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- From: ed@titipu.meta.com (Edward Reid)
- Newsgroups: comp.sys.unisys
- Subject: Unisys not coming to CUBE in 1993
- Date: Fri, 11 Sep 92 12:27:33 EDT(-0400)
- Organization: Accuracy, Ltd.
- Message-ID: <01010064.dcg9kh@titipu.meta.com>
- Reply-To: ed@titipu.meta.com (Edward Reid)
- X-Mailer: uAccess - Macintosh Release: 1.6v0
- Lines: 43
-
- I just got the word that Unisys has announced they will not attend CUBE in Reno
- and New Orleans (the two 1993 CUBEs). They claim that they will only attend
- one user group, and they are going to attend USE. They also claim that
- attending two meetings costs them an extra $1 million per meeting.
-
- Now, I've only just heard the news, and a few details may be wrong. The outline
- is correct.
-
- None of this makes any sense, of course. First, the $1meg claim implies that
- Unisys has at least 200 employees who must attend _both_ conferences; this
- seems quite excessive given that virtually no technical staff attend both
- conferences.
-
- Second, Unisys has not cut back on obvious costs, such as the banquet, which is
- a nice warm fuzzy but totally unnecessary and not available to most user
- groups.
-
- Third, the groups will almost certainly be merged by 1994. The process is
- taking place now. Unisys does not need to add pressure to bring this about.
-
- Fourth, it is USE, not CUBE, that is being stubborn. CUBE has contractual
- commitments on the order of $450,000 in Reno, which realistically would
- probably mean about $150,000 to get out of the commitments, and has contractual
- commitments in New Orleans. CUBE already paid $85,000 to get out of Toronto as
- a result of Unisys' pressure for a joint conference. USE has no contractual
- commitments to Phoenix or Minneapolis (which is one reason their registration
- fees are much higher than CUBE's) yet refuses to consider moving. If CUBE
- moved to Phoenix, there are not enough meeting rooms downtown, and some
- sessions would be held a 35-minute bus ride away. Unisys has said they will
- not contribute a single penny to CUBE's moving expenses.
-
- Fifth, Ray Clovis, Unisys' liaison to CUBE, has a recommendation for CUBE. Just
- skip out on Reno without telling them. By the time the hotel gets around to
- suing, CUBE will have ceased to exist, having become part of the new
- organization. Hmm. If Unisys is recommending such actions to outsiders, what
- are they doing internally? Were last year's defense scandals just a fluke?
-
- I'm planning to write Unruh myself. I'll try to get a precise address, though I
- understand that PO Box 500, Blue Bell PA is sufficient.
-
- Edward Reid (8*}>
- eel: ed@titipu.meta.com or nosc.mil!titipu.meta.com!ed
- snail: PO Box 378/Greensboro FL 32330
-