Graeme Moffatt Apple Regional Liaison: Oceania August 2004

Hi

Once again it’s time for my regular update as to what’s been happening ‘down under’ as far as Mac User Groups are concerned.

There seems to be plenty happening around our region at the moment and there’s plenty more coming up. Thanks to all the groups that send me copies of their electronic newsletters, I do read them and keep an idea of what you’re up to.

As I guess you’re all aware, this is the twentieth anniversary year of the Macintosh computer and some groups are using this a reason to celebrate and create a greater public awareness of their existence. The Apple Users group of Canterbury put on a display of a wide range of Macintosh computers during their 20th anniversary barbecue in February this year and the Apple Mac Users’ Society of Melbourne are dedicating their August meeting for a presentation by Nicholas Pyers on twenty years of Apple Computers advertising to illustrate the changes to the Macintosh over these years.

The Wellington Macintosh Society are mounting a display in September of Apple computers starting with Apple IIs up to and including the present range of G5’s. They have also invited Nicholas to fly over from Melbourne for the two days of their celebrations and to make his presentation twice each day. If other groups have or are planning on doing a similar event, please let me know so I can include it in my next update.

One of the resources available for mac user groups world-wide is the very extensive web site <http://www.mugcenter.com> maintained by Chuck Joiner of the Hershey Apple Core in Pennsylvania in the US. This site is updated on a daily basis and contains a wealth of information for both user group leaders and members.

Closer to home, another similar web site has been established by Greg Sharp of the Sydney Mac Users Group. He has established a well presented web site and has after a good deal of effort, established an up to date list of Australian Mac user group contacts. Well done Greg and I trust your web site will be well supported by groups on your side of the Tasman.

Another resource available to us is a listing on the Apple user group page on their US based web site <http://www.apple.com/usergroups>. Most groups are now listed on this site and doing so entitles you to access to the Apple Sales Web. This is a comprehensive site with all sorts of resources such as Keynote presentations on all Apple software and hardware. also available are regular mailboxes containing CDs and DVDs of software, presentations and quicktime movies of Apple keynote addresses. If you have not yet registered for this, please contact me at <[email protected]> and I will email the necessary details to you.

There is an extensive group of user group members around the world working behind the scenes to help make running our groups better for our members. Apple also have an employee dedicated solely to maintain a relationship with user groups. This is achieved through the User Group Advisory Board in the US of which Chuck Joiner is the current chairman. One of their objectives is to arrange discounts for user group members from Macintosh software and hardware suppliers and these are announced regularly on the email list <[email protected]>. They are also the group we as Regional Liaisons communicate your concerns or requests to Apple Computer through.

Did you know that your group is entitled to a free .mac account? If so, do you need to renew an existing account? If you have registered for inclusion on the Apple web site user groups locator page (most of you have), be sure to have your Ambassador visit Apple Sales Training Online, that is if you have registered for access to the Apple sales Web, and pass the .Mac quiz. You need to allow at least two weeks between taking the quiz and receiving an activation code, so don't delay.

I trust you pass the information contained in my updates to your committee and members. Getting and keeping members is always a difficult task and the better informed members are of the benefits of belonging to the world-wide Mac user group community, the more likely they are to maintain their memberships.

Keep those emails rolling in (or start if you have not already done so) and I will pass them on to everyone via this forum and please advise me if you are no longer the contact for your group and who the new one is.


Regards


Graeme Moffatt
Australasian Regional Liaison