Event
Schedule
2008 APCUG Convention Schedule
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THURSDAY – JANUARY 3 |
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8 am
– 11 pm |
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8 am
– 11 pm |
Photo
Gallery – |
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12 –
5 pm |
Registry
open – West Registration Desk |
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4 – 5
pm |
First Time Attendee Session – Grande A |
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5:30
– 6 pm |
Welcome Event – Grande A |
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7:30
– 10 pm |
Kickoff Social – Top of the Riv – South |
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FRIDAY – JANUARY 4 |
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7 am
– 5:30 pm |
Registry
open – West Registration Desk |
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8 am
– 11 pm |
Microsoft Lounge / Hospitality Suite – |
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8 am
– 11 pm |
Photo
Gallery – |
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7:30
– 9:30 am |
Pinnacle Breakfast – Grande A |
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User Group Dev |
Tech Sessions |
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9:45
– 11 am |
How to Increase Membership, Interest and Speakers in
your User Group – Sam Wexler |
Fight
Spam – Put yourself in the drivers seat with FireTrust’s MailWasher Pro –
Birl Smith – Firetrust |
Finding
and Retaining Volunteers – Gabe Goldberg |
Tech Soup – Jay Ferron |
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11:15
am – 12:30 pm |
Program Chairs When Things Go Wrong – Cheryl Wester
and Doris Collins |
Creating a Podcast, Composing, and Remixing Music
with Acoustica Mixcraft 4 – Dan GoldStein, Acoustica |
How to Create a (PowerPoint) Presentation in 60
Minutes – Hank Feinberg |
ZoomText Lite: High Resolution Screen Magnification
for Everyone – Scott Moore, Ai Squared |
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12:45
– 2:45 pm |
APCUG
Meet Your Advisor Luncheon Keynote
Speaker, Dwight Silverman: “Running Windows on Your Mac”– Grande A |
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3 – 4
pm |
Vendors Q&A Forum - Grande A |
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6:30
– 9:30 pm |
Vendor Fair– Grande E & F |
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SATURDAY – JANUARY 5 |
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9 am
– 12 pm |
Registry
open – West Registration Desk |
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8 am
– 11 pm |
Microsoft
Vista Lounge/ Hospitality Suite - |
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8 am
– 11 pm |
Photo
Gallery – |
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7:30
– 9:30 am |
Corel
Breakfast – Grande A |
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9:45
– 11 am |
Working with Other UGs on a Common Project – Gabe
Goldberg |
PC ReNew –
Hank Feinberg |
Stump the PowerPoint Expert – Kathy Jacobs |
Virtual Technologies (VMware / Virtual PC) – Dennis
Courtney |
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|
11:15
am – 12:30 pm |
How
to Create a Win-Win-Win Partnership with Vendors – |
Verbatim: Where's
Your Stuff Storage Going?– Andy Marken |
Cyber Security – Ira Wilsker |
Marketing Your User Group Using Search Engines – Ash
Nallawalla |
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|
12:45
– 2:45 pm |
Raxco
Lunch – Grande A Presentation:
How to Increase System Performance by Getting a Better Understanding of
Windows NTFS File Systems |
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3 –
4:15 pm |
Ai Squared: ZoomText Lite: High Resolution Screen Magnification
for Everyone – Scott Moore |
Reallusion: Making Movies Like a Rock Star: Creating
Animation and Avatars for Movies, Blogs and Websites – John Martin II |
How to Set Up a Secure Home Wireless Network – Tom
Jones |
Trend Micro – David Perry |
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4:30
– 5:45 pm |
How to Create a Successful Product Review
Program – |
Project X –
Jay Ferron |
Moving from Online Contacts to Real-Life Friends –
Kathy Jacobs & Betsy Weber |
Identity Theft
– Ira Wilsker |
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6 – 8
pm |
Microsoft
Dinner – Grande A |
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8:30
– 10 pm |
Friends
of APCUG – Grande C & D |
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SUNDAY JANUARY 6 |
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Registry and Photo Gallery Closed |
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8 am
– 2 pm |
Microsoft Lounge
/ Hospitality Suite - |
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7:30
– 9:30am |
AMD Breakfast – Grande A |
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9:45
– 11:15am |
APCUG Annual Meeting – Grande C & D Jerry Awards Presentation |
Educational
Sessions
FRIDAY, January 4th
How to Increase
Membership, Interest and Speakers in your User Group
Presented by Sam Wexler,
This
roundtable will discuss proven techniques that have been successfully used by
APCUG member groups to increase membership, interest and speakers in their User
Groups. If your User Group has a need
for more members and interesting meetings then this roundtable is for you.
Fight Spam – Put
yourself in the drivers seat with FireTrust’s MailWasher Pro
Presented by Birl Smith, Firetrust
Birl Smith
will be demonstrating the consumer version of FireTrust’s MailWasher Pro, the
leader in spam blocker software.
MailWasher is a spam blocker which allows preview screening before
e-mail arrives in your personal inbox.
Multiple accounts can be screened simultaneously. MailWasher will import your e-mail account
list and your friends list to get off to a fast start. Create your own custom filters or select from
prepared filters. It’s quick, fast and effective. Be sure and check out
MailWasher’s Recycle Bin benefits.
Every APCUG
Convention attendee will receive a free copy of MailWasher Pro, version 6.1.
This is the only software package that I am aware of where you purchase it
once, and you get FREE updates for the life of the software.
Finding and
Retaining Volunteers
Presented by Gabe Goldberg
Most user
groups around the world struggle to recruit, train, motivate, and retain enough
qualified volunteers to fulfill their community service missions and goals.
Participants in this roundtable will share ideas, reports on what works and
what doesn't, and tips on preventing volunteer burnout.
This
roundtable will draw heavily on popular sessions conducted by Steve Peyrot at
past APCUG conventions. In the APCUG spirit of "user groups helping user
groups", join us to share your user group's experience with staffing
volunteer positions. Together we can avoid having the most
common name
on user group rosters being "Vacant".
Tech Soup
Presented by Jay Ferron
Description TBA
Program
Chairs: When Things Go Wrong
Presented by Doris Collins & Cheryl Wester
Right
before the meeting you get a phone call – the speaker is not able to attend –
now what? Attend the APCUG roundtable on
problems such as this and come away with several ideas on what to do. We will
have a few ideas and through discussion we'll come up with several more. Who
knows – we might come up with so many that you don't even need to worry about
finding a speaker!
This is a
must-go-to roundtable. Please encourage at least one officer from your group to
attend this valuable workshop. Be prepared with your "horror stories"
and what you were able to do to run a successful meeting. We look forward to
seeing many of you-remember you don't have to be a program chair to attend.
Creating
a Podcast, Composing, and Remixing Music with Acoustica Mixcraft 4
Presented by Dan
Goldstein, Acoustica
Ever wanted
to create and publish your own Podcast, record your own songs, or remix your
favorite music? In the past, these may have seemed like insurmountable
challenges, requiring thousands of dollars in software and equipment, a record
deal, and a million dollar recording contract. But Acoustica's Mixcraft 4
turns your computer into an incredibly powerful, easy to use recording studio,
and you will be amazed by its seemingly endless capabilities and low
cost. With its huge loop, music bed, and sound effects library, you'll
have everything you need to record and produce your own podcasts. With
its multitrack recording features, you can easily record you entire band and create
the next platinum album. With its high quality plug-in effects, you can
add finishing touches and realistic processing to your music. With its
powerful automatic remixing tools, you can create party jams that seamlessly
flow from one song to another. And with Mixcraft 4's new Virtual
Instrument support and unbelievable professional instrument collection, you can
turn your computer into an entire music production facility with the addition
of a simple, inexpensive USB music keyboard. You won't believe how easy
it is to get started -- try Mixcraft 4 for free and unleash your creativity!
How to Create a (PowerPoint)
Presentation in 60 Minutes (...and give one)
Presented by Hank Feinberg
If you ever
have had a speaker cancel or needed to put a presentation together that is
timely and interesting you need to attend this session. Learn how to quickly
research a topic, build the “Skeleton” of the presentation and put the “ Meat “
or content on the bones in around 60 minutes using Microsoft Word and
PowerPoint and the Internet.
What is a
good presentation? Hone your public speaking skills by learning a few tricks
and facts about presentations that keep people involved, attention spans and
yes even generate audience participation.
When you attend you will be given a list of resources and about 20 pages
of information on great presentations and public speaking ideas. If you attend
you might even win a prize. This presentation is guaranteed to knock you off
your seats.
ZoomText Lite
–High Resolution Screen Magnification for
Everyone
Presented by Scott Moore, Ai Squared
ZoomText Lite is a simple and affordable screen magnifier
designed for individuals with early vision loss – you know, those of us who
squint at the computer screen and lean in to read the fine print. ZoomText Lite solves this problem by
providing a gentle boost of magnification (up to 2 times) so that everything on
the screen is a little larger and easier to read. You can also adjust the size and color of the
mouse pointer and text cursor so they’re easier to find and follow, and adjust
screen colors for reduced glare and greatly improved clarity of text and
graphics. Come and see how ZoomText Lite
can help you.
SATURDAY, January 5th
Working with Other
UGs on a Common Project
Presented by Gabe Goldberg
There's
strength in numbers; that's one reason we've all joined user groups. Even so,
some opportunities require more resources than an individual group has
available. Rather than letting these mega-opportunities escape, consider
partnering or collaborating with nearby user groups for various reasons:
organize a large regional event, conduct a coordinated computer
refurbishing/recycling effort, deliver enhanced community support, lure a major
vendor to visitor an enlarged audience, whatever works for you and your
community's user groups. Think large or small, tailor efforts to local needs,
don't feel you must imitate something others have done. Cooperating can be a
one-time event or can lead to an ongoing relationship among kindred groups.
PC ReNew - a Win
Win Program Presented by Hank Feinberg
PC ReNew is
a computer refurbishing program that helps needy people better empower their
lives. Learn how to start a program in your club that gets your membership
involved and brings in new members and helps your community. It is designed to
raise public awareness of your club and increase the education of the proper
disposal of computers by giving them a second life. It is a strong reason to
promote who you are and what your group has to offer.
Hank will tell
you everything you need to know to
start, train, organize and run your own PC ReNew community program. He will
discuss working with the government, legal and insurance issues, building your
workshop, storage, work flow and operating procedures. He also will talk about
the special needs of the disabled, legal licensing and identity theft. He will
share all the build specifications, forms used to track requests and orders,
promotional ideas and discuss some of the ways to motivate club members to
become more involved.
If you are
a group that refurbishes or want to learn how easy this program is to implement
and increase your membership please attend. Your participation is
welcomed.
Stump the
PowerPoint Expert
Presented by Kathy Jacobs, Microsoft PowerPoint MVP
Your job,
should you accept it, is to stump the PowerPoint expert. Kathy Jacobs, resident
PowerPoint expert, will take your PowerPoint questions live during this
session. She will take any PowerPoint question thrown at her. If she can’t
answer your question, she will point you to a resource that can. You will come
out of this session with PowerPoint abilities beyond your wildest dreams. Kathy
will be taking questions on PowerPoint 2003 and 2007 – come prepared to make
her work!
Virtual
Technologies (VMware / Virtual PC) Presented by Dennis K. Courtney, CPCUG
Virtualization
is one of the most exciting technologies today.
In this session you will learn how to set up a new virtual PC, how to
virtualize an existing PC and how to make them exchange data with the host PC
across a virtual network. We will look
at both the virtualization software and some tools to make virtualization
easier. Products from both Microsoft and
VMware
will be demonstrated (and they’re all FREE!).
How to Create a
Win-Win-Win Partnership with Vendors Presented by
What is a
Win-Win-Win Partnership? That is where the vendor wins, the user group wins and
the members of your user group win. Developing this winning partnership
includes not only tips for having exciting programs but also tips for
increasing your user group ranking with the various search engines.
Verbatim:
Where's Your Stuff Storage Going?
Presented by Andy Marken
Does it
feel like you're living on your computer...on the internet...in the virtual world? It's true.
We've suddenly become a content world -- photos, video, music, PPTs,
documents, data, you name it. We can't
produce, we can't grab, we can't send enough.
The challenge is storing that content and having it where we want, when
we want, how we want. Andy will outline
some of new solutions, real solutions that are going to be available this year
as well as what you need to consider/watch out for in making your storage and
retrieval decisions. Solutions -- like
content -- are everywhere. Moving in the
right direction is becoming more important because now they are more than just
bit buckets...they are your storage things!!!
Cyber
Security
Presented by Ira Wilsker
We and our
computers are under constant attack from a variety of sources. We all have heard of viruses and spyware, but
have we heard about the latest threat called a "rootkit"? Rootkits are explicitly designed to avoid
detection by most antivirus and antispyware software, and present a growing
threat to our cyber safety. We will
discuss wireless security and other cyber security issues.
Marketing
Your User Group Using Search Engines
Presented by Ash Nallawalla
In the 21st
century, computer users get their answers from search engines such as Google,
Yahoo! and Live Search. Many of these users do not join traditional user groups
because most answers are already available online or can be obtained within
minutes, if not hours.
User groups
need to harness the power of search engines to reach potential members and to
market themselves online. This session
will feature:
·
Websites
and Blogs – how to use them effectively without any technical background.
·
Search
Engine Optimization – why a small change can make your site invisible or at the
top of the search results.
·
How
to recruit users who think they can get all their information on the web.
This
session is ideal for user group webmasters and other officers who are concerned
with a declining membership.
Ash trains
and consults to large corporations and SMEs in search marketing and will share
some of his professional-grade training materials in this session.
Raxco: How to
Increase System Performance by Getting a Better Understanding of Windows NTFS
File Systems
Presented by Greg Hayes
Raxco’s
Slogan for all of their software products is “Everything you do on your
computer - Faster™” Greg Hayes will be addressing the Windows File Systems and
Performance, which will provide a glimpse into some of the internals of the
NTFS file system.
Raxco has
built all of their top tier products based on having an in-depth
and comprehensive knowledge of Windows Systems Internals. Greg’s presentation
will enlighten you on how to get the best performance possible from your
Windows computer.
For over 25
years, Raxco Software has been a leading provider of system administration
software and resource management solutions for medium- to large-sized
organizations, as well as, home users around the world.
Reallusion: Making
Movies Like a Rock Star: Creating Animation and Avatars for Movies, Blogs and
Websites
Presented by John Martin II
Explore the
inner depths and outer limits of turning your PC into a virtual movie studio so
you can add a whole new dimension to your content...one that will make people
laugh, cry, cheer for more.
Reallusion's John Martin will show you how to convert a single digital
photo or image into a talking character with CrazyTalk and bring it to life
with interactive live puppeteering. He
will help you explore real-time filmmaking with iClone and demystify the art of
animation with revolutionary character design tools. You won't believe how fun and easy it is to
have your own fully featured animation studio on your PC. Instantly you can connect to over 200,000 free
3D models to make your iClone movies more fun, more exciting, more entertaining
than you ever thought possible. John
will show you how you can do it all...and more with products like CrazyTalk ,
iClone, iClone 3DXchange, Google SketchUp & Google 3D Warehouse.
How to Set Up a
Secure Home Wireless Network
Presented by Tom Jones
What you don’t know about setting up
a home wireless network can hurt you.
This
session will cover:
·
The
alphabet soup of home wireless networks and the pros and cons of each
·
Terms
used in wireless networks
·
Different
types of security
·
Major
concerns about an unsecure home network
·
The
process of properly setting up security on a wireless home network
Trend Micro
Presented by David Perry
Description
TBA
How to Create a
Successful Product Review Program
Presented by
Come learn
from this presentation not only what worked but also what didn’t work in
creating a successful product review program. In addition to the presentation,
access to documents will provided for
·
Product
Review Guidelines
·
Product
Reviewer’s Application
·
Sample
Product Review
Project X
Presented by Jay Ferron
Description
TBA
Moving
from Online Contacts to Real-Life Friends
Presented by Kathy Jacobs & Betsy Weber
Come take
a tour of social media and learn how
these tools can lead to real life friendships. In addition, you will learn how
social media can help you stay connected with people you don’t see often. As the social media applications are
discussed, we will also cover how you can use these sites to help you PR your
user group to a whole new audience.
The sites
we currently plan to cover include:
·
Twitter
·
Blogs
·
FaceBook
·
Podcasts
·
Second
Life
·
Upcoming.org
or Meet-up.com
·
Ning
·
Spock
Identity Theft
Presented by Ira Wilsker
Identity
theft is one of the leading crimes against individuals. Research indicates that
about 10 million adults are victimized by identity theft annually, with a cost
to the victims and businesses in excess of $40 billion. Some of the identity theft is committed in
cyberspace by a variety of means including phishing, keylogging, and other nefarious
means. In this session we will discuss
how identity theft occurs, and what we can do to prevent ourselves from being
victimized.
Speaker
Biographies
DORIS COLLINS
Doris Collins is the newly-elected President of the Board of
Directors of the Computer Club of Oklahoma City ("CCOKC"); prior to
holding that office, she was the Vice President/Program Director for two years
and has been a member of CCOKC for five years. She has worked with
computers since 1989; she was a technical representative for America Online for
five years, and has most recently worked for Dell. She is married and has two
grown sons and two grandchildren. Although born in
The attendance at the monthly General Meetings of CCOKC
greatly increased during
She will be bringing lists of speakers and door prizes used
during her two years on the job. Hopefully, she will inspire other Program
Directors, or those who will be in that position in the future, to have great
programs.
DENNIS K. COURTNEY
Dennis Courtney has 20+ years experience in data
processing. He currently works for the Inter-American Development Bank
and is in charge of a
HANK
FEINBERG
President of Total Promotions, Inc a 26 year old motivational
and promotional marketing company he has also been a member of the Rockland PC
Users Group for over 20 years. In March 2001 he put his marketing and business
experience working with many of Americas Fortune 500 companies toward starting
Project PC ReNew which is run by RPCUG and its “Big Hearts” members. This award-winning
project is several thousand computers old and has empowered many people in the
JAY
FERRON
CIO for Interactive Security Training, LLC, working on
various projects that include training, Windows and Unix security designs, network
infrastructures, enterprise designs and installations. Customers include
Microsoft, CompUSA, banks, government agencies, health agencies and providers.
As a speaker, Jay has presented at APCUG, Comdex, Tech Forum Managers meetings,
Future Forum 2000, ISPCON, Corporate Advisory Board, CTEXPO, Web Developer
conference, and many computer user groups. Jay travels around the world
teaching and training users of computer technologies,
Jay is currently the President of
APCUG, but he has also served as an APCUG Regional Advisor and APCUG Vice President.
He has served on the Board of Advisors of The PC Users Group of
GABE GOLDBERG
Gabe Goldberg is a technology
writer, editor, and consultant. After several years of writing for AARP's
Computers and Technology Web site, he now co-hosts the Compu-KISS Web site (www.compukiss.com), demystifying today's
diverse technologies so that seniors can learn, enjoy, and benefit from
it.
Gabe supports many national and
local user groups. He has served as Director of Meeting Programs and Outreach
Director for the Washington, DC-area Capital PC User Group, one of the oldest
and largest PC user groups in the
Gabe evangelizes for user groups and
the Internet -- believing that user groups are an antidote to feeling alone
with technical activities, challenges, problems, and triumphs, and that the
Internet is the largest virtual user group and an enjoyable way to increase
personal/organizational productivity.
DAN
GOLDSTEIN
Dan is the Senior Vice President of Development for Acoustica
Inc. and is the lead designer and developer of Acoustica's Mixcraft,
Beatcraft, and Spin It Again products. He has built a career as an
audio technology expert, working for such audio technology giants as Sonic
Foundry and hello Network, and he is proud to have the largest collection of
vintage synthesizer keyboards in the state of
GREG HAYES
Greg Hayes has worked in the IT field since 1986, working
first as a programmer and then as a Systems Manager for one of the first
subscription based on-line services in the world. Greg remembers what it was like to dial up at
300 baud with thermal teletype systems and when 2400 baud modems were
"fast"!
Greg has worked for Raxco Software since 1996 - starting out
as a systems engineer supporting Raxco's OpenVMS software products, eventually
heading up Raxco's Windows Technical Support department. Today, he is the Technical Solutions Manager
- which means he gets to do all sorts of fun things.
Greg first became a Microsoft MVP in 2003 with an area of
expertise in Windows File Systems. Greg
is very active and known in the online community - helping to answer questions
and solve problems for users of all levels.
KATHY JACOBS
Kathy Jacobs, Microsoft MVP (PowerPoint and OneNote) is a
social media junky. Beyond running her own blog, Vitamin CH, she reads and
responds to a number of other blogs regularly. She can be found on Twitter
(call_kathy), LinkedIn, FaceBook, Spock.com, and a very wide range of other
social media sites. Wabbits are Wonderful, her somewhat regular mini-audio cast
through the Nabaztag system on websites of interest. She is the current president of the Phoenix
PC Users Group and presents regularly at Arizona User Group meetings. She
presented this summer at SWUG as well.
Tom Jones is an
APCUG Board member and a member of Northeast Ohio PC Club (NEOPC). He is currently the APCUG rep for NEOPC, and
over the past fifteen years has served NEOPC as President, Vice President,
Board Member, SIG Leader, and Newsletter Editor.
Tom is a
licensed Professional Engineer (Electrical) and has obtained certification from
BICSI (the Building Industry Consulting Services, International) as an RCDD
(Registered Communications Distribution Designer) and has received the Network
Transport Specialist (formerly LAN Specialist) certification from them as
well. Tom is a Microsoft Certified
Professional and has completed the Network+ and Security+ Certifications from
CompTIA (the Computer Technology Industry Association). He is a Cisco Certified Academy Instructor
(CCAI) and has achieved Cisco certifications for CCDA, CCNA, CCDP, CCNP, and
Wireless LAN Support Specialist.
Tom has a
Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering from
ANDY MARKEN
President of
Marken Communications, Andy has been involved in the strategic marketing and
promotion of hardware and software storage technology for more than 20 years.
His experience includes work with many of the early hard drive firms in Silicon
Valley as well as optical firms involved in CD, MO and
JOHN C MARTIN
II
Leading
Reallusion’s vision to revolutionize real-time filmmaking tools aimed toward
consumers, John C Martin II, Vice President of Product Marketing, continues
evolving Reallusion’s award-winning CrazyTalk and iClone Studio. Focused on educating consumers about
Reallusion’s accessible filmmaking technology, John’s role as spokesman for
Reallusion connects audiences with information and demonstration of
Reallusion’s real-time filmmaking software fueling the frenzy of user generated
content and empowering the new era of citizen director.
John
specializes in emerging media and social networks including Machinima and
virtual worlds such as Second Life.
Recognizing the vast potential to use virtual worlds and real-time game
and animation engines to unite technology with a new era in storytelling, John
speaks to audiences across the globe about the rise of the Web 2.0 new media
movement.
LINDA MOORE
For 4.5 years
Linda has
worked in IT for over 30+ years dating back to the days of main frame computers
and keypunch cards. Initially, she worked as a programmer-analyst, which
progressed to systems analyst, technical communicator, senior project manager
and consultant.
SCOTT MOORE
With nearly 15 years in the assistive technology industry,
Scott Moore is a knowledgeable professional and seasoned presenter. As
the marketing director for Ai Squared – a world leader in computer access
products for the visually impaired – Scott plays a key role in the design,
development and introduction of new products that allow individuals to use
computers with greater ease, comfort and success.
ASH NALLAWALLA
Ash Nallawalla, CEO of trainSEM.com, trains and consults to
small and large corporations in search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click
(PPC) advertising. He travels internationally to train clients and to speak at
marketing conferences. He is acknowledged as a search marketing expert in
Originally trained as an accountant, Ash has spent his career
as a commissioned officer in the Royal Australian Air Force and, later, the
RAAF Strategic Reserve; in senior marketing roles at companies such as Unisys,
Hayes Microcomputer Products, Selectica, Macromedia/Adobe, Melbourne IT and
Sensis, the Australian search engine.
DAVID PERRY
David Perry is the Global Director of Education for Trend
Micro. He is a leading authority on computer virus prevention with more than 25
years in the technical support and education field. He has appeared at numerous
industry trade shows, been featured on hundreds of television and radio
broadcasts and in print media interviews, and is well recognized in the
antivirus industry. He is one of the most quoted experts in the field of
computer viruses, malware and security education. He has been a top rated
industry speaker at events like RSA, EICAR, AVAR and has even spoken in the
White House. Perry was also on hand in
DWIGHT SILVERMAN
Dwight Silverman is a veteran journalist who has written
about personal computers since the mid-1980s. He is currently the computing
columnist and technology blogger at the Houston Chronicle, as well as the
co-host of "Technology Bytes", a weekly PC-help call-in radio show on
KPFT-FM. You can read his blog and columns at http://www.chron.com/.
Dwight writes extensively about all aspects of computing including PC and Mac
computers, Linux and all the latest computing gadgets.
Dwight is the Interactive Journalism Editor, technology
columnist and blogger, http://blogs.chron.com/,
for the Houston Chronicle. PC World selected Dwight's Techblog as one of the
top 100 technical blogs in the world. According to Jay Rosen, a journalism
professor at
Dwight and Larry Magid
co-wrote the book Microsoft Windows Vista, which was published in May 2007.
Currently, Dwight is working on a new book, Running Windows on your Mac, which
is scheduled to be published in February 2008.
BIRL SMITH
Birl Smith has worked as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
for 19 years. In his CPA work, he has specialized in working with banks,
governmental entities and non-profit organizations. Birl’s professional work
has always involved computers and he purchased his first personal computer in
1981. Since then he has bought many desktops and laptops. Birl has worked with
DOS, Windows and Linux operating systems and with Windows SharePoint Services.
He has also built computers, both desktops and servers.
Birl joined the North Texas PC Users Group (NTPCUG) in 1990, where he served on
the board for 7 years as secretary, president and president-elect. He has also
served as the SIG leader for NTPCUG’s Wireless SIG, PDA – Handheld Technology
SIG and the Communications SIG.
BETSY WEBER
Betsy Weber joined TechSmith in 2000 and is the company's
Chief Evangelist. With nearly a decade of experience in corporate training and
product management, Betsy has worked on both the development and customer
service side of delivering business applications. Betsy leads the company's
highly-acclaimed evangelism program where she collaborates with customers,
industry experts and technologists from all over the world. Betsy is also the
voice behind The Visual Lounge blog where she shares stories about how
customers are using TechSmith's suite of software products in practical,
unique, and innovative ways.
CHERYL WESTER
Cheryl Wester
is a high school teacher in
SAM WEXLER
Sam Wexler
became involved with computers a half century ago this year when he programmed
the IBM 650 at Watson Lab. He retired
from IBM in 1993 after 30 years; half as a lab "techie" and the other
half in headquarters. Before there were
user groups like the APCUG, there was GUIDE which is an association of IBM
mainframe users and during some of his time at IBM Sam was a GUIDE rep. He is a charter member of the IEEE and was
also a member of the two groups who merged to form the IEEE.
He has been an
entrepreneur since 1981 creating, running and selling businesses at several
locations on the US East Coast. In 1993
he co-founded the largest entrepreneur group in the Northeast (FINE) currently
with 1,000+ members and he hosts/runs their website. Sam believes the best way to increase
membership, interest and speakers in your User Group is to run it like an
entrepreneur and he has an excellent track record to prove it works. He gives presentations on this subject to entrepreneur
and computer user groups.
Sam has been
associated with Computer User Groups for more than 25 years. He has been President of the Valencia Falls
Computer Club in
He divides his
time between
IRA WILSKER
Ira Wilsker is an Instructor IV and Program
Director of the Management Development program at the Lamar Institute of
Technology in