Tuesday 24 January — Main Meeting 5:30pm – 8:00pm

Alex Zaharov-Reutt

It may be getting towards the end of January, but it’s still not too late to wish everyone a Very Happy New Year.

We will start our year with two top presentations from two great companies.

TREND MICRO

The first is at 6.30pm, where our special guest presenter will be Shaniel Datt, Product & Training Manager at Internet security company Trend Micro.

Shaniel presented Trend Micro’s Internet Security suite last July, noting that it was the first to include anti-ransomware protection – an excellent write-up by Steve South of the July 2016 meeting is here:

http://www.sydneypc.com/old_reports/oldmainmeetings/july16_main_archive.html

So, what will Shaniel present in January of 2017?

He will showcase and demonstrate Trend Micro’s new Home Network Security product.

Home Network Security protects devices which access the network from cyber attacks and malicious websites. It also protects you from privacy intrusion and data loss and includes features that allow you to monitor and restrict web usage for kids.

Given the cyber threats coming from various Internet sources today, to ourselves, our devices, our children and our grand children, Shaniel’s presentation is a must-attend event!

There will also be some prizes from Trend Micro for the raffle – even more reason to learn about Trend’s latest and greatest.

BOOST MOBILE

Our second presentation starts at 7.15pm, where our next special guest presenter will be Ian Blackhall, Head of Marketing at top Australian pre-paid mobile phone company, Boost Mobile.

Boost Mobile last presented at our group in January of 2015, two years ago, and with the mobile industry moving so incredibly rapidly, and with the unbelievably great value offers by pre-paid mobile providers today, it’s the perfect time to be re-introduced to Boost.

And, that is exactly what Ian Blackhall will do, introducing us to the Boost Mobile of 2017 and its array not only of very competitive mobile plans and super fast 4G connectivity, but also its great value pre-paid smartphones.

Boost is special in the world of pre-paid mobile network companies because it is the only Telstra-based pre-paid provider to offer access to the entire Telstra phone network, not just part of it as is the case with others.

As an added bonus, Ian will be bringing along a couple of Android smartphones for the raffle, as well as a couple of Boost Mobile backpacks which are perfect for summer and, if memory serves, have some excellent summer-themed goodies within!

So, it will be a jam-packed main meeting with great information and fantastic raffle prizes.

If you have friends or family you can bring along, please do, as they’ll greatly enjoy the information on offer, and it could well save their digital lives and teach them how to save money while getting a better and faster phone and mobile Internet service!

I have also written a President’s Message to all group members, and this will be emailed to you over the weekend.

So – please come along on Tuesday night, it will be a fantastic meeting which you will regret missing, so see you then!

Best regards

Alex

Tuesday 25 October — Main Meeting 5:30pm – 8:00pm

Alex Zaharov-Reutt

It’s October, and we have two FANTASTIC presenters for you on Tuesday night, plus the chance to win some awesome prizes!

Lorin McDowell, Head of Marketing, Australia and New Zealand, at ASUS is one of two special guests at the Sydney PC User Group this month.

With more than 13 years’ experience across product, marketing, and business development roles in the tech industry, Lorin is well placed to give insight into ASUS’ organisation and its goals in Australia.

Joining him will be the Tech Specialist from the Marketing Team, Alex Ciobanu, who will deep dive into the products ASUS has just brought to the Australian market.

Lorin’s presentation will provide an overview of ASUS’ latest product ranges as well as its vision for the local market.

With the recent Australian launch of the Zen 3 range, this presentation is one you won’t want to miss!

Better still, ASUS has very generously donated a Windows 10-powered TP200 2 in 1 tablet, which one lucky raffle winner will walk away with. Find out more about the TP200 here:

https://www.asus.com/au/2-in-1-PCs/ASUS_Transformer_Book_Flip_TP200SA/

Our other special guest, who will be presenting first at 6.30pm is Matt Segafredo, Senior Director of Sales, ANZ Mobile for Jabra.

Our other special guest, who will be presenting first at 6.30pm is Matt Segafredo, Senior Director of Sales, ANZ Mobile for Jabra.

With extensive experience in business management and distribution across Enterprise, Telecommunications and Consumer Electronics, Matt is responsible for the revenue, market share and profitability of the Consumer business across Australia and New Zealand.

Matt’s responsibilities encompass all aspects of sales management, including strategy, distribution, logistics, mass retail and channel sales, contract negotiations, customer service & product lifecycle.

Jabra is also very generously donating three Jabra Eclipse headsets for the raffle.

They are an amazing Bluetooth headset with a carry case that’s also a portable charger.

Matt will talk about the mobile side of Jabra, on both the business and consumer Bluetooth devices, from the Halo family to the Sport audio side of the Jabra’s Bluetooth range.

So, we have two great companies presenting and some fantastic prizes including the smooth Asus TP200 2-in-1 Windows 10 tablet computer and three great Jabra Bluetooth headsets.

This is one Sydney PC User Group main meeting you do NOT want to miss!

See you there

Cheers

Alex.

Tuesday 27 September — Main Meeting 5:30pm – 8:00pm

Alex Zaharov-Reutt

September Main Meeting!

This Tuesday, we should have Jabra giving us a presentation.

Jabra is a fantastic company making Bluetooth headsets of various types, not only for personal use with our smartphones, tablets and computers, but also in business situations.

I’m still waiting to hear back on Monday whether Jabra is able to present, or not.

If Jabra isn’t able to present, then I will be showcasing iOS 10 and macOS Sierra – the two latest operating systems from Apple, the first for iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch models, and the second for Macs.

I’ll show some of this whether Jabra is presenting or not, because there’s some cool stuff to see, including Siri, the digital assistant which is now available on mac OS to counter Cortana on Windows 10.

If Jabra is able to present, they should have at least one Bluetooth headset to give away.

I should also be able to bring a few basic gadgets along.

Either way, we will see the very latest in technology, as well as a cool video showing a ‘HOLODECK’ in real life from an Australian company. It’s a 15 minute video so we might just put the link on the Sydney PC site so you can watch it at home in your own time.

So – come along to the September main meeting, where you will definitely see some great new stuff and, as always, get the chance to win some interesting prizes if you buy a raffle ticket.

In October we have Asus presenting – and likely a second presenter.

In November we will have Microsoft BACK – this time staff from the Microsoft Store in Pitt St. They will show off the latest features in the Windows 10 Anniversary Update edition, something which most people running Windows 10 should have had downloaded to their computers by now, but which your computer might still be waiting to download. We’ll also learn more about the Microsoft Store and its services, as well as more about the Surface Pro range of computers from Microsoft!

See you on Tuesday!

Best regards,

Alex.

Tuesday 23 August — Main Meeting 5:30pm – 8:00pm

Alex Zaharov-Reutt

It’s the august month of August, and we have two presentations for you to enjoy.

First is Huawei, who will be showcasing its latest range of smartphones and tablets, with Huawei now an incredibly impressive global player with over 170,000 employees across virtually all the world’s countries.

Huawei’s latest smartphone has two camera lenses designed for picture perfection, with plenty more features to tempt you into purchase.

Then after the 7pm break, we’ll have pre-paid mobile telco Vaya, owned by Amaysim but offering even better value than Amaysim does.

We’ll learn about Australia’s best value mobile plan and the other things Vaya is doing to remain as competitive as possible.

So, do come along on Tuesday night, there will be raffle prizes as usual and more!

See you there

Alex.

Tuesday 26 July — Main Meeting 5:30pm – 8:00pm

Alex Zaharov-Reutt

Hello!

It’s nearly August, but before we get there, we have our July Main Meeting to get to and through first.

This month, our special guest is Shaniel Datt, the Product and Training Manager at Trend Micro.

Shaniel will be presenting Trend Micro’s latest Internet security software, Maximum Security.

He’ll share the latest stats, facts, figures and trends on the growing dangers of cyber crime, ransomware and other net nasties, and how Trend Micro can protect PC, Mac, Android and iOS devices, keeping them safe and secure.

We’ll get a live demo of Trend’s easy to use and understand interface and dashboard and the various benefits the different versions of Trend for different platforms offer to us all.

In addition, Shaniel is generously bringing along 3 copies of Trend Micro Maximum Security for the raffle, and naturally, he ll be happy to answer your questions!

We ll also have our usual segments – general business, interesting sites, tech news, Q&A, the raffle and more.

I’ll have a couple of extra prizes for the raffle, too – so please come along to see Trend Micro’s presentation and to support the group!

A quick heads up on next month, too – we ll have Huawei and Australia’s best value telco, Vaya in August and plenty more great presentations lined up for the rest of 2016.

So, see you on Tuesday night!

Best regards

Alex 🙂

Tuesday 28 June — Main Meeting 5:30pm – 8:00pm

Alex Zaharov-Reutt

Hello!

We’re half way through 2016… 16 years after the new millennium! I still vividly remember being a child and wondering what life would be like in the year 2000, and here we are 16 years beyond it.

Life is much the same, except now we have a whole range of technological conveniences that are vastly more advanced versions of the things we had in the 80s, like 4K Ultra HD TVs that blow away the black and white models of the past, and pocket computer phones that make the Commodore 64 look like a not-very-good glorified typewriter.

This month, I’ve had a couple of presenters drop out due to unforeseen circumstances, and my efforts to find someone else at relatively short notice haven’t, as yet, been successful. There is a chance that Trend Micro will be our presenter on Tuesday, and if so, they’ll be telling us all about the state of cybersecurity and why their software is what we should be using, but if not, the group’s backup presenter will be wheeled out of the cupboard.

His name is Alex, you may have seen him present in the past, and he’ll be both conducting a mega Q&A session for anyone that has questions about anything, and he will show you the latest range of gizmos and gadgets he has in his possession.

Of course this mysterious Alex is me, and I’ve got a few colourful shape-shifting USB port extenders, a portable mobile phone battery charger or two, some notepads, some special ‘highlighters in the shape of a man with pop out ‘hair’ that lets you brush the dust out of your keyboard’ and two copies of Acronis True Image Cloud for PC or Mac worth $99 each.

But what will be presented, beyond answering questions and providing some prizes for the raffle, especially if Trend Micro doesn’t provide me with a ‘hail Mary’ pass and come along to present after all?

1. Well, I will show you some highlights from the recent ‘World Wide Developer Conference’ from Apple, which shows you some very cool visions of Apple’s version of the coming future, which will certainly affect how Microsoft, Google, Facebook and others do things.

These including ‘Siri’ on the desktop (much like Cortana on the Mac), the new way that the Apple Watch will work (which is quite amazing) and a few other very noteworthy capabilities and benefits in the coming iOS 10 and new macOS Sierra, which will presumably also be copied and implemented by Microsoft and Google, too.

2. I’ll then switch to a brief review of the VividWireless wireless modem we had presented to us last month, I’ve been using it and… is it really as good as claimed?

3. I’ll give you a quick tour of my YouTube video channel, where I now have hundreds of video interviews that I’ve conducted with people from around the world, and highlight some ‘Must Watch’ interviews I really think you should put on your list to check out.

4. I’ll share with you who I believe are the most affordable pre-paid telcos in Australia, with prices so low you might get a real surprise.

5. I’ll remind you how to watch Sky News free of charge as we endure the last week of the Federal Election campaign – no Foxtel subscription required – using your smartphone, tablet, PC or Mac.

6. I’ll show you the Wacom Bamboo notepad, that lets you write on paper and see your pictures, writings, scribblings and more on your iPhone or iPad.

7. I’ll remind you how to block the Windows 10 upgrade on your computer if you don’t want it, for whatever reason.

8. And I’ll show you one of the most popular smartphone games on the Internet at the moment, which you may not wish to download to avoid an insanely addictive experience.

Finally, our Q&A session at 6.30pm will be on as per usual, so please bring your questions and I’ll do my best to answer them!

So – there are some nifty and amazing things to see at June’s main meeting, just because we don’t have an ‘official’ presenter (yet!) doesn’t mean we can’t see great stuff and enjoy ourselves immensely, so do come along and help make the meeting!

See you on Tuesday evening,

Alex

Tuesday 24 May – MAIN Meeting – 5:30pm – 8:30pm

Alex Zaharov-Reutt

We have two great presentations for you this week!

Yes, it will mean squeezing our normal segments up to 6.30pm, when we’ll hear from GoCatch, to take a break at 7pm and at 7.15pm to hear from Vivid Wireless, but it’s all good!

Here’s the skinny on our first presenter, who is then followed by our second:

GOCATCH AND GOCAR:

Ned Moorfield is the Co-Founder and CEO of GoCatch, Australia’s leading on-demand, smartphone-based, transport booking and payments platform. GoCatch has built a strong national presence and recently launched Australia’s first locally-owned ridesharing service in Sydney, with plans to expand the service to major Australian cities.

With $8.5M in funding secured to date, including from investors such as Paul Basset’s Square Peg Capital, along with Tank Stream Ventures, GoCatch is one of the major emerging success stories in the Australian Startup Community. Ned will share how he built a network of over 35,000 taxi drivers and discuss some of the latest developments in and his hopes for the future of Australia’s ridesharing industry.

Attendees will also have the chance to win a $50 GoCatch credit and – an extra surprise.

VIVID WIRELESS:

Claude Brown, General Manager of Vividwireless will be presenting about the company’s early beginnings and current expansion, including the transition of its 4G internet technology from WiMax to LTE network.

He will also discuss the key value proposition of the brand and an overview of its product and services. Participants can have an insight into how Vividwireless customers can access the internet within minutes of receiving their modem.

Vividwireless will have some shirts, pens and 2 x portable power banks too.

So – see you on Tuesday night for a jam-packed main meeting!

Tuesday 26 April – MAIN Meeting – 5:30pm – 8:30pm

Alex Zaharov-Reutt

April Main Meeting

We’ve had a great year so far at the Sydney PC User Group, with some great presenters and presentations, and this month is no exception!

Graham Tucker, Technical Manager at Intel Australia & NZ, will be the Sydney PC User Group’s special guest presenter in April, and will be telling us about the benefits and features of upgrading to Intel’s latest 6th Generation Core processor technology.

Intel’s processors are used in the vast majority of the world’s desktops, laptops, 2in1s, hybrids, all-in-ones and Ultrabooks, with the 6th generation processors the most powerful and battery friendly yet.

Intel has its 6th Gen Core range, comprising the i3, i5 and i7, the new Core M mobility range, which comprises the m3, m5 and m7 as well as the value range of processors branded Pentium.

In stores, you’ll find computers at all price points using one of these Intel processors, whether it’s a Lenovo, HP, Dell, Toshiba, Acer, ASUS and even Apple Macs.

Graham will showcase the reasons why upgrading to a brand new 6th gen processor makes sense, from vastly improved performance through to maximum compatibility with many new features in Windows 10, alongside the longest battery life ever seen in PC tablets, notebooks, hybrids and laptops.

Intel is generously donating an Intel Compute Stick to donate to the raffle as a prize – you plug into any monitor or TV with an HDMI port and presto – you have turned that screen into a computer! More details at the main meeting.

So, be there at this month’s April Main Meeting to learn all about Intel’s latest and greatest processors ever made – see you there!

Cheers

Alex

Main meeting Tuesday 22 March 2016

Alex Zaharov-Reutt

Hi everyone!
Last month was Microsoft, and next month is Intel.

This month was meant to be many different companies, but by the end, only
one presenter was able to confirm their availability for the March main
meeting – and he’ll be taking us on an amazing journey. It won’t be called
‘Today Tonight’, but the far snazzier and more exciting ‘Tomorrow Tonight’.

At the meeting, we’ll learn about Hisense’s latest range of ULED 4K TVs,
being launched globally in Australia first – before the US and other parts
of the world get access.

Then we’ll take a look at Samsung’s newest smartphone, the S7 series, which
restores the waterproof capability from the S5 range, and restores the
ability to plug in a microSD expansion slot.

Want to see a flagship $1250 phone in a pitcher of water again? We’ll make
it happen.

We’ll take a peek at the world’s first autonomous pizza delivery vehicle,
designed in Australia.

Then we’ll see what Epson’s latest 3rd-generation Smart Glasses look like
and what they’ll do for workers later this year.

We’ll follow this up with a closer look at the news that Sunday, 3 April is free
Telstra data download day, if you’re a Telstra mobile customer – something
that should also apply to Boost members.

We’ll take a look at the world’s first modular smartphone, which will
launch into the Australian market in April.

Finally, we’ll take a look at movements in the MVNO pre-paid space and will
investigate what may well be the best value phone plan in Australia – with
unlimited calls and a range of data limits.

Chances are you will have guessed who our mystery presenter will be,
showing us all these wonderful things, as well as answering questions.

However, if you haven’t guessed yet, well, you’ll find out on Tuesday.

A series of prizes has been prepared, from an older Android phone no longer
needed through to various other tech stuff!

So, please make your way to Tuesday’s main meeting, and as always, I’ll see
you there!

Best regards

Alex.

Tuesday 23 February – AGM and MAIN Meeting – 5:30pm – 8:30pm

1. The Annual General Meeting will be held at 6:00pm; and

2. The Main Meeting will follow. Alex Zaharov-Reuttt sent us the following message yesterday:

It’s nearly the end of February and this time is usually the absolutely huge extreme cut-off point to wish others a ‘happy new year’, but as we haven’t spoken yet since 2015, it’s a very Happy New Year I want to wish you all!

This year we’re kicking off with a bang, with a long-sought guest, Microsoft, finally agreeing to attend, and for our 2016 kick-off meeting at that.

Our special guest presenter this month is Jaron Cohen, Microsoft’s Commercial Windows 10 expert.

Jaron will be presenting over two timeslots as there is so much Windows 10 goodness to share!

This will be from 6.30-7.00, right after the AGM, and then from 7.15-7.50pm.

This means some of the more usual segments will either be ultra-short or eliminated this month and relegated to online viewing only, but I hope that giving members more time with Jaron from Microsoft for Windows 10 makes up for it.

The presentation will primarily revolve around Windows 10 and its many benefits and features.

These include the Windows Start Menu and live tiles, the Windows Store, Universal Apps, the new Edge Browser, the new Windows Update and the much faster update regime, the new way Aero snap works, virtual desktops, a good look at the awesomely cool ways Cortana can totally transform your computing experience and plenty more, which also includes Windows 10 being a free download.

Jaron will also share some astounding Windows 10 stats, including the fact it now has well over 200 million users, and he’ll give us the latest on the successful Microsoft Store launch in Pitt St as well as some must-know info about Microsoft’s other products.

Jaron will be ready to answer your questions and show us all the awesome power of Windows 10, so February’s meeting is a must-attend event!

Microsoft is yet to confirm if it can supply a copy of Windows 10 for brand new computers, if it can, it will, but if not, we’ll have some other prizes for members as per usual.

If we can, let’s please have a great turnout for Microsoft. If you can, please bring your interested friends and family, bring your questions and bring yourself to what will be a great February main meeting!

One more thing I need to say is that before I had Microsoft confirmed, and before I realised the AGM was on this month, I accepted an invitation to travel to Singapore from the 23rd to the 28th of February for a technology conference.

So, sadly, I won’t actually be there this month, although depending on timing and if it can be arranged at the lectern with a notebook computer, I could always pop up on Skype to say hello – I’ll asked Robert Israel if there’s any chance this can be organised.

Finally, as noted above, if we can have a great turnout for Microsoft, it would look great. I don’t know if there’s time to ask ASCCA to send an email blast out to its members, but maybe there is.

We would have done this sooner, but Microsoft only officially confirmed it was taking both sessions earlier today, and we need to work with what we have.

I hope to see you virtually at the February 23 main meeting and I hope you have a very enjoyable presentation with Jaron Cohen of Microsoft!

Best regards,

Alex