[texhax] December 2013 TUG news: recap, latex companion, calendar

[TeX Users Group]

Dear TeX users,

2013 is about to wend its way into history, and I thought I'd 
use this final newsletter of the year to recap what we've 
accomplished, and where we hope to go in the coming year.  

TUG 2013 at the University of Tokyo was a great success, and I
would like to thank the local organizing committee there for 
doing a wonderful job. Norbert Preining has written up an 
overview of the conference, beginning at 
http://www.preining.info/blog/2013/10/tug-2013-day-1/ 

The next issue of TUGboat, the last for 2013, will be the 
proceedings of the conference. Expect it in your mailboxes
early in the new year.

And I would also like to close the year by thanking the 
volunteer group that puts together TeX Live. Their work
is essential to providing users with a stable, usable 
TeX system, and yet they often get forgotten after the DVD
has been installed. They got the job done for TL 2013, and
they're gearing up to do it all again in 2014.

The annual TUG conference returns to the United States in 2014,
specifically Portland, Oregon (home to the TUG office).
We are working out details with hotels, and expect
to announce exact dates soon, but for now, keep late July free.

We've had some discussions on the TUG Board about trying to
solicit more volunteers. We have volunteer opportunities in
a variety of areas, from serving on committees to heading up
projects to writing up documentation and creating artwork. 
If you have any time at all to give back to the TeX community,
feel free to contact me (president (at) tug.org).

Other news ...

* The LaTeX Companion, Second Edition, is now also available in 
  ebook format, and Pearson is offering a general discount until 
  the end of 2013 (50% which means the bundle of pdf/ePub/mobi 
  will available for $14.99). Details are given at:
  http://latex-project.org/site-news.html#2013-11-02

* Peter Wilson has created a 2014 calendar of Japanese woodblock
  prints (by Hokusai, Hiroshige, Tamenbura, etc.), made of 
  course with TeX, and generously made it available to all.
  To get your own copy, visit
  http://tug.org/calendar 

Happy holidays, and I will see you next year.
   
Happy TeXing!

Steve Peter
TUG President
(on behalf of the TUG Board)