SCOUG OS/2 For You - October 1999

October is already here and I'm still recovering from Warp Expo West. Hopefully you were there. We had 25 different presentations, fifteen exhibitors, and several special exhibits such as Vendor100 and a chance to play Stellar Frontier against your friends or on the Internet. All of this action was extended to the web via a live web cam provided by Demand Systems. We also transmitted video from many of the taped presentations as well as uploaded digital photos to the web site.

Warp Expo West is SCOUG's most significant project to date, and its success is the result of several important factors.

The SCOUG Board
First, the SCOUG Board of Directors gave us the budget and freedom to plan and execute the event. We were able to choose a first class facility such as Chapman University which included quality rooms as well as a built-in network infrastructure that made things like the video broadcast possible. At the same time we had the freedom to develop ambitious projects such as Vendor100.

Volunteers
Volunteers were a key component of the Expo. Some of them lived in Canada and helped us by doing research and data collection well in advance of the event. Some volunteered their computers so that we would have the resources to put a computer in each presentation room. Others hauled truck loads of equipment to and from Chapman. Some were there at seven in the morning to move equipment, post signs, setup computers - what ever we asked them to do! I'm always pleasantly surprised by the OS/2 community's willingness to give of their time to make these events possible.

Presenters
As mentioned earlier, we had a full schedule of presentations. The presenters - some volunteered, some were strong-armed - all prepared sessions that exceeded my expectations.

The Expo Committee
And of course the Warp Expo West committee did a significant amount of the planning and work. Without them, the Expo would not have developed into the spectacular event that it was.

Warp Expo West Lives On

If you didn't make it to the Expo, much of Warp Expo West can still be enjoyed. You don't get the ambiance or the electricity in the air, but there's still a lot to take advantage of.

At the next SCOUG meeting we'll have the special nylon CD case and the event CD for sale. So, if you didn't buy them at the Expo, you'll have another chance. The CD contains all of the presentations, the entire Vendor100 exhibit, and Vendor100 and exhibitor product demos.

The website also contains valuable information from the Expo:

• The presentations, handouts, and examples are all available.
• The Vendor100 collection is live on the web
• We have over 100 digital photos of the event - including descriptions

For our web site resources, visit

and follow the links.

For other perspectives on Warp Expo West, see my editorial on os2.org at

and Peter Skye's wrap-up at

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.