Front Range PC Users Group - A Short History!

The Front Range PC Users Group (FRPCUG) came about as an amalgam of Apple and MacIntosh users, a Heathkit users group (led by Charles McJilton), a Kaypro group, a CP/M users group, a IBM PC users group (led by Dave Trump), a Compaq users group, Front Range Atari Users Group (FRAUG), and MIDI Users Group, all operating in the '70s and early '80s. The blending of memberships became a necessity for some of these groups as the basic systems forming the foundation of their groups became dated and no longer supported.

During this period of time, technical developments, continued expansion of the uses of computers, and the development of computer interfaces with other machines has grown exponentially during the last 30 plus years. Special Interest Groups in FRPCUG have included groups working on HTML, NETWORKING, INTERNET, and TECHNOLOGY. Other interests of our membership have included genealogy, photography, music recording, computer aided design (or drafting) (CAD), computer aided machine control (CAM), geographic information systems (GIS), and many more. Our program history has touched on these areas and many, many more.

The meetings have settled into a comfortable pattern of a welcome, introduction of new attendees, announcements, open forum (dealing with individual problems), and a program of about one hour. Our meetings begin at 7:00 PM and are over by 9:00 PM on the first Tuesday of each month.

After meeting in a number of churches and the Poudre Fire Authority (downtown), over the years, for the last five years, FRPCUG has been meeting at the Fort Collins Senior Center in the south ballroom. The space is currently "rented" by teaching classes in MS Windows, MS Word (Word 2000), Quicken, and the Internet, most at beginning and intermediate levels. One Advance MS Word class has been offered in Jan. '07 with mixed results and modest attendance. The classes, as a rule, are well prepared and well received by the participants.

FRPCUG is an independent, nonprofit (501c3), computer club based in Fort Collins, Colorado. Meetings are open to anyone interested in any microcomputer using any operating system (OS,) for example: MS-DOS, Windows, or UNIX/LINUX. Our purpose is to provide an educational and scientific forum, where computer users improve their knowledge and skills with their computers together with other members.

General Meetings, or Forums, afford the opportunity to meet other members, exchange ideas and team together on computer projects of mutual interest. We currently are examining uses of the computer by our members and, more broadly, in our culture. Our monthly program topics cover new application software and operating systems, accessories including printers, plotters, scanners, recycling services, security issues, digital photography, music making & downloading, genealogy, publishing and graphics software, swap meets and software/hardware "ZOOs". Recent programs have centered around the recent Microsoft VISTA release, computer security, and recycling services. With increased capabilities and power of current personal computers, virtual computing and super powerful gaming machines hold some interest for the club leadership, and we trust will continue to generate the interest and attendance of club members.

You may add your thoughts to our frpcug.pbwiki.com page titled "Discussion Page". Please, join into this discussion there.

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