NWA TechFest - Monthly Meetup

Join the volunteers of NWA TechFest at GOAT LAB Brewery in Lowell, AR for free drinks, interesting presentations, and great conversations with STEM enthusiasts and professionals in Northwest Arkansas.

October 28, 2026
6:00pm - 9:00pm

Presentation
6:30pm - 7:15pm

Steven Judd - "W10 is EOL. NBD or FTW?"

The end of Windows 10 is rapidly approaching. If you still have systems running Windows 10, you need to be making some plans. But what plans should you be making? Do you have to make a change? I will outline which hardware cannot run Windows 11 and how to find out if your hardware is supported. I will also discuss some options available to you if you don't want to shell out the cash for a compatible system. The retirement of Windows 10 will impact you or people you know, so come be informed and prepared for the future: Windows 12!

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Do you have something you want to present? If so, submit a presentation!

Community Spotlight
7:15pm - 7:45pm

Andrew Soria-Quiroz - "Analytics Mindset"

He'll be introducing himself to the group, including about his YouTube channel and what he wants to do with it.

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If you'd like your (up to) 15 minutes of fame, submit a presentation (and then mention the shorter presentation). Thanks!

Community Q&A
Join us for this post-presentation Q&A segment to hear about upcoming events and opportunities in the area. Share what you know! Have a job opening? Describe it. Need help finding one? Ask around.

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Organizers

This is a monthly volunteer-led event organized by local 501(c)3 non-profit NWA TechFest to give NWA STEM enthusiasts and professionals in Northwest Arkansas the opportunity to meet, learn, and grow with one another to create a more connected community.

If you would like to join us in organizing this event series or others, would like to sponsor this event, or would just like to say hi, please seek our volunteers at the event's Welcome Table or contact us through our website.

History
The history of this event series, including dates, presenters, and some archived slides and links can be found on our website's Social Event page.

Parking
If Goat Lab Brewery's lot is full, you may feel encouraged to park in the The Grove's parking lot just to the south of the venue as that is owned by the same business and is frequently empty on Meetup days.

Refreshments
NWA TechFest will be providing a limited drink tab for attendees during the event. Swing by the organizing table to get the tab name. Food is the responsibility of attendees because the pizza is good and it gets expensive quickly. Everyone is encouraged to consume water continuously throughout the evening.

GOAT LAB Brewery has at least like 10 types of beer, some wine, various seltzers, soda, and water.

Expanded Schedule
5:45pm CT - Organizer arrives at Goat Lab
6:00pm CT - Welcome Table opens in the Brewery Room
6:30pm CT - Event presenter is introduced and begins
7:15pm CT - Event presenter finishes
7:15pm CT - Event community segments begins
7:45pm CT - Event community segments finishes (if not well before)
7:50pm CT - Hanging out, chatting, and networking
8:45pm CT - Last call and organizer packs up
9:00pm CT - Goat Lab closes

While most of this social event is free-form dialog amongst attendees, there are two times where we will ask for your attention:

From approximately 6:30pm to 7:15pm, there may be a longer presentation from a community member. Past presentations have mostly consisted of slides projected onto a prepared wall of the brewery. Audio is projected from a microphone setup. Video hookup is HDMI and in the back, but we have a clicker we can loan out for presenters. We are currently investigating providing continuous access to our presentation content after the event, but it is currently unavailable.

From approximately 7:15pm to 7:30pm, there may be a Community Spotlight where interested attendees can reserve time to introduce themselves and any projects they're working on to the group. This slot has less focus on presentation, but at least a QR code to your LinkedIn or project supplied to the Host is preferred for display.

From approximately 7:30 to 7:45pm, event organizers will take a moment to thank attendees, alert them to upcoming events from our group and others in the area, and then possibly open the floor for general questions amongst the group, which has previously included job notices and requests to chat about specific topics in a sub-group.

Links
NWATechFest:
https://nwatechfest.org/
GOAT LAB Brewery:
https://goatlabbrewery.com/beer-food-menus