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The User Group Report Archives - 2003
Edition
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Guests
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Summary |
| #322 |
User Group Events at Expo, Terry White, The Macworld/UGU Planning Team, December Vendor Deals and a Year-End Review
We review all of the user group events at Macworld Expo, cover the involvement of Adobe in those events, talk to a User Group University presenter, get the year's last set of vendor deals for MUGs, and look back at user groups in 2003.
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Terry White of MacGroup-Detroit and Adobe talks with both hats on about his user group web site review at User Group University, and then covers Adobe's activities at Expo, including the Adobe User Group Breakfast. |
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Members of the Macworld/User Group University Planning Team take time out from a meeting to review what they've been up to over the past few months, and how you can enjoy the fruits of their labor at both UGU and Expo. |
(#322 12/28/03)
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| #321 |
User Group University Keynote & Updates and Macworld MUG Sponsor Group
The user group events at Macworld Expo, as well as User Group University take center stage, with a focus on the UGU Keynote, the sponsor group that helps make it all possible, an update on the content and vendors supporting the events, and a special announcement about the Adobe User Group Breakfast.
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Christopher Breen, Contributing Editor for Macworld magazine and author of Peachpit Press' Secrets of the iPod (3ed edition) and Mac 911, and the User Group University keynote speaker, talks about the top-secret title of his User Group University keynote address, why he's excited to be doing it, and where else you can hear him present at Expo. |
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Ronnie Roche, President of the North Coast Macintosh Users Group, outlines why her group takes such an active role in the user group community, including being the host group for User Group University, and the User Group Lounge, as well as acting as the anchor group for the User Group Booth. |
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Trish Huffman of the Macworld/User Group University Planning Team reveals the sessions and presenters for User Group University, and discusses why, with such a distinguished faculty and varity of sessions, this is the best UGU yet! |
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Lesa Snider of the Macworld/User Group University Planning Team provides an update on the many vendors who have signed up at all sponsorship levels to help support the event.
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(#321 12/14/03)
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| #320 |
Macintosh Sisters, Small Dog, Macworld Expo MUG Volunteers and Student Events, and Vendor Deals
Women in the Macintosh User Group community are discussed by two of our guests, as well as lots of User Group University and Macworld Expo news and event information, vendor deals, and a busy MUG Event Calendar.
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Nyx Wolfwalker of Macintosh Sisters talks about why a Macintosh User Group directed at women is needed in today's environment, what they offer, how they protect an environment that fosters women in technology, and why it is necessary to do so. |
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Dawn D'Angelillo of Small Dog gives us a comprehensive look at one of the most innovative Apple Specialists around; why their image has gone to the dogs (literally), what services they offer, and why they are a Gold Sponsor of User Group University (in spite of the fact that they won't be on-site.) |
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Sandy Foderick of the of the Macworld/User Group University Planning Team, and the Volunteer Coordinator for all of the MUG events at Macworld Conference & Expo outlines all the good reasons that MUG members and leaders should be part of those events, and tells you how to volunteer. |
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David Roemer of the Macworld/User Group University Planning Team runs down the special MUG events at Macworld Conference & Expo that are either geared specifically to students, or that students are taking part in, and how any students coming to San Francisco can get involved. |
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| #319 |
Tucson Macintosh Users Group, The Apple MUG Store, Whatcom Macintosh Users Group & UGU Update On The User Group Report
In this edition, two user groups who are enthusiastically trying new and interesting things are featured, along with a user group-only resource that benefits MUGs and MUG members in several ways, an update on the many sponsors of User Group University and more user group news.
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Ridge Prevost of the Tucson Macintosh Users Group profiles his group and discusses how his group is trying different things to make their group more valuable, including a new form on their web site and multiple-topic meetings. |
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Kevin Anderson of the Apple Macintosh User Group Store talks about this resource for Apple-recognized user groups, refurbished equipment, trade-ins, their points program, and why they are a Platinum sponsor of User Group University. |
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Mac Carter of the Whatcom Macintosh Users Group, a very new MUG president, outlines how he and other Mac enthusiasts are re-making an existing group, what their plans are, and why they are doing what they're doing. |
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| #318 |
The newest member of the Apple Campus Group Advisory Board gives her first interview, Macintosh User Groups from a Unix perspective, the first Platinum sponsors for User Group University, and why this UGU will be even better for vendors and attendees alike.
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Sarah Friedlander the newest member of the Apple Campus Group Advisory Board, and Vice President of MacRIT, the User Group at the Rochester Institute of Technology, gives her first interview since being appointed, profiles her group, and what CGAB does for the campus group movement. |
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Brian Redman of the Lower East Side Mac Unix Users Group gives us a look at the Macintosh from a Unix perspective, talks about why he elected to adopt the user group model to service Mac Unix users, and what they do. |
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Lesa Snider, Vendor Coordinator for User Group University announces the first Platinum sponsors of the event, and talks about what will be new at the 7th User Group University for both vendors and attendees. |
| (#318 11/2/03) |
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| #317 |
ApplePickers/Small Dog Film Festival, CZ Robertson, MUG Deals, Switchers & MacUsers MUG
A new Mac film festival, a user group community icon, some thoughts on encouraging Switchers, and why there is more than one way to start a user group, no matter how old you are, vendor deals, MUGs at the O'Reilly MacOS X conference, and plenty of news are included in this edition.
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| #316 |
Raincoast Conference, Audible & Boeing Mac Users
A regional user group conference, audio entertainment for your iPod, and a corporate user group are all featured in this edition, along with a review of MUG news, Macworld announcements, reminders of new and available resources, the month's coming user group events, and a request for feedback.
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Kathryn Whitacre, Chairman of the Raincoast Regional Conference discusses how the event has gone from a PC-only conference to being "platform neutral," why it is open to more than just user group leaders, and what it takes to produce a regional event. |
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Foy Sperring, Sr. Vice President of Strategic Alliances for Audible talks about what is cool about Audible, why they believe in user groups and helped sponsor the User Group Leaership Conference, and how they continue to support user groups with two special programs. |
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Gary Cohen of the Mac Special Interest Group of The Boeing Employees Computing Society gives us our first look at a corporate user group, how it is organized, what it does, how it has endured changes in corporate culture and focus, who can attend, and why MacOS X has caused renewed corporate interest in the Mac. |
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| #315 |
Breen's Bungalow, TackyShirt, Corning MUG & Vendor Deals
This edition features MUG meeting content and ideas, an in-depth discussion of online user groups, why it is fun to get involved in Macworld Expo events, and this month's MUG-only vendor deals.
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Chris Breen of Macworld magazine discusses their latest method of Macintosh User Group support, the offering of special editions of the "Breen's Bungalow" QuickTime video tutorials for use by individual MUGs at their meetings and in their CDs. |
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Sam Crutsinger of Tacky Shirt talks about his company's first training video from both an information and entertainment standpoint, extends an offer to user groups everywhere to do a Tacky Shirt presentation via iChatAV, and gives tips on how to make it a terrific experience. |
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Kevin Gomez of the Corning Macintosh Users Group talks about the advantages and disadvantages of the online user group model, the fun of Macworld volunteering, and how he's trying to have his MUG accessible from your cell phone. |
(#315 9/21/03)
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| #314 |
Oceania Regional Liaison, Recosoft, Flint Apple Club & 25 Years of Apple CIDER
We go around the world and talk with another Apple Regional Liaison Team member, a vendor from Japan, spotlight a new twist on an old MUG event, and have yet another 25th anniversary celebration with Woz.
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Graeme Moffatt of the Wellington Macintosh User Group and Apple Regional Liaison Team member covering Oceania talks about what he has been doing since his RL appointment, and the response his group is having to their MovieFest 2003. |
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Paul Chadha of Recosoft discusses how his company, based in Japan, sees user group feedback and exposure as valuable, how they expanded the effort to the United States, and why they'll be back supporting MUGs in San Francisco in January. |
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Paul Hering of the Flint Apple Club tells us about how they took the idea of a swap meet and made it something new and unique, outlines their goals for the future of the event, and shares some terrific one-liners they use to promote their group. |
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Rick Harrison of Apple CIDER gives us a look at his group on their 25th anniversary, why they tried (and succeeded) to get Steve Wozniak to headline the event, and delivers some thoughts on the influence the Apple co-founder has had on all of us. |
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| #313 |
Adam Engst, Asian Regional Liaison, Mini'App'les Times 2, and MUG Deals
This edition features an industry icon, an Asian Regional Liaison Team member, our first tag-team interview on a 25th anniversary celebration and the latest vendor deals:
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Adam Engst of TidBITS talks about how his carrer started in a user group and how he continues to support MUGs by allowing TidBITS reprints, why huge user groups may not be the best thing, being named (again) to the MDJ Power 25, and much more. |
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Yan Feng, Apple Regional Liaison Team members for Asia (excluding Japan), talks about the Beijing Maicntosh User Group and how it is growing slowly but surely, the Macintosh market in China and more. |
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Dan Buchler, the founder of mini'app'les, talks about the early days of that group, why he was inspired to start the group 25 years ago, what they did, and why he has made the switch, all these years later, to MacOS X. |
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Les Anderson, the current president of mini'app'les, talks about the group's status today, how they have formed a unique SIG partnership with a local PC group, and how they celebrated their 25th anniversary. |
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Lorene Romero, Vendor Liaison for the User Group Advisory Board, makes a quick return visit to outline the MUG-only vendor deals for August. |
(#313 8/24/03)
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| #312 |
Rogue Valley Mac Expo, French Apple Regional Liaison, MUG Deals & CreativePro Wrap-Up
Our first edition for August continues our look at the Apple Regional Liaison Team, information on a recent regional MUG event, more user group-only vendor deals and a wrap-up of all the events at Macworld CreativePro.
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User Group Leadership Conference Audio Files Online
The audio files of the sessions conducted at the User Group Leadership Conference in New York City last month are now online, in both MP3 and QuickTime formats.
Sessions include:
Whether you were an attndee who would like to listen to their favorite class, would like to hear the class that you missed because it conflicted with the one you selected, or didn't make it to NYC, these audio files are an excellent resource for all MUG leaders interested in growing and improving their groups.
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| #311 |
Microsoft, User Group Booth, Regional Liaisons & MUG Deals
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Gary Wilson of Microsoft introduces us to the Macintosh side of their User Group Program, and talks about being a Platinum sponsor of the upcoming The User Group Leadership Conference. |
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Apple Regional Liaison Team Macbeth Vannoy introduces herself, and her group, the North Coast Macintosh Users Group, tells why she wanted to serve on the Team, and what her group did for her when her appointment was announced. |
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Bill Medlow of the Long Island Macintosh Users Group, talks about his group and what they offer, how they get big name speakers, and their position as host of the User Group Booth at Macworld for the third year in a row. |
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Gary Kampel of the the Palm Beach Macintosh Users Group, and his inspiration for successfully applying to become a member of Apple Regional Liaison Team. |
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Lorene Romero, Vendor Liaison for the User Group Advisory Board, makes her monthly visit to review the MUG-only deals for July. |
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| #310 |
User Group Leadership Conference, Circus Ponies & Even More Liaisons
The User Group Leadership Conference and MUG events at Macworld ConferencePro take center stage, with a report from the Macworld Planning Committee and an interview with one of the lead sponsors. We also continue our introduction of the Apple Regional Liaison Team.
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Elizabeth Statmore of Circus Ponies joins us to talk about her new company, their product, NoteBook, how they see the user group community as a way to connect with the Macintosh market, and why they have initiated a full-blown user group program and elected to be a Platinum sponsor of The User Group Leadership Conference. |
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Rex Covington of the Houston Area Apple Users Group and Regional Liaison member for the South Central United States introduces himself to his region, and talks about how his group always seems to get high-quality presenters. |
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Members of The Macworld Planning Committee (including Pat Fauquet, Sandy Foderick, Trish Huffman, Carmela Robertson, Lesa Snider, Elsa Travisano, and Warren Williams) talk about all of the events coming up at Macworld CreativePro Conference & Expo. |
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Joe & Susan Pipala of The Lake Macintosh Users Group and the husband-and-wife team who are serving as Regional Liaisons for online groups, tell us why they are involved in three different groups, their insights into online groups, and what they hope to be able to do in their new positions. |
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| #309 |
MacGroup-Detroit, User Group Leadership Conference & More Apple Regional Liaisons
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Terry White of MacGroup Detriot and Adobe outlines the successes and innovative projects that are taking his group into the future, his activites at the recent MacDesign Conference, and his presentation about MUG web sites at the upcoming User Group Leadership Conference. |
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Roy Atkinson of the Down East Macintosh Users Group and Regional Liaison Team member for the
Northeast United States talks about his group, why they have Austrailian members on their listserv, and the reactions he's had from groups in his area to his "first contact" efforts. |
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Thomas Piper of the appleJAC Macintosh Users Group discusses his role as the Central United States Regional Liaison, how he got started in user groups, and what he would like to accomplish in the coming months. |
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Lynn Poos of the Silicon Mountain Macintosh Users Group is the only domestic third-term member of the Regional Liaison. He shares his insight into the development and evolution of the team, and helps user groups in his territory and beyond understand what the RLT offers them. |
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| #308 |
Mac 911 & MUG Newsletters, The Regional Liaison Team, The Final Cut Pro UG Liaison, Campus Groups and MUG Deals
Whether you're a user group newsletter leader, newsletter editor, or member, from a campus, community or Final Cut Pro user group, there's something here for you.
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| #307 |
The Appleworks Users Group, Education-Based MUGs and Maryland Apple Corps' 25th Anniversary
If you are looking for enthusiastic user group leaders, look no further. Each of this month's guests demonstrate what can happen to a MUG when the leaders are committed and having fun with what they do.
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Warren Williams and Cathy Merrit of the Appleworks Users Group talk about what makes up the world's largest user group, what they offer to their members, what they have in common with and how they help support community user groups and more. |
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David Lawrence of the Pilot Butte Technology Users talks about education institution-based user groups, how it fits in with his school district, and how user group experience can be a big benefit when applying for a job. |
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Arno Drucker of The Maryland Apple Corps discusses his group's longevity, their upcoming twenty-fifth anniversary celebration with Steve Wozniak, and what goes on behind the scenes. |
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| #306 |
New UGAB Member, MUG Events at the MacDesign Conference, MUG Switcher iMovie and Deals
Our guests for this edition include:
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| Rick Ortiz, the newest member of the Apple User Group Advisory Board talks about his group, how they involve young people, growing their group, what he brings to UGAB, and how to recognize an authentic Hawaiian shirt. |
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Philip Booth of the Houston Area Apple Users Group talks about how he came up with the idea for a Switcher iMovie parody to help promote his group and what it took to make it a reality. |
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Lesa Snider and Lorene Romero of the Apple User Group Advisory Board talk about the upcoming MacDesign Conference, and the user group events they will be coordinating there. |
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Lorene Romero of the Apple User Group Advisory Board makes her montly visit to update us on the latest and greatest deals for MUG members only, including why it is important to use the MUG Priority Code when registering for Macworld CreativePro Conference & Expo. |
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| #305 |
MacBUS, Newsletter Content, Woz at PackMUG & NAB FCPUG Network Gathering
This time around we focus on MUG activities in several regional locations and highlight a contributor to one of The MUG Center's resource email lists.
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Maria Arguello of MacBUS gives us a follow-up look at the recent Philadelphia User Group Leaders Conference hosted by her group last month, and why it was such a success, another one is planned for later this year. |
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Frank Petrie of the South Jersey Apple Users Group is a new and prolific contributor to The MUG Center's Newsletter Content email list. Frank tells us why this is a good idea and gives some tips on how to produce easy, useful product reviews.
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Ben McNeely of PackMUG, the North Carolina State University Macintosh Users Group, talks about how and why his group extended an invitation to Steve Wozniak to speak and their school, why he accepted, and what kinds of activities he'll enjoy during the visit.
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Lesa Snider of the Apple User Group Advisory Board attended the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Convention in Las Vegas and tells us about the Final Cut Pro User Group Network's Gathering, and hints at a user group gathering at the upcoming MacDesign Conference in Chicago. |
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| #304 |
O'Reilly & Global MUGs, Pi Bus Trip, Leisure World MUG, MacFair Central Valley and MUG Deals
This edition includes a roundup of the many regional events MUGs are organizing or participating in, as well as these exciting guests:
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Derrick Story of O'Reilly talks about the his user group presentations, the recent O'Reilly MUG Field Trip, the MacDevCenter, how O'reilly works to include the international MUG community in their program, and his article on why making contests and user group offers a global affair isn't as easy as one might think. |
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Louise Dawson of the Leisure World Macintosh Users Group discusses her group's use of iMovie for self-promotion and fun, using .Mac to publish your site and your movies, and how those movies draw inspiration from everything from CNN to Bambi Meets Godzilla. |
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Jim Ritz of Washington Apple Pi tells us about his group's 5th annual bus trip to Macworld Expo (now Create), how they use it as a membership enhancement and incentive, why it is so much fun, and why our group should think about organizing a similar outing. |
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Doug Cox of The Fresno Macintosh Users Group briefs us on MacFair Central Valley, the regional event their group organizes with CompUSA, how it has helped expand their visibility and their membership, and why the first one was a "bet the MUG" undertaking. |
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Lorene Romero, the Vendor Coordinator for the Apple User Group Advisory Board is back with this month's exclusive vendor deals for user group members. |
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| #303 |
MacRIT, MUG Finances, MaUsE at Barrie Mac Expo, and DVDFest
On the menu this time are exciting events by two campus user groups, a small group participating in a big event in Canada and managing user group money. Featured guests include:
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Sarah Friedlander and David Barbati from the Rochester Institute of Technology Macintosh User Group (MacRIT) join us to profile their group, their annual LAN Tournament, their cross-platform iPod raffle and campus group perpetuation. |
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Jim Foster of Macintosh Users East (MaUsE) outlines his group's involvement in the Barrie Macintosh Expo, and why their small group is doing big things with a vendor who is not even in their immediate area. |
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Arthur Barber of The Tulsa Users of Macintosh Society (TUMS) discusses his MUG's finances and a fiscal policy they developed that allows their board to operate the gropu effectively while still remaining accountable to their membership. |
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ReeD Martin of Apple North Apple Field Macintosh Users Group tells us how his campus group covers two different colleges, how they have the community involved, and how their flagship event, DVDFest, has attracted the participation of the Executive Producer of The Lord of the Rings and The Matrix. |
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| #302 |
The Philadelphia User Group Leadership Conference, Santa Fe MUG, A.P.P.L.E.'s 25th Anniversary, Matterform Media's MUG Program & MUG Deals
Reminding listners about the availability of The User Group Report as an MP3 file and encouraging Switcher ideas, this edition also includes these great guests:
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Todd Salkovitz of the The Macintosh Business Users Society of Greater Philadelphia profiles his group and discusses why they decided to host a regional user group leadership conference, The Philadelphia User Group Leadership Conference.
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Jonas Skardis of the Santa Fe Macintosh User Group and past member of the Apple User Group Advisory Board talks about how his group is organizing specialized seminars to enhance their membership, and why it is a real advantage to have Robin Williams as a founding member of your MUG. |
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Michael Herrick of Matterform Media tells us why his company has aggressively moved to develop a relationship with user groups, outlines the Matterform User Group Program, what it offers, and what they like to get back from their efforts. |
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Bill Martens of the Apple PugetSound Program Library Exchange, or A.P.P.L.E., takes us on a journey through the history of his group on their 25th anniversary, describes their ups and downs, and how they now support both MacOS X as well as new projects for Apple II owners. |
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Lorene Romero, the User Group Advisory Board's Vendor Liaison gives us the latest information on vendor deals for MUGs and how MUG newsletter editors can help spread the word. |
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| #301 |
The first edition for 2003 features a slate of interesting guests, information on how to get your group's events listed on The MUG Center and, for the first time, the User Group Report available as an MP3 file to listen on your iPod or at your convenience offline.
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Nico Juber of the Tufts Macintosh Users Group profiles her group, the first iFocus contest for Boston area campus user groups, and User Group University from a student perspective. |
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Chris Kiltz of the Josephine County Mac User Group talks about how her group went from being "in the middle of nowhere" to exhibiting in the User Group Booth at Macworld Expo |
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Bonnie Mitchell of Casady & Greene discusses the C&G User Group Program, why they elected to give SpellCatcher X to user groups before anyone else, and why Apple took away Bonnie's toys. |
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Lorene Romero, the User Group Advisory Board's Vendor Liaison updates us on the latest and greatest vendor deals exclusively for Macintosh User Groups. |
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