Newsletter - December 1999
Serving the community of IBM Midrange users.
Membership: $100.00.
|
President's Message from Peter MaherHoliday Greetings!! At this time of the year it is traditional to reflect upon the past year and to acknowledge the folks who have made a difference in your year. I would like to take a few moments of your time to thank the people who have made my first year as President of your User Group a successful one. To Jack Fugiel who due to his class schedule was less visible this year but still always had the time to talk with me lending advice from his many years of service to WAM: Congratulations on your Masters! To Tom Jones who monthly has to deal with editing my "pearls": Thanks for not throwing a dictionary or thesaurus at me! To Pam Johnson who will always be the "Mother of JAM": Thanks for teaching me how. To Ross Massey who never lets me accept things as they are and challenges me to strive higher: Thanks for reminding me why we do this. To Mark Grimley who is always coming up with new and better marketing ideas: Yes I am listening and you are generally correct. To John Blum for helping me with the speakers this year: May you have Marty Free Tuesday nights! To KB Soni who keeps us all within budget and provides me with a sounding board whenever I get a Wild Hair idea: Thanks for your support when I have a good idea and your tactful way of allowing me to see the error of a bad idea. To My Wife Trudy and Daughter Megan who understand and support me when I have to do "WAM stuff": Love You! And finally, to Don Rima my good friend and co conspirator in this venture we call WAM. Thanks for being the one I call when I need to vent. While I know you would rather be playing Chess Master, you listen and offer sage advise. Thanks for helping me keep this ship afloat. Of course no list would be complete without thanking you, the members of WAM who make it all possible. JAM 99 Huge Success While we are in this spirit of thanks: Thanks to all who turned out for JAM 99 and made it the success it was! This year nearly 150 people attended the JAM. From all reports everyone had a great day full of learning, camaraderie and maybe a door prize (or 2). A big thanks goes to our Vendor/exhibitors who added greatly to the overall JAM. Of course the outstanding speakers were the greatest. As those of you who were at the luncheon know this year we gave Pam Johnson the annual WAM special recognition award. I would like to take this opportunity to once more publicly thank Pam for all she has done for this group. So put December 1st 2000 on your calendar now for JAM 2000! Next Month's Meeting Looking forward to January, I am pleased to announce that we are presenting Laura Knapp "Technical Evangelist" of IBM to speak on the very hot topic of Virtual Private Networking or VPN's. Laura will be in town for COMNET and for that reason we will vary our regular schedule of meetings. Note schedule change! The January Meeting will be Thursday January 27th at the Tyson's WestPark Hotel. Looking forward to 2000 In the near future the board and I will be meeting to discuss our plans for WAM in 2000. I can't tell you what programs and presentations we will be providing but I can guarantee that we will strive to do our best to continue to bring the best and brightest of the midrange world to you. Next year we do plan to vary some events and perhaps there will be some confusion as we try different meeting formats, days or times. In the end, however, it is our goal to provide the best value for your membership. I will have more details in next month's newsletter and until then: Have a Happy Holiday and a Safe and Prosperous New Year -Peter January MeetingPlease Explain: Virtual Private Networking Laura J. Knapp Many companies are evaluating the continued growth of their internal private networks, and are increasing the number of users who dial into their network. With the growth of the Internet and the availability of a local connection to an Internet Service Provider (ISP), the potential to use the existing Internet to provide a virtual private network (VPN) appears real. This session looks at the technologies used in providing VPNs, the techniques used to secure private data, and some items to review before making a corporate decision to use a VPN in place of your own private network. Laura Knapp has 25 Years in the Networking business working for Texas Instruments in their worldwide network and as a corporate Networking Spokesperson for IBM. Her experience allows her to cover all aspects of networking and she always brings a pragmatic view to very complex technologies. Thursday Jan 27th, 1999 18:00 Tyson's WestPark Hotel Leesburg Pike (Route 7) Tyson's Corner, Virginia (Parking is FREE !) Board Meeting Immediately After !
Registration Open for COMMON Spring 2000 ConferenceCHICAGO, Dec. 6, 1999 -- COMMON, the world? s largest group of users of IBM andIBM-compatible information technology, announced today the opening of registration for its Spring 2000 Conference and Expo/Solution Center, to be held Sunday through Friday, March 12-17, 2000, in San Diego. Conference to Emphasize e-business COMMON conferences provide IT professionals unique opportunities to get cutting-edge education and to share knowledge and experience with peers. The Spring 2000 Conference will focus on the e-business revolution, offering a range of sessions on introductory topics to in-depth courses on business and Technical management, solutions and support. In addition to e-business, sessions will cover AS/400, Lotus Notes and Domino, Java, Linux, Netfinity, Windows 2000, business intelligence and security -- as well as traditional topics such as RPG IV, DDS, COBOL and operations. Attendees may focus on one topic or create their own customized curriculum across COMMON?s Courses of Study. The Spring 2000 Conference also will feature special sessions presented by IBM Corp. and leading IT consulting firms. Expo/Solution Center Features Enhanced Schedule An integral part of the conference, the COMMON Spring 2000 Expo/Solution Center will take place Sunday through Tuesday, March 12-14. Featuring more than 225 exhibits by over 150 leading companies, including IBM Corp. and Lotus Development Corp., the COMMON Expo/Solution Center is the IT industry?s most comprehensive collection of midrange products and services. In response to exhibitor and attendee feedback, COMMON has enhanced the Expo schedule for Monday, March 13. The Expo/Solution Center will be open Monday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 5 to 8 p.m. On Sunday, March 12, the Expo will be open from noon to 3 p.m. and from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday?s hours will be 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. COMMON Earns Top Ratings in Computerworld Survey COMMON conferences earned the highest ratings for educational value, according to a recent survey by Computerworld magazine. The survey of 565 information technology (IT) professionals showed that COMMON conferences are the most valuable of user group conferences, receiving the highest ratings for educational offerings and industry expert presentation and participation. Take Advantage of Web and Early-Bird Discounts COMMON is once again offering early registration incentives, including a discount of $100 off the $995 individual standard registration fee to those who register by Jan. 21, 2000, and an additional $100 discount to those who register on COMMON?s Web site by Jan. 21, 2000. After that date, registration will be $995 per person. COMMON is also accepting applications for its fourth Volunteer Memorial Scholarship. Established in memory and appreciation of COMMON volunteers, the scholarship recognizes and encourages volunteerism and sponsors one winner to attend a COMMON conference. Complete conference information is available on the COMMON Web site at www.common.org. As a convenience to members, COMMON has integrated conference registration and housing reservation into one process. To learn more about COMMON or the Spring 2000 Conference and Expo/Solution Center, contact:
230 West Monroe, Suite 220 Chicago, IL 60606 Phone: 800.777.6734 or 312.279.0192 Fax: 312.279.0227 E-mail: common@common.org Internet: www.common.org Contact: Sharon Murray 507.529.0797 sharon_murray@common.org Treasurer's MessageYear 2000 Membership RenewalWell folks, it is that time of the year again. Yes, it is the Holiday Season but it is also the time to renew your WAM membership for the first year of the new millennium. Many of you renewed your membership along with the JAM registration and I want thank you. If, however, you have not renewed your membership yet, I urge you to do so soon. It will save us all any unnecessary reminders and time which can be used to making WAM programs even more useful for us all. If you have any questions, or if you would like to start a new membership, please feel free to call me. Your 2000 membership can be renewed or a new membership started by sending in your check made out to WAM for the annual fee of $100. The checks may be sent to:
12023 Blackberry Terrace North Potomac, MD 20878
-K B Soni
WAM Contacts:Our home page is at http://www.wash-midrange.org. Send suggestions to Peter.
President: Peter Maher 703/834-3706 F) 703/834-3707 1stplace@crosslink.net
|
Latest Update - December 1999