Group officers face similar challenges and often come up with elegant answers. Wouldn’t it be great to have these group’s collective wisdom just a few clicks away? Starting in July, we added a new feature called How To, composed of articles offering guidance for some of the processes we all face. The first in the series was How To: Presenting iOS at User Group Meetings.

Have a How To that could help other groups? Want to suggest a topic that needs coverage? Let us know at ugab@mac.com

How To: Presenting iOS at User Group Meetings

https://www.appleusergroupresources.com/iospresentation/

Need a quick presentation for your group’s meeting? Apple Sales Web (ASW) offers your group’s ambassador downloadable presentations and fact sheets that your group can use. The topics range from applications such as the new iOS to hardware such as the newest iPhones to topics that include Apple and the Environment. Click on the Presentations tab at the top of your ASW screen and you are sure to find a presentation to fit your group’s interests.

Accounts are limited to one ambassador per recognized Apple user group.

Apple Sales Web: https://asw.apple.com

Who was Moe Comeau? Ask the volunteers of the Main Line Macintosh Users Group (MLMUG) or the Macworld User Group volunteers team and you will hear an incredible number of responses: past MLMUG president, founding member, recording secretary, webmaster, photographer, cook and reviewer; Macworld lounge host and show floor guide; Apple User Group Ambassador, teacher and columnist.

Ask the librarians, students, attendees and teachers helped by his computer literacy presentations, and you will hear what an entertaining speaker he was. Mulching trees or planting flowers at the Valley Forge National Historical Park? Yep, he did that as part of the Lockheed Martin employees’ NOVA program. Add in the many readers of his In Moe’s Humble Opinion (IMHO) columns and viewers of “Moe’s Tribute to Steve” and the words funny, smart and giving will surely come up as well.

Still, the word that comes most to mind is friend.

On Saturday, January 25, we lost that friend. Thanks for the many years of good cheer, tireless volunteering and friendship, Moe. You will be greatly missed.

The Apple User Group Advisory Board

Moe’s Curmudgeon Collection

http://www.mlmug.org/galleryintro.html

Main Line Macintosh’s Tribute

http://mlmug.org/index.htm

(Moe’s photo taken from the MLMUG Website)

In honor of the original Macintosh Development Team, All Planet Studios, the Computer History Museum and Macworld/iWorld announce a celebration of the 30 year anniversary of the Macintosh, held on January 25 at the Flint Center in Cupertino, CA.

Ilene Hoffman reminds the community that community members should send photos and testimonials as part of the accompanying Poster Project – the project provides fans with a chance to be a part of the event, even if they cannot be there!

http://macintosh30th.com/posters/

Want to learn more about the celebration?

https://www.facebook.com/events/171166539759390/184452361764141/?ref=notif&notif_t=plan_mall_activity

(Thanks to Ilene Hoffman, long-time editor of the Macworld Party Page, for this tip.)

http://ilenesmachine.com/partylist.shtml

Here is a bit of fun, posted to YouTube on Monday. Whether you have visited Apple’s Infinite Loop Headquarters or would like to do so, this reconstruction in Minecraft is sure to bring a smile. Michael Steeber spent two years on the project. Wow!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JQG4rO3BUc#t=64

It can be hard for groups to get presentations for meetings. And, if a presenter takes the time and trouble to visit your group, will he or she want to come back? A reader recently sent in a tip about a series that covers everything from inviting a presenter to how to handle activity on the night of a presentation. Provided by Nicholas Pyers’ AppleUsers.org the series has been around for a while but is well worth revisiting.

Approaching Potential Presenters

http://www.appleusers.org/ugr/approaching-potential-presenters/

Confirming Presenters

http://www.appleusers.org/ugr/confirming-presenters/

Working with Presenters on “The Night”

http://www.appleusers.org/ugr/working-with-presenters-on-the-night/

The Northwest of Us User Group (NWOU) regularly holds special one-day workshops on topics of interest to their members and their community. On January 18, 2014, the next hands-on workshop will cover iMovie 10, with presenter Phil Brooks.

Learn more.

nwou.org

Sign up.

NEW-WORKSHOP-iMovie-10-Video-Workshop-Jan-18-2014-Hands-on-Class

Promo video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIfOyzJxh4A&feature=youtu.be

On April 15, 2004, eight years and eight months ago, Tom Piper took over responsibility for all vendor offers published in the Apple User Group Bulletin, later providing all of the offers that ran on the Apple User Group Resources Blog.

Tom had been busy in the user group community for many years prior to wearing the Vendor Wizard hat: he founded appleJAC MUG in 1984 and served as its president for well over 20 years. He had been appointed as one of the Apple User Group Program’s Regional Liaisons in 2003, and later served as Advisory Board Chair for two years. During those 8.6 Vendor Wizard years, Tom was responsible for providing the raffle items enjoyed at UGU, UGLC, the User Group Ice Cream Social and more, all for user group attendees at Macworld.

In November, Tom stepped down from his vendor responsibilities, focusing on new Advisory Board projects.

Thanks for many, many years of wonderful offers and even better memories, Tom!

From your colleagues on the User Group Advisory Board, Apple’s User Group Program and members of the user group community.

On January 14, officers and members of Denver’s MacinTech Computer Users Group will host a special program with a focus on Apple’s assistive technologies. Presenters will include Dan Burke, from the Colorado Center for the Blind, and a representative from AbleLink Technologies, speaking about AbleLink’s programs to help the learning disabled navigate mass transit. Most Apple users know that Macs are designed for universal access, with dozens of assistive technologies built in. Still, those dozens are just the start of the many ways that a Mac can provide access solutions.

Visit MacinTech.

www.macintech.org

(Thanks to Andy Suhaka, MacinTech Treasurer, for this great tip!)

The Santa Fe Macintosh User Group, co-founded by John Tollit, Dave Rohr and Robin Williams, will be holding a special meeting in March of 2014, celebrating 20 years of User Group community. Officers and members are putting together a special presentation for that meeting and are interested in any mementos that folk might have. Do you have photos or other memories from their early days? If so, contribute to the celebration by sending them to webmaster – at – santafemug.org

Here’s a brief history by John Tollit of the founding of the SFMUG.

http://www.santafemug.org/generalinfo/history.html

Visit the group’s home page.

http://www.santafemug.org

For over 28 years, FileMaker has given us the tools we need to efficiently store, manage, retrieve, and analyze data. With the new FileMaker 13 platform, FileMaker provides an elegant solution to the challenge of providing access in a connected world. Simply put, data is far less useful when it is hard to access. FileMaker Web Direct, new in FileMaker 13, offers database access via the end user’s HTML5 compliant browser and administrative control via an HML5 console – no web development skills or coding required. In addition to the custom themes, built-in themes and starter solutions found in the previous version, FM13 offers styles, a way to provide a consistent look and feel: change a style and the change is instantly reflected across all content.

Secure? AES 256-bit encryption is paired with a new visual encryption state indicator, showing when a connection is validated by a third-party certificate and indicating when a connection is secure. Better yet, the platform provides excellent cross-platform functionality, iOS script steps, Script Triggers and functions designed specifically for iPhone and iPad, features to support iOS solution creation and the same ease-of-use and strong support for industry standards that has been a hallmark of the software for the past 28 years.

Users can purchase FileMaker 13 as a subscription, priced from $9.00 (US) to $ 29.00 (US) per month, or a standard software license or server connection package with pricing based on level and version. FileMaker Go for iOS is available from ITunes as a free app. (… And did I mention that there are over 50 other new features?)

Check it out!

http://www.filemaker.com/

Sandy F.

It can be hard to make every meeting and sometimes the best meetings are the ones we miss. George Rubin, V.P. of the Naples MacFriends User Group has a solution that benefits both his own group and other interested groups as well: he records each group meeting and posts it on YouTube.

Want to see Derrick Story’s iPhoto and Aperture preso., Jason Snell’s discussion of OS X Mavericks, Joe Kissell’s take on passwords, learn more about 1Password Presentation or catch Adam Engst’s guidance on current technology? They are all on YouTube courtesy of George and the group. What a neat idea!

President Jerry King provided a link to the full set of videos on offer.

http://www.naplesmug.com/NMUG/Video_Mtgs.html

Learn about Naples MacFriends.

http://www.naplesmug.com/NMUG/About.html

Here are some links to individual past presentations.

Enjoy Derrick Story’s October 30th remote presentation on iPhoto and Aperature.

Watch Jason Snell’s September 18th. remote presentation on OSX Mavericks.

(Thanks to Nicholas Pyers, Founder & Publisher at AppleUsers.org, and V.P. George Rubin for this tip!)

User group members know that Ben Waldie wears many hats: president of Automated Workflows, LLC, a company offering AppleScript and workflow automation consulting services to Mac-based businesses, founder of the Philadelphia Area AppleScript User’s Group, Macworld and UGU presenter, host of the Mac Automation Made Simple video training series and author of many popular books.

Did you know that he also provides a wonderful service to Mac users worldwide: a scripting column for Macworld. His current column looks at the state of scripting on the Mac in light of current software releases.

Check out Ben’s November 6 column.

Visit Automated WorkFlows LLC

http://www.automatedworkflows.com/

On November 19th the officers and members of the Apple Core of Siouxland will host their annual Apple Products Review and Christmas Party Potluck. Members bring in their own new Apple products for hands-on and demonstration, followed by a community potluck. Interestingly, along with their annual Apple Product Review, the group has instituted iPad nights to share ideas and tips.

Apple Core of Siouxland, with meeting attendees from South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska.

http://applecore.macpros.biz/Apple_Core_of_Siouxland/Apple_Core_History.html

(Thanks to Apple User Group Ambassador Joe Colby for this tip!)

In the fall of 1987, Yuan Ho and Seth Schneider met in a local Palo Alto, CA, Apple Computer dealer store, starting with shared interests in Macintosh computers, international topics and translation, and later obtaining sponsorship from Standford University to start the Stanford Macintosh User Group International Special Interest Group.

Over time members changed and the group’s name changed too, but the group’s international focus stayed the same. A love of Apple products stayed the same as well. This month’s meeting, on October 17 at the Google campus, is titled Cloud-based Translation Management Systems for Start-Up LSPs and Freelancer Groups, showing both their tradition of attention to current technologies and their reliance on the group’s roots. Congrats to the International Multilingual User Group (IMUG) for 26 years of computing!

Check them out.

http://imug.org/

Visit their archives, showing a bit of the group’s past.

http://imug.org/events/past1987_1994.htm

From Friday, October 25, through Sunday, October 27, the officers and members of the Atlanta Cutters Post Production User Group will host their first Southeast Creative Summit. The group is looking to fill an interesting need: while many user groups focus on the software and hardware that makes digital interactions fascinating and sometimes profitable, an equally important focus is on the how-to instructions that can make a difference between an office filled with impressive products and an office that produces amazing work across applications using those products.

Sessions will include Color Grading, 4k, VFX, Sound, Business, Photography, Music, Producing, Film making, Aerial Photography, Audio Post, High Frame Rate Acquisition, Social Media and more. Better yet, the presenter list is amazing.

Attend and Learn.

http://southeastcreativesummit.eventbrite.com/

Visit the Atlanta Cutters Post Production User Group.

http://www.atlantacutters.com/

(Thanks to Claudia Crask and the SF Cutters group for this great tip!)