective vehicle for creating value exchange. MARKETING: We will continue to develop our Web site as a virtual storefront for the Association. We see our Web site as a powerful marketing tool for the Association because it creates a tangible presence for HP users, serves as an online ambassador for HP technology, and provides a centralized resource for information and membership interaction. COMMUNICATIONS: The Web site will become the Association's communication center to facilitate information exchange between HP users and HP. Not only is the Web site supplementing new content that's being communicated through our e-newsletter, but it will also provide communications support for all Association activities, programs and event, as well as becoming the archive for all content generated through the Association. INTERACTION: To accommodate a national membership from across the country, the Web site is our most effective medium for providing a gateway to all levels of interaction for all HP users. Using online collaboration tools like the Association's dedicated message board, members will be able to share information amongst themselves and with HP. The Web site also plays an important role in providing preliminary and follow-up interaction for face-to-face events for members, HP users, and HP. Our plans for 2003 will also involve revenue generation to fuel our progress in the Association development road map and more events for our members and HP users. Preparations are already under way for our next series of technical seminars. We have new members signing up every week through our Web site's online registration. Our efforts in creating value through our Web site have already attracted sponsorships such as Match Computer Corporation who will become a more familiar name within the Association in the days to come. All in all, we are looking forward to an exciting year ahead. We will continue to build on our successes from last year by developing a truly national organization for HP users and working with HP and other HP user groups. With a proposed new user group structure from last November's summit meeting, we can expect a more beneficial relationship with HP through a new level of value exchange between HP and users in Canada. I look forward to your support and participation and hope to meet you all online or in person some time during the year. Happy New Year! Dave Wilson President, The Canadian Association of Compaq Users 2. MATCH COMPUTER WELCOMED AS NEW ASSOCIATION SPONSOR We are pleased to announce a new sponsor for the Association, Match Computer Corporation. The Plymouth, Massachusetts company is a reseller of refurbished equipment for legacy DEC equipment. A full introduction to Match Computer will be provided in the days to come. In the mean time, please visit their Web site at: http://www.MatchComputer.com 3. INSTAPOLL QUEUE FOR THE COMING MONTHS ASC has released the Instapoll Queue for the first part of 2003. Although some of the questions are applicable to all groups, you can preview what's in store by checking our Advocacy Program section at http://www.canacu.org/programs-advocacy.htm 4. REMASTERED OPENVMS HOBBYIST KITS Received from David L. Cathey and forwarded by Jean-François Mezei: The OpenVMS VAX Hobbyist Kits have been remastered, and are scheduled to begin shipping Jan 20th once we get them back from manufacturing. The new OpenVMS VAX Hobbyist Kits have been remastered with the latest O/S and current versions of selected Layered Products. We're now accepting orders for the new kit from the OpenVMS Hobbyist Web Site at http://www.montagar.com/hobbyist The disk contents are: OpenVMS V7.3 DECWindows 1.2.6 (Motif) DECnet Phase IV DECnet OSI Phase V TCPIP V5.1 Kerberos VAX V1.0 BASIC V3.9 Compaq C V6.4 Compaq FORTRAN V6.6 Pascal V5.8 DCPS V2.0 DECSet V12.4 Datatrieve V7.2 For more information go to: Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Newsgroups: comp.os.vms,comp.org.decus,comp.sys.dec 5. SELF MAINTAINERS SIG There has been interest in a new SIG for Compaq Self Maintainers. As you may know, a self maintainer is a firm that does not have a direct service level agreement with Compaq and is therefore responsible for supporting their own hardware and software. The purpose for this new SIG would be for members to exchange information regarding issues pertaining to those self maintainers that specifically deal with internal customers. This is an exciting opportunity to exchange ideas, concerns and questions for those members that do not have specific relationships with Compaq. In addition, the Association can serve as a conduit to Compaq, providing a way for self maintainers to more effectively service their users. If you are a Compaq Self Maintainer, and are interested in participating in this SIG, please let us know at 'inquire@canacu.org'. 6. ON-LINE ADVOCACY Have issues for Compaq? Share your thoughts! Reach Compaq through the "Local Voices...Global Reach" Online Advocacy Program. Your opinions count, so visit today to submit issues or participate in the latest Insta-poll question. If you have issues specific to Compaq Canada that you think are not appropriate for the Online Advocacy Program, feel free to forward them to advocacy@canacu.org, and the Association board will present it to the Canadian Management Committee through our Compaq Delegate, Matthew MacFarlane. 7. OpenVMS HOBBYIST LICENSE You can order the OpenVMS Hobbyist License through your membership in the Association. Here are the instructions: - The complete transaction takes place on the OpenVMS site - Go to - Go to the link "License Register". This will take you to a license registration page where you will be required to complete a form - Enter your Association membership number on the ordering form - If you do not know your membership number, or you are not a member of the Association, send an e-mail message to inquire@canacu.org. The license is free of charge. There is a charge of $30.00 USF if you want to receive the software on CD media. 8. GETTING IN TOUCH WITH OTHER USERS GROUPS IN CANADA Canadian Tandem Users Group (CTUG) Web site: http://www.ctug.ca/ Contact E-mail: ctug@ctug.ca Upcoming Event: Annual Spring Conference, March 27-28, 2003, Toronto, Ontario Edmonton and Area Local Users Group (EARLUG) Web Site: http://www.earlug.org Contact Info: Dave Richardson 'DRichardson@interbaun.com' or (780) 420-9084 Upcoming Event: Regular meetings on the third Wednesday of the month at The Druid at 5 p.m. - 116 St. & Jasper Ave. Toronto User Group (TUG) Web site: Contact Info: Wanda Upcoming events: ==================================================================== WE LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU! We want you to tell us what you think of this newsletter. Your feedback and suggestions are most welcome. Please send your comments and articles to inquire@canacu.org. WE ARE LOOKING FOR A FEW, GOOD REPORTERS Here's your chance to report the news instead of just reading it! We are looking for users from each of HP's product lines to keep their ear to the ground and bring us their 'front line' reports. If you want to be a reporter on the Association's Newsletter staff, send an e-mail to the attention of Alan Clifford at inquire@canacu.org. GETTING YOUR OWN NEWSLETTER If you're reading a copy someone has forwarded to you, now is your chance to get your own copy. Simply e-mail us (inquire@canacu.org) your name, mailing address, telephone and e-mail address. We'll be happy to send you your very own copy. CHANGING YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION Have you had changes to your electronic or postal address in the last little while? Don't forget to let us know by sending a message to us at inquire@canacu.org. We'd like to make sure our records for you are as up-to-date as possible. ======================================================================== You have received this online newsletter because you are a member of the Canadian Association of Compaq Users (referred to as the 'Association'). The newsletter is e-mailed to you every two weeks to keep you up-to-date on the Association's activities and relevant news of interest. Please go to the UNSUBSCRIBE section below if you do not want to continue receiving this newsletter. Thank you. UNSUBSCRIBE TO THIS NEWSLETTER If you do not want to continue receiving this newsletter, simply reply to this message and enter one of the following on the subject line: "REMOVE" if either the recipient is no longer at this address or you do not want to receive any further email messages from the Association. "UNSUBSCRIBE" if you do not want to continue receiving the newsletter but still want to be notified of important Association events and activities. 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