It is always fun to see new groups and new interests in the Apple User Group Locator. The CSUSB Macintosh User Group of Cal State University, Santa Barbara, is comprised of members of their information technology community on campus. Swifters – Greece College Swift Playground Group are from the University of the Aegean, a university with multiple campus sites throughout Greece. Welcome to the community!
Part of having a successful user group is having great content to present at meetings. Some groups are able to get guest speakers, products demonstrations, and even remote presentations. But for some groups that is not always logistically possible. Last month we featured Apple podcasts, Today at Apple, and Apple Sales Web, three incredible resources to help groups create enjoyable meetings and educate members. This month we will look at a fourth great resource, the Apple Teacher program. You don’t have to be a teacher to sign up, and each educational activity is paired with a badge you can earn and display. Earn eight badges for either iPad or Mac, and you achieve Apple Teacher status, including access to Swift Playgrounds, a free app for first-time coders featuring Learn to Code and lessons that make getting started fun and interactive. Provided resources include Apple Teacher Starter Guide books, online help and Apple Store workshops.
Looking for an interesting meeting presentation?
The 2017 WWDC keynote was fun to watch and could be a great meeting presentation. the Keynote included information about the new iPad Pro, iMac Pro, HomePod, iOS 11, macOS High Sierra, watchOS 4, and so much more. Why not use it for your next meeting?
Check it out online:
This month’s Featured Vendor is Global Delight, maker of Boom 2, Capto, Vizmato, Boom for iOS, Camera Plus and Camera Plus Pro. Many of our readers are familiar with Global Delight because they have won awards in Apple’s App Store and multiple awards for Best of Show at Macworld over the years. Their employees are called Delightians because they work to delight their more than 15 million customers, crafting software with love and a sincere attempt at disrupting the app landscape. (more…)
Changes are coming to TidBITS Publishing and Take Control Books. Joe Kissell, who has written more Take Control Books than any other author, has purchased Take Control Books with his wife Morgen Jahnke. Sellers Adam and Tonya Engst will be concentrating on their new TidBITS Content Network service, providing syndicated content to Apple consultants and resellers.
Joe has lots of things he wants to do with Take Control in the future, so you’ll see new books, new authors, and more after he gets past the initial work of the transition. And, he is open to ideas from readers. What won’t change is the guarantee of quality: practical, focused, and timely guidance from trusted and knowledgeable technical writers. (more…)
Written by Rex Covington of the Apple User Group Advisory Board and Lonestarrider.com
Apples new clips app is like a mixture of Photo Booth, Snapchat, and a very light version of iMovie. The free stand-alone app is only available in the United States and you will need IOS 10.3 on your iPhone. You can download the app from the normal places using iTunes on your Mac or the Apple’s App Store on your iPhone. You can produce a video up to 60 minutes and each individual clip that you add to your video can be no longer than 30 minutes. (more…)
Are your members interested in how the Touch Bar increases productivity? Whether your members are simply interested in music, produce tracks in a professional studio or are somewhere in between, Logic Pro X on the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar offers all the tools needed to create, edit and deliver the best, right on your Mac. ASW has new demos this month, including the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar Top Features Demo Guide (L548533A-en_US) and Logic Pro X – Product Presentation (L549787A-en_US) that could make for an interesting meeting.
Ambassadors: March is a great month to check out ASW!
On January 6, 2004, the Macintosh was a few days over 20 years old and Steve Jobs had exciting news: Apple had a new type of software, called GarageBand, and a new format for the iPod, an iPod Mini with a huge 4GB of storage. How would we ever fill all that space? With this month’s release of the newest version of GarageBand, it seems like a great time to remember its introduction, with John Mayer performing and Steve Jobs explaining the ways that it would open a world of possibilities.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2jq4iRyULg
Interested in seeing the whole Macworld 2004 Keynote?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvpD3FlHZeM
Interested in stats and information for every Apple Keynote, from 1997 through 2016? Read more below.
Interested in a quick presentation for February? Powerful new features are
now available in GarageBand for iOS and Logic Pro X for all levels of music
makers, from enthusiasts to pros, and the topic could be perfect for a group
meeting.
Check out GarageBand for iOS – First Look (L549342A-en_US) and
Logic Pro X – First Look (L549343A-en_US). And, for the students in
your group, Apple, Inc. has a wonderful new offer: Students can purchase
Final Cut Pro X, Logic Pro X, Motion 5, Compressor 4, and MainStage 3 for
$199 (USD).
http://www.apple.com/us-hed/shop/product/BMGE2Z/A/pro-apps-bundle-for-education
Ambassadors: February is a great month to check out ASW!
Over close to 30 years, publishing 1,350 issues (and more than 7,000 individual blurbs), the InfoManager newsletter, User Group Network and UGNN have covered what mattered for Apple User Groups and their members. Remember the User Group Forum on eWorld? Fred was there. Macworld in 1987? Yep, he was part of that exciting show. This month brought news that Fred is retiring and he and Lynn will no longer be publishing InfoManager each week. Times change and we move ahead, but it is important to thank them for all the years of service to the community.
Thanks Fred and Lynn! You will be missed.
