Toledo PC Users’ Group
A Forum for Personal-Computer Users — November, 2007
November: no program
Monday, November 5, 2007 at 7:30 PM, UAW-Local-14 Hall, Jackman & Northover (between Laskey & Alexis Rd), Toledo, Ohio.
In
This Issue ...
TPCUG Data
From the Prez
Minutes
Treasurer’s Report
Membership Expirations
TOLTBBS Information
TPCUG’s
Website:
http://www.toledopcug.net
Coming Meeting: Monday,
December 3, January 7, February 4, March 3, April 7, May 5, June 2, July 7, August 4, September 8, October 6, November 3, December 1.
The Toledo PC Users’ Group
P.O. Box 13085
Toledo, OH 43613
Officers
President: Floyd Miller
Vice-President: Rick Snyder
Treasurer: Steve Tryc
Secretary: Sándor Halász
Standing Committees
Computer Shows: Steve
Tryc
Librarian: Open
Membership: Roy Ballogg
Programs:
Lester Miller
Public Relations: Lavern & Eugene
Curtis
Complaint Dept.: Helen Waite
SIG Leaders
Internet SIG: Jim Bell ............ 419-877-1109
Statement of Intent: The Toledo PC Users’ Group is a not-for-profit corporation, formed to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and information regarding the use and enjoyment of personal computers.
Affiliations: TPCUG is a member of APCUG (Association of Personal Computer User Groups), which provided the APCUG logo.
Meetings:
Meetings are generally held the first Monday of each month, at
UAW-Local-14-Hall, 5411 Jackman Rd., Toledo, OH. In the event of
emergency, members may be reached during meetings at a pay phone in
the hall, 419-473-9571.
Visitors are always welcome at monthly
meetings!
Executive-Board meetings are generally held
after the regular monthly meetings.
Membership: Dues are $25. per year. To obtain an application, call any officer or member.
Moving? Notify the Membership Chair to redirect your newsletters.
Copyright 2007: The Toledo PC Users’ Group, the publisher of this newsletter, is a not-for-profit organization. Although it asserts a copyright for the newsletter, permission is granted to reprint this publication in whole or in part for any noncommercial use, with credits acknowledged.
Newsletter Deadline is the 15th of each month. All members are encouraged to contribute articles and reviews for this newsletter. Submissions may be made by email to the editor.
Advertizing: Business cards (2”×3½”) will be run in three issues for $5. Commercial ads: $10 for ¼ page; $20 for ½ page; $30 for ¾ page; $40 for full page. Larger ads are run in two issues from a graphics format, JPEG or GIF or … Members may place free ads for the sale of computer-related personal items on a space-available basis. Contact editor for details.
Production Notes: This newsletter was compiled with Microsoft Word 6 for Windows, Open Office 1.1.5, Brief, and Notepad.
TPCUG Mailing List: If you have e-mail, keep in touch with club doings by subscribing to the TPCUG mailing list.
The President's Message
Since your Prez just bid off an HP Computer on E-bay with the understanding that there was a programming issue which was corrected by the installation of XP Pro operating system, I found the information below of some interest, since it reïnforced rumors we had been hearing from one source or another. Trust it spins your wheels also.
Businesses Unexcited Over Vista
Similar to previous survey findings in April, there is still no great rush in the corporate world to adopt Vista. Most importantly, 62% of respondents said their company has no plans to upgrade to Vista—one point less than previously. Moreover, just 15% reported their company has an upgrade plan in place—down two points from previously. As for PC installs, 28% said their company has some computers with Vista already installed—a three-point uptick from April. When we asked Alliance members about future purchasing plans for the next 90 days, Vista still lagged. The survey findings still showed a better than 2-to-1 preference for computers installed with Windows XP rather than Vista—almost unchanged since April. Additionally, among companies that have not yet purchased Vista installed computers, only 9% of respondents reported that they expect to see their company buy its first Vista installed computer before the end of 2007.
Consumers Yawning at Vista
As in the corporate world, Vista has also been slow to catch fire among consumers. In an August ChangeWave consumer survey, 61% of respondents reported that Vista came already installed on the computer they purchased during the past 90 days, versus 32% for Windows XP. But when we asked future PC buyers what they'd like to have already installed on the computer(s) they planned on buying, Windows XP (43%) still edged out Vista (42%).
It's pretty clear from these results that few consumers are dying to have Vista on their computers. But why? According to our survey, the biggest reason for the slow Vista adoption curve was the negative response from current Vista users. Among the 13% who currently use Vista at home, one in three said they were unsatisfied with the product—up eight points since June.
The outlook for Vista isn't likely to improve much for the remainder of 2007. Only 4% of consumers said they plan to upgrade an existing home computer to Vista during the next 90 days—a one-point drop from our previous survey in June, and a four-point decline since March.
Bottom Line:
The current corporate software spending environment remains sluggish—perhaps due, in part, to the vacation doldrums of the summer season. But we're also witnessing a Vista adoption rate among companies and consumers that can at best be characterized as plodding.
Stay tuned. In the next couple of weeks we will present fresh survey results on third-quarter corporate sales and an updated look at whether there are signs of momentum in the software industry.
Joshua Levine is the editor of ChangeWave MicroCap Investor.
We are all aware that the the operating system is the basis of all the programs and work we do on our computers. Even though we may be very comfortable with the system we have been using (perhaps for years) the time comes when technology begins to pass us by and we have to decide to upgrade. I suspect one's choice might be determined by the difficulty of the learning curve involved.
Need I say it is good to have a forum in which we can get
information to help in that decision. Our PC-User's-Group provides such a forum.
See you on Monday evening, same time and place. We'll even set up a few more chairs for guests.
OUR MANTRA: "Visitors are welcome, Members are expected."
Respectfully submitted—Your Prez. Floyd L. Miller
Minutes
Treasurer’s Report
Balance Ending 9/15/07
Balance Ending 10/15/07
Steve Tryc, treasurer
Expired & Expiring Memberships
November:
1506 Steve Tryc
December:
1690 Jim Fowler