---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Bob Thomas To: BOD Subject: RE: Membership Report 2003/2/ Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 18:39:23 -0500 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FWIW, one slightly used T-Shirt!(193KB Picture) Note that I included an OS/2 mouse pad in the shot. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Extract from the March 1993 minutes: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This meeting is being hosted by Microsoft as part of the North American introduction of MS-DOS 6.0. There will be a satellite linkup with Redmond, Washington. The equipment setup starts at 6:00 p.m. The SIGs will start at 7:30 p.m. Members may enter the auditorium starting at 8:15 p.m., while the public may not enter until 8:40 p.m. The presentation will be from 9:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. We must be out of the school by 11:00 p.m. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Area: 0-Private e-mail Message Number: 28117 Date: 09-10-02 From: Gabriel Laszlo To: JOCELYN DOIRE Subject: OPCUG's History ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Jocelyn, I enjoyed reading the club's history in the September 2002 newsletter. The second item has a question mark for the date, perhaps I can help. As the saying goes, Been there, done that, got the T-shirt. Well, I actually have the T-shirt. It has an MS DOS design logo, and the following text in the front: I CAME. I SAW. I DOUBLED. AT THE WORLD'S LARGEST PC USER GROUP MEETING. MARCH 30, 1993. MS-DOS 6: THE EASY WAY TO DOUBLE YOUR DISK. As you see, it was MS DOS 6, not DOS 5, that was presented but I believe that this is the meeting you referred to. I am looking forward to the 20th anniversary in April 2003. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Area: 17-History Submissions Message Number: 2 Date: 09-11-02 From: ALAN GERMAN ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Jocelyn: >? Microsoft presents DOS 5, and attracts the largest crowd ever. The above note from the newsletter may not be quite correct. I came. I saw. I doubled at the world's largest PC Users Group Meeting March 30, 1993 That's what the T-shirt says. I think that OPCUG was patched into a multi-centre tele/videoconference for the release of the new operating system. Microsoft certainly had a pallet of boxes of the upgrade version of MS-DOS 6 and handed one copy out to every person in attendance. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Area: 17-History Submissions Message Number: 6 Date: 09-21-02 From: MARK CAYER ---------------------------------------------------------------------- That meeting was held at Sir Robert Borden and filled the 500+ seat auditorium. As an added benefit Microsoft placed a fishbowl on the table where they were handing out the free copies of DOS-6. The deal was for every dollar the meeting attendees donated Microsoft would match it and we could name the charity it was to go to. I seem to recall that the Charity Foundation of Ottawa ended up $2,000+ richer that evening. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Area: BOD Date: Mon 24/02/2003 10:24 AM From: Harald Freise ---------------------------------------------------------------------- If my memory serves me correctly... the DOS 6 event was jointly orchestrated by Microsoft and the OPCUG and we invited just about anyone that would listen. One of the incentives was that DOS 6 would be given away at the meeting to members and that wasn't really a secret. Of course we had no way of controlling the actual event but it did, in fact, bolster our membership. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Area: BOD Date: Mon 24/02/2003 10:25 AM From: Bob Gowan ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The SIGs were held before the main event that night and OPCUG members were given first access to the auditorium - before the doors were open to the general public. Everyone was asked to fill out an evaluation form and returning that got you a free copy of DOS 6 as you filed out of the auditorium. Obviously the connection with this event was a good draw. Why not spend $25 on a membership when there were events being held that might get you a product worth several times the annual fee !! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Area: BOD Date: Mon 24/02/2003 2:16 PM From: Mark Cayer ---------------------------------------------------------------------- If memory serves me correctly we also placed a fishbowl out and asked for donations to the Community Foundation. Hey ya got software for nuthin.... Ya gotta be able to toss in a buck'r'2!! Turned out that Microsoft matched our donations for a total of some 2 or 3 thousand bucks I think. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Area: BOD Date: Mon 24/02/2003 7:24 PM From: Harald Freise ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Microsoft did indeed match the funds donated that night by our fundraising efforts. The money collected on that night continues to grow in the Community Foundation. I believe that the total was over 3500.00 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Area: BOD Date: Mon 24/02/2003 10:17 PM From: Bill van Dijk ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Wasn't there also a TV screen set up with Bill himself making some announcements? Version 6.0 did not last long, I seem to recall it was Stacker that sued MS. for patent infringement. I think they ended up buying them up at version 6.33 or something like that. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Area: BOD Date: Mon 24/02/2003 10:44 PM From: Harald Freise ---------------------------------------------------------------------- It was a live satellite link direct from Redmond. Microsoft came up with the whole thing and had it set up at Sir Robert Borden High School. I remember that we had to do some fast talking with the principal and the Board of Education to allow us to interrupt the daily schedule of the school. Stacker did eventually successfully sue Microsoft. I seem to remember that Microsoft quickly developed DOS v6.20 with a revised version of dblspace.bin as a fast fix using their own compression algorithm then ultimately DOS v6.22 with drvspace.bin. I think that we legally (with their permission, thanks to Chris T.) posted those upgrades on the Pub. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Area: BOD Date: Tue 25/02/2003 10:03 AM From: Bob Gowan ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Wasn't it Fifth Dimension that provided the multimedia display equipment? It was quite a setup for that era - big picture - big sound. Some simulcast locations had two way transmission - interviews with user group members. As I recall, we had promos by the local Microsoft reps - Bob Scowcroft et al, before (or was it after) the show went live.