Muskoka Mac User Group

At our final MMUG meeting of the year, on Tuesday night, Dora won the door prize: Mac OS X Tiger: Killer Tips, by Scott Kelby. editor-in-chief of Layers magazine (and an obvious enthusiastic Mac user). I have been peeking at it. It is jam-packed with ideas and tips to make the Mac function better. Hopefully, Meg has a couple of copies. When you are in Macs@Work, browse through it. You can’t help but pick up some great tips. In fact, I think that anytime we are at a slow spot in a MMUG meeting, the book could be opened at any page and we could all pick up something if not many useful things.
Bill

Bill Rathbun put it this way:

Given the various problems people have, I would suggest considering in this order:
1. second Monday of month
2. first Monday, unless a holiday, then it would shift to second Monday
3. unchanged — first Tuesday I think the second Monday of each month would be good. What do others think?

Brian/Meg:

Further thoughts on last night’s MMUG meeting:

1. Continue

We find every meeting to be useful and interesting. I always take away something to try, download, tinker with. Sometimes it is downright useful. Therefore, I am encouraged by the decision to continue in the autumn.

2. When

I have no real preference for evenings (being retired, I am relatively flexible.) However, given the various problems people have, I would suggest considering in this order:

a. second Monday of month
b. first Monday, unless a holiday (then it would shift to second Monday)
c. unchanged — first Tuesday

3. What

Suggest we continue having members commit to making one presentation each year, on some applications they are using. These have been useful in the past.

Suggest a format such as this:

• half hour presentation by member or invited guest, e.g. specialist on a program, such as Photoshop for Mac or iLife (perhaps by a rep of company)
• half hour presentation by Meg or Jamie on what is new from Mac
• half hour questions/answers/troubleshooting/discussion

In this way we would utilize the expertise of members, Macs@Work and problem solve.

If we run short of a speaker, I believe we all could benefit by running the DVD of Jim Heid about iLife, taking one chapter a meeting. He is one of the best we have on How to use Mac programs. (I can lend my DVD if Meg does not have one out of the Heid book — in fact, that might have to be be my contribution next year!)

Perhaps we can draw on speakers from Apple Canada, program reps, other MMUGs?

4. Membership

There should continue to be a membership fee for members and interested persons. MMUG website space should be incentive.

I do think we should schedule one or two half-day detailed presentations/tutoring as part of the membership benefit, e.g. Photoshop, iLife, iWork.

When establishing the appropriate fee, we should consider the unused funds we already have. But it should be sufficiently meaningful to persuade people to attend meetings.

We should go back to having coffee available.

5. Rental

I support the notion of paying a modest rental fee for the use of the Macs@Work space. The club should be on a businesslike relationship with Macs@Work and, at the same time, have the ability to rent larger space as the need arises, .g. for a half-day seminar. We should recognize that Macs@Work have legitimate expenses, e.g. heat, light, insurance, equipment that we are using. Equally, there should be a recognition that there are benefits to Macs@Work by having us use their store. (Most evening someone purchases an item following the meeting.) As a suggestion, perhaps Meg would accept $25.00 per meeting?

6. New Members

Quite obviously, our numbers have been diminishing. That could be because of several reasons: wrong night, other commitments, uninteresting programs, insufficient advance notice of agenda, poor publicity. These are fixable, but imply more people taking responsibility (and I am NOT preaching for a call!!!)

But we need more outreach:

• via Macs@Work, e.g. sign in store

• via other electronics stores selling iPods

• high schools

• COGECO

• Newspapers

• radio

The Club also has to lure back our lapsed membership.

How about all of those iPod users/owners, espy those with the latest versions.

Further

We will not be available for meetings in September and October. We will be travelling in western Canada. But we look forward to subsequent meetings.

In the hope that these suggestions will be useful, and perhaps stimulate other comments and suggestions.

Bill and Dora

In Partner’s Hall of the Algonquin Theatre in Huntsville beginning tonight, June 2nd at 5:15 p.m. and running for the whole following week, there is a special Art Show featuring some of David’s photographs as well as art work created by students at Huntsville High School. Here is how David described it to me:
“My photographs are part of an art project I did with a group of Huntsville High School students to benefit cancer research. The results are on display for a week in the Partners Hall of the Algonquin Theatre.
There is an opening for the show on June 2nd from 5:15 to 7:15PM. I would like it if you could attend. There is nothing to buy but there will be a cash bar. It should be a fun event. Hope to see you there. David”
We all know David for his very generous sharing of his photographic and video knowledge and experience with us in the Muskoka Mac Users Group. Let’s take this opportunity to see and appreciate the great man at work in his own milieu!.
See you at the theatre! Meg

We will hold the last MMUG Meeting for the season on Tuesday evening, June 6th at 7:30 p.m. As usual we will meet in macs@work’s Digital Life Centre. We have some business to attend to, a prize to win, some new products to preview and plans to make. See you then–with your folding chair please.
Cheers, Meg