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Chicago Computer Society hosted another successful Expo for
computer users on Saturday, September 15, 2007. This was their
6th year and it ran like a fine-tuned clock. Check-in was quick
and efficient; pre registration saved time and $5.00. Goodie
bags were waiting for us filled with information from vendors
and a T-shirt commemorating the event. There were several
vendors with display tables of their products and some
participated in prepared demonstrations later in the day.
The most exciting time of the day was at the end of the expo
when lots and lots of prizes were given away. One of the first
things to decide was how many raffle tickets to buy. Two tickets
were included with registration and early registrants were
rewarded with two additional tickets, but if your budget allowed
you to purchase more you could buy 1 for $1.00, 6 for $5.00 an
arm’s length for $10.00 or wrist to wrist for $20.00. If you
have short arms you find a friend with longer arms and use them
to purchase your tickets.
Chicago Computer Society President Al
Cheeks welcomed all attendees at 9:00AM with a slide
presentation of the more than 200 prizes that would be raffled
off at the end of the day. Five mini presentations were made
throughout the day for exactly 50 minutes and a 10 minute break
in between. A box lunch was also provided to all attendees.
Presentations included the following:
1. A member of the Chicago Computer
Society showed us how to make Google your home page and then
customize it with Google “gadgets” to personalize the page to
your exact preferences.
2. Representatives from Smart Computing
demonstrated their website. What a great value when you
subscribe to one of their magazines. Not only can you read
articles online, you can research past issues of all 5 of their
publications or ask for technical help from other members or
their own technical staff.
3. A representative of Epson printers
informed us about printing beautiful professional photographs
with Epson printers. We learned that there are big differences
in ink if you want to print photographs that will last for 100
years without fading. Epson has developed an ink that resists
fading, water spotting and smudging.
4. Microsoft WOWed us with new
technologies coming in the near future using touch screens and
“surface” computing. The tasks are endless with what you will be
able to do on an interactive table surface. We saw a sneak
preview of their latest game “Halo 3.” 5. Corel made becoming
your own movie producer look easy with two of their movie
editing programs.
The day flew by and before long the
raffle tickets were drawn. Many people won prizes, some won
many. Two lucky winners went home with the grand prizes: a
Toshiba laptop computer and an Epson Stylus 1400 Photo Printer.
The day was both enjoyable and informative and we want to thank
the Chicago Computer Society for their hard working team that
made their Mini-Expo VI a big success.
