On November 9, officers and members of the Creative Pro User Group Network (CPUG) will host the third annual CPUG Boston SuperMeetUp, held at the Revere Hotel Boston Common. Mingle, network, share industry news, enjoy a cash bar and snacks, and party with industry peers while learning latest trends in collaborative editing workflows. Come for the presentations; stay for the world-class raffle.

Learn about the Boston Creative Pro User Group.

http://www.bosfcpug.org/

Attend a SuperMeet.

http://supermeet.com/

Follow CPUG on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/FCPUGNetwork

Sf Cutters, known for their service to Apple ProApps users and digital editors in the San Francisco Bay Area and worldwide since 2000, are hosting an extraordinary meeting on October 25. Featuring Maureen Gosling, filmmaker and sound and picture editor, FilmLight’s Peter Postma demoing Baselight, a color tool for FCP7 and AVID, Adobe’s Erik Espera offering Premiere Pro tips, Mark Spencer discussing Motion 5 and Rippletraining’s “Callouts,” Dan Montgomery demoing the latest from Imagine Products and more, this is one meeting that the community of creatives should not miss. As SF Cutters reminds members: Seek out, learn from and interact with experienced filmmakers. This meeting provides an opportunity to seek, learn and interact with the best.

Register.

http://sfcuttersoct252012.eventbrite.com/

Learn more about SF Cutters.

https://www.facebook.com/sf.cutters1?fref=ts

(Thanks to Ambassador Claudia Crask for this great tip!)

For their November meeting, the officers and members of the Chicago Apple User Group will host Bob “Dr. Mac” LeVitus, a user group favorite, author of more than 60 computer books, columnist for the Houston Chronicle, product reviewer for The Mac Observer and three-time Macworld Expo MacJeopardy World Championship winner. Newbies love his presentations because he can take a complicated subject and make it understandable and entertaining. Techies love his presentations for the humor and depth he brings to each topic.

Attend and find out why Bob’s presos always bring a smile.

http://www.meetup.com/mac-238/events/82121472/

(Thanks to President Russ Conte for this great tip!)

On October 16, officers and members of the North Coast Mac Users Group (NCMUG) will host Christian Pickman, Production Manager of Micromat, who will be showing TechTool Pro 6 which is, of course, Mountain Lion compatible. Also, he will be demonstrating a soon-to-be released product and will talk about general Macintosh maintenance.

Attend for a look at the future and learn some tips for the present.

http://ncmug.org/

On October 20 members and officers of the Houston Area Apple Users Group (HAAUG) will host MacWorld senior editor Chris Breen, at the Bellaire Civic Center. In addition to his MacWorld work, Breen is the author of The iPhone Pocket Guide, 6th edition and a popular instructor for Lynda.com. User groups worldwide appreciate his Mac 911 columns and MacWorld podcasts, and Macworld Expo attendees enjoy his musical talents as well. Looking for Apple insights? This is one meeting you won’t want to miss!

Be there.

http://www.haaug.org/

Have you bought your tickets for this year’s Mac Computer Expo yet? If not, time is running short! The last day to purchase discounted tickets is this Friday at noon. After that, prices rise.

Why should you go? To start, there will be thousands of Macintosh and iOS enthusiasts enjoying educational workshops and sessions, meeting Macintosh product exhibitors, and chatting with an incredible list of Macintosh luminaries, including Chris Breen, Derrick Story, Bert Monroy, Allison Sheridan, Kerry Rego, Tom Negrino, Adam Christianson, Brooks Duncan, Kelly Guimont, Jean MacDonald, Susie Ochs, Mark Schlichting, Dori Smith, Ronnie Roche and Jeff Gamet. One lucky attendee will win an iPad from the Data Rescue Center as part of the recycling event and another lucky attendee will win a much-coveted SnapScan scanner from Fujitsu. Who could ask for more?

In sum, don’t miss the 19th Annual MCE on October 6.

http://www.maccomputerexpo.com/

On September 17, the officers and members of the Silicon Valley Macintosh User Group (SVMUG) will host speaker Gordon Bell, President of Prosoft Engineering. Along with a discussion of the company’s excellent products, Gordon will discuss scams in the computer recovery business, including fake reviews and shadow companies. Best of all, Prosoft has offered to recycle any members’ old hard drives turned in at the meeting. The company provides this as a community service, wiping drives for privacy and recycling drive parts. Bring a drive, hear a great preso and maybe even win an iPod Shuffle. Who could ask for more?

Visit the Silicon Valley Macintosh User Group.

http://svmug.org/groups/svmug/blog/

(Thanks to Pam and her great publicity skills for sending meeting notices.)

Usuarios Mac Mexico President Edgar Orduña reports that the group will be celebrating their 13th anniversary this month. Congratulations to the officers and members of iGroup, and thanks to Edgar for his many years of hard work in the user group community!

Learn about iGroup.

http://www.igroup.com.mx/iGroup,_Usuarios_Mac_Mexico/iGroup.html

Enjoy photos of the group over the years.

http://www.igroup.com.mx/iGroup,_Usuarios_Mac_Mexico/Las_fotos/Las_fotos.html

The featured speaker for the Apple Users’ Society of Melbourne’s (AUSOM) main meeting on October 6 will be Rob Cummings, a Security Analyst for Fujitsu Australia Limited. Rob has a long history of assessing companies’ security and offering risk mitigation advice, including many companies in the ASX200. Of course, he is a Mac fan. Interestingly, he was also part of the team that opened the first official Apple Store in Melbourne.

The fun won’t stop there – from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. the New Hope Baptist Church in Blackburn North will be full of activity, including vendors, new products, multiple SIG sessions, opportunities to check out books from the group’s library and meet with group members for tips and troubleshooting.  Add in a raffle full of great prizes, and the day couldn’t be better.

Learn about the Apple Users’ Society of Melbourne.

http://www.ausom.net.au/gallery1/index.html

See a full list of the day’s activities.

http://www.ausom.net.au/nextmeetings/index.html

On October 2 Chris Breen, Senior Editor for Macworld Magazine, technology writer, musician and beloved author of the popular “Mac 911” articles, will present to the Fresno Macintosh Users Group. On September 4 the group will be hosting an iOS special Event and on October 2 they will host Chris Breen: what a fun month for members of Fresno’s Macintosh User Group.

Learn about the Fresno Macintosh Users Group.

http://www.fresnomug.com/Fresnomug/News___MacYack.html

A recent question on the AUG-D boards asked where groups can find presentation ideas. The good news is that many talented group members make their presentations available online. Joe McKernan of the Plano Macintosh User Group provided a link to Lesa Snider’s recent CS6 presentation. Need a quick meeting presentation? Check out what groups across the world are posting to their web sites, Facebook and YouTube.

Check out the Plano Macintosh User Group Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/12091143662/

Watch Lesa’s presentation.

http://layersmagazine.com/photoshop-cs6-patch-tool.html

This month’s Milestones includes three groups who first met in 1979 – 33 years of fun, family and tech. Happy anniversary to a worldwide list of some of our oldest groups. Want to see your group listed? Send an email with date and year to ugbeditor@mac.com.

1979 Houston Area Apple Users Group
http://www.haaug.org/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/9219003379/?ref=ts
(Congrats to Rex Covington, Doug Smith, Jeff Davis, Rick Roberts and the officers and members of HAAUG.)

1979 AppleCore of Memphis, Inc.
http://www.memphisapplecore.com

(sending a tip of the hat to President Brent Wheeler and the members of AppleCore Memphis.)

1979 South Australian Apple Users’ Club Inc.
http://www.saauc.org.au
(Congrats to President Marie Good and members of SAAUC.)

1984 Sierra Nevada Apple User Group
http://www.SNAG.org
(Greetings to SNAG Ambassador and former Apple User Group Advisory Board member Del Missier.)

1985 Mountain View Computer Users Group
http://www.mvcug.org
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mountain-View-Computer-Users-Group/153542617998955
(Congrats to MVCUG President and author John Buono and the members of MVCMUG.)

1989 Prescott Mac User Group (Arizona)
http://www.pmug.us

(Sending a shout out to President Art Gorski, Apple Ambassador Ward Stanke and members of PMUG.)

1992 History and Macintosh Society
http://www.h-net.msu.edu/~mac/
(Greetings to Advisory Board member and List Editor Marc Bizer.)

1995 MacApple Users of San Antonio
http://www.lottsthoughts.com/samacapple/
https://www.facebook.com/samacapple

(Congrats to President Nathan Lott, original member and founder Ilene Devlin, and group members.)

When Terry White founded MacGroup Detroit on August 24 in 1986, none of the group could have foreseen the amazing organization that celebrated 26 years this year. From multiple well-attended SIGs and main meetings, to a BBS with over 500 registered members (serving both local members and those at a distance), to a YouTube channel for sharing meeting presentations and more, the members and officers of MacGroup Detroit have kept the excitement going through hard work and a friendly atmosphere.

At their August 26 meeting, Terry offered an overview of Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion and some tips and tricks to get the most out of Mountain Lion’s features. The best part is that he posted the presentation on YouTube, making it available to the community.

Thanks to Terry and group for this great resource.

View the MacGroup August 26, 2012 Meeting – Mac OSX 10.8 Mountain Lion Presentation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cllg8CxutnU&feature=youtu.be&a

MacGroup on Facebook regularly offers reviews and ideas.

https://www.facebook.com/macgroup

Check out the MacGroup members-only BBS.

http://macgroup.infopop.cc/6/ubb.x

Read the MacGroup MacNews Blog.

http://macgroup.org/blog/2012/08/26/happy-26th-anniversary-macgroup-detroit/

Apple User Group members know Dan East as a UGU presenter, TAGteam founder and long-time advocate of user groups. What you may not know is that he is a also music producer, engineer and drummer. The most-recent Modern Drummer magazine notes that Dan has recently signed with Aquarian Drumheads. Dan plays with Iko Iko, the Blues band that appears in the films Cape Fear and Contact. His career also includes performances with Christina Christian (American Idol), George Terry (Eric Clapton), Gerald Levert, Alto Reed (Bob Seger), Billy Mann, John Mooney, Albert Castiglia, Patxi Pastor All-Star Band, Nico Wayne Toussaint, Alberto Slezynger, Delmar Brown (Sting), Leroy Romans (Rihanna, P. Diddy, Jimmy Cliff), Fernest Arceneaux, Warren Caesar and more.

Congrats Dan!

Here is Iko Iko on PBS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=792grEq7RuA&feature=player_embedded

The officers and members of Macat TW, Taiwan’s Mac User Group, will be holding a special meeting event on September 9 at the Kaohsiung Business Office Center in Kaohsiung City. The event will bring together attendees from both north and south for speaker sessions, networking, a vegetarian lunch, trainings, a raffle containing more than $2,500 (US) in prizes and even a secret guest speaker.  From Final Cut Pro to Filemaker Pro and iDevices, if you are an Apple fan, this is wonderful opportunity to share enthusiasm for Apple products, learn about new vendors and network with a fun filled crowd of enthusiasts.

Register for the Apple User Group Meeting in Kaohsiung 2012.

http://macat.tw/AUGM2012/

Learn about Macat TW (The site provides some great pictures of the group as well).

http://www.macat.tw/

Visit Macat TW on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/Macattw

(Special thanks to P.R. Ambassador HeChien Hsu for this great tip!)

Nicholas Pyers is known for AppleUsers.org, the Apple Users Spotlight, his clever puzzles and long-time championship of all things Mac. His most recent project is titled “Working with Presenters,” a topic of value to groups world wide. There are three installments in the series so far, with more to come.

The most-recent article is titled “Working with Presenters on the Night”

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

The first two articles covered “Approaching Potential Presenters” and “Confirming Presenters.”

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

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

Better Yet, the most-recent Apple Users Spotlight is available for download, containing articles on:

• AKVIS Coloriage
• AppZapper – How do I uninstall Apple software if there is no option for this?
• Yoink
• Setting-up a new Mac from an old Mac or its Backups
• Opt Out of Advertising
• Flashback Malware on Macs – what you can do to reduce this threat
• Tagging as you go
• Quick iPad Tips
• QuickTime Format Extender Perian to Cease Development
• Reunion 10 – Offers Better Genealogical Overviews, Web Search
• Change Default Search Engine in Safari on iPad to Bing, Yahoo! or Google
• Introducing the Bookle EPUB Reader
• Apples are not just computers – now Apples control a host of other devices.
• New Bento 4 for iPad
• Podcasts App Breaks Podcasts out of Music App
• News from Apple
• Nicholas’ Dashboard
• Spotlight Contest #18
• iPad Magic – Music, Podcasts & TV Shows
• Spotlight Cooks – Apple Dessert/Cake
• Book Reviews

and much, much more.

Download the newest Apple User Spotlight

AppleUsers.org is a central gathering spot for the leaders of Australian Apple User Groups.

http://www.appleusers.org/

(Thanks to founder and editor Nicholas Pyers for making these resources available to the community!)

As our digital community expands, groups are often left with a quandary: do their current names and missions reflect current-day experiences and practices? Some answer the question by changing their names to match their group’s expanded interests. For example, the members of Mad Mac in Madison, Wisconsin, are holding a contest in order to select a new name that reflects “the wider array of products and services offered by Apple.”

Others may widen their missions. For example, the Boston Final Cut Pro group (BOSFCPUG) became the Boston Creative Pro User Group (BOSCPUG) in order to encompass the wide range of technologies that are part of the video editor’s toolkit.

Many groups seem to be offering an equal number of iOS presentations and Mac presentations, with a few concentrating far more on iOS devices. How is your group changing as our devices change? Has your membership changed? Your mission? Your group’s name?

Share your thoughts.

ugbeditor@me.com

(Thanks much to Richard Russell of Mac Mac for news of the Mad Mac contest.)

Visit Mad Mac’s blog.

http://madmacintosh.blogspot.com/

See what’s new at the Boston Creative Pro User Group.

http://www.bosfcpug.org/

Every group has a few members who like to grumble. Meeting topics? Too complicated or too easy. SIGS? Always for the wrong devices and technologies. A fun fact about Club Mac of Ireland is that their forums provide a thread specifically for grumbling. Does it make their 450+ forum participants happier? Hard to say. Either way, it brings a smile on this side of the screen.

See what other clever ideas come from 20+ years at Club Mac.

http://www.clubmac.ie/