CHAIRMAN'S CHAT Greetings to all SBC Members and Guest Readers! What a software bargain! Always on the look-out for bargains for our Members, and coinciding with Paul and Brian’s presentation at the May meeting, I was interested to discover a great software deal this week. At the meeting, our newest Club Member, Kevin Golding (www.solutionbase.co.uk ) was extolling the virtues of freeware and shareware, and in particular StarOffice from Sun Microsystems. This is a full-featured professional office suite (word processor, spreadsheet, presentation software, database and drawing package) with most of the functionality of Microsoft Office, which can read and write Office-compatible files. The latest version, StarOffice 8, costs $69.95 to download (around £40) compared with upwards of £300 for Microsoft Office itself.

However, I notice that the latest edition of PC Pro magazine (dated July 2006!) has a full version of StarOffice 7 on the cover disk, among several good software ‘freebies’. The CD version of the ‘mag’ costs £3.99 and the DVD version (with more software) a little bit more. So, if you’re looking to upgrade from your current office suite (or you want a new version for your laptop, or the kids’ PC) this is a pretty good deal. Snap it up while stocks last!

Save money on your Club sub…

Talking of saving money, don’t forget our ‘Member Get Member’ (MGM) scheme which rewards you for introducing a new Member to the Club. It’s a win-win situation, because they get to join Surrey’s best-value and friendliest business club, and you get money off your next year’s subscription!

Do it now!
Simply invite any networking contact, colleague, supplier (or a customer you want to impress) to come along to a meeting as a Guest Member, free of charge. They’ll enjoy a good buffet, some informal networking and a stimulating business presentation or workshop, and then make up their own mind if they like what they see enough to join. Introduce six new members in any year, and your next year’s membership is free. Next month’s Leadership Skills event is a brilliant opportunity, with two great presenters and lots of networking. It has to be worth an email to your contact list!