UMPI to host Tech Fair in mid-October

    PRESQUE ISLE—The University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Management Information Systems Program will present its 7th Technology Fair, Collaboration from Home or Office, on Friday, Oct. 10, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Campus Center.     The event will cover technology needs and issues for small business owners and managers, information technology professionals, as well as students, educators and the general public in northern Maine and western New Brunswick.
    This year’s fair features two simultaneous tracks, with four presentations geared toward educators interested in new technologies available to them, and four presentations geared toward businesses seeking more on-the-job efficiency through technology. The fair also will feature a keynote lunch address at Noon by Bob Froberg, director of business services for Fairpoint Communications. Froberg will speak on Fairpoint’s plans to bring broadband to northern New England during his talk “Creating Partnerships for Economic Development in Northern Maine.”
    Froberg joined Fairpoint in October of 2007 as its director of business sales for the state of Maine. Prior to that time, he had spent 30 years as a senior sales and marketing executive within the telecommunications industry, including with Verizon, NYNEX and Bell Atlantic. In 1999, Froberg left the telephone company and joined Intellispace in New York City, a start-up broadband provider, as its chief sales executive. Over the next five years he built a sales capability in five major metropolitan areas including New York, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia and London, England. Most recently, Froberg served as vice president of sales for Inteligy in Tampa, Fla., where he established a sales capability for a start-up IP Telephony company throughout the state of Florida. Froberg now resides in Old Orchard Beach.
    Along with the keynote address, Tech Fair attendees will be able to take part in presentations held throughout the day. In Track 1, educators can get a primer in: streaming and alternatives to streaming, explore what the lecture classroom of tomorrow will look like, see a show-and-tell on multimedia options with online teaching and learn all about BizHub technology. These presentations will be offered in the Campus Center, room 118.
    In Track 2, business officials can get a look at: video conferencing technologies, learn about IP Telephony and how it can improve communication while reducing costs, explore what virtualization is and how it can create efficiency, and get tips and tricks for using Microsoft Office 2007. These presentations will be offered in the Campus Center’s Alumni Room.
    The Tech Fair again will feature an open vendor floor – free to all – in the Campus Center’s Multi-Purpose Room scheduled from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. The vendor floor will provide an opportunity for visitors to garner door prizes, ask the experts and view the latest technologies from companies such as CBE Technologies, Tandberg, Netherlands, ELMO, CDW-G, Computer Connection and Amity Professional Services.
    Registration for the Tech Fair begins at 8 a.m. on Friday morning. There is a $10 early registration fee or $15 fee at the door, which includes lunch. UMPI students may attend all sessions free of charge.
    For more information or to register online, visit www.aroostek.org or call Professor JoAnne Wallingford at 768-9432. Businesses that market technology-related products may also sign up for the vendor floor by contacting Wallingford.