Past Programs

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December 2000 Christmas Party

A wonderful time was had by all with all memories of Y2K safely tucked away what we like to call: the Lock Box..

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November 2000 Web Development using Cold Fusion and JavaScript by Jeff Mutschler, Manager Systems Development, Physician Associates of the Greater San Gabriel Valley

Jeff Mutschler spoke about server-side web development using Cold Fusion and client-side development using JavaScript. Cold Fusion topics included instruction on setting up datasources, querying databases and using various methods for formatting and displaying results. JavaScript topics included instruction on referencing and manipulating window and document objects.

Jeff Mutschler, Manager of Systems Development for Physician Associates in Pasadena, develops client-server, internet, intranet, FileNET imaging and data warehouse applications for one of the largest independent physician groups in Southern California. He is also Director of New Membership and webmaster for the California Southland chapter of the AITP.

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October 2000 Demystifying Application Service Providers (ASP) by Jeff Apsley, Senior Systems Analyst at Personable.com

Jeff spoke about Internet Commerce: its beginnings, current issues and what the future promises. He also discussed why all the Big Players (Microsoft, Sun, etc.) are pushing ASP and how it all works.

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September 2000 E-Commerce by Robert Swanson, President of Delta Max Consultants

Robert discussed where e-commerce is today and where it is going, what is working and what is not, why IT is not the driving force behind e-commerce, and what the best approach towards e-commerce is for most organizations.

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August 2000 Pool Party and Techfest

A most magnificent pool party and techfest was hosted by George and Cathy Margolin.

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July 2000 Early Adoption of Technology & the PaperLess Office by Bob Strathearn, CPA

Bob took us on a virtual tour of his paperless office and discussed the advantages and challenges of taking a business paperless.

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June 2000 Managing Internet Projects from Inception to Success! by Lynn Malig, Web Project Manager, Capital Group

Lynn Malig, Web Project Manger at Capital Group, in Brea, will tell us all about how to Manage an Internet/ Intranet Project, having completed many herself! She will talk about Trends and Directions, Technical Platforms, and Project life cycle revised for the FAST FAST web world. Why Java, Com, etc? And how to deal with the slower paced Corporate world and meld it into the Fast paced Internet world.

Lynn Malig has managed many large web projects at the Capital Group, and also teaches Enterprise Intranet Web Development class at Cal State Fullerton for their WebMaster certification.

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May 2000 The Future of IT: Views from Two CIOs by Bob Metzger, CIO for City of Long Beach and Barney Brady, former CIO for the Armed Forces Radio and Television Services - Broadcast Center

Bob Metzger
Mr. Metzger is currently the Director of Technology Services for the City of Long Beach. This department provides a variety of services to other City departments, including all forms of voice and data communications, computing support, video production, and office support services. The department also manages the technology and innovation programs, air quality compliance, and operates a retail outlet for disposal and surplus City property. In addition, Mr. Metzger is involved in projects to ensure the competitiveness of City services, including efforts to streamline several Citywide processes.

Prior to this present position, Mr. Metzger was Executive Vice President of the San Diego Data Processing Corporation, a non-profit organization which supplied computing and telecommunications to the City of San Diego and other governmental agencies within the San Diego region. In this position, he was twice acknowledged as one of the top 100 Chief Information Officers in the nation.

Mr. Metzger has over 30 years of experience in the information technology industry, having held positions in both the public and private sectors in various capacities.

Barney Brady

Mr. Brady retired from the Department of Defense after serving for 35 years in a number of positions in the federal government information technology field. Brady is now consulting with small business firms and showing them how to obtain contracts from all levels of government and schools.

Prior to his retirement in 1998, Brady served as the Chief InformationOfficer (CIO) of the Armed Forces Radio and Television Services - Broadcast Center, (AFRTS-BC) at March AFB, California. AFRTS-BC provides live radio and television news, sports, entertainment and command information to more than one million service members, Dept. of Defense civilians and their families in more than 153 foreign countries and to hundreds of U.S. Navy ships at sea.

Prior to his appointment at March AFB, Brady worked in information resource jobs in various departments, including the Drug Enforcement Administration and Department of the Air Force, Space Division., Dept. of the Army, HQ USAREUR, Germany and has been responsible for many high tech conferences in the USA and In Europe.

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April 2000 Internet Security by Sigmund Fidyke, Director of Engineering at WatchGuard Technologies

Sigmund Fidyke, Director of Engineering at WatchGuard Technologies (http:\\www.watchguard.com) (also formerly at Touchstome and former owner of KISSCO- modem wizard, shortcuts, etc,) will talk to us about Firewalls, Denial of Service attacks, Viruses, and what to look for as well as where he thinks the Industry is going. Sig has been on the leading edge of technology for many years, and is very knowledgeable about what is happening. He is also is a member of the Software Council of Southern California, and just gave a talk at American Electronic Assoc. (AEA).

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March 2000 Windows 2000 by Joey C. Williams

Joey C. Williams is employed at Spectria as a consulting Senior Engineer supporting a various client base with the two most recognized clients being National Veterinary Associates and Mann Theatres. Joey is currently assigned (as a collateral duty) as the Project Manager for the development of The Spectria' Windows 2000 Practice. He has over five years of Information
Systems experience and holds the following certifications MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) and MCT (Microsoft Certified Trainer). He has also held the position of National Director of Education for ProSoft I-Net Solutions in Santa Ana, CA an Internet Certification and Training Company.

Joey will be covering some of the really cool features, upgrade issues and reasons why you should or should not upgrade to Windows 2000. He will be speaking on the Windows 2000 family of products and the upgrade path to Windows 2000 from Windows 95, 98 and Windows NT 4.0.

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February 2000 Business Intelligence by Samia Solomon Director of Professional Services at Spectria

Samia Soliman is a director of professional services in Spectria, a software consulting firm in Long Beach California. Formerly known as Systematic Systems Integration, Spectria has over 130 consultants, specialized in high-end software development and integration, with a focus on e-Commerce, Business Intelligence, Knowledge Management, and Wireless Computing. Samia's background spans from development to design, from implementation to production support, and from network management to database management. Samia worked with the public and private sector, with industry experience in banking, automotive, and customer relations management. Samia currently heads up the Business Intelligence practice in Spectria.

Businesses today cannot afford to have just "data"! Data alone cannot provide management with the right perspective that halp make the right decisions at the right time. The key to success in today's competitive marketplace is fast and effective response to constant change. Speed and relevance of information are of the essence, in order to get ahead and stay ahead of the competition. Business Intelligence is the set of tools and underlying technology that help add "context" to "data", to give add value to the information and reveal its meaning while making it available to different levels of users, right at their fingertips. In this presentation, you will learn about the concepts of Business Intelligence, the technology trends in Business Intelligence, and some of the commonly used Business Intelligence tools in the market. You will also see a demo of a couple of popular Business Intelligence tools on the market.

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January 2000 Digital Cameras by George Margolin

George demonstrated some of the newest cameras on the market and presented tips on shopping for them on the web.

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December 1999 Christmas Party in Newport Beach

A wonderful time was had by all (at least those of us who weren't knocked out by the flu).

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November 1999 What to Look for in Your Next Career: Internet Job Sites and How to Write a Resume for them by Joyce Reed, Data Design

Joyce gave us all wonderful advice on how to market ourselves on the internet and on our resumes and provided excellent examples of well-written resumes.

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October 1999 Using Java to Setup an ISP, by Terry Warren, Founding Father, NetZero.

Terry once again provided a fascinating glimpse into the technology behind NetZero and gave us an update on NetZero's progress on the heels of its IPO.

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September 1999 Enterprise-wide IT Strategy By Bernie Jeltema

Bernard J. Jeltema is a leader and innovator in information architecture. During his career with IBM, he was a member of the team that introduced IBM’s pioneering strategic information planning methodology, Business Systems Planning (BSP) and its enhanced, state-of-the-art version, BSP for Strategic Alignment (BSP/SA). More recently, his innovations include the Rapid Database Design (RDD) process, which he has successfully used with large and small enterprises. As an example, using the RDD process, he facilitated the design of a fully attributed enterprisewide data model with over 750 relational database tables and over 7000 column names for a Houston-based firm, the entire process taking less than three months.As an information architect. Bernie is experienced in enterprisewide information planning, data modeling and architecture, process modeling and architecture, software project management, and software process improvement. He is a consultant, instructor, facilitator, and speaker on information architecture. He teaches courses in data modeling, data warehousing, and software project management at the University of California, Irvine (UCI).Mr. Jeltema is President of Strategic Frameworks, Inc., a company he founded in 1989 that specializes in information architecture. His clients range from Fortune 500 companies to nonprofit organizations. Bernie did his undergraduate and graduate work in Physics at the University of Michigan.

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August 1999 Roundtable Discussion on Technology Led by George Margolin

George led a discussion on the current state and future of nano machines and demonstrated the latest in digital cameras and video.

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July 1999 Pool Party and Tech Fest

Hamburgers, hotdogs, sodas and genuine plasticware provided. And, of course, lots of computer toys to look at: Video Capture, Internet Fax, CD-R, etc.

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June 1999 Solving the Puzzle of E-Commerce: By Jason Lorge and Wijaya Thamrin

Amazon.com, Ebay.com, E-Toys.com..., the list is going on... and on... and on... Why is everyone talking about E-commerce? How does one go about setting up an E-commerce system? What are the components of an online store? How do these components work together to actually sell products over the Internet?

Jason Lorge and Wijaya Thamrin will be presenting an E-commerce system that is being implemented for a student organization at Cal State Fullerton. The speakers will present an overview of the project, some E-commerce design alternatives, and the necessary components an online store. The speakers will then demonstrate how the web pages, database, shopping cart, and credit card transactions are integrated into an electronic retail site.

Speaker Profile:
Jason Lorge is a graduating MIS student at CSU, Fullerton. Jason is currently working as a network specialist at CSU, Fullerton School of Communication. He is a member of CSUF AITP, and the present president of the CSUF Golden Key National Honor Society.
Wijaya "Wi" Thamrin is a graduating MIS student at CSU, Fullerton. He enjoys system analysis and design, database design and programming, and, of course, E-commerce/Web Site development. Wijaya's professional experience includes developing database systems and web sites for on-campus and local organizations. Wijaya is also active in the Cal State Fullerton AITP Student Chapter and served as vice president.

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May 1999 Year 2000 Preparations: What's LeftTo Do? By Janet Lawrence , AVP, Associates First Capital Corp (AVCO)

Janet Lawrence is the Year 2000 Project Director for Avco Financial Services, worldwide. This includes overseeing the correction and testing of all computer systems and facilities for 11 countries in preparation for the next millennium. The opportunity to contract and manage an offshore development company has added a unique perspective to her career. Previous to this, she directed a staff of professionals in all system development and support-related activities for the life & health division of a billion-dollar, international finance and insurance company. Prior to her nine years with Avco, she spent twelve years in successful leadership roles in both the business and system divisions of a pension administration and trust company in Irvine.

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April 1999 Linux: Why or Why Not? Why is it so Hot? by Gary Calvin, Kenwood Americas Information Systems

Gary Calvin has converted to Linux for Kenwood (speakers, audio, etc. manufacturer) for their Accounting Systems from the Pick operating system for over 240 users. He will tell us where he thinks it is going and Why it is so popular. He has worked with Linux for 3 ½ years (an ancient Linux user , since it has more recently become popular). He will tell us why he likes it so much, where it came from and why its Open Operating system architecture is so frightening to Microsoft. It is freely distributed.

Links: Linux.org, Orange County Linux Users Group

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March 1999 Computer Espionage: Beware the Thief from Within by David Tubbs, Talon Technology

Mr. Tubbs worked fifteen years in the aerospace industry as a computer engineer. He was responsible for Space Station Freedom's computer-controlled Rendezvous and Docking Sensor Program and managed the research and development of microprocessor controlled information networks and fiber optics sensor systems for anti-submarine warfare While at McDonnell Douglas, his research team received five Department of Defense Principle Investigator awards for research project excellence and over sixty patents in technical developments. Since joining Talon Technology, David has developed proprietary data protection programs to protect computer-based information and detect and prosecute fraudulent access.

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February 1999 NetZero: How a New Free Internet Service Provider got Started by Terry Warren

Terry Warren consults at Filenet, teaches Java classes and is President of the Southwest OS/2 user group. Terry gave a demonstration of the NetZero site, provided a brief history of the company and talked about the challenges NetZero faces to become profitable.

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January 1999 Client/server-based Computing by Bob Dickson

Bob Dickson
Data Administration/ Project Administration
Information Services Department
Koo Koo Roo Enterprises, Inc (KKRe)
Irvine, Ca

Dickson received a B.S. degree in Business Administration from the University of Southern California in 1961, and an MBA degree from California State University, Fullerton in 1996. He is a Certified Data Processor (CDP). He has 37 years experience in Information Technology (IT), having written his first program in 1961. He maintains technical and management proficiency through a rigorous program of formal and self-directed education. He joined KKRe in July 1989.

KKRe is a chain restaurant company with over 300 restaurants in 30 states. Sales are over $500 million. Number of employees around 27,000. Restaurants include El Torito, Chi-chi's, Koo Koo Roo, and Hamburger Hamlet. Headquarters are in Irvine, CA. KKRe was formed in Nov 1998 out of the merger of Family Restaurants, Inc and Koo Koo Roo, Inc. Web site is www.kkre.com and www.eltorito.com.

KKRe decided to move off the mainframe and into client/server technology in 1993. At that time Dickson led the task force to select a database for the new technology. After an 8 month selection process they selected Informix. Due to market and financial difficulties the project was delayed until 1996. At that time management decided to replace the mainframe HR/PR systems with a client/server based product. During 1996 Dickson developed the RFP for a replacement system. In the 3rd quarter of 1996, management reviewed the company's options for Y2K remediation and decided to replace all accounting and POS systems with purchased software that was Y2K compliant. Dickson modified the RFP to include financial systems. During most of 1997 Dickson headed the task force to select a vendor for the replacement systems. In December 1997 the contract was signed to purchase Lawson Software to replace all of the core accounting systems, and another company to provide the POS software and hardware for the restaurants. On a parallel track, Dickson headed the task force to select the hardware for the new systems. In Nov 1997 they selected the HP9000 K580 as the platform for the new systems. 1998 was the year of implementation for the hardware and systems. The financial systems went live in July 1998 and the HR/PR systems went live on Dec 28, 1998, the beginning of fiscal 1999. The conversion from the mainframe to client/server systems was achieved on time and within budget, and with a lot of extra effort by all concerned.

Dickson's presententation showed how KKRe made the transition out of centralized mainframe processing into client/server-based computing. He presented the development of the project over the 3 year period, the changes occurred, what was learned, the qualifications of the staff, what training was provided, and some ballpark figures on cost and time. He concluded with the current status of the project and what are the next steps.

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December 98-Christmas Party in Newport Beach

A wonderful time was had by all.

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November 98 Scanners and OCR by Stan Sabin

Stan Sabin, Vice President of Winners Windows User Group, will tell us all about Scanning, OCR (Optical Character Recognition) and scanners on Nov. 17th. He will concentrate on an Actual Scanning Demonstration--Text, software that comes with scanners, upgrade of software i.e. XEROX or CAERE, how to use OCR, cleanup, etc., and a SMALL portion of Basics.

Stan, owner of Sabin Realty in Huntington Beach, has developed his knowledge from his Genealogy work which encompasses over 40 years of research. Stan has over 15,000 names in his Family Tree (maybe we are all related..). He is also the Vice President of the Orange Coast Genealogical Society. One of his favorite activities is taking a scanner to a family reunion to capture those pictures that no one wants to give up.

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October 98 Visual InterDev 6.0: Cross-Platform, Data-Driven Weblications by Alex Reich, MCSD, MCSE, MCT, MCPS

Alex is the current President of the Orange County Visual Basic Users Group, Co-President of the Orange County SQL Server Users Group and is a Microsoft Certified Professional with ten Microsoft Certifications. He is a Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer, Systems Engineer, Trainer and Product Specialist (MCSD MCSE MCT MCPS). Alex is with inetcom corporation, a Newport Beach, California based Internet/Intranet Consulting Company where he creates custom software as well as teaches and develops courses such as Building Next Generation Corporate Intranets. His expertise covers a wide range of Microsoft products including Microsoft ActiveX, Visual Basic, SQL Server and Access, as well as the Office suites. Alex speaks at local user groups including OCVBUG, OC SQL Server UG and the OC Internet UG as well as at various conferences such as Microsoft Developer Days. Alex has worked for several years in the Visual Basic, Access, and SQL Server environments doing development with Fortune 1000 and Fortune 500 companies such as Heinz/Starkist, the Trader Joe's Company, Remedy Temps, PepsiCo/Tricon (Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut), FileNET, Microsoft, Quickstart, and Carl Karcher Enterprises. He holds 10 Microsoft certifications, and is a contributor to Access/Visual Basic Advisor Magazine, ZDNET Publications as well as co-author of VB 5.0 Unleashed from Sam's Publishing. Alex can be reached at alexr@inetcom.com

This session will highlight the latest Visual InterDev features, including the integrated WYSIWYG page editor for active server pages and dynamic HTML, enhanced tools for ODBC databases, and complete debugging facilities that span from the browser to the Web server. Also included are tips and tricks for the enterprise developer. It will cover building scalable, n-tier applications on NT using components created with other tools in Visual Studio, plus interoperability with FrontPage site creation and management tool for those working with HTML.

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September 98 From Communication to Information Management- Present and Future -What’s Happening in Telecom/Bandwidth by Jack Siart, Qwest

Jack has a unique combination of experiences in the computer and communications fields, including; telephone operations, mainframe programming, support services, project management and marketing and sales of telecommunications products and services. Jack developed Pacific Bell’s office automation plan in the early 80’s and pioneered the development of voice mail at Pacific Bell. Telephony experience includes central-office based services at Pacific Bell, PBX and voice mail systems, cellular and PCS voice and data services in addition to his current position as Major Account Manager at Qwest Communications.

Qwest is now the 4th largest Communications Company as measured by long distance revenue with their acquisition of LCI International in June of this year. However, the Qwest network will be the largest fiber optic network in the world upon its completion in the 2nd Quarter of 1999. Qwests OC-192 (9.6 Gb/s) network is up and running in California and elsewhere. The Qwest vision is to, "Enable customers to seamlessly exchange multimedia content (images, data and voice) as easily as traditional telephone networks enabled voice communication." Qwest has been chosen to provide the backbone to Internet2.

AITP Presentation
From Communications to Information Management

Voice and data communications have become inextricably linked within IT systems. In the last 10 years alone, IT professionals have seen dial up data speeds increase from 110/300 Bps to 56,000 Bps a 500% increase. DS-1’s (T-1) once used only for telephone network trunking are now seen in multiples at customer locations for voice and data communications as DS-3’s (28 T-1’s) become more common. Wide Area Networks have grown in size and complexity as every aspect and location of an enterprise is automated. Near term trends include increasingly large bandwidth for multimedia applications, voice over frame relay networks, net-enabled call centers and NT based LANS assuming some of the functions of a PBX. At the same time, alternative networks will be appearing from the Cable, Wireless and Satellite industries. IT professionals can be expected to play a larger role in evaluating the benefits and risks of each technology.

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August 98 Pool Party Techfest

Hamburgers, hotdogs, sodas and genuine plasticware provided. And, of course, lots of computer toys to look at: Video Capture, Internet Fax, CD-R, etc.

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July 98 Document Management: What Can it Do For Me? by Tom Pietryga, Documentum

Tom Pietryga from Documentum, a world-wide leader in Document Management Software, also know as Electronic Document Mangement Systems (EDMS) discussed EDMS's power to enable companies to share, manage, and reuse the vital corporate knowledge contained in documents, which includes scanning, indexing, business rules such as: after Suzy approves it, it gets routed (electronically of course) to Jane for her approval. Concepts such as business repository, web access and development for document flow was also explained by Tony. Also discussed was COLD (Computer Output to Laser Disk) that replaces much of the paper flow and an overview of all of the new Buzz-words used by this money-saving technology to automate those transaction based departments. The newest application of EDMS's are across the entire organization and Tony shared with us some examples. Documentum is currently working with Northrup-Grumman and Beckman Coulter on large projects for EDMS. Documentum was named by Datquest and IDC as the EDM market leader.

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June 98 Best Practices in ERP Implementation by Dave Petrie

An important trend in business systems is the emergence of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) applications. These large, expensive integrated systems offer promises of improved business efficiency, supply chain management, and competitive advantage. And ERP systems are being used to solve the Year 2000 problem. Competitors in this fast-growing software market include SAP, Baan, Peoplesoft, Oracle, and J.D. Edwards. Plus, consulting companies, hardware vendors, and other software companies are riding the ERP wave to sell products and services.

A team of researchers at Claremont Graduate University, working with a large ERP vendor, have spent the past six months investigating the complexities and risks of these projects. The goal of the research is to uncover the business value of these systems, robust system architecture designs, approaches to business process change, and project management techniques.

This presentation will include key findings from interviews with dozens of ERP customers and consultants. The findings include several surprises, and open some key issues that should lead to lively discussion. Whether your organization is using ERP, or considering the move to ERP, you won't want to miss this presentation.

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May 98 What is Latest and Greatest for the 21st Century?
Roundtable discussion, led by George Margolin with our Members, of where they think their Companies are Going to Go- What has worked and what has not....

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April 98 Year 2000- Overview, and Methodology to Fix by Cathy Grammer-Margolin, Beckman Instruments Y2 Team

Come Find out Why Year 2000 is a Leap Year, How to Remediate, What You should be Concerned About! Lots of Information will be shared with many handouts for your reading pleasure. Should I be flying on Jan.1, 2000? Should I have money in the Bank? Etc. Inquiring minds want to know. Cathy will give you lots of information to think about to see if You are prepared for Year 2000.

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March 98-Internet Searches--Search Engines are Hotter than Hot by George Margolin, Margolin Development

The Internet is an endless feast of knowledge, which makes finding, searching and sifting what you need, a virtually impossible task. And using the statistics of the Information Industry -- the knowledge base DOUBLES every six years! So, with the Internet itself exploding in double digit yearly growth, we need every bit of help we can get to keep up with our chosen fields of knowledge. Our only hope rests with the better and better search engines that are springing up by the dozens to meet this growing and accelerating need. At our March 18th meeting I'll show you some of the many search engines I've found that can help you quickly and reliably find those nuggets of gold that are buried in the cornucopia of confusion and endless potential that is "The Internet."

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February 98-High Tech-Latest and Greatest, Road Warrior and ASDL by Dawn Chmielewski, Techology Editor for the Orange County Register

Dawn Chmielewski, a reported for many years covering Technology, discussed what is on the horizon for communications technology as gave us a run down on some of the latest products available for keeping us on the cutting edge. For all of the latest information, check out her weekly articles in the Sunday OC Register at http://www.ocregister.com.

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January 98-Java by Terry Warren

Terry Warren, a consultant at FileNet and President of the Southwest OS/2 Users Group, discussed the current state of the Java language and development environment.

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December 97-Christmas Party in Newport Beach

A wonderful time was had by all.

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November 97-Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 by John Krill

John Krill, a consultant, PC technician and leader of the Windows 95 Special Interest Group for the North Orange County Computer Club http://www.noccc.org, demonstrated Microsoft's Internet Explorer 4.0. In addition to giving our members a tour of the latest version of Microsoft's browser, Mr. Krill showed us how to customize it and let us know about some of the utilities available for optimizing our computers for the web.

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October 97-Windows 98 and Desktop Strategies by Albert Gusman, Microsoft

Albert Gusman, from Microsoft, demonstrated one of the the latest beta versions of Windows 98. Although the newest version of Microsoft's popular Window's operating system will not be quite the leap that Windows 95 took over Windows 3.1, Windows 98 will have a number of changes to get accustomed to (Windows 98 users will have an option to keep the Windows 95 look and feel).

Navigating through Windows 98 and accessing programs and files will be a lot like using the latest web browsers. Single clicks on hyperlinks will launch programs; in fact, the entire desktop can be configured to host one or more web sites or Active X controls. In addition to its browser-like navigation, Windows 98 has been designed to take advantage of hardware advances in graphics and communications, will make a lot more system information available, and provide better backup facilities.

Mr. Gusman rounded out the evening by passing out CD copies of Microsoft's newest browser, Internet Explore 4.0.

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September 97- LA Basin -Changing IS Management Strategies by Dorothy J. Smith, Vice President of the Information Services Applications & Architecture Group for DHL.

Dorothy spoke to the changes within IT organizations as they prepare for the next century. She offered observations about the good, the bad and the ugly in the implementation of Client Server technology, and separate hype from reality. She also discussed development tools, and security & testing issues.

The focus is the ways the IT organization can facilitate the move to electronic commerce, the web, and other applications which put information in the hands of masses.

At DHL for the past three years, responsible for systems development, infrastructure and architecture. A major challenge at DHL is implementing systems that help the company maintain a competitive position in the express shipping business. The environment is based on open systems using predominantly HP UNIX, and Informix, in a distributed environment.

Dorothy started her career as a Systems Engineer for IBM where she specialized in the Education industry. She was at Syntex (a pharmaceutical company) as Director of Research Information Systems for 15 years.

Dorothy is Past Association President of DPMA. She also held Secretary/Treasurer and Executive Vice President positions. She earned the CDP in 1983. She was voted one of the

"Top 100 Women in Computing for 1996"

by McGraw Hill. Business Week recorded this honor.

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August 97- Field Trip to MTA Train Control Facility

CCF monitors and tracks all Red, Green, and Blue Line trains. The system: - collects data real time via sensors and specialized devices - displays status data, graphically, for analysis and troubleshooting - is state-of-the-art in rail transportation monitoring and control. Take a train down to the Control Facility!


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July 97- Year 2000 Problems and the Process to Solve It! By Frank Piluso, Vice President, Computer Generated Solutions - LA Office

Year 2000 Problems and the Process to Solve It!

Are you all ready for the Year 2000 or do you plan to retire on December 29, 1999? With all the work happening to convert in the next three years, even some people at work have said, lets take leave of absence for a year and earn those big bucks! Is it all hype or is the World really going to stop at the year 2000 since we saved those extra two bytes way back when? Come see our speaker, Frank Piluso, Vice President of Professional Services for Computer Generated Solutions, Inc. (CGS) , based in Los Angeles. CGS maintains its headquarters in New York and is one of the fastest growing, privately held companies in America.

Prior to joining CGS, he held CIO positions at EMI Music and most recently, New World Communications. He has also held positions at Thrifty Corporation, R.H. Macy's, California Federal Savings Bank and Carter Hawley Hale Stores.

Frank will talk about Problems, Myths, Exposure with the Year 2000 issues. What is the cost of procrastination? How do I estimate the cost? What are the legal issues? How do I approach the problem and how have others approached/solved the problem? How do I actually make the changes? These and more by Frank Piluso at our July 16th, 1997 meeting. Bring your Boss and inform them of what they may be missing!

Year 2000 Discussion by CGS

Computer Generated Solutions Web Page

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June 97- Power J(ava), Power ++ and PowerBuilder By Skip Marler, Senior Systems Consultant, Sybase

4:30pm-6pm Pre-Dinner Seminar on latest Powerbuilder features, Java & Questions, Dinner Event on Power (Optima) ++, Java, and PowerBuilder

Skip Marler,Senior Systems Consultant,Sybase / Powersoft Business Group, has worked as a consultant for various consulting companies over the last 7 years before recently moving to Sybase. Has participated in over 25 PowerBuilder client server projects over the last 6 years. Now responsible for the following within Sybase: PowerBuilder, Internet development, Power++ and PowerJ.

Skip will be presenting and demo-ing Power ++ The powerful new version of Optima++. Powersoft Power++ is the exciting new version of the award-winning Powersoft Optima++. Power++ is the first RAD C++ tool to deliver the performance you need for client/server, distributed and Internet applications. Its innovative component-based approach allows you to quickly create open, scaleable solutions built on the power of the industry-standard object-oriented language, C++.

In addition Skip will be presenting and demo-ing PowerJ. RAD Java for business application development PowerJ is designed to greatly enhance the productivity of business developers building and deploying Java applets and applications. Leveraging Sybase Inc.'s expertise in business application development and the technology of its award-winning Powersoftr Power++T, PowerJ provides a highly productive, component-based development environment with scaleable database connectivity and server-side development. Sybase Web site for Power J(ava), Power++ and PowerBuilder

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May 97-Data Warehousing- a Real Story By Jesse Jen, American Honda

Jesse Jen is a Database Manager at American Honda and told us how their project started, what some of the problems were and how they surmounted them. They converted from an ad hoc database to a global Data Warehouse. Some of the issues were Who owned the data, which data to use, who applications to do first, etc. It was really interesting to hear some "war" stories.

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April 97-Career Night- What's Hot and What's Not?-
Tips and Strategies By Tom McInnis and Data Design

Recruiting Firm in OC, San Francisco and Phoenix

Tom McInnis heads up Data Design, a Consulting Recruiting firm in Huntington Beach, San Francisco and Phoenix. He and his people will talk on What's Hot and What's Not in 1997, How to get to What's Hot, that First Job and how to land it, plus Internet sources for job hunting. Tom will show a video of the Interview process and how to interview (what not to do), as well as go over Changing careers in Mid-life (that old Mid-life or Lay-off Crisis!). Plus bring your questions, Tom will be happy to answer them!

The Data Design web site can be reached at http://www.datadesigncorp.com.
For further questions, contact Tom McInnis at email: ddchb@earthlink.net.

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March 97-Win 95- How do I make it Work, Tips and Hints by John Krill, Win 95 SIG Leader, North Orange County Computer Club

John Krill, a consultant and PC Technician in real life, leads the Windows 95 Special Interest Group for North Orange County Computer Club http://www.noccc.org, which has about 1,000 members, every month while answering Win 95 questions for members.

He will let us in on his favorite Hints and Tips for making Win 95 do what YOU want it to do. If you have any questions before hand, e-mail to :John Krill at jskrill@deltanet.com. John will tell us how to add File Manager that we all miss and really make WIN 95 user-friendly.

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February 97-LA Times Intranet by Elizabeth Davidson

Elizabeth Davidson is Intranet Project Manager for the Los Angeles Times. Recognized for her knowledge of Internet and Intranet technologies, she successfully implemented the Los Angeles Times Intranet Prime Times pilot project. Besides continuing the growth of this new Intranet, she is consulting internally on other web technology initiatives, as well as writing and speaking on organizational, management and operational issues for Intranets. Intranet projects are not just another IS project. Touted for ease of putting content up, Intranets have a degree of complexity which is often not discussed. Elizabeth will share her real-world experiences of implementing a successful intranet. . . . http://www.latimes.com

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January 97-GIS By Dr. James Pick

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are used as part of the GPSS (Global Positioning to find where you are when you are lost), demographic data for Marketing, etc.

James B. Pick is Professor of Management and Business at the University of Redlands, and has been Chair of the Department of Management and Business since 1995. He was previously a faculty member in the Graduate Management School at the University of California, Riverside. He has received honors, including the Thunderbird Award for research from the Business Association of Latin American Studies, and Best Faculty Teaching and Best Faculty Research awards from the University of Redlands. Dr. Pick is the author of six books and over 65 articles and paper in the areas of information systems, GIS, and sociological and population studies. His latest book, Mexico Megacity, to be published by Westview Press in February, 1997, is a GIS-based analysis of the urban dynamics of a giant city. He has conducted research in applied GIS for over eight years and has taught GIS at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Dr. Pick hold a Bachelor of Arts degree from Northwestern University and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Irvine.

December 96 Christmas Party in Cerritos

Great fun was had by all.

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November 96-Remote Computing By Xcellenet By Gary Wright, District Manager, Xcellenet

XcelleNet (Nasdaq-NM:XNET) is a worldwide leader in software for remote access computing. XcelleNet develops and markets RemoteWare®, a robust systems software foundation that runs on top of standard remote access connection architectures to provide value-added services to large numbers of remote and mobile users. RemoteWare has been licensed to over 465,000 remote or mobile users in more than 1,260 organizations in a variety of industries.

Xcellenet home page

RemoteWare® is a system software foundation for enterprise remote and mobile computing. It provides the communications, application and system management services necessary to create, deploy, and maintain intranetworking systems capable of supporting large numbers of remote and mobile users.

For remote facts, go to http://www.xcellenet.com/remote/facts

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October 96 Microsoft Internet/Intranets- ActiveX, Internet Explorer Browser and Front Page Web Page Creator

Microsoft's new Internet Explorer is the ONLY one with built-in Patental Control (Netscape doesn't). Their ActiveX technology allows them to create objects like Audio, Video and Animation quickly and easily. Their Front Page web page creator will really WOW you about how easy it is to create a Web page with their many built-in Templates.

The Internet Assistant (which is FREE) for Word ( also built-in to Win NT 4.0 and future versions of Word ) allows you to use your version of WORD as web page browsers, and creators.
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September 96 Robert X. Cringely, Noted Author,Commentator, ex-Info World Rumor Columnist

LA Basin Dinner where 6 DPMA chapters get tgether

Robert X. Cringely, Author of the National Best Seller-

"Accidental Empires: How the Boys of Silicon Valley Made their Millions, Battle Foreign Competition and Still Can't Get a Date"

Robert X. Cringely is well known throughout the Computer Industry. For over eight years his InfoWorld column was read weekly by more than 600,000 Computer Professionals. His column usually contained commentary directed toward the "Heavy Hitters" of the Silicon Valley.

He recently hosted a PBS Special called "Triumph of the Nerds: The Rise of Accidental Empires in Silicon Valley", based upon his best selling book. This PBS Special tackled the history of the Personal Computer Industry and explored the rise of Apple, Microsoft and other companies in the industry.

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August 96 Field Trip to PAC BELL ISDN LAB

By Rudi Seibert, PAC Bell ISDN Guru

This is a Gee-wiz tour!!

Rudy Seibert, Technical Guru, Pac Bell ISDN Lab will guide us through all the Tools, hardware (yes, I call them Toys) that enable ISDN to work FAST. Want a faster Internet connection? See what Rudy has!

Rudi will show us lots of ISDN connections including the hot Motorola Bit Surfer, real Video Conferencing using Intel ProShare, Internet connections as well as ISDN phones (they are different!). He will explain what all these boxes do, and what to look out for when you purchase them.

For more information on ISDN by an independent source, visit :http://alumni.caltech.edu/~dank/isdn

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July 96 JAVA by Steve Ballantine of Sun Microsystems

JAVA-What can it Do for ME? Why is it Different?

Why is Java so different than C++? What makes it work on the Internet?

Steven Ballantine, one of the Java specialists will be giving this presentation. Steve has over 16 years of experience in the computer industry and is currently a Java specialist for Sun Microsystems in their Los Angeles system engineering group. He will be giving an overview presentation on Java, Sun's new software platform for network based programming. Java allows an application to be written once and run on any platform supporting a Java runtime environment such as the Netscape Navigator world-wide web browser.

For more information, visit Sun's homepage at :http://www.sun.com

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June 96 Rapid Application Development by Russ Robinson, VP Ralphs

Russ Robinson is an I/T executive with over 30 years in the business. He is presently Vice President, Information Services at a large Southern California grocery chain where he has responsibility for all systems development and maintenance activities. Russ began his career as a computer operator and advanced through programming, systems analysis, and project management. He has 20 year's experience in I/T management, including the last five years at an executive level.

Though he grew up focused on mainframe development, he is no longer mainframe centric, and he has a high level of interest in Rapid Applications Development, Client-Server, and other emerging technologies. Of primary interest is how these technologies can be creatively applied in solving business problems.

In his presentation, Russ discussed the process, objective, and methodology of the RAD approach to systems solutions.

The RAD process and objective, according to Russ, is geared towards providing solutions that meet the user's needs and expectations rather than the developer's initial vision of the ideal solution. The RAD process attempts to ensure that the project remains focused on what the user needs by using a "systems development methodology that differs radically from traditional waterfall methodologies.

RAD methodology consists of four phases. It starts with a highly structured Joint Application Development (JAD) phase where users and I/T professionals, controlled by a facilitator (usually an outside consultant with RAD experience) are basically locked up in a room together for 2-3 full days in order to hammer out a design that should closely resemble the final one. The JAD phase is followed with Rapid Iterative Prototyping (RIP) where the design is coded, reviewed, and modified as needed during a fixed elapsed time. RIP is followed by the third phase: integration and testing. The fourth and final phase is implementation.

RAD's value lies in its commitment to satisfying user needs in an intense, concise development cycle that relies more on developing a working model based on direct user involvement and not on technical documentation and developer predispositions.

Russ is the author of the book, Radical Systems Development: An Introduction to Rapid Applications Development. The February 15th edition of Datamation Magazine contains his article, "Put the Rapid into RAD."

Visit Russ's Web page at http://www.lainet.com/rad.
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May 96 Career Strategies

Tom McInnis, along with two other members of Data Design Corporation,discussed career strategies. The panel provided insights into the consulting environment, gave tips on job searching, listed some of the jobs currently in high demand, and offered advice for both seasoned and entry-level professionals.

In order to succeed in the consulting environment, Data Design Corporation pointed out that consultants should be prepared to move quickly in order to take advantage of opportunities that usually become available only on short notice. They also noted that consulting opportunities, while averaging 6-12 months in duration,can range from an afternoon of work to 8 years. They also recommended being part of the National Association of Computer Consulting Board (NACCB), an organization with more than 300 members whose primary focus is on industry ethics.

In searching for a job, Mr McInnis recommended picking industry leaders pursuing growth. He also stressed that a job applicant should realize that there is no such thing as a lifetime career anymore. and plan accordingly. On the subject of resumes, he stated that the primary goal of the resume is to land an interview. The resume should be in a simple format and describe an applicant who is able to add value to the company. Finally, he stressed the importance of communication skills as being at least half of the skills necessary for success and not necessarily technical skills.

In describing what is currently in high demand, the panel noted that demand varies among industries as well as between general and consulting environments. Two of the hot areas noted are client/server development and internet development although mainframe skills still are sought after. The panel stressed that successful professionals must keep current with corporate America and its mergers and acquisitions to stay competitive.

The panel's advice for seasoned pros was to not worry about having to start over and be flexible. The seasoned pro should expect 3-4 changes over a career and should start networking before needing a job. Entry-level professionals were advised to stick with basics: be yourself, be confident, and be flexible. The entry-level professional should have a long-term vision but with a short-term focus and should constantly reevaluate the current situation. Finally the entry level professional should know his or her product or function inside and out.

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April 96 Consulting: Pros and Cons by Ron Groves of Talon Systems

Ron Groves of Talon Systems discussed the pros and cons of consulting from first hanging up the shingle to managing a career in full bloom. Ron and three other gentlemen formed a holding company to help each other with marketing and administration costs. The holding company helps cut costs on liability insurance, and each one helps market the others giving them three times the visibility that they would have individually.

The main advantage of becoming a consultant, according to Mr. Groves, is the ability to manage one's career more effectively.

The downside of consulting, according to Mr. Groves, comes mainly in the form of job insecurity, having to pay overhead and other expenses himself, and dealing with deadbeat clients.

Mr. Groves advises that a successful consultant should be easily reached and have the technology to be accessed at any time, in as professional a manner as possible (i.e. don't let your 4-year-old become your personal assistant if working out of your home).

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March 96: Colm Daniels of Borland demonstrates Delphi 2.0

Colm Daniels, a developer at Borland, demonstrated Borland's new release of Delphi 2.0 by creating a fairly complex working program in less than an hour with no more than a few lines of actual code. The program was able to search for and display graphics and AVI files stored in an Informix backend database.

There were several notable features of Delphi 2.0:

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February 96: ISDN

Cherie Shore, ISDN Technology Manager at Pacific Bell, demonstrated the potential of ISDN to improve internet access by allowing much faster data transfer rates--64 Kbps versus a maximum 14.4 Kbps rate allowed by the fastest modems.

In her presentation, Cherie described ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) as an "international standard for sending switched digital data over regular copper wiring, providing a standard interface for all services [voice, data, or video]." Configuration includes the ISDN service itself, an NT1 device (customer provided) serving as the interface between the ISDN line and the user's ISDN equipment (telehone, ISDN bridge or router, or digital modem), and any workstation equipment that can take advantage of ISDN services.

ISDN can be used for LAN interconnection, internet access, videoconferencing, bundling two voice applications using two B channels, or high-volume fax environments.
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January 96
Tracy Lenocker demonstrates CD-ROM technology by creating a CD of satellite images.

Tracy Lenocker, Product Manager at ESRI and founding father of a 20-year old PC User Group, discussed the evolution of CD-ROM technology, its use for storage and backup, and the various standards and categories that have been developed for its use. To top off the evening, Mr. Lenocker created a CD-ROM full of satellite images of weather and natural disasters like the Laguna fire that he is able to capture from the satellite dish he keeps in his back yard.

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December 95
Christmas Party hosted by George and Cathy Margolin (No Information)
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November 95: Lotus Messaging and Groupware

No Information
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October 95
How to Manage Change During Turbulent Times
by Robert L. Knauft, Ph.D. Vice President and Principal Dublin Group

Dr. Knauft has had more than 20 years of experience in business consulting, change management, adult learning and information technology. He currently serves as managing vice president of Dublin Group's Southern California office where he is responsible for the stategic planning, marketing and management of Dublin Group's Organizational Dynamics practise, which is designed to manage change and establish competitive leadership through breakdown performance.

Dr. Knauft stressed that "people are the core factor in successful organizations [and that] business organizations are systems of processes, people and technologies--dynamic, interrelated elements that interact to enable companies to succeed. Changes within any one of these three elements will impact the other two, however, it is through people that competitive leadership is established. To establish this leadership an organization's people must by ready, willing, and able to meet and surpass the challenges of the future."
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September 1995

L.A. Basin meeting

Bytes of Gold--Mining the Strategic Value of Data
by Teresa Elms, CDP Managing Editor of Computer Economics, Inc

For the DPMA L.A. Basin chapters' annual meeting, Theresa Elms, managing editor for Computer Economics, Inc, discussed the value of data and its importance to both the company and the customer.
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August 1995

A Tour of Kwikset Locks

DPMA members were treated to a tour of Kwikset's Anaheim location. We were able to view their manufacturing process and how they were handling automation issues. We were walked through the various stages that an ordinary lock goes through in assembly and shown both manual and automated processes for different types of locks.
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July 1995

Protecting and Perpetuating Your Career
in the 1990's

by Terry Thormodsgaard, Owner and President of Thor, Inc.

Terry Thormodsgaard discussed career strategies from the standpoint that successful professionals must consider themselves the CEOs of their own careers. He also discussed what to look for in a company and that a company in turmoil holds more opportunities for success than one might expect in that a company that is consistantly able to overcome one emergency after another shows good signs of strength.
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June 1995

Microsoft demonstrates final prerelease version of Windows 95

Mary Simons, Orange County's Microsoft representative, provided an exciting presentation of Windows 95's new features.
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