by Saundra (Sandy) Foderick, Editor | May 15, 2019 | News & Events
For more than 19 years Michael Horton, founder of the LA Creative Pro User Group (LACPUG), has brought storytellers together, and during NAB 2019 he was presented with a well-deserved Lifetime Achievement Award on the Faster Together Stage. Way back in 2000 Michael was interested in bringing people together to meet, learn about technologies that can help creatives tell their stories and create their art, and create community. He started the LA Final Cut Pro group in 2000, was instrumental in groups moving from a single tool to a focus on the greater creative pro community, and was a co-founder of the CPUG Network and their SuperMeets. Over the past few years, there have been wildly popular SuperMeets in London, Austin, Amsterdam, San Jose, Boston and San Francisco, each with its World Famous Raffle and each offering another opportunity to enhance the lives and expand the networks of creatives across the world.
Congrats to Michael – Can’t wait to see what he will do over the next 19 years!
Michael Horton Lifetime Achievement Award at NAB 2019 (more…)
by Saundra (Sandy) Foderick, Editor | May 14, 2019 | News & Events
You may not be aware of PioData or their parent company, Vinpower Digital, but you have probably used their products quite a lot over the years. They were originally known for their automatic OEM CD, hard drive, optical drive, and DVD duplicating machines, as well as standalone drives. Over time they established their own line of CD, DVD, and Blue-ray disks, and provided disks for many popular vendors.
In 2015, Vinpower incorporated a line of compact and intuitive Apple MFI certified Lightning & USB 3 back-up and storage flash devices specifically designed for Apple iPhones, iPads, and iPods, allowing users to both back-up their photos and videos and expand the storage capacity of their Apple iPhones and iPads. Best of all, the devices also act as traveling media libraries where the user can watch movie/video content, listen to music/audio files, review documents in many popular formats, and more. Their current PioData offerings include duplication hardware for desktop and laptop computers, tablets, and servers, and electronic storage products for Apple devices.
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by Saundra (Sandy) Foderick, Editor | May 13, 2019 | User Group Meeting Materials
Looking for a short presentation on the newest HomePod for your group’s meeting? Apple Support’s YouTube channel and ASW have all the information you need to make a great group presentation.
Apple Support’s YouTube channel offers a series of videos on HomePod, including how to adjust HomePod settings, how to use Siri to play music on HomePod and How to use touch controls on HomePod. Each video is under 2 minutes, easy to follow and interesting.
ASW offers HomePod – Product Presentation L574599A-en_US) and HomePod – First Look (L574596A-en_US).
Ambassadors: May is a great month to use Apple resources for your meetings.
Apple YouTube Support Channel’s HomePod Collection
https://asw.apple.com
https://www.apple.com/homepod/
by Saundra (Sandy) Foderick, Editor | May 13, 2019 | News & Events
While parents love the ways that Apple products promote learning, exploring, and fun, parents also want to be sure that their children are using iPads, iPhones, Apple TV, and related technologies in ways that are safe, healthy, and appropriate. Are your members aware of Apple’s Families page and how it can help parents?
The site provides tips and tools to keep track of family app usage, limit or block applications and notifications at bedtime, choose which apps are available for their children, provide for internet safety and kid-friendly content, manage in-app purchases, know where their children are 24×7, find lost devices, share apps and music with the entire family, create group chats to stay in touch, reduce distractions, provide for emergency SOS and ensure medical information is there when needed, help emergency professionals locate family members, protect privacy, and so much more.
Check it out!
https://www.apple.com/families/
by Saundra (Sandy) Foderick, Editor | May 12, 2019 | Leaders, Members
Last June, Glenn Fleishman, Senior Contributor for Macworld, wrote a great Mac911 column that could make for an interesting and useful meeting topic. The title? What you need to do when you inherit a Mac: Avoid a huge headache and do these things before you accept or buy a Mac from the estate of a deceased person.
Check it out!
https://www.macworld.com/article/3279732/macs/what-you-need-to-do-when-you-inherit-a-mac.html
by Saundra (Sandy) Foderick, Editor | Apr 14, 2019 | News & Events
Since 1989, Micromat has been recognized as an innovator in the development of diagnostics, trouble shooting. and repair for Macs. They continually provide wonderful products that keep your Mac running smoothly. TechTool Pro 11, the most robust hardware diagnostic tool available for Macintosh, is Mojave compatible and introduces a number of new security features. Want results on the go? TechTool Pro 11 supports iCloud Drive, letting you see the results of your tests from anywhere that has an internet connection. Need a quick startup disk? TechTool Pro 11 gives you access to startup, along with several handy Apple utilities and TechTool Pro, right in your disk.
Be sure to check out their updated offer for user group members in this month’s offers section.
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by Saundra (Sandy) Foderick, Editor | Apr 14, 2019 | Members, News & Events
One attribute that seems to set Apple User Groups apart from other hobby clubs is community service. Most groups provide a way to make their community just a little bit better. And, they find a broad range of ways to help. For example:
- The Charlotte Apple Computer Club offers Tech Learning Days at the Matthews Community Center at least once a month
- The Village Macintosh User Group runs free New Users Help Classes on the first Tuesday of every month
- CapMac has worked with their local school district to teach low income parents how to use Apple computers that were donated for home use
- Mac User Groups dedicated to HAM radio often participate in Field Day disaster readiness drills
- Washington Apple Pi offers informal Clubhouse Saturdays for troubleshooting and technical questions
- MUG ONE and many other groups offer lending libraries
- The Houston Area Apple User Group runs popular swap meets
- And creative pro groups, including SF Cutter‘s Lynetta Freeman, post job opportunities in the industry and the Creative Pro community supports film festivals and events, including SuperMeets.
And, that is just the start. Does your user group offer community services or outreach efforts?
Check these out.
https://www.facebook.com/Charlotte-Apple-Computer-Club-44836934410/
https://www.wap.org/community/
http://villagemug.com/
https://www.machamradio.com/
https://www.capmac.org/
http://mugone.com/blog/
https://haaug.org/
by Saundra (Sandy) Foderick, Editor | Apr 13, 2019 | News & Events
In 2015 multiple vintage computer user groups, including the Vintage Computer Festival, Mid-Atlantic Retro Computing Hobbyists, and the Vintage Computer Forum, joined forces and became the Vintage Computer Federation. They offer an online discussion forum, events, local user groups, and a bricks-and-mortar museum. As you might imagine, they are also a great resource for film/TV props, media interviews, research projects, data/drive recovery services, patent/prior art projects, and more.
Their Vintage Computer Festivals are held in multiple locations, including:
- VCF Pacific Northwest, March 23rd and 24th, 2019
- VCF Italia, April 27th-28th, 2019
- VCF Southeast, April 27th-28th, 2019
- VCF East, May 3rd-4th-5th, 2019
- VCF West, August 3rd-4th, 2019
Their Pacific Northwest event was held in March, 2019.
Learn more>
Vintage Computer Federation
by Saundra (Sandy) Foderick, Editor | Apr 13, 2019 | News & Events
Need a presentation for your group’s next meeting? Why not use ASW’s presentations to feature Apple Card, Home Pod, or Apple News as your meeting topic?
This month, take a look at “HomePod – First Look” (L574596A-en_US), “Apple Card – First Look” (L584137A-en_US), and “Apple News – First Look” (L542578A-en_US).
Ambassadors: April is a great month to check out ASW offerings.
by Saundra (Sandy) Foderick, Editor | Apr 13, 2019 | News & Events
Want to learn new ways to use your Apple products? Apple Support on Twitter (@AppleSupport) offers tips, tricks, and helpful information when you need it most. From answering your questions to providing tips that increase productivity and enjoyment, there is something for every user.
For example, in the last few days topics included enhancing your work-life balance via dual SIM support, more uses for Spotlight on your Mac, how to share an iCloud calendar, using Continuity to seamlessly connect your Apple devices, how to use “Hey Siri” on your AirPods, how to animate objects in Keynote for iPad, how to use Dictation to take notes without typing, and other useful information.
Ambassadors: Apple Support on Twitter is a great resource for helpful information.
Apple Support on Twitter
