Saturday, September 18, 1999, 1:00 pm, NIH, Masur 
The Attack on and Death of Traditional Retailing:
Opportunity for Computer Consultants and Entrepreneurs
Speaker: Michael Pendrak, Independent Handtech.com Technology Consultant

Are we ready for the creation of totally new ways of distributing technology? Michael Pendrak is betting we are. Along with a Texas company called Handtech.com, he says he and a few thousand others across the United States have, for the past couple of years, been quietly gnawing at the foundation of retail and creating a whole new infrastructure for the process of getting technology into the hands of ordinary people. Pendrak will explain why he feels that way and why he believes that this model is the future of how we will buy. And it's not just for technology, but for everything, even groceries.

The new approach is actually a combination of new and old tried-and-true models. It includes a mixture of Dell or Gateway, Tupperware, Amway, McDonald's, and CompUSA. Handtech.com has taken a sort of à la carte approach: using a bit from each to make the whole. The ingredient that holds it all together, however, is a face-to-face, hand-to-hand approach that Handtech.com hopes will enable it to put the "personal" back into personal computing. All transactions are done via the Web (e-commerce), and all products are delivered directly to the customer.

On August 8, the Sunday New York Times called Handtech.com ". . . the ambitious little company that has caused a buzz in the computer industry . . .." Forbes, in a recent issue, said of Handtech.com and its model, "Why didn't we think of that?" Computer Retail Week named Handtech.com one of the nation's top three retail innovators of the past year.

Following the presentation, there will be time for extensive Q&A.

Speaker: Michael A. Pendrak is a 1977 graduate of Syracuse University's Samuel I. Newhouse School of Journalism. He was the original webmaster of the U.S. Postal Service Web page found at http://www.stampsonline.com. This spring he left that position to go full time with his own Handtech.com business. He had been a technology consultant since January 1, 1998, when Handtech.com was known as Hand Technologies. He has since become a team manager and a participant in Handtech.com's Mentoring Program. As a mentor he helps new Handtech.com technology consultants learn and operate in the company's model, which he sees as a tool of opportunity for anyone with a bit of technical knowledge, some empathy and skill with people, and the desire to build something of his or her own.

Door Prizes

• MCSE Pack: 50 Microsoft-approved online courses--a 1-year subscription
• 2 tickets: Millennium Rock Party at Nissan Pavilion

During NIH Construction: It may be easiest to enter the NIH campus from Wisconsin Avenue. Turn west onto South Drive (about 1 mile south of the Beltway, south of Wilson Drive). Pass Center Drive and turn right onto Memorial Drive and then left into the entrance to the garage within Building 10, the Clinical Center.

Free Parking: Because of the extensive construction underway at NIH, be sure to arrive early. You may park in the inside parking garage of Building 10. Enter from Memorial Drive. Tell the parking attendant you are attending a CPCUG event (there will be no charge).

Metro--Medical Center Stop on the Red Line (about 4 blocks across the NIH campus) 

Free

RSVP: Please RSVP to bconn@cpcug.org so that we are sure to have enough handouts.