Macintosh User Group (MUG) Center editor Chuck Joiner leads off this week’s round-up of MUG news with this latest User Group Report, in which he chats with Bob “Dr. Mac” LeVitus, well-known author of “Panther for Dummies” and other Macintosh books. He explains why he might change his name to “Dr. GarageBand” and how you can get him involved in events hosted by your group.
Special guests are a staple of many user group meetings, and the East Bay MUG in Emeryville, Calif. will have a MacWireless.com representative on hand to discuss the company’s line of wireless products during their May 13 get-together. On June 10, Photoshop master Bert Monroy will stop by to show off his knowledge of the application. Both meetings start at 6:00 p.m. and will be held at Expression College for Digital Arts. Visit the East Bay MUG Web site for the address and directions.
Joiner also notes that MacGroup-Detroit recently held their first Digital Film Festival — they published a list of winners on their Web site. While they don’t have the winning videos available for download, they do post iMovies from their meetings as an incentive for prospective members. Their next meeting will be on May 23 at 3:00 p.m., when they’ll cover Microsoft’s upcoming Office 2004 suite. You can find more details on their Web site.
In other user group news, Joiner notes that the Apple User Group Discussion List provides a place for user group leaders and members to discuss topics important to the community. To subscribe, visit the MUG Center. He also points out another good resource: book publisher O’Reilly, which hosts the O’Reilly User Group Wiki, a place where MUG members can post news about upcoming meetings, post suggestions, and more.