Feature Article

What has changed?

• As of 1 November 2007, Novell Users International status changed from being an independent organization to being fully owned by Novell. It will be operated under the direction of Novell's award-winning Events team (the folks who bring you BrainShare every year, as well as other first-class events). This will enable Novell to take a more direct role in supplying benefits to the individual NUI Groups, will help you put on outstanding events, and will provide a tightly coordinated and synergistic set of services to Novell's most loyal customers and partners.
• We have combined forces with the highly popular Cool Solutions communities and have created a brand-new web community that will be the new home of all Novell Communities, both physical and virtual, going forward. There are many new benefits to this new website, such as a common calendar, where you'll be able to advertise your chapter events to a wider audience, and attract new members in your area. You'll also be able to find new nuggets of information and ideas to enhance your chapter meetings. This provides a single location where you and your members can go for information about your upcoming events, technical articles, tools, and tips from Cool Solutions, and special offers from Novell partners. Secure content designed just for NUI Presidents will be made available in the new site as well.
• This new community will offer online areas for the individual chapters, in addition to providing all the resources necessary for you to start and operate a successful NUI Chapter.
• We will be conducting regular promotions designed to encourage the active participation of Novell customers in the local NUI Chapters, and to stimulate the creation of new NUI Chapters in areas that are not currently being serviced.
• NUI Presidents and members can begin earning Novell Rewards points for NUI-related activies.

What is staying the same?

• Novell Users International (NUI) will continue to be the name of the organization.
• The structure of the organization will continue to be that of individual chapters with chapter presidents who are responsible for organizing and running local events, community outreach, chapter growth, etc.
• Novell will continue to provide services such as Request a Speaker, in addition to a slate of new services that will be rolled out over the next weeks.

Action Required

As of 1 November 2007, the old affiliation contracts which you have signed are no longer valid. In other words, at this point your NUI Chapter is no longer a legal entity, and technically you are not entitled to use the Novell or NUI trademarks until you sign a new Affiliation agreement.

The new Affiliation Agreement is attached below. If you are a NUI president, print it out, fill in all the appropriate blanks, sign it, and fax it to 801-861-7443

Meanwhile -- Go to http://www.novell.com/communities/nui and login with your Novell Login.

As soon as we have processed your new paperwork, we'll grant you NUI President rights within the new community and create a special "group" section for the exclusive use of your NUI Chapter.

As a NUI President, you will be authorized to approve or decline any requests from people who want to join your online group, add your chapter's events to the calendar, create a roster of your members, post pictures from your meetings, and much more. We even have a secure forum in which you can discuss issues and share ideas with other NUI Presidents, and there will be many opportunities for your chapter to earn prizes through healthy competition and generous cooperation with other NUI Chapters.

Act Now, and Win Prizes for your Chapter

The first 150 chapters who complete the new Affiliation agreement and fax it back will receive a special welcome kit containing:

• Two BrainShare 2008 passes (a $3790.00 value)
• New 5' x 18" banner sporting the new NUI Logo, for use at all your events
• A new digital camera (Sony DSC- T70).
  

  Click to view.

This will enable you to photograph your chapter events, and post the pictures on your NUI Chapter section. (This is one sweet camera - selected by a fine photographer on the Events Team.) Features include:

• 8.1-megapixel, 1/2.5" Super HAD CCD captures high-resolution images up to 3264 x 2448 pixels
• 3x optical/2x digital/6x total zoom; up to 15x with Smart Zoom; Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens
• 3" widescreen Clear Photo LCD Plus touch screen with antireflective coating
• High sensitivity up to ISO 3200 for enhanced shooting in low-light situations
• Bionz engine with dynamic range optimizer for enhanced bright highlights and ultrafine detail in shadowed or backlit areas
• Super SteadyShot image stabilization minimizes shake and vibration distortion
• 9-point autofocus maintains focus on the subject for greater creative control; center- and spot-metering
• Burst shooting mode captures up to 100 shots at 2 fps
• Records MPEG Movie VX clips at 640 x 480 resolution at 16.6 fps with audio (standard mode) or at 320 x 240 resolution at 8.3 fps with audio (presentation mode)

PLUS --

All re-affiliated Presidents who login to the new NUI site before 15 December 2007 and post content for their members in their special Chapter section will be entered into a drawing for one of five Taxan Data Projectors with digital advanced DLP technology.

This will make it easier for you to share slidedecks and other online presentations during your chapter meetings.

Re-affiliate today, and earn some awesome prizes for your chapter! We're looking forward to seeing you online.

Hope to hear from you soon!

Jeremy Johnson
Manager, Novell NUI
nuiguys@novell.com

Attachment	Size
Novell User Group Agreement.pdf	67.5 KB