Chuck Joiner has made his latest User Group Report available on the Macintosh User Group (MUG) Center Web site. The file, which is available as a Podcast, in streaming QuickTime or as an MP3, features Playlist magazine editor-in-chief Chris Breen and Robin Rowe, founder of the Apple Motion Users Group, the Apple Shake users Group and the Linux Movies Group.
Joiner also notes the availability of training materials from Macworld Expo’s seven User Group Universities and two User Group Leadership conferences. Hours of audio, video, handouts and presentations are available in the MUG Center’s Leadership Library. You could make those materials available to members via your MUG’s free .Mac account, which Apple offers to all recognized user groups. After you do that, you could answer Joiner’s latest MUG Center Survey, which wants to know how your group uses that account. He says he was surprised by the answers to last week’s budget question: 48 percent of the respondents said their groups budget more than US$5,000 per year for operations.
Moving on to this week’s MUG events, Feb. 8 sees Apple’s John Allen visit central Florida’s Mt. Dora MUG while a Hewlett-Packard representative stops by Pennsylvania MUG. The same day, Illinois’ South Suburban MUG reviews Macworld Expo; England’s Oxford MUG looks at the software iMagine; New Hampshire Seacoast MUG offers iLife breakout sessions; Maryland Apple Corps explains the basics of recording and managing audio; Florida’s Lakeland Area MUG presents “Browsing the Browsers; Princeton MUG demos Office 2004; Indiana’s Serious MUG covers AirPort Express; Arkansas’ AppleRock focuses on iMovie; and Charlotte Apple Computer Club brings in Apple Federal’s Michael Mills.
On Feb. 9, St. Louis’ Gateway Area MUG welcomes Apple’s Frank Grimes; Canada’s Victoria MUG sees Microsoft’s Han-yi Shaw stop by; California’s Serious MUG covers “Labeling & Business Cards;” Australia’s Club Mac looks at Omnipage Pro X; Greater Albany Apple Byters examines Computer Aided Drafting (CAD); and Bellingham, Wash.’s Whatcom MUG views iMovie.
On Feb. 10, California’s East Bay MUG introduces a Smile on My Mac Software representative to the group; Insider Software presents FontAgent Pro at New York’s MetroMac; Indianapolis’ ApplePickers reviews Macworld and demos Office 2004; Austin’s Capitol Macintosh presents “Integrating Technology in the classroom: The Texas TIP Program;” and Pennsylvania’s CocoaHeads looks at “Making inspector panels using NSWindowController.”
Feb. 11 sees just one event: a talk on wireless Internet access by O’Reilly author Brian Jepson at Long Island MUG. On Feb. 12, Apple’s Dave Marra and Bob Pudell visit Pennsylvania’s Main Line MUG and Northwest of Us, respectively, while Iowa’s MacMavericks presents “Docs to Go;” Las Vegas MUG reviews Macworld; Arkansas’ Hot Springs MUG explains proper data back-up procedures; and Minnesota’s mini’app’les nominates new officers.
Nothing is happening on Feb. 13, but MUGs swing back into action on Feb. 14 as North Carolina’s Triangle MUG and Portland MUG recap Macworld — the former throws in a look at iLife ’05 while the latter presents a demo of the Mac mini by The Mac Store’s Erick Laabs.