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User Group Archives

User Group News Bulletin

Apple Support on YouTube: Communication Tips Can Make for a Great Meeting Idea

Need a few quick topics to include with your meeting? Apple Support on YouTube often has quick, fun, and easy-to-implement tips that your members will enjoy.  For example, recent topics include how to use Check In to let a friend or family member know when you reach a destination or have arrived safely, how to design and personalize a Contact Poster that will appear on your friends’ devices when you call them, how to update your contact photo, how to create a voice that sounds like you, and so much more. You can even use FaceTime on your Apple TV 4K.

How to use Check In on your iPhone

How to personalize your Contact Poster on your iPhone

How to use FaceTime on your Apple TV 4K

How to set up and use Personal Voice and Live Speech on iPhone and iPad

Ambassadors, October is a great time to use Apple Support on YouTube

AWUGU Meeting Report about Apple Announcements & Streaming Services by Tom Piper, Coordinator

By Tom Piper

This Apple World User Group University (AWUGU) online gathering of Apple user group leaders was held at 5:00pm CDST, on September 18, 2023, via Zoom. We had 31 participants for Apple Announcements & Streaming Services (see Zoom JPG image and PDF attendance list in shared AWUGU folder). The 73-minute video can be viewed ahttps://youtu.be/vehbOkQdKA4 (unlisted on YouTube).

This session opened with my welcome, plus a quick review of the meeting protocols. This was followed by an attempted 6-minute version of the Apple Announcements (available in the AWUGU shared folder) plus a series of shared information by many participants. Discussion continued with wide-ranging comments about streaming services.

Related to the topic of Apple Announcements and Streaming Services, numerous observations were shared and suggestions were provided by user group leaders with the following links in the Chat Room:

read more…

Nicholas Pyers is Named to the Apple User Group Advisory Board

Nicholas Pyers

Nicholas Pyers

This month we welcome Nicholas Pyers to the Apple User Group Advisory Board. Nicholas is known for his website AppleUsers.org, which is full of resources for user group leaders including: back issues of the AppleUsers Spotlight – a former digital magazine, his clever puzzles, an diverse range of Discs of the Month; and for being a long-time championship of all things Mac and Apple – having started his computing life in 1986 with an Apple II; and now has multiple Macs, iPhones, iPads and an Apple Watch. You may also know him from his award-winning articles in the AUSOM newsletter or from his many contributions to the international user group community — including having his Macros.NKP (automation of the Apple II version of AppleWorks) published in US publications.

Following on from a long tradition of providing in-person presentations to Australian and International Apple User Groups, in more recent years, Nicholas has been a regular presenter at the online Apple Worldwide User Group University.

In addition, Nicholas is known for his passion of cruising, with plans to see the world by cruising the seven seas. Despite his ‘protests’ of: “I have ZERO interest in trains or motorsports”, Nicholas is also the event co-ordinator of a full sized “hobby” railway in his adopted home town of Junee, NSW, Australia and the publicity officer for a local motorsport park. Professionally, he currently a grants writer working with not-for-profit community groups to raise funds for local projects and infrastructure.

Nicholas has recently accepted a position with the Apple User Group Advisory Board and will be bringing his talents to Board activities to help develop a Speakers Bureau that will assist user groups find presenters and topics for their meetings.

https://www.appleusers.org/

https://www.appleusers.org/dotm/

https://www.appleusers.org/magazine/

https://www.nicholaspyers.com/articles/macros-nkp-v9-0/

https://www.nicholaspyers.com/presentations/

https://www.peteshobbyrailway.club/

https://www.gw.org.au/

 

Meeting Idea: Carbon Neutral

You may remember back in 2021 when Apple announced that by 2030, every single Apple product around the world would be carbon neutral, from design to manufacturing to shipping, usage, and recycling. And, over the last few years Apple has put their efforts toward that goal. Before the Wonderlust event, Apple had already been carbon neutral across all corporate operations and made incredible advances in recycling and and processes that benefit the environment. At the September 12 Wonderlust event, Apple announced their first fully carbon neutral product, the 2023 Apple Watch, silicon and leather-free watch straps, working with suppliers to ensure best practices, and more.

Check it out!

Apple and the environment

Apple unveils its first carbon neutral products

Apple advances supplier clean energy commitments

2030 Status | Mother Nature

Meeting Ideas: AirPods Pro with Adaptive Audio, iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Pro on YouTube

 

Your members probably watched Apple’s Wonderlust event on Tuesday and want to learn more about the announcements. The good news is that Apple’s YouTube channel has a link to the resources you can use to create a great meeting. For example, there are links to a tour of iPhone 15, AirPods Pro with Adaptive Audio, the Wonderlust event, and so much more.

Check them out!

Shot on iPhone 15 Pro | Olivia Rodrigo “get him back!”

A Guided Tour of iPhone 15 & iPhone 15 Pro | Apple

Watch the Wonderlust Event

AirPods Pro | Adaptive Audio

Fun Blast From the Past: Macintosh Jeopardy Part Two

user group connection mug

 

The Apple User Group Connection Archives offer a fun look back at past announcements, products, and meetings. April 1991 brought one session of MacWorld Macintosh Jeopardy. Want to see contestants answer questions from categories that include “Guys Named Guys” and “Love That Jean-Louis”, and answers that include one of Woz’s earliest computers named for a beverage and the only animal in the standard Geneva font? Check out a tough competition starting around 1 hour and 30 minutes.

See how many questions you can answer:

User Group Connection April 1991

 

 

Meeting Idea: Accessibility Features for Movies and TV Shows

Groups have had a positive response to accessibility as a meeting topic. Apple’s Accessibility home page says that the true value of a technology is not measured by how powerful it is, but by how much it empowers the user, and every Apple product contains amazing and empowering accessibility features right out of the box. From being able to take a perfect group selfie without being able to see the screen, to VoiceOver, display accommodations, Live Listen, closed captioning that displays far more than text, LED iPhone notifications, Switch Control, customized gestures, AssistiveTouch, Guided Access, typing feedback, text-to-speech, fitness algorithms for wheelchair users, and more, there are features to make every user’s tasks easier.

Dave Mara, Senior Systems Engineer for Apple, accomplished artist, and user group favorite recently posted an accessibility link with some great tips regarding ways to check if movies and TV shows have accessibility features in the Apple TV app, including audio descriptions, closed captions, and subtitles for folk who may be deaf or hard of hearing. Your members can check from their iPhone or iPad, smart TV or streaming device, Mac, AppleTV, or PC in the iTunes Store, and there are some great tips for how to turn the features on and off as well.

This could make for a great quick preso at your next user group meeting.

Check if movies and TV shows have accessibility features in the Apple TV app

https://www.apple.com/accessibility/

Accessibility Support

Meeting Idea: New Features in iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma

Are your members interested in what’s new with iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma? Apple recently released documents listing key new features for iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma. These docs could make for an interesting and informative meeting.

 

Check ’em out:

New Features in Sonoma

New Features in iOS 17

Thanks to Steve Welsh, founder and President of the Oregon MacPioneers User Group, and past member of Apple’s User Group Advisory Board, for this tip!

MacCamp: Portland Macintosh Users Group

For more than 30 years one of the wonderful benefits of belonging to the Portland Macintosh Users Group (PMUG) has been the opportunity to attend the group’s MacCamp sessions. Better yet, the 2023 Fall MacCamp is right around the corner: MacCamp is coming October 20-22. From enjoying the beauty of Oral Hull Park near Sandy Oregon, to great food, to fun networking experiences, to multiple training sessions and more, each camp holds a place in the hearts of those who attend.  Is your group looking for a novel idea to build community and share knowledge? Check out PMUG’s MacCamp, and, while you are there learn about their popular PMUG Clinics (now via Zoom).

Visit PMUG.

http://www.pmug.org/

Learn more about MacCamp.

Fall 2023 MacCamp

AWUGU Meeting Report about Program Process by Tom Piper, Coordinator

This Apple World User Group University (AWUGU) online gathering of Apple user group leaders was held at 5:00pm CDST, on August 21, 2023, via Zoom. We had 26 participants for Program Process (see JPG image and PDF attendance list in shared folder described below). The 74-minute video can be viewed at  https://youtu.be/VoN5C_fGclE (unlisted on YouTube).
This session opened with my welcome, plus a quick review of the meeting protocols. This was followed by a series of shared information by all participants. Discussion continued with experiences shared by all attendees.
Related to the topic of Program Process, numerous opinions were shared and suggestions were provided by user group leaders with the following links in the Chat Room:
We are very pleased with this eighth meeting of 2023. Files related to this meeting (including chat, closed caption, agendas, reports, slideshows and videos) are available on our AWUGU shared folder: https://www.icloud.com/iclouddrive/0kF7XwYI98VG0fqvL86PJm02g#AWUGU.
Due to the very interesting and extensive Nostalgia sharing, it was decided that “Apple Announcements & Streaming Services” would be held over to the September 18, 2023, at 5:00pm Central Daylight Saving Time (all current AWUGU registrants will receive an invitation to all future meetings)
To become a participant, any interested Apple User Group leader must first register with the AWUGU Coordinator by emailing their name, location, and user group name and web link to macquest@mac.com. Registration must be received by September 16 in order to receive a Zoom Meeting invitation.

News to Use: iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and watchOS 10 promote mental and vision health

Your members may have participated in a study using the Apple Research app. They may be using the Health App on their iPads now. But, did you know there is more to the story? Apple has research and new features that promote user health in many ways. For example, in June Apple introduced new features in iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and watchOS 10 that promote mental health and vision health, and so much more. read more…

Apple Support on YouTube: Taking Selfies with Voice Control and Shared Albums

Need a quick topic to include with your meeting? Apple Support on YouTube often has quick, fun, and easy-to-implement tips that your members will enjoy.  For example, in under 1 minute your members can learn how to take selfies using only Voice Control.

How to take a selfie with Voice Control

Or, in right around 3 minutes your members can learn how to create and use Shared Albums in Photos.

How to create and use Shared Albums in Photos

Ambassadors, July is a great time to use Apple Support on YouTube

 

 

Plan for 2024: Focusing on Generative Artificial Intelligence at TCF

trenton computer festival

User group members enjoyed the 47th annual Trenton Computer Festival (TCF), the oldest computer festival in the world, sponsored by the College of New Jersey (TCNJ) Electrical/Computer Engineering Department and supported by multiple user groups. Now, there are plans underway for an exceptional 2024 TCF.  Next year’s theme is Focusing on Generative Artificial Intelligence and will be held on March 16, 2024 in 

As you can see, TCF is not just another computer show. It was started by (and is still run by) computer hobbyist volunteers as a non-profit educational event. Attendees can enjoy a full day of learning and fun covering Computers, Electronics, Ham Radio and so much more.

Check it out!

http://www.tcf-nj.org/

Enjoy past presentations on the TCF YouTube Channel.

Trenton Computer Festival on YouTube

Meeting Idea: Apple Vision Pro

wwdc 2023

If your members watched the livestream of last week’s 2023 Worldwide Developer’s Conference (WWDC) they were probably amazed by the Apple Vision Pro, a spatial computer you control with your eyes, hands, and voice to interact with digital content in a way that feels like you are physically present in an immersive environment. Wow!

Want to offer your members a first look at Apple Vision Pro? Check out these resources:

Discover visionOS

Apple’s first spatial computer

AWUGU Meeting Report about WWDC & Purchasing Advice by Tom Piper, Coordinator

AWUGU Meeting Report about WWDC & Purchasing Advice
by Tom Piper, Coordinator

This Apple World User Group University (AWUGU) online gathering of Apple user group leaders was held at 5:00pm CDST, on June 19, 2023, via Zoom. We had 35 participants for WWDC & Purchasing Advice. The 81-minute video can be viewed at https://youtu.be/nqfhHR6sY2s (unlisted on YouTube).

This session opened with my welcome, plus a quick review of the meeting protocols. This was followed by a long open discussion about the WWDC announcement of Vision Pro. This was followed by a British video shared by Steve Welsh (OMUG) about the new features of macOS 14 Sonoma.

Related to the topic of World Wide Developers Conference keynote announcements, numerous opinions were shared and suggestions were provided by user group leaders with the following links in the Chat Room: read more…

Fun Blast From the Past: Macintosh Jeopardy

user group connection mug

 

The Apple User Group Connection Archives offer a fun look back at past announcements, products, and meetings. February 1991 brought one session of MacWorld Macintosh Jeopardy. Want to see contestants answer questions from categories that include Jobs, Woz, or God? and DogCow, and answers that include 7.0 in the cereal category, Virtual Interface Adapter, or what the Dogcow says? Check out a tough competition starting around 42 minutes.

See how many questions you can answer:

User Group Connection February 1991

News to Use: iOS 17 Preview

Your members probably want to know about iOS 17: what will the update look like? Are there features that make their iPhones easier to use or provide new experiences? The good news is that there is a lot to love in iOS 17, including updates to the Phone app, FaceTime, and Messages, a reimagined AirDrop for sharing, and new apps, including Journal and StandBy. Contact Posters lets users customize how they appear, Live Voicemail lets users see real-time transcriptions when someone leaves a voice message AND spam messages won’t appear in Live Voicemail. The Health app offers new mental health features too. In fact, there are too many features to list them here.

Check out Apple’s iOS Preview to learn more.

iOS 17 Preview

Timely Meeting Idea: Apple’s Privacy and Security Features

Your members have privacy concerns and a privacy and security meeting topic could be a hit. Apple builds in privacy at every level to help users keep their information secure. From Passkeys that can replace passwords with an easier and safer sign-in method, to Intelligent Tracking Prevention, Privacy Report to Password monitoring, Social widget tracking prevention, Fingerprinting defense, Private Browsing, Location fuzzing, Random identifiers, end-to-end encryption, and so much more, privacy is an integral part of the Apple ecosystem.

Start your meeting with the clever Privacy on iPhone video and go from there:

Privacy on iPhone

read more…

AWUGU Meeting Report about AUG Speaker Bureau by Tom Piper, Coordinator

This Apple World User Group University (AWUGU) online gathering of Apple user group leaders was held at 5:00pm CDST, on May 15, 2023, via Zoom. We had 38 participants for AUG Speaker Bureau (see JPG image and PDF attendance list in the AWUGU shared folder). The 73-minute video can be viewed at https://youtu.be/YRl2IojuZ80 (unlisted on YouTube).

This session opened with my welcome, plus a quick review of the meeting protocols. This was followed by a wide-ranging open discussion about the previous 1Password presentation plus speaker and ChatGPT experiences by many.

Related to the topic of user group benefits, numerous experiences shared and suggestions were provided by user group leaders with the following links in the Chat Room:
There was also extensive discussion about whether members of any AUG could visit the meetings or access the archived videos and presentations from other AUGs. Numerous attendees listed information about how to acquire permission to attend their meetings on the Chat Room (download a copy of the chat text from our iCloud folder below).

read more…

LACPUG: The Latest in Mobile Movie Making

LACPUGThe 6,000+ member strong LA Creative Pro community will hold their next meeting on June 28 at the Gallery Theater in Hollywood. And, the meeting will feature Sam Mestman, showing the latest in mobile movie making. Since Sam is now head of marketing for OWC, you just know he will feature the best of must-have equipment.

Still not sure? Stump the Gurus and the World Famous Raffle will be part of the evening’s entertainment.  read more…

User Group News Bulletin

Apple Support on YouTube: Communication Tips Can Make for a Great Meeting Idea

Need a few quick topics to include with your meeting? Apple Support on YouTube often has quick, fun, and easy-to-implement tips that your members will enjoy.  For example, recent topics include how to use Check In to let a friend or family member know when you reach a destination or have arrived safely, how to design and personalize a Contact Poster that will appear on your friends’ devices when you call them, how to update your contact photo, how to create a voice that sounds like you, and so much more. You can even use FaceTime on your Apple TV 4K.

How to use Check In on your iPhone

How to personalize your Contact Poster on your iPhone

How to use FaceTime on your Apple TV 4K

How to set up and use Personal Voice and Live Speech on iPhone and iPad

Ambassadors, October is a great time to use Apple Support on YouTube

AWUGU Meeting Report about Apple Announcements & Streaming Services by Tom Piper, Coordinator

By Tom Piper

This Apple World User Group University (AWUGU) online gathering of Apple user group leaders was held at 5:00pm CDST, on September 18, 2023, via Zoom. We had 31 participants for Apple Announcements & Streaming Services (see Zoom JPG image and PDF attendance list in shared AWUGU folder). The 73-minute video can be viewed ahttps://youtu.be/vehbOkQdKA4 (unlisted on YouTube).

This session opened with my welcome, plus a quick review of the meeting protocols. This was followed by an attempted 6-minute version of the Apple Announcements (available in the AWUGU shared folder) plus a series of shared information by many participants. Discussion continued with wide-ranging comments about streaming services.

Related to the topic of Apple Announcements and Streaming Services, numerous observations were shared and suggestions were provided by user group leaders with the following links in the Chat Room:

read more…

Nicholas Pyers is Named to the Apple User Group Advisory Board

Nicholas Pyers

Nicholas Pyers

This month we welcome Nicholas Pyers to the Apple User Group Advisory Board. Nicholas is known for his website AppleUsers.org, which is full of resources for user group leaders including: back issues of the AppleUsers Spotlight – a former digital magazine, his clever puzzles, an diverse range of Discs of the Month; and for being a long-time championship of all things Mac and Apple – having started his computing life in 1986 with an Apple II; and now has multiple Macs, iPhones, iPads and an Apple Watch. You may also know him from his award-winning articles in the AUSOM newsletter or from his many contributions to the international user group community — including having his Macros.NKP (automation of the Apple II version of AppleWorks) published in US publications.

Following on from a long tradition of providing in-person presentations to Australian and International Apple User Groups, in more recent years, Nicholas has been a regular presenter at the online Apple Worldwide User Group University.

In addition, Nicholas is known for his passion of cruising, with plans to see the world by cruising the seven seas. Despite his ‘protests’ of: “I have ZERO interest in trains or motorsports”, Nicholas is also the event co-ordinator of a full sized “hobby” railway in his adopted home town of Junee, NSW, Australia and the publicity officer for a local motorsport park. Professionally, he currently a grants writer working with not-for-profit community groups to raise funds for local projects and infrastructure.

Nicholas has recently accepted a position with the Apple User Group Advisory Board and will be bringing his talents to Board activities to help develop a Speakers Bureau that will assist user groups find presenters and topics for their meetings.

https://www.appleusers.org/

https://www.appleusers.org/dotm/

https://www.appleusers.org/magazine/

https://www.nicholaspyers.com/articles/macros-nkp-v9-0/

https://www.nicholaspyers.com/presentations/

https://www.peteshobbyrailway.club/

https://www.gw.org.au/

 

Meeting Idea: Carbon Neutral

You may remember back in 2021 when Apple announced that by 2030, every single Apple product around the world would be carbon neutral, from design to manufacturing to shipping, usage, and recycling. And, over the last few years Apple has put their efforts toward that goal. Before the Wonderlust event, Apple had already been carbon neutral across all corporate operations and made incredible advances in recycling and and processes that benefit the environment. At the September 12 Wonderlust event, Apple announced their first fully carbon neutral product, the 2023 Apple Watch, silicon and leather-free watch straps, working with suppliers to ensure best practices, and more.

Check it out!

Apple and the environment

Apple unveils its first carbon neutral products

Apple advances supplier clean energy commitments

2030 Status | Mother Nature

Meeting Ideas: AirPods Pro with Adaptive Audio, iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Pro on YouTube

 

Your members probably watched Apple’s Wonderlust event on Tuesday and want to learn more about the announcements. The good news is that Apple’s YouTube channel has a link to the resources you can use to create a great meeting. For example, there are links to a tour of iPhone 15, AirPods Pro with Adaptive Audio, the Wonderlust event, and so much more.

Check them out!

Shot on iPhone 15 Pro | Olivia Rodrigo “get him back!”

A Guided Tour of iPhone 15 & iPhone 15 Pro | Apple

Watch the Wonderlust Event

AirPods Pro | Adaptive Audio

Fun Blast From the Past: Macintosh Jeopardy Part Two

user group connection mug

 

The Apple User Group Connection Archives offer a fun look back at past announcements, products, and meetings. April 1991 brought one session of MacWorld Macintosh Jeopardy. Want to see contestants answer questions from categories that include “Guys Named Guys” and “Love That Jean-Louis”, and answers that include one of Woz’s earliest computers named for a beverage and the only animal in the standard Geneva font? Check out a tough competition starting around 1 hour and 30 minutes.

See how many questions you can answer:

User Group Connection April 1991

 

 

Meeting Idea: Accessibility Features for Movies and TV Shows

Groups have had a positive response to accessibility as a meeting topic. Apple’s Accessibility home page says that the true value of a technology is not measured by how powerful it is, but by how much it empowers the user, and every Apple product contains amazing and empowering accessibility features right out of the box. From being able to take a perfect group selfie without being able to see the screen, to VoiceOver, display accommodations, Live Listen, closed captioning that displays far more than text, LED iPhone notifications, Switch Control, customized gestures, AssistiveTouch, Guided Access, typing feedback, text-to-speech, fitness algorithms for wheelchair users, and more, there are features to make every user’s tasks easier.

Dave Mara, Senior Systems Engineer for Apple, accomplished artist, and user group favorite recently posted an accessibility link with some great tips regarding ways to check if movies and TV shows have accessibility features in the Apple TV app, including audio descriptions, closed captions, and subtitles for folk who may be deaf or hard of hearing. Your members can check from their iPhone or iPad, smart TV or streaming device, Mac, AppleTV, or PC in the iTunes Store, and there are some great tips for how to turn the features on and off as well.

This could make for a great quick preso at your next user group meeting.

Check if movies and TV shows have accessibility features in the Apple TV app

https://www.apple.com/accessibility/

Accessibility Support

Meeting Idea: New Features in iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma

Are your members interested in what’s new with iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma? Apple recently released documents listing key new features for iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma. These docs could make for an interesting and informative meeting.

 

Check ’em out:

New Features in Sonoma

New Features in iOS 17

Thanks to Steve Welsh, founder and President of the Oregon MacPioneers User Group, and past member of Apple’s User Group Advisory Board, for this tip!

MacCamp: Portland Macintosh Users Group

For more than 30 years one of the wonderful benefits of belonging to the Portland Macintosh Users Group (PMUG) has been the opportunity to attend the group’s MacCamp sessions. Better yet, the 2023 Fall MacCamp is right around the corner: MacCamp is coming October 20-22. From enjoying the beauty of Oral Hull Park near Sandy Oregon, to great food, to fun networking experiences, to multiple training sessions and more, each camp holds a place in the hearts of those who attend.  Is your group looking for a novel idea to build community and share knowledge? Check out PMUG’s MacCamp, and, while you are there learn about their popular PMUG Clinics (now via Zoom).

Visit PMUG.

http://www.pmug.org/

Learn more about MacCamp.

Fall 2023 MacCamp

AWUGU Meeting Report about Program Process by Tom Piper, Coordinator

This Apple World User Group University (AWUGU) online gathering of Apple user group leaders was held at 5:00pm CDST, on August 21, 2023, via Zoom. We had 26 participants for Program Process (see JPG image and PDF attendance list in shared folder described below). The 74-minute video can be viewed at  https://youtu.be/VoN5C_fGclE (unlisted on YouTube).
This session opened with my welcome, plus a quick review of the meeting protocols. This was followed by a series of shared information by all participants. Discussion continued with experiences shared by all attendees.
Related to the topic of Program Process, numerous opinions were shared and suggestions were provided by user group leaders with the following links in the Chat Room:
We are very pleased with this eighth meeting of 2023. Files related to this meeting (including chat, closed caption, agendas, reports, slideshows and videos) are available on our AWUGU shared folder: https://www.icloud.com/iclouddrive/0kF7XwYI98VG0fqvL86PJm02g#AWUGU.
Due to the very interesting and extensive Nostalgia sharing, it was decided that “Apple Announcements & Streaming Services” would be held over to the September 18, 2023, at 5:00pm Central Daylight Saving Time (all current AWUGU registrants will receive an invitation to all future meetings)
To become a participant, any interested Apple User Group leader must first register with the AWUGU Coordinator by emailing their name, location, and user group name and web link to macquest@mac.com. Registration must be received by September 16 in order to receive a Zoom Meeting invitation.

News to Use: iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and watchOS 10 promote mental and vision health

Your members may have participated in a study using the Apple Research app. They may be using the Health App on their iPads now. But, did you know there is more to the story? Apple has research and new features that promote user health in many ways. For example, in June Apple introduced new features in iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and watchOS 10 that promote mental health and vision health, and so much more. read more…

Apple Support on YouTube: Taking Selfies with Voice Control and Shared Albums

Need a quick topic to include with your meeting? Apple Support on YouTube often has quick, fun, and easy-to-implement tips that your members will enjoy.  For example, in under 1 minute your members can learn how to take selfies using only Voice Control.

How to take a selfie with Voice Control

Or, in right around 3 minutes your members can learn how to create and use Shared Albums in Photos.

How to create and use Shared Albums in Photos

Ambassadors, July is a great time to use Apple Support on YouTube

 

 

Plan for 2024: Focusing on Generative Artificial Intelligence at TCF

trenton computer festival

User group members enjoyed the 47th annual Trenton Computer Festival (TCF), the oldest computer festival in the world, sponsored by the College of New Jersey (TCNJ) Electrical/Computer Engineering Department and supported by multiple user groups. Now, there are plans underway for an exceptional 2024 TCF.  Next year’s theme is Focusing on Generative Artificial Intelligence and will be held on March 16, 2024 in 

As you can see, TCF is not just another computer show. It was started by (and is still run by) computer hobbyist volunteers as a non-profit educational event. Attendees can enjoy a full day of learning and fun covering Computers, Electronics, Ham Radio and so much more.

Check it out!

http://www.tcf-nj.org/

Enjoy past presentations on the TCF YouTube Channel.

Trenton Computer Festival on YouTube

Meeting Idea: Apple Vision Pro

wwdc 2023

If your members watched the livestream of last week’s 2023 Worldwide Developer’s Conference (WWDC) they were probably amazed by the Apple Vision Pro, a spatial computer you control with your eyes, hands, and voice to interact with digital content in a way that feels like you are physically present in an immersive environment. Wow!

Want to offer your members a first look at Apple Vision Pro? Check out these resources:

Discover visionOS

Apple’s first spatial computer

AWUGU Meeting Report about WWDC & Purchasing Advice by Tom Piper, Coordinator

AWUGU Meeting Report about WWDC & Purchasing Advice
by Tom Piper, Coordinator

This Apple World User Group University (AWUGU) online gathering of Apple user group leaders was held at 5:00pm CDST, on June 19, 2023, via Zoom. We had 35 participants for WWDC & Purchasing Advice. The 81-minute video can be viewed at https://youtu.be/nqfhHR6sY2s (unlisted on YouTube).

This session opened with my welcome, plus a quick review of the meeting protocols. This was followed by a long open discussion about the WWDC announcement of Vision Pro. This was followed by a British video shared by Steve Welsh (OMUG) about the new features of macOS 14 Sonoma.

Related to the topic of World Wide Developers Conference keynote announcements, numerous opinions were shared and suggestions were provided by user group leaders with the following links in the Chat Room: read more…

Fun Blast From the Past: Macintosh Jeopardy

user group connection mug

 

The Apple User Group Connection Archives offer a fun look back at past announcements, products, and meetings. February 1991 brought one session of MacWorld Macintosh Jeopardy. Want to see contestants answer questions from categories that include Jobs, Woz, or God? and DogCow, and answers that include 7.0 in the cereal category, Virtual Interface Adapter, or what the Dogcow says? Check out a tough competition starting around 42 minutes.

See how many questions you can answer:

User Group Connection February 1991

News to Use: iOS 17 Preview

Your members probably want to know about iOS 17: what will the update look like? Are there features that make their iPhones easier to use or provide new experiences? The good news is that there is a lot to love in iOS 17, including updates to the Phone app, FaceTime, and Messages, a reimagined AirDrop for sharing, and new apps, including Journal and StandBy. Contact Posters lets users customize how they appear, Live Voicemail lets users see real-time transcriptions when someone leaves a voice message AND spam messages won’t appear in Live Voicemail. The Health app offers new mental health features too. In fact, there are too many features to list them here.

Check out Apple’s iOS Preview to learn more.

iOS 17 Preview

Timely Meeting Idea: Apple’s Privacy and Security Features

Your members have privacy concerns and a privacy and security meeting topic could be a hit. Apple builds in privacy at every level to help users keep their information secure. From Passkeys that can replace passwords with an easier and safer sign-in method, to Intelligent Tracking Prevention, Privacy Report to Password monitoring, Social widget tracking prevention, Fingerprinting defense, Private Browsing, Location fuzzing, Random identifiers, end-to-end encryption, and so much more, privacy is an integral part of the Apple ecosystem.

Start your meeting with the clever Privacy on iPhone video and go from there:

Privacy on iPhone

read more…

AWUGU Meeting Report about AUG Speaker Bureau by Tom Piper, Coordinator

This Apple World User Group University (AWUGU) online gathering of Apple user group leaders was held at 5:00pm CDST, on May 15, 2023, via Zoom. We had 38 participants for AUG Speaker Bureau (see JPG image and PDF attendance list in the AWUGU shared folder). The 73-minute video can be viewed at https://youtu.be/YRl2IojuZ80 (unlisted on YouTube).

This session opened with my welcome, plus a quick review of the meeting protocols. This was followed by a wide-ranging open discussion about the previous 1Password presentation plus speaker and ChatGPT experiences by many.

Related to the topic of user group benefits, numerous experiences shared and suggestions were provided by user group leaders with the following links in the Chat Room:
There was also extensive discussion about whether members of any AUG could visit the meetings or access the archived videos and presentations from other AUGs. Numerous attendees listed information about how to acquire permission to attend their meetings on the Chat Room (download a copy of the chat text from our iCloud folder below).

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LACPUG: The Latest in Mobile Movie Making

LACPUGThe 6,000+ member strong LA Creative Pro community will hold their next meeting on June 28 at the Gallery Theater in Hollywood. And, the meeting will feature Sam Mestman, showing the latest in mobile movie making. Since Sam is now head of marketing for OWC, you just know he will feature the best of must-have equipment.

Still not sure? Stump the Gurus and the World Famous Raffle will be part of the evening’s entertainment.  read more…



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