Hong Kong readers: meet with me on June 15
By
Brian Livingston
For many moons, I've wanted to hold a series of free seminars for Windows Secrets readers in various cities of the world.
I don't really have an entire series worked out yet, but I'm doing kind of a trial run by offering a meeting with newsletter subscribers on June 15 in a single city: Hong Kong.
As you may remember, we gave four lucky readers in 2007 a Fred Langa Housecall — a one-on-one free seminar with our former editor, who wanted to discover the breadth of North America on his motorcycle before retiring from computer writing. We used the locale (country and postal code) that our subscribers had entered on their Windows Secrets preferences page to help decide where on his U.S. and Canada tour Fred would stop.
This year, if I held a free seminar in, say, Manhattan, I don't know whether 10 or 10,000 readers would show up. So I've decided to start small in Hong Kong, a place where we have only about 200 subscribers.
Meeting with Brian Livingston
Sunday, June 15, 2008, 2:00–3:30 p.m.
Excelsior Hotel
281 Gloucester Road (near Causeway Bay metro station)
Hong Kong, PRC
Business Center, 33rd Floor, room number to be announced
(photo courtesy of the
Excelsior)
If this little beta test works out, I hope to arrange meetings in future months in California, New York, London, Toronto, Sydney, and elsewhere. Let's see how this first one goes.
As a seminar, my June 15 meeting is more like a "listening tour." There won't be any PowerPoint slides and I'm not selling any products or services. My goal is to learn from Windows Secrets subscribers how they use Microsoft's operating system and how we can give you better information. It'll just be me and a few readers, talking.
Considering that Hong Kong can be an expensive place, the Excelsior has offered us a private meeting room at a nominal rate. To guarantee an accurate count, Windows Secrets is collecting for pre-registration just $9 U.S. (about 70 Hong Kong dollars) per person, which is our cost for the tables, chairs, etc.
Yes, I'm sure if I actually knew a soul on the island, I could probably find something cheaper. If I can make future seminars truly free, I will.
Space is limited, and only Windows Secrets Newsletter subscribers may register. (Of course, anyone may subscribe for free to become eligible.) To let me know you're coming, use the following link by 5 p.m. June 10 Pacific Time/8 a.m. June 11 Hong Kong Time:
Use this link to pre-register
Would you like Windows Secrets to hold a free seminar near you one of these days? Be sure your country and ZIP/postal code are correct in your WS preferences, so we can make plans.
Visit your preferences page
Thanks for your support!
Meet Becky Waring, our newest columnist
This week's newsletter marks the arrival of a new columnist with more than 20 years of experience as a tech writer and editor. Becky Waring
(photo, left)
will alternate with Scott Spanbauer in writing the Best Software column in our paid content.
Becky has been a frequent contributor to PC World, CNET, USAToday.com, Macworld Magazine, and many other tech publications and Web sites. From 2003 until just a couple of months ago, Becky was executive editor of JiWire.com, a leading Wi-Fi directory service. She also served as editor of New Media magazine.
In the Best Software column, Becky will put new freeware, shareware, and Web services to the test. This week, she tackles file-transfer services and identifies two that are a cut above the competition. As you'll soon learn from reading her reviews, Becky has a real knack for finding a program's best and worst features. I know you'll enjoy her work.
Brian Livingston is editorial director of WindowsSecrets.com and the
co-author of
Windows Vista
Secrets
and 10 other books.
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