March 17th, "Waking Up to an Open World" Talk by John Adams

John Adams, Managing Director of Mintra Limited , and member of Axiom Tech , will talk about the barriers to adoption of free software .

Manchester Free Software serves a growing need for a group in the Manchester area that focuses on free software . The group also covers topics which impact on the freedoms of computer users.

The purpose of this group is to:
* Increase awareness and promote the use of free software within Manchester.
* Provide a friendly and accessible community for individuals in Manchester to learn about and discuss free software, with particular emphasis on ethical considerations.
* Be a source of information regarding free software to individuals and organisations in Manchester.

Full details

March 17th Northern User Experience Meetup

Monthly meet up of the Northern User Experience Group. All are welcome to come on down for a chat.

If you have an interest in all aspects of user experience you will find something of interest.

Full details

March 19th North West Drupal User Group

Admission is free, and you're welcome to bring your Drupal questions and problems, as well as any projects you'd like to demo.

We usually have a good turnout of people, ranging from complete beginners with the software to full-time developers, so if you're looking to learn more about Drupal, this user group is a great place to start.

We like to have a mix of demos, breakout sessions and general Drupal banter with time for questions and one-on-one help. There's the added option of moving on to a nearby pub for refreshment, usually The Old Monkey...

See

Full details

March 6th ManLUG social (Chinese meal + beers)

As usual for the first Friday of the month, a group of us from ManLUG (and various other geek groups) will be going out for a meal and some drinks on Friday 6th March. In a departure from our usual arrangements, we'll be meeting in Fab cafe on Portland Street from 7:30pm and then heading off for a Chinese meal after a couple of drinks. If you haven't been before, one of us will usually be wearing a geek t-shirt of some description, so we should be fairly easy to spot, and we'll be looking out for people anyway. The social is open to all, so please do forward this invitation on to other geek lists in the area.

P.S. There's also a web site where the details of socials are
announced:

http://www.manlug.org.uk

March 10th 18:00 GeekUp Manchester

GeekUp Manchester takes place on the second Tuesday of every month. It's a grass-roots knowledge sharing and networking social for folks involved or interested in all forms of technology and creative media.

What is GeekUp?

GeekUp is a community of web designers, web developers, and other tech-minded folk from the UK. It's a grassroots knowledge sharing and networking social for folks involved or interested in the web and technology industry. Monthly events take place in Chester, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Preston and Sheffield.

Full details

March 7th Think Visibility Conference

Think Visibility is a one-day conference with a focus on the areas of web development and marketing which are usually left behind in the creation process: SEO, PPC, Monetisation, Blogging, Accessibility and Usability.

Think Visibility is on the 7th of March 2009

Hosted in Leeds, we bring you a one-day conference that will entertain, inform and interest (we hope). While many conferences focus on producing and designing the website, we will be discussing and talking about what comes next; how to get traffic and how to convert it, as well as and looking at revenue streams for your website or app.

Full details

17th March 19:00 Preston TweetUp+GeekUp

Due to the Preston Tweetup happening on Tuesday 17th March, we decided
we would move GeekUp a day and combine the events! Please be aware
that you need a ticket, see the eventbrite link below

When:
Tuesday 17th March, 7pm

Where:
New Continental pub
South Meadow Lane
Preston, Lancashire PR1 8JP
United Kingdom

What:
The first Preston Tweetup is set to be held on Tuesday 17th March 2009
at the New Continental in their ‘Snug’ area. It's being held in
association with Stage 9 Marketing our official sponsors.
A tweetup is where people come together, bring along their wi-fi
enabled laptop and/or mobile phone and meet other people. People also
twitter during the course of the night, so even if you can’t make it
you can see what’s happening and contribute, by following
#prestontweetup.

At Preston Tweetup we’re going to be discussing ‘How can the web can
be used in Preston Guild 2012?’ As the last Guild was held in 1992 and
back then broadband and widespread laptop ownership was a twinkle in a
very rich man’s eye.
Wi-fi access will be provided free of charge.
The plan for the night is to start around 7 PM, allow half an hour for
drinking and making the wireless access work. At 7.30 PM we’ll
introduce the night’s topic and then break off into smaller groups to
brainstorm (you’ll be allocated a number as you arrive) and then
around 8.30 PM one person will feedback to everyone what their group
came up with. The rest of the night will be free for socialising, idea
bouncing and networking.

We’re also running a competition for Preston Blog readers to design
the Preston Tweetup logo.
If you’d like to get more involved in Preston Tweetup drop an email to
prestonblogs@googlemail.com

March 4th 19:00-23:00 Liverpool Linux User Group

Liverpool Linux User Group are a group of Linux and open source software users that meet on the first Wednesday of the month. If no talk is organised then we will usually organise a "open stage" for people to discuss projects, current news, or just to rant.

This month, we have a provisional talk booked by Graeme Dyas, who will be demonstrating the Lego Mindstorm robotics kit. The firmware for the controller has been released as open source, presenting a whole new world of possibilities for what was a simple robotics ki.

We will meet up in "The Old Ropewalk" pub before the meeting, then head out to the event around 7:00pm. The Liverpool Social Centre is two doors up from Forbidden Planet and is the right-hand door at the front of "News From Nowhere" Check the window for a handy Liverpool LUG sign, which will indicate we are there and not still at the pub. Press the white doorbell for access (the one marked basement) and someone will come up and open the door for you.

After the talks we will usually stay in the meeting area for a while then head out back to The Old Ropewalk pub.

Full details

March 4th 18:30-23:00 GeekUp Sheffield

GeekUp Sheffield takes place on the first Wednesday of every month. It's a grass-roots knowledge sharing and networking social for folks involved or interested in all forms of technology and creative media.

This month
- the final instalment of Ian Ibbotson's series on Semantic Web
- showcase of BashMash 1: The Archer Project
- BarCamp Sheffield planning meet

What is GeekUp?

GeekUp is a community of tech-minded folk from the North of England. Our socials take place once a month in Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Preston and Sheffield and are always a lively place to share ideas and spread a little knowledge.

Full details

3rd March 18:00-21:00 Social Media Cafe Manchester

What is it?

The Social Media Cafe, or Tuttle Club, is a place for people interested in social media to gather, get acquainted, and to plot, scheme, and share.. emphasis on open and interesting conversating!

Who should come?

If you're interested in the future of media, how we organise, share, produce and enjoy it, then come along. If you're an artist, film maker, geek, musician, designer, writer, photographer, or anything close or related, then come along. If you want to meet like minds, come along.

Full details