Chicago Computer Guide This Week
For January 10-16, 2002

CONTENTS:
I.    This Week's Calendar of Events
II.   Turn Your Pink Slip Into An Advanced Degree
III.  Apple Year in Review
IV.   New Generation or New Species: Silicon Jockeys 
      Should Show Compassion
V.    Chicago Computer Company News
VI.   Chicago Computer Dealers

****************************Advertisement***************************************************

NATIONAL DISSEMINATION WORKSHOP
Developing Regional Skill Alliances
for Information Technology Occupations

Hosted by:

CompTIA
1815 S. Meyers Road
Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181-5228

Tuesday and Wednesday
January 15 & 16, 2002
CompTIA Conference Center

For complete information go to: 
http://www.comptia.org/workforce/national_dissemination.htm
or contact Paul Slomski at (630) 268-1818, ext. 1317,
pslomski@comptia.org

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I. This Week's Chicago Computer Events

Event: Giant Computer Show & Sale
Date: January 13, 2002
Place: Tinley Park Convention Center, I-80 & Harlem Ave, Tinley Park
Time: 9:00am - 3:30am
Information: Contact the Giant Computer Show Hotline at 708-974-3123
Get some of the best computer equipment in the state at the lowest 
prices. 
Bring your list and a shrewd sense for making deals!


Event: Midwest Entrepreneurial Forum*
Date: January 14, 2002
Place: Illinois Institute of Technology, Downtown Campus, 
           565 W. Adams St., Chicago, IL 
Time: 6:00pm - 8:30pm
Cost: Free for members, $20 for non-members, annual membership is $50. 
Information:  Contact Tim Boivin at 847.632.0040, ext. 229 or
              tim.boivin@techimage.com
Brian Hopcraft, the President of Simplified Workplace Solutions, the 
leading provider of workforce management applications for the retail 
and food industries, will present its business model.


Event: Chicago Software Assoc Brown Bag Lunch*
Date: January 14, 2002
Place: DePaul University, One East Jackson Blvd, Chicago
Time: 11:30am - 1:30pm
Information: Contact Dionne Waclaw: Dwaclaw@csa.org or 
Natalie Rucker: nrucker@csa.org. All attendees must pre-register
This month’s roundtable will focus on a discussion of Mayor Daley’s 
"New Economy Growth Strategy for Chicagoland" and what it means 
for your business. 


Event: CompTIA's National Dissemination Workshop* - 
            Building Regional IT Skill Alliances
Date: January 15, 2002
Place: CompTIA, Lower Level Conference Center, 1815 S. Meyers
           Road, Suite 300, Oakbrook Terrace, IL
Time:  9:00am - 3:30pm
Information: Contact Paul Slomski at pslomski@comptia.org or 
                    by phone at 630-678-8317
The Ford Foundation provided a grant to five cities in 2000 to
launch the Regional IT Skills Network, to build employer-led alliances 
in each region that will accelerate, expand, and improve education 
and training for Information Technology occupations. This workshop 
will highlight their activities. The five cities included; Cleveland, 
Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, Louisville and Philadelphia.


*Courtesy: http://www.techvenue.com


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II.  Turn Your Pink Slip Into An Advanced Degree
     By Christopher Hinton

    Venture capital and years of lower than low unemployment may 
be drying up, but that doesn't mean it will stay like that way forever. 
So don't panic! It's a time to prepare. Capital will flow again, 
profits 
will rise and high-paying jobs in the IT business will return --and in 
a 
big way.
Click here for more: http://www.chicago-computer.com/janhinton.htm.


III. Apple Year In Review
     By John Christopherson and Steve Burke

    Another year has come and gone and Apple is still here. Imagine 
that. 
Let's take a look back over the last year to see if we can figure out 
why they haven't dropped off the face of the planet like so many 
have predicted every year since the introduction of the Macintosh 
in 1984.
For more go to, http://www.chicago-computer.com/janmacspec.htm


IV.  New Generation or New Species: Silicon Jockeys 
     Should Show Compassion
     By Ray Hanania

In these times of post September 11th traumatic stress, President 
Bush asked everyone to do their part. I know the president was 
speaking to those of us who are human, but I don't think he 
intended to exclude that sub-category of humans called 
"silicon jockeys."
Click here, http://www.chicago-computer.com/janhan.htm 
for more.

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V. Chicago Computer Company News


Pendragon Software Announces Enhanced Data Collection 
Software for Palm OS Handhelds


     LIBERTYVILLE, Ill./PRNewswire/ -- Pendragon Software 
announced the latest version of its popular forms software for Palm 
OS handheld devices.  New enhancements to the software include 
an innovative data backup system, new interface features, new 
scripting capabilities and more flexible synchronization.
      Pendragon Forms, a rapid application development tool already 
used by thousands of corporations worldwide, enables users to create 
and deploy single or multi-user mobile data collection applications 
ranging 
from surveys and inspections to research and healthcare.  The software 
supports bi-directional synchronization with Microsoft Access and ODBC 
data sources, yet is extremely easy to use.
      The new data backup feature protects handheld data entries by 
storing them on non-volatile Secure Digital, Multimedia, Memory Stick 
and 
Compact Flash storage cards via the Virtual File System API present on 
Palm 
OS 4.0 devices. The backup mechanism enables data collected in the 
field 
to be recovered in the event of power loss or physical stresses on the 
handheld device.
      "The ability to log data entries to rugged storage cards will 
provide
mobile workers with confidence that their data is protected against 
most 
types of data loss," said Ivan Phillips, CEO of Pendragon Software 
Corporation.
       Enhanced security features, including form level passwords, 
protect
sensitive data.  The incorporation of a full screen sketch field and an 
analog visual scale field facilitates the collection of non-text 
information.  
With improved scripting and interface features, Pendragon Forms 3.2 is 
now applicable to a wider range of applications.
        Pendragon Forms 3.2 is now being shipped; a starter kit 
including
development tools and a single-user license is priced at $149.  Volume
discounts apply on additional runtime licenses.  An evaluation version 
of
Pendragon Forms 3.2 is available for download from the Pendragon 
Software Web site at http://www.pendragonsoftware.com .

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CoolSavings Increases Momentum, Establishes Foothold As Leading 
Online Direct Marketing Provider

     CHICAGO, IL/PRNewswire/ -- CoolSavings, Inc., has announced 
that it has gained significant momentum as a result of its suite of 
online incentive marketing solutions. With a number of online direct 
marketing companies terminating operations, the Company believes 
it survives as the leading independent online direct marketing company.  
CoolSavings is well positioned to capitalize on its leadership role and 
produce enhanced results for its advertisers, members and
shareholders.
        Matthew Moog, president and chief executive officer of 
CoolSavings 
stated, "CoolSavings' persistent efforts to deliver superior results 
for our
advertisers are paying off.  We are committed to be the leader in the 
online direct marketing industry.  CoolSavings has made great strides 
despite challenging economic times and a downturn in the advertising 
environment that has caused a great many of our peers to fall by the 
wayside.  We believe this shift will allow our current advertisers, and 
many more offline and online retailers, to reap the significant returns 
produced by CoolSavings' efficient and effective marketing solutions, 
which deliver what they promise."
     Moog added, "Our shareholders can take heart in our improving 
results, which we hope will be recognized in the financial markets.  
Finally, our employees can take pride in our dramatic turnaround and 
continuing improved operations
      CoolSavings has resumed its position as a Jupiter Media Metrix 
Top 
50 Web property, ranking #49 during the month of October 2001, with a 
total of 8.4 million unique visitors and surpassing many chief 
competitors.  
In addition, the Company noted that it remains Jupiter Media Metrix' #1 
coupon  Web site for the 22nd month in a row and has added the status 
of being the #2 incentive site to its growing list of accolades.*
        
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Terasys, Inc. Achieves Premier Certification From Cisco Systems 

    NAPERVILLE, Ill. /PRNewswire/ -- Terasys, Inc. has announced
that it has achieved Premier Certification from Cisco Systems, Inc.  
The Cisco partner certification program provides Terasys with the 
resources to develop an expertise in selling, implementing and 
supporting Cisco network solutions.
     By achieving Premier Certification status, Terasys can ensure 
customers it has proven Cisco network knowledge and support 
capabilities.
     "The purpose of our Certification Program is to build channel 
partner
expertise," said Surinder Brar, Director of Marketing, Worldwide 
Channels 
for Cisco Systems.  "Premier Certification status provides strong 
recognition 
of the Terasys commitment to delivering proven network knowledge and 
solid customer support."
       The Cisco Partner Certification Program offers world-class 
technical 
and sales training.  The program also ensures the consistent delivery 
of 
industry-leading support by maintaining rigorous standards for network 
expertise and support capabilities.
        Cisco certified partners enjoy several program benefits such 
as, a 
listing on the Cisco Partner Locator, making it easy for potential 
customers 
to find them; access to password protected Cisco Web sites, which have 
training information, marketing and sales tools as well as event and 
seminar
information; and increased access to Cisco technical support teams and 
product information.

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Fujitsu ISP Subsidiary, NIFTY Corporation, Launches Go2Call's 
Global PC-to-Phone Services

EVANSTON, Ill. & TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
    Evanston-based Go2Call.com, Inc. has announced that 
Japan's NIFTY Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Fujitsu 
Limited, has launched global PC-to-Phone services to its subscribers 
using Go2Call's licensed VoIP platform. NIFTY, the leading Japanese 
Internet service provider, boasts more than 5 million broadband and 
dial-up subscribers to date for its @nifty service.
    @nifty is playing a major role in creating the online experience
in Japan. @nifty provides Internet dial up and broadband access,
interactive services, Internet technologies, and e-commerce 
services to Japanese consumers and businesses. Through its 
licensing agreement with Go2Call, @nifty will add VoIP calling 
services to its diversified and holistic offering.
    Using this new solution, @nifty subscribers will be able to place
phone calls from their PCs to both land-line phones and mobile 
phones in more than 200 countries around the world at dramatic 
savings compared to standard calling rates in Japan - 5yen per minute, 
for example, (approximately US $0.04 per minute) to call land-line 
phones anywhere in Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom. 
This represents savings of at least 75% across the board compared with
leading international telephone service provider, KDDI, and up to 90%
versus leading Japanese carrier NTT.
    "We have been very impressed by the unparalleled call quality and
ease of use that Go2Call's services provide, and by their
responsiveness to the specific needs of the Japanese market," said
Taketsune Watanabe President of NIFTY Corporation. "We look 
forward to working closely with them as NIFTY continues to offer 
leading edge VoIP services to our subscribers."
    Go2Call's unique IP Telephony architecture includes thin-client
and server-side software, capable of automatically getting voice
packets through many firewalls, Network Address Translators 
(NATs), and proxy servers. The Go2Call solution is optimized to 
interconnect with high capacity Cisco Powered Networks around 
the world in order to provide the highest quality VoIP termination 
for the new @nifty service. While all of @nifty's customers can 
benefit from this solution, the new VoIP offering will be a 
particularly 
valuable service to the ISP's increasing number of broadband 
subscribers.
    "It is an honor to have been selected by NIFTY's very capable
team," said Larry Spear, Go2Call Co-founder. "We are confident 
that our high-quality PC-to-Phone services will help continue to 
drive NIFTY's leadership and success."
    Go2Call was first introduced to Nifty through the Japan External
Trade Organization (JETRO) - which fosters relationships between
Japanese and foreign companies. 
    The new calling service is in Japanese. It is customized to
integrate seamlessly with the @nifty look, feel and experience, 
and is tailored to meet the needs of @nifty subscribers and the 
Japanese market as a whole.

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VI. Chicago Computer Dealers

Click here at http://www.chicago-computer.com/deals.htm for our list 
of computer dealers and some of the lowest prices in town!

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