Michigan State Palmtop User Group

GENERAL INFO
(asking any question gets you here)

The Group: A user group is a club of sorts for people who use a certain type of computer. MSPUG is (as you might guess) a group of people who use palmtop computers that are pen-based. These include: PalmOS computers/phones from Palm Inc., HandSpring and Sony among others and various Microsoft PocketPC based handhelds (Windows CE devices) from Hewlet Packard/Compaq and other manufacturers. These PDAs (personal digital assistants) are handheld computer gizmos that don't use keyboards but instead recognize the user's handwriting as s/he enters data via a pen. These are currently small devices with 3 inch by 5 inch grayscale or color LCD touch-sensitive screens. They take notes, keep track of time, appointments, do email, faxes, play games surf the web, the whole ball of wax. Desktop capabilities in the palm of your hand.

The Paradigm: Our user group follows the model used by palmtop user groups in Silicon Valley, CA (like SPUG Stanford Pilot User Group). We meet in a Coffeehouse (although currently we only meet online) and have only minimal organization and NO dues$. Our number one priority is to have FUN. If a new face shows up more than once we may ask if they want to be on the email list, but we keep the atmosphere very casual. The rationale for this approach is that just as palmtop computers unchained users from the desktop, a palmtop user group can be unchained from the traditional user group style (traditional style: run like a company, meet in a large empty room, pay dues, mission statements etc). Our devices run on batteries and don't need AC outlets and phone connections to be useful (yet both are available). They're really portable, not luggable like laptop computers.

The Purpose of our Palmtop User Group is to hang out with friends and talk about computers as well as many other things. People attending our Palmtop User Group are many and varied but the majority of the members that show up are either PalmOS or PocketPC users (but we welcome whatever cool gadget you have) and now that were meet virtually (online) members are from more than just Michigan, yet most live in the US. A few members write software but most of us are USERS and have a great amount of knowledge of software available and bugs etc. We have fun testing new devices and software. Go look at a few Newsletters/Podcasts to meet the regulars like: Stan Heckler, Phil Hedrick, Oren Kennedy, etc. We have experts visit every other meeting or so and talk about new software and or info about the PalmOS or other PDAs. Our User Group has no dues (no money requirements) or much of any requirements at all. Just stop by and say "hello" and join us for lively discussions about cutting edge technology and palmtops.

The Michigan State Palmtop User's Group usually meets the second *Tuesday* of each month.
For questions about MSPUG, send email to luckie@msu.edu.

Hope to see you there!

Where:
ONLINE via AOL Internet Messenger (AIM) or similar chat software (like iChat)

When:
7:00 -9:00 pm, usually the second *Tuesday* of each month

Location:
Add to your Buddy List "DoLuckie" (Doug Luckie) or "clintthayer2" (Clint Thayer) and say "Hello"

Directions:
Get a FREE AIM account from AOL and download their software or another application.
We chat via AOL Internet Messenger (AIM) or similar chat software (like iChat) and the audio is recorded for the podcast

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