Presidential Ramblings

 

Issue 2.1

July 2004

 

An order of succession

Elsewhere in this issue is a short list of ‘job openings’ within DACS. This is a more targeted attempt on my part to get more people involved in our club. Please note that I said “our club” as in it’s your club, too. I’ve known most of the current board members for many years and we can be a cliquey group. I’d like to see the group of people who are “really involved” grow, because if this club is to grow, it’s critical that more people work for its success. Please note that all of these positions are ones where you can learn as you go. No one is expected to jump in water that might be too deep. So even if you think you don’t know anything about publicity or editing or desktop publishing, don’t hesitate to email me at jscheef@dacs.org or Allan Ostergren at dacseditor@dacs.org because you can learn on the job.

There is one more job that needs to be filled as well. That is “Executive Vice President”. There is no such title in the club right now, because we have never had this position. The Executive VP is the person who will become president when I step down at the end of this term. Yes, I am announcing now that this is my last year as DACS president. I do not want this decision to leave the club in a lurch, so I’m asking for someone to volunteer to be president a year before taking office.

Being the Executive VP is a chance to get the feel of being DACS President before without jumping in feet first. I will continue to do what I do for the coming year while working closely with the Executive VP to ensure a smooth transition. And I plan to remain on the board of directors for at least one year after the change in officers. Writing for the newsletter is the best part of this job, so I’ll continue to write articles or a column even after I step down. That’s about as much as I can do to ease the pressure on the next president.

I don’t want to sound melodramatic, but if no one willing to take my place, the club could fail. Like I said three paragraphs back, the club needs more people working for the success of the club. If I’m the only person in the whole club willing to be president, then the club should disband, donate the treasury to worthy charities and we all go do something else. I would sure hate to see that happen.

On a lighter note

The September general meeting will host a presentation by Amber Coffin from Smart Computing Magazine. I’ve been subscribing to this magazine for about a year now and it’s better than good. While the magazine claims to be aimed at the ordinary PC user—the full title is Smart Computing In Plain English—it covers all aspects of home computing, from how to protect your computer from power surges to high end graphics cards and flat panel monitors. Each issue has a section for new products, a set of theme articles that cover a particular topic in depth, and shorter articles of news and tips. Don’t miss this meeting!

Awards and tributes

Last week Tim Berners-Lee received the world’s largest technology award, the Millennium Technology Prize from the Finnish Technology Award Foundation. This long over due recognition honors Mr. Berners-Lee for his 1989 invention of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol which we abbreviate today every time we browse the web as the “http” at the start of every web address. This protocol because a universal standard for one simple reason—it was not patented.

How different would the world be today if there were ten or five or even just two incompatible, competing versions of internet-enabled hypertext programs? The web would not be the single entity it is today, linking everything together. Instead you would need to figure out if the site you wanted was on the Microsoft web, the IBM web, the Apple web, the AT&T web or maybe some other. Then you would try to remember how to use the search feature of that particular web, and see if your subscription was up to date. Yes, the world would be a very different place. This award is more than justified. In fact it’s embarrassing that the award is only one million euros.

Jim Scheef
dacsprez@dacs.org


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