Macintosh User Groups (MUGs) across the U.S. are planning a variety of special events over the next two months.
The 2003 Mac Computer Expo (MCE), a regional event hosted by the North Coast Mac Users Group, will be held on Saturday, Sept. 20, at the Santa Rosa Junior College (1501 Mendocino Avenue, Santa Rosa, Calif.) and will feature speakers, sessions and raffles for an iBook and an iPod. The theme of the event is “Your Life on the Go,” which will be the basis for presentations by Derrick Story, Michael Sauer, Tom Negrino, Dori Smith, Bert Monroy, Alex Lindsay and a keynote address by author Jim Heid.
There will also be local and national vendors featuring Mac-related products and services. Sonoma County high schools will participate with the first annual “Digital Showcase,” in which students will demonstrate their digital movie-making talents. Since 1991 the show has grown in attendance from around 300 to over 2,500 and is now the largest expo of its type in the North Bay area. Over 5,000 people showed up for last year’s MCE. Admission is free, but parking at the college costs US$2.
The San Diego Macintosh Users Group (SDMUG) is having a demo of Panther (the upcoming Mac OS X 10.3) and a big raffle at their Oct. 1 meeting
“We will be giving away a new eMac or 12-inch iBook (winners choice), a 15GB iPod and an iSight,” Adam Christianson, SDMUG’s Web editor, told MacCentral. ” The raffle is open to members and non-members, and you need not be present to win.”
If you’re not able to attend you can enter the raffle online; see the SDMUG Web site for details and entry forms. There’s a $5 donation per entry.
The 10th annual Raincoast event will be held in Tacoma, Wash., on Oct. 10-12. What started as a PC only event has grown into a gathering of PC and Mac user groups. Topics covered will include the future of computer clubs, organization, membership and outside partnerships. The cost for attending Raincoast is $50 per person. Space is limited and no registrations are taken after Oct. 3.
The 37th MacCamp, sponsored by the Portland Macintosh User Group, will be held Oct. 17-19 at Silver Falls State Park, near Salem, Ore. It’s a weekend retreat for user group members (all user groups, not just PMUG) that includes classes, recreation, networking and social activities. There will be sessions on Photoshop, an introduction to Panther (the upcoming Mac OS X), Final Cut Pro, Final Cut Pro Express, iTunes, InDesign, Mac OS X and hardware maintenance.
Four lodges, with a maximum capacity of 56 people, along with a meeting hall and dining room are reserved for MacCamp. All classes, activities, food, and lodging are included in the registration fee, and a commemorative T-shirt is normally offered for an additional charge. A minimum of six classes will be offered: two on Saturday morning, two Saturday afternoon and two Sunday morning. Go to the PMUG Web site for details.
The annual You Don’t Know Mac statewide user group event will be held Nov. 1 at the Seven Feathers Resort in Canyonville, Ore. YDKM is sponsored by the Oregon MacPioneers User Group, and admission is free. Its purpose is to “bring together, support and foster all active Macintosh Users Groups in Oregon.” There will be a leadership conference, a change to meet Mac vendors and a trivia contest.