SCOUG OS/2 For You - September 1999

This month marks a milestone in SCOUG's ongoing efforts to promote OS/2. For the past two years, we have hosted an Open House for SCOUG members and guests that has included presentations (both technical and non-technical), vendors, games, prizes, food, etc, etc. These events have proven to be quite popular and a nice diversion from the normal structure of our monthly club meetings.

However, as we are always interested in evolving, this year on Saturday, September 18th (our normal meeting date), we are stepping up a notch with Warp Expo West. While the format of WEW is similar to our two previous events, the scope is much larger. This one-day event will be held at Chapman University, using their excellent meeting facilities and campus network connections to the internet. In addition to presentations from SCOUG members, we'll be hearing from IBM, other OS/2 clubs, and a number of OS/2 vendors. There will also be a quality raffle, some fun events and lots of opportunity for socializing with old and new OS/2 friends. Much more about it can be found elsewhere in this newsletter and on our website.

In keeping with the SCOUG tradition of making our events available to everyone, there is no cost for attending or participating in Warp Expo West (except possibly for travel expenses). It is consistent with our charter that we provide these types of events to the public and it is our belief that the most effective means of doing so is by making them free.

We have received a lot of publicity regarding Warp Expo West. While most of it has been positive there have also been some negative comments. These are mostly centered around an erroneous perception that we are trying to "compete" with Warpstock '99. While it is true that those of us who worked on SCOUG's bid for Warpstock this year were disappointed about not being selected, SCOUG has always supported the Warpstock committee and will continue to do so. In fact, SCOUG will be present in Atlanta, both as an exhibitor and also as individuals doing presentations. Our decision to expand the SCOUG Open House concept had been talked about prior to the Warpstock bidding process as a logical move and it was never intended to interfere with Warpstock activities. If that has happened it is only because our committee has been more proactive at obtaining commitments and publicizing our event.

We hope that members of the OS/2 community will evaluate Warp Expo West on its own merits, independent of Warpstock '99 or any other such event. The SCOUG WEW committed, headed by Rollin White, including Steve Schiffman, Carla Hanzlik, and Peter Skye has done a tremendous job of putting together a quality show, publicizing it and getting response from groups and organizations that have been reticent to participate in such endeavors in recent years. They deserve our thanks and support.

Be there!

SCOUG, Warp Expo West, and Warpfest are trademarks of the Southern California OS/2 User Group.
OS/2, Workplace Shell, and IBM are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation.
All other trademarks remain the property of their respective owners.