Category: meetings

  • TTCS meeting on Saturday September 8th, 2007 – Software Freedom Day 2007 event preparations

    TTCS meeting on Saturday September 8th, 2007 – Software Freedom Day 2007 event preparations

    The Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society (TTCS ; http://ttcsweb.org/) will be having a meeting on Saturday September 8th, 2007 from 1pm to 6pm at Engineering Consultants at 112A Edward Street, Port of Spain (corner of Oxford and Edward Streets).

    We need your help at this meeting to prepare for Software Freedom Day (SFD) on Saturday Sept 15th, 2007. SFD is a global, grassroots effort to educate the public about the benefits and availability of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS).

    In order to make SFD a great experience for those learning about Free/Open Source Software (FOSS) for the first time, we need to:

    • make a flyer about TTCS, TTCS OSSWIN CD, Ubuntu and Open Source.
    • make a flyer to promote the Software Freedom Day event
    • test machines which will be used for SFD. Minimum of three PCs needed, so far.
    • test a PC with Ubuntu installed.
    • practice how to do various tasks in Ubuntu that persons on other OSes are accustomed to.(e.g. common internet tasks, playing media content, installing a printer, etc).
    • have a Windows PC to show how to dual boot with Ubuntu or another “live”/hard drive-installed Linux distro.
    • have a Windows PC to demo Open Source Software for Windows (Microsoft Windows 98SE, Me, 2000, XP).
    • have a Windows Vista PC (if possible) to demo Open Source Software on this latest OS.
    • if possible, have a laptop running Ubuntu to show how it works on such a device.

    Linux/OSS fans, Windows users, Mac users, anyone is welcome to assist ith this project. If you can help us with these tasks, have ideas, suggestions, would like to volunteer to help with SFD 2007, then email the TTCS at admin at ttcsweb d.o.t org. Let us know if you will be attending the TTCS meeting on Saturday September 8th.

  • TTCS pizza lime on Wednesday August 8th, 2007

    TTCS pizza lime on Wednesday August 8th, 2007

    The next TTCS pizza lime will be held on Wednesday August 8th, 2007 at Pizza Hut, Valsayn from 7 to 9pm. One of the topics will be the 3rd Caribbean Internet Governance Forum which will held in Curacao, Netherland Antilles from the 16-17th August 2007.

  • TTCS pizzalime on THURSDAY July 19th, 2007 from 6pm – speaking with Guyana ccTLD (.gy) administrator

    TTCS pizzalime on THURSDAY July 19th, 2007 from 6pm – speaking with Guyana ccTLD (.gy) administrator

    The Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society will be having a meeting on Thursday July 19th, 2007 from 6pm at Pizza
    Hut, Roxy Roundabout.

    At this meeting, we will be speaking with the Guyana country code (.gy ; http://www.registry.gy/) domain administrator about his experiences with running the .gy top level domain (TLD) and issues related to operating regional country code top level domains (ccTLDs).

    Persons interested in computers and related technology are invited to attend. A contribution of $25 towards refreshments is expected. Copies of TTCS OSSWIN CD will be available for $40 TT. Be there or be square!

  • Summary of TTCS meetings held in 2006

    Summary of TTCS meetings held in 2006

    We hold two types of meetings : Pizza Limes and Tech Meetings.

    “Pizza Lime” is the name given to our monthly discussion forum which is usually held at Pizza Hut, Roxy Roundabout, Port of Spain on the second Wednesday of the month. During the course of the year, Pizza Hut increased their prices (for both food and the party room) to a level which we could no longer afford.  Fortunately, we were able to hold several pizza limes at  F1 Connect  #33 Mucurapo Road, St. James, Port of Spain in the fourth quarter of 2006. Pizza was purchased from the nearby Papa John’s.

    At a tech meeting we have computers (and other equipment where necessary) on site to demonstrate a particular type of hardware or software. These meetings held at Engineering Consultants, 112A Edward Street, Port of Spain or at Handarnold Trinidad Ltd, El Socorro, San Juan.

    Wednesday January 11th, 2006 – TTCS Pizza Lime

    Main topic for discussion was discussing the release of the TTCS OSSWIN CD online for download.

    Saturday January 21st, 2006 – TTCS Podcast #8 recorded

    See https://www.ttcs.tt/2016/09/16/ttcs-podcasts-1-to-20-from-2005-to-2010/ for notes and download links

    Wednesday February 8th, 2006 – TTCS Pizza Lime

    Topics discussed :

    Wednesday March 8th 2006 – TTCS Pizza Lime

    Topics discussed :

    Saturday March 11th, 2006 – TTCS Podcast #9 recorded

    See https://www.ttcs.tt/2016/09/16/ttcs-podcasts-1-to-20-from-2005-to-2010/ for notes and download links

    Wednesday 12th April 2006 – TTCS Pizza Lime

    Held at Pizza Hut, Valsayn, topics discussed :

    Saturday April 29th, 2006 – TTCS tech meeting – Mozilla Firefox, Mozilla Thunderbird extensions and themes

    Colin gave the first presentation about Mozilla Firefox. After discussing several Firefox myths, he reviewed: how to install and uninstall extensions, themes and plugins for the browser.

    Problems that may be encountered (such as conflicting extensions) were discussed along with possible solutions.

    Dev T gave the second presentation on extensions for Mozilla Thunderbird.

    Wednesday May 10th, 2006 – meeting with ICANN

    We met with John Crain and Jacob Malthouse from ICANN, The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is an internationally organized, non-profit corporation that has responsibility for Internet Protocol (IP) address space allocation, protocol identifier assignment, generic (gTLD) and country code (ccTLD) Top-Level Domain name system management, and root server system management functions.

    The meeting was held at Engineering Consultants and lasted several hours. A variety of topics were discussed ranging from what ICANN does and how it functions, the situation regarding the .tt domain and how groups like TTCS can get involved with ICANN

    The meeting was recorded, and an unofficial transcript was done by Vasudev and Dexter, with final formatting by Colin : Download transcript : Transcription2a.pdf

    Mark Lyndersay wrote about the meeting in his 23rd May 2006 BitDepth column.

    Thursday May 11th, 2006 – TTCS Pizza Lime

    Held on Thursday at Pizza Hut, Roxy to cater for the meeting with ICANN on Wednesday May 10th, 2006. Topics discussed :

    Saturday May 27th, 2006 – TTCS Podcast #10 recorded

    See https://www.ttcs.tt/2016/09/16/ttcs-podcasts-1-to-20-from-2005-to-2010/ for notes and download links

    Wednesday June 14th, 2006 – TTCS Pizza Lime

    Topics discussed :

    Saturday June 24th, 2006 – discussion of Internet Bandwidth Management

    Held at Engineering Consultants, to discuss the “Internet Bandwidth Management” proposal document from the Ministry of Public Administration and to formulate the response to it.

    The TTCS comments on the “Internet Bandwidth Management” proposal (PDF ; 140K) were submitted to the Ministry on June 27, 2006.

    Wednesday July 12th, 2006 – TTCS pizza lime

    Topics discussed :

    Saturday July 15th, 2006 – TTCS Tech Meeting – Microsoft Vista Beta 2

    Dev T gave a demonstration about Microsoft Windows Vista Beta 2 , Microsoft’s upcoming operating system and pointed out the various features of Vista.

    At the end of the meeting, an official version of Microsoft Windows Vista Beta 2 on DVD (which comes with serial code), was given away.

    Wednesday August 9th, 2006 – TTCS Pizza Lime

    Saturday August 12th, 2006 – OSS LAN gaming

    This meeting was a LAN party which focused on OSS (open source software) games for Windows.

    The games played :

    Saturday August 19th, 2006 – Podcast #11 recorded

    See https://www.ttcs.tt/2016/09/16/ttcs-podcasts-1-to-20-from-2005-to-2010/ for notes and download links.

    Sunday August 20th, 2006 – test of mobile Wi-Fi hotspot

    This scheduled meeting was cancelled due to the sudden unavailability of the required equipment. The concept had been tested earlier however and we can use Wi-Fi for future meetings.

    Saturday August 26th, 2006 – TTCS tech meeting – a look at MacOSX

    Our first meeting to be held at Hand, Arnold (Trinidad) Limited, El Socorro Road Extension, El Socorro, San Juan.

    (See http://tinyurl.com/knbef for a satellite map of its location on Wikimapia)

    Ricardo Sandy of F1 Connect showed off several features of the version of Apple’s MacOS X operating system, codenamed “Leopard” (http://www.apple.com/macosx/leopard/),  showing the features highlighted by Steve Jobs keynote earlier this year. F1 Connect also bought several Intel-based Mac computers such as the Mac Mini to demonstrate their capabilities.

    Mike T demonstrated several of the iLife (http://www.apple.com/ilife/) applications.

    Saturday September 16th, 2006 – Software Freedom Day 2006

    Also held at HandArnold.

    The meeting was to celebrate Software Freedom Day 2006, a global, grassroots effort to educate the public about the virtues and availability of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS).

    At the meeting, Dev T showed how to dual boot Windows and Linux (using Ubuntu, a popular Linux distro). The steps taken :

    • Defrag the Windows partition to create free space at the end of the hard disk which could be used for Linux. Check the free space after that. You should have 5GB to run Linux comfortably at least.
    • Next boot the Gparted Live CD. Gparted is a program which can create/resize partitions. Gparted was used to resize the Windows XP partition to create 10GB free space.
    • Ubuntu was then installed and pointed to use the free space. Ubuntu created a boot menu so you can boot into either Windows or Ubuntu.

    Also, shown on another machine was Ubuntu installed with XGL/Compiz, which uses graphics cards hardware acceleration to show several visual effects not seen in Windows or MacOS X.

    Saturday September 30th, 2006 – report about ICANN workshop on Sept 9-10, 2006

    After the TTCS meeting with ICANN on May 10, 2006, the TTCS submitted an application to ICANN on August 22nd, 2006 to be designated as an “At-Large Structure.”

    The application can be viewed at http://www.alac.icann.org/latin/applications/ttcs-22aug06.htm

    ICANN hosted a workshop on September 9-10, 2006 in Buenos Aires, Argentina to bring together such groups and lay the foundations for the development of a regional at-large organisation to be called the Latin American and the Caribbean Regional At Large Organization (LACRALO). This organisation would consolidate regional policy advice on Internet management.

    Anil Ramnanan attended the September 9-10th meeting and discussed the workshop today at Engineering Consultants.

    Also discussed was the Ministry of Public Administration and Information (MPAI) response to the TTCS comments about the proposed “Internet Bandwidth Management Strategy”.

    Saturday October 28th, 2006 – TTCS pizza lime

    Held at ENCO, the topics discussed :

    A machine with MS Windows Vista Release Candidate 1 was also available for anyone who wanted a first look at Vista in action.

    Wednesday November 8th, 2006 – TTCS pizza lime

    The meeting was held at F1 Connect at #33 Mucurapo Road, St. James, Port of Spain (next to Papa John’s).

    Topics discussed :

    Re: the November 1st, 2006 MPAI workshop, Dev T had attended the workshop and discussed the findings from it.  At this workshop, the MPAI presented two broad proposals to address the issue of Internet Bandwidth Management :

    • Development of an Internet eXchange Point (IXP) :
      • how such an IXP be developed and managed
      • the best location for an IXP
    • local hosting of local content :
      • what should be done to promote local content development
      • how should domestic hosting be developed and managed
      • where would such a local hosting facility be located

    After the MPAI did a presentation of both issues, attendees were broken up into two groups to look at each topic. At the end of the workshop, both groups presented their findings.

    The MPAI later published an Overview of Internet Bandwidth Management Consultation (PDF ; 72K)

    Saturday November 11th, 2006 – discussion of “Role of OSS in TnT”

    Held at Engineering Consultants (ENCO).

    The discussion focused on formulating our response to the Ministry of Public Administration and Information (MPAI) discussion paper on “The role of Open Source Software in Trinidad and Tobago”.

    Points raised in the discussion were captured on our wiki page: Role of Open Source Software in TnT

    Saturday November 18th, 2006 – “Role of OSS in TnT”

    The deadline for comments on the Ministry of Public Administration and Information (MPAI) paper on “the role of Open Source Software” was November 25, 2006, so a second meeting was held at Engineering Consultants (ENCO).

    Once again, points raised in the discussion were captured on our wikipage : Role of Open Source Software in TnT

    View the  Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society (TTCS) comments on “The role of Open Source Software in Trinidad and Tobago (2006 – 2008)” as submitted to MPAI on November 25th, 2006.

    Saturday December 16th, 2006 – report on ICANN General meeting in Sao Paulo, Brazil

    Dev T represented the TTCS at the ICANN general meeting in Sao Paulo, Brazil from December 2-6, 2006.

    As one of the ten accredited ‘At-Large Structures’ (the TTCS received accreditation from ICANN in November 2006), the TTCS

    together with representatives from the other nine accredited ‘At-Large-Structures’ signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with ICANN to create the Latin American and the Caribbean Regional At Large Organisation (LACRALO). Related links :

    You can see a video clip of the signing of the MOU :

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1Rmpp0VLQQ]

    Photos of the ICANN signing MOU with Latin American and Caribbean At Large Structures –  http://flickr.com/photos/bretfausett/314961791/

  • Summary of TTCS Meetings held in 2005

    Summary of TTCS Meetings held in 2005

    We hold two types of meetings : Pizza Limes and Tech Meetings. A Pizza Lime is the name given to our monthly discussion forum which is usually held at Pizza Hut, Roxy Roundabout, Port of Spain on the second Wednesday of the month. The tech meeting is when we have computers on site to demonstrate a particular type of hardware or software.

    (more…)
  • TTCS/TTLUG Installfest 2005

    TTCS/TTLUG Installfest 2005

    When and Where

    Date: Sunday 11th September 2005

    Time: 1pm to 5pm

    Where: Engineering Consultants (ENCO), 112A Edward Street (corner of Oxford and Edward Street), Port of Spain.

    The Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society (TTCS) will be installing open source software for Windows such as those on the TTCS OSSWIN CD.

    The TTLUG will be installing several Linux distros: Fedora Core, Mandriva, Knoppix/Mepis/Morphix Light and for the brave, Gentoo, Slackware and other non-mainstream distros.

    (more…)
  • Summary of TTCS Meetings held in 2004

    Summary of TTCS Meetings held in 2004

    We hold two types of meetings : Pizza Limes and Tech Meetings. A Pizza Lime is the name given to our monthly discussion forum which is usually held at Pizza Hut, Roxy Roundabout, Port of Spain on the second Wednesday of the month. The tech meeting is when we have computers on site to demonstrate a particular type of hardware or software.

    (more…)
  • Summary of TTCS Meetings held in 2003

    Summary of TTCS Meetings held in 2003

    We hold two types of meetings : Pizza Limes and Tech Meetings. A Pizza Lime is the name given to our monthly discussion forum which is usually held at Pizza Hut, Roxy Roundabout, Port of Spain on the second Wednesday of the month. The tech meeting is when we have computers on site to demonstrate a particular type of hardware or software.

    (more…)
  • FLOS Caribbean 2003 Report

    FLOS Caribbean 2003 Report

    FLOS Caribbean 2003 Report

    (Updated : March 2015  – added wayback links to FLOS Caribbean website and removed the “contact the creator” section)

    Introduction

    The Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society was one of the exhibitors at the Free, Libre and Open Source Software (FLOS) Conference.

    The Conference and Exhibition was held at the Central Bank, Port of Spain on Thursday 26th and Friday 27th June 2003.

    This page provides details about Society activities for the conference.

    NOTE: Programs on the GNUWin II CD were updated by the TTCS for the FLOS Software Conference. You can get the CD for TT$20. Please email us at: ttcs at opus.co.tt and let us know if you wish to purchase a CD.

    Preparations for the conference

    Preparations for the Free, Libre and Open Source Software (FLOS) Conference began in early 2003 when we offered space to operate a booth in the DOT Org section of the main exhibition area by the conference organisers: the Caribbean Centre for Monetary Studies and Trinidad and Tobago Linux Users Group.

    During March and April, members were asked to contribute ideas and suggestions as to what could be done at the booth; they were also kept updated on the status of the conference thanks to regular email notices and live reports from Richard J at TTCS Pizza Limes.

    Work on the booth began in the middle of May. The objectives were to promote:

    • the Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society.
    • the GNUWin II CD: a CD-ROM containing a variety of open source software for the Windows operating system.
    • Knoppix: a GNU/Linux distribution that runs completely from the CD (no hard drive installation required) and includes recent Linux software and desktop environments.

    Sunday 25th May 2003: Created the initial booth layout sketch and equipment list.

    Saturday 31st May 2003: Timetable for conference preparations finalised. Began planning booth activities.

    Saturday 7th June 2003: Draft versions of the 3 OpenOffice.Org Impress presentations presented to members. CD label designs modified.

    Saturday 14th June 2003: Finalised: the Impress presentations, the Society brochure, the one-page flyer (for use with the CD sales), tested the video splitter for the first time.

    Saturday 21st June 2003: Tables, chairs and computer equipment were set-up, plugged in and tested. The initial layout was modified to accomadate a “demo” machine. This computer would be used by anyone who desired hands-on experiance with the GNUWin software or Knoppix. Everything worked smoothly. The “Booth Crew” and daily timetable were also finalised.

    Monday 23rd June 2003: Informal site visit to the exhibition area at the Central Bank.

    Wednesday 25th June 2003:

    • installed and tested the GNUWin software on the “demo” machine.
    • burned CDs for sale during the Exhibition.
    • packed equipment.

    The Booth

    The Booth was located on the western side of the exhibition area between the TTLUG and TTAC booths.

    Diagram showing the general layout of the booth

     

    Picture of the booth at the Central Bank

     

    Photo of the booth at the Central Bank

     

    Equipment used:

    • Three Athlon class machines.
    • Three 17″ CRT monitors.
    • One LCD monitor.
    • One 15″ CRT monitor.
    • One 4-port video splitter.
    • One 4-port KVM switch.
    • One 4-port ethernet network hub.
    • Three tables.

    Software on display:

    • Applications and games from the GNUWin II CD-ROM.
    • The Knoppix GNU/Linux distribution.
    • An offline version of the Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society website.

    Two of the machines were plugged into the KVM and video splitter. These were used to demonstrate the software on the GNUWin II CD and the Knoppix live Linux distro. The third machine was a “hands-on” demo machine where visitors to the booth were able to use the GNUWIN software. In the case of Knoppix, visitors could boot the machine themselves and use all the Linux software on the disk.

    The Society’s FLOS Caribbean “Blog”

    Thursday 26th June 2003:

    There was a mix-up in the scheduling and we were unable to set up the booth on Wednesday 25th. This meant that we had to spend the first three hours of Thursday morning transporting and setting up tables and equipment. Fortunately, our staging area for the Conference was located in Port of Spain so only a little time was lost due to transportation.

    The Conference was well attended on Day One, in fact so many people were present that the initial area set aside for lunch (on the 16th floor) could not accomadate everyone. The Conference organisers decided to split the group: half would take lunch immediately while the other half would go downstairs to the official launch of the Exhibition. The original schedule called for the launch to take place at 1300 hrs.

    Many of the Conference attendees were curious about the Knoppix CD since many of them were of the belief that GNU/Linux could only work if it was installed on a hard drive. The GNUWin CD was very popular with visitors since many of them were unaware that there was open source software available for the Windows operating system. Others who were aware, were surprised at the variety and high quality of the available applications. Many of the visitors took the opportunity to try out both the Knoppix distro and the various applications from the GNUWin CD on the Demo machine. We had 30 CDs (19 GNUWin and 11 Knoppix) alloted for the two days of the conference. All were sold by closing time (1700 hrs) on Thursday.

    Friday 27th June 2003:

    The traffic from Conference attendees on Friday was not as heavy as on Thursday but more members of the general public, Central Bank employees and TTCS members visited the booth. In a way, less traffic was a good thing because visitors got to use the Demo machine for a longer period of time.

    A second batch of 23 CDs (11 Knoppix, 12 GNUWin) was burned overnight for the second day of the conference. All were sold out by noon. We had to purchase and burn additional CD-Rs, print new CD labels and handouts.

    Closing time on Day Two was about 1715 hrs and all equipment was returned to the staging area by 1830 hrs. There was a get-together after the close of the conference at Pizza Hut Roxy Roundabout (it was not a TTCS Pizza Lime). Some of the TTCS booth crew attended along with other Conference persons such as Robin ‘Roblimo’ Miller, David Sugar and Steve Traguott. FYI: We sold a total of 30 Knoppix CDs and 40 GNUWin CDs.

    Comments

    • Overall there was a good level of enthusiasm for the concept and (perhaps more importantly) the products of Free, Libre and Open Source Software (FLOS). Our (TTCS) experiance with booth visitors suggests that local computer users are willing to experiment with alternatives to expensive, proprietary software. If they will continue to use it after the initial “thrill” has worn off is unknown.
    • Awareness of the existance of Free, Libre and Open Source Software (FLOS) is another problem. Local user groups and individuals have been promoting FLOS concepts and products for some time now but mainstream users have yet to hear about them.
    • Many mainstream users who know about Free, Libre and Open Source Software (FLOS) are reluctant to try it because they fear it is not as good as commercial, proprietary software.
    • Acceptance of FLOS is less about technical merit of the software and more about the attitude some i

      ndividuals and comapnies have towards it.
    • There was talk of a need for a “grassroots” movement to spread awareness of FLOS. While it is good to “start small but think big”, persons who are involved with such a concept or who are thinking about becoming involved with such a concept, must remember:
      • There are no short cuts to success.
      • Difficult and thankless work is required to achieve a successful “grassroots” movement.
      • The “grassroots” movement will be in direct competition with multi-million dollar advertising campaigns and other promotional efforts from financially wealthy proprietary software companies.
      • Acceptance of FLOS requires a change in attitude amongst potential users. Changing that attitude will be difficult.
    • FLOS can only achieve its full potential if there is a change in the local attitude towards: self-sufficiency, computers/information technology, data security, the local economy and expenditure of local tax dollars.
    • The FLOS Caribbean Conference was a first step in raising awareness of FLOS and addressing some of the issues mentioned in this list of comments. Attendess, presenters and the organisers must now capitalise on this surge of interest and show how FLOS can truly benefit this nation.

    Thanks and acknowledgements

    The Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society would like to say thanks to:

    • The “Booth Crew”: Dev, Paul, Colin, Helen, James.
    • Dev, Paul and Anil for donating equipment.
    • Richard, our liason with the conference organisers.
    • All members who took time out to visit us at the Conference booth.
    • All members who contributed ideas, comments and suggestions via email and helped us to have the best booth possible.
    • The Trinidad and Tobago Linux Users Group (TTLUG) and the Caribbean Centre for Monetary Studies (CCMS) for the invitation to take part in the Conference and for providing the exhibition space.

    Links to sites mentioned in the slideshow, the brochure and at the conference booth

  • Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) [19-04-2003]

    Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) [19-04-2003]

    TTCS Official FAQ

    Last updated : April 19th, 2003

    Introduction

    Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about the Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society (TTCS)

    How old is the Computer Society?

    The Society began operations in August 1997.

    Are there any fees to join the Society?

    There are no membership fees at this time.

    There is a fee of TT$20 (a contribution to the food bill) if you eat at one of our “Pizza Limes”™.

    The Computer Society Management reserves the right to charge fees for any and all present and future services of the society.

    Note: Any and all fees, including the pizza lime “contribution”, are subject to change without further notice.

    How often do you have meetings?

    We try to have at least 2 meetings per month. One Pizza Lime™ (usually the second Wednesday of the month) and one tech meeting (usually the third Saturday of the month).

    What is a Pizza Lime™?

    Pizza lime™ is the name given to our monthly discussion forum which is held at Pizza Hut, Roxy Roundabout, Port of Spain. We eat (pizza of course) and talk/exchange ideas on a variety of issues. Take a look at the Past Meetings pages for where you will find summaries of the topics covered at previous “limes”. Meetings begin at 6:00 PM and can end as late as 10:30 PM! For those who may be wondering, “lime”, in this context, does not refer to the citrus fruit. It is a Trini slang term for an informal social gathering.

    What is a tech meeting?

    The tech meeting is usually held once a month and at these meetings, we have computers on site to demonstrate a particular type of software, show a system tweak, play games etc. At these meetings, members can distribute/talk about shareware, freeware and open source software which may of use to others. Take a look at the Past Meetings pages for summaries of the topics covered at previous meetings. Meetings begin at 1:00 PM and end between 4:30 and 5:00 PM.

    Is there a dress code for meetings?

    Officially, the dress code is informal so casual to “business wear” is acceptable for most meetings. For example, the pizza limes are held on a weekday so it is not unusual to see attendees wearing anything from T-shirts and jeans to long-sleeves and ties and even suits since they just finished work and decided to drop by. Our tech meetings are normally held on weekends so members usually dress casual. Of course, if we were to have a more formal event we would expect a certain level of formal wear 🙂

    What can I expect at one of your meetings?

    • Pizza Lime™: An informal gathering of folks who: work in local IT, are associated with IT or are simply interested in computers and modern technology. We discuss the details of what is going on at home and abroad and what impact those actions and new technologies would have on local computing and the local economy. Of course we also eat pizza! The meeting begins a 6:00 PM and food is ordered at 6:30 PM. We talk until the food arrives and then there is a pause as we eat. The official end of a meeting is usually between 8:00 PM and 9:00 PM. Most attendees usually stay back and chat amongst themselves, sometimes as late as 10:30 PM!
    • Tech meeting: Once again, the people in attendance come from all walks of life: business professionals, high school students, folks who either work in local IT or are associated with IT, people who are interested in computers and modern technology. The discussion at this type of meeting is naturally more technical that at a pizza lime, but if you don’t understand something, just ask. Meetings begin at 1:00 PM and end between 4:30 and 5:00 PM.

    Actual content varies from meeting to meeting, so take a look at the Past Meetings pages for summaries of the topics covered at previous tech meetings and pizza limes.

    We strive to make these meetings as friendly and non-intimidating as possible for all attendees therefore in order that a pleasant experience can be had by all, we ask you to follow these simple rules:

    • Leave your ego at the door.
    • Our membership consists of a wide cross section of people who will certainly have opinions (on any number of topics) that are different to your own. Diversity of opinion is one of the strong points of these meetings. You can learn a lot from listening to an opinion that is different to your own but if your way is the only way then you may be better off elsewhere/not attending in the first place.
    • Attendees of our meetings come from different social/financial/educational backgrounds so if you are one of those persons who feel they must only associate with people of similar status to themselves then do not waste your time or our time, feed your insecuity elsewhere.
    • These meetings are about the exchange of information and ideas/solutions about computers and modern technology and the social issues surrounding them. This is not the forum for discussing controversial topics such as politics, religion, etc.
    • Criticise the concept/idea/solution NOT the person!
    • If you feel angry about something that has been said and your temper is at the point where you want to be verbally and/or physically abusive, do the wise thing: excuse yourself and leave the meeting (make sure you pay the $20 before you do!). Do not suffer needlessly.
    • Constructive criticism is welcome. When you grumble about something, support your viewpoint with relevant facts and counterpoints.
    • Respect the health of others. We do not advocate smoking at any of our meetings. The majority of members who attend the pizza lime do not smoke and the few smokers who do attend avoid smoking inside the building. If you attend the pizza lime and really need to smoke, please step outside. Alcohol and smoking are not permitted at any tech meeting.
    • Having strong opinions about a given matter is not an excuse to throw a temper tantrum or to be verbally and/or physically abusive to anyone who offers/supports a different view at any meeting.
    • Remember, you are in a public place and any type of abusive or disorderly behaviour can and will land you in trouble with the law.
    • This is not the forum for raw commercial promotion of goods and services. By all means talk about it but do not give us the hard sell. Remember: anyone (not just at these meetings but from the general public as well) who feels exploited or talked-down-to is someone who will most likely avoid purchasing the very same goods and services being promoted.

    Do I have to use computers to be a TTCS member? Do I have to be an IT professional to attend one of your meetings? Do I have to be a computer science student to be a member of TTCS/attend one of your meetings? Do I have to have any special academic qualifications to be a member of your group? Do I have to be employed with an IT company to be a TTCS member?

    No. The Computer Society welcomes everyone interested in computers and related technologies: from the non-user now looking to get involved with computers to the person who just bought their first machine; from the novice to the hard-core power user; from the high-school student now doing computer related courses for O and A levels to the IT professional with the university degree; from the person now starting a basic computer literacy course to the office worker who is experienced with productivity suites. All we ask is that you are familiar with technology and are willing to converse with the rest of us.

    Can I attend your meetings even though I am a member of another IT group?

    Yes. We welcome attendees from all aspects of the local IT arena. Just remember, our business may be conducte
    d in a manner that is different to the way your group conducts its business.

    Do I have to eat pizza at the Pizza Lime™?

    No. You can order any other food offered by Pizza Hut. Please note that what ever alternative food you order is billed separately and you will be required to pay Pizza Hut directly.

    The Society will not pay the bill for you

    Can I get a beer at a pizza lime? Can I smoke at a pizza lime or tech meeting?

    If you order beer at a pizza lime you will be billed separately and you will be required to pay Pizza Hut directly.

    The Society will not pay the bill for you.

    We do not advocate smoking at any of our meetings. The majority of members who attend the pizza lime do not smoke and the few smokers who do attend avoid smoking inside the building. If you attend the pizza lime and really need to smoke, please step outside.

    Alcohol and smoking are not permitted at any tech meeting.

    Can I bring my computer to a tech meeting?

    Yes. We would appreciate it if you tell us of your intention a few days in advance so that arrangements can be made to accommodate your machine.

    Can I bring my computer to a Pizza Lime™?

    Only if it is a laptop. We would appreciate it if you tell us of your intention a few days in advance. There simply is no space to accommodate/time to set up a full-fledged desktop system in the eating area that we use at Pizza Hut.

    What sort of storage media do you support?

    We support: 1.44Mb floppy disks, 100MB Zip disks, CD-ROM, DVD-R and CD-R.

    Are you a windows-only computer group?

    No. We only focus on windows because most members use one or more of its many flavours (e.g. Windows 95, 98, 98SE, ME, NT, 2000, XP), however we have done meetings which focused on other operating systems (e.g. BeOS, DOS, Linux and Mac OS X).

    Can I make a presentation at a tech meeting?

    Yes. Please email ttcs@opus.co.tt with the relevant details. You should be well-versed in the topic of your choice and will be expected to answer non-standard questions.

    Can my company promote a tech related product or service at one of your meetings?

    Yes. contact us with the relevant details. We encourage companies to provide more than just the usual “public relations”/”press kit” package. Our members want real information not just a sales pitch. Your company representative should be well versed in the product line or service and will be expected to answer non-standard questions.

    Can you give me a copy of your e-mail list so my company can promote products/services to your members?

    NO. We do not sell/lease/give-away or in any other way disclose members’ personal information to any third party. If you really want to promote your products/services, email ttcs@opus.co.tt with the relevant details. We can then arrange for you to make your presentation at either a pizza lime or a tech meeting (whichever is more appropriate). REMEMBER: Our members want real information not just a sales pitch. Your company representative should be well versed in the product line or service and will be expected to answer non-standard questions.

    Are there any other computer groups in the country?

    Yes. This URL provides a list of the computer groups that are currently in operation:

    http://community.wow.net/presario/list

    Do you have a Discussion List?

    Yes we do. It is used to discuss any TTCS matters and activities and computer related material/issues in Trinidad and Tobago.

    • To join the TTCS discussion list: send a email to ttcs-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
    • You can view the public message archive of this discussion list at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ttcs

    CAUTION: This is an unmoderated list that is open to the public for two-way email (when someone posts to the list, every subscribed to the list receives it) thus there is the potential to be spammed.

    Is your Announce List the same as your Discussion List?Will I be spammed if I subscribe to your e-mail Announce List?

    No. Our Announce list is one-way: from us to you. It is used to inform members of upcoming Society events as well as other topics we feel may be of interest to them.

    What is the purpose of this group?

    • To be an informal forum where technology and related social issues can be discussed.
    • To share information about computers and related technologies.
    • To keep current with the events in the local IT industry.
    • To bring together people from diverse backgrounds in order to foster a community where home users, business people, the general public and all classes of IT workers can share experiences and generally improve the quality of the experience they have while using modern technology.

    Why should I join your group?What’s in it for me?

    This is a difficult question to answer since everyone has their own reasons for joining any sort of group. The best way to answer this would be to use this phrase: “you reap what you sow”. Take a look at the Past Meetings pages. Would you like to be involved in these sorts of activities and events? Would you like to share your experiances and knowledge with fellow computer users and technology enthusiasts? If you are willing to give your time and the occasional financial contribution (i.e. money, when necessary) to help a dynamic local group, then the TTCS extends a welcome to you. We hope that you will be an active participant in our various endevours and will appreciate all that we have to offer. However, if you are one of those leech types who only do things for fame and the almighty dollar then you are out of luck: this is definitely not the group for you.

    Who manages the TTCS?

    There is no formal management structure to the TTCS, that is, we do not have an elected president, vice president, secretary, treasurer etc. Everyone who assists in the regular operations is a volunteer and has equal responsibility for both success and failure of all Society activities. You can think of it as an “Open Source” approach: people from diverse backgrounds coming together for a common cause with an informal command and control structure to oversee all activities.

    How do I join the TTCS?

    It is a 2 step process:

    • First, sign up on our TTCS Announce mailing list. This list is used to inform members about upcoming meetings and other Society activities. The list archive is located at: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/ttcs_announce
      • To subscribe, send a blank email message to: ttcs_announce-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
      • Unsubscribe: ttcs_announce-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
      • This is a 1 way list (only the list-owner can send messsages).
    • Second, attend as many meetings as possible and help the Society in whatever way you can.

    Refer to these links for further information:

    Does the Society require assistance/help with anything?

    YES. We need peop
    le to: assist management, to make presentations at tech meetings, to organise additional venues for tech meetings, to contribute material to the “Tech Articles”, to help with website maintainence/design, etc. Please email us: ttcs@opus.co.tt if you feel you have a special skill/service which you think maybe of use to us. Have an idea that may help the TTCS? then don’t be shy, contact us with the relevant details! Please remember: if your skill/service/idea etc is accepted, you will be expected to follow through and actually “deliver the goods”. If you volunteer to do something, we expect you to pull your share of the workload and when necessary, accept responsibility for your screw-ups.

    Is there an age limit/age restriction for members?

    No, however:

    • If you are under 18 years old and wish to sign-up on our mailing list(s): Let your parent(s), guardian or other responsible adult know that you want to subscribe to them. Parents: The TTCS Announce List is used to inform members about upcoming meetings and other Society activities. It is a one way list (from TTCS management to the subscriber) thus it should be relatively “safe” that is, no “mature content”. The TTCS Discussion List is an unmoderated list that is open to the public for two-way email (when someone posts to the list, every subscribed to the list receives it) to discuss any TTCS matters and activities and computer related material/issues in Trinidad and Tobago. Because it is not moderated, your child(ren) could be/maybe exposed to “mature content”.
    • If you are under 18 years old and wish to attend a meeting: Let your parent(s), guardian or other responsible adult know that you want to go to a meeting and get them to accompany you to these meetings. Parents: The majority of members/people who attend our meetings (both the Pizza Lime™ and the tech meetings) are over the age of 18 thus if your child(ren) attend these meetings they could be/maybe exposed to “mature content”.

    Is the TTCS related to the SCU (Society of Computer Users)?

    Indirectly. The TTCS is an independant, new organisation created by ex-members of the defunct SCU. It is not a “recylced”, “rehashed”, “re-branded” version of the Society of Computer Users. For anyone who maybe wondering, the Society of Computer Users (SCU) ceased operations in early 1996. Further information about the SCU can be found at our Society of Computer Users

    Does membership in the Computer Society entitle me to discounts at local retailers?

    No.

    What is your privacy policy?

    We do not sell/lease/give-away or in any other way disclose members’ personal information to any third party.

    Need more information about the TTCS?

    There are several pages on this site that can provide you with even more info about the TTCS:

    Do you have questions/comments/suggestions about the TTCS?

    If you have questions/comments/suggestions about the operation, structure, etc of the TTCS, here are your options for contacting the TTCS management: