Aloha!

No doubt you’ve been wondering wuz up wit HMAUS.

Honestly, we got off to a very slow start this year.  We can’t blame the economy, the price of gasoline, nor the war.  We were busy trying to overcome some of the effects of those serious factors and were operating on a tight budget of personal energy.  We can’t blame that either.  The fact is, we had to deal with some internal challenges in HMAUS that took some time to work through and diverted much of our attention away from the stuff that matters to our members.  We have, thankfully, moved forward and hope to see our solutions to problems refined plus gracefully implemented very soon.  

So back to the things that  are important to you — Programming.  No, not geek-speek. Classes… Workshops… Mac Fests… the COOL stuff… the things you joined HMAUS for!  Well, like I said, we got off to a slow start… and we got little going as of yet.  And that is why this message.

In two weeks, we have scheduled a meeting, a “strategic planning session” if you will, to get some of that interesting stuff planned and plugged in to the 2009 Calendar.  The question is ––Do you want to help?  Do you want us to know what you think?  What we should be doing to make being an HMAUS member the fun rewarding experience it used to be?

Well… here’s your chance to contribute your ideas; to give form to YOUR club. Here is an invitation to join us on Saturday, February 28, 2009;  starting at 1:00 pm and continuing into the evening.  The location will be confirmed later this week.

The thrust of the session will be, in addition to some mundane operational items, to discuss our needs and build a schedule of monthly events that will fleshout the rest of the year.  The obvious benefit to the plan is — we will know in advance what will be happening down the road and will make sure we are available to take advantage of the programs.

Sound good?  Mark your calendar and stay tuned for the final venue notification.

We look forward to your participation on the 28th.

Peace,

Terrence Young

HMAUS President

OK!

You can breathe now.

MacWorld Expo 2008 is history and the air is electric…sort of. Are we excited by the new product announcements presented by Steve Jobs? Sort of.

Apple certainly is a stylish company. Who could dispute its dominance in digital fashion design? (Have you noticed, despite Apple’s minority status in the marketplace, the near ubiquitous presence of Macs and i-Things on the most haute of the couture advertising sets?) Don’t you feel proud owning the coolest of the coolest electronic accoutrement of the times?

Just check out the new Air Book––So sleek…so austere. And available with virtually no moving parts inside. Spacey! (Too bad the battery is not user-changable)

It reminds me of the ship in the movie “The Day the Earth Stood Still”. You remember–the satiny- silver flying saucer with the disappearing entrance ramp.

Would I buy one? For over three thousand dollars? A sexy laptop with solid-state drive is definitely appealing but I think I’d go for the giant Mac Book Pro instead.

Why? For me it would be more practical (for video-editing).

Ahh, practicality…

After all the glitzy, spacey, glamour, let’s come back down to Earth again, get the new year rolling and address more basic issues.

For some of us it might be…Should we upgrade to Leopard? Should we get a new Mac? Should we spring for Broadband?

Or perhaps the questions are simpler…How do we back up? What’s a Terabyte? RSS? Save As? Right Click??

Got issues?

Do you take advantage of the HMAUS List where you can email your tech questions to local “experts”?

Do you visit the HMAUS website regularly and check the Calendar for local classes and events? Or browse for news and tips from other Apple user-group contributors?

For the next ten months, our renewed goal will be to enhance and promote HMAUS resources to help you truly enjoy whatever your digital adventure happens to be. Of course, your menu of help options is HUGE now — with the vast galaxy that is the Web, the ever-expanding Apple Store, on top of ye ole local retailers, Mac Made Easy and Mac Mouse Club. HMAUS has been around for nearly thirty years but it is a challenge to stand out from that crowded field.

And how do we distinguish ourselves from the rest? We in HMAUS are not in it for the money. We are simply friends helping friends stay afloat on the river of changing technology. We love it and are always looking for more opportunities to share the wealth.

This is some of what we have in mind for the coming months:

• We’d like to see at least two learning sessions every month — one for elementary beginners and one for the more adventurous. Many folks want to use advanced apps but because they don’t possess basic knowledge they get left behind on the trail
• We’d like to include additional sessions where people who do cool things with their digital tools (artists, designers, musicians, writers, gamers, programmers, etc.) can show and tell about their works, perhaps inspiring others to perform their own magic.
• We’d also like to tap into the minds of our children and find out what amazing things they are creating with their computers. We might learn a lot from them…if we let them teach us.

To give life to such a program we need your input. You have challenges — Steer us into the areas you need help with. You do interesting things with your computer — Have the courage to step up and share your experiences with us; show us what we too can do with our tools. You have criticisms — Don’t hesitate to tell us like it is — let us know what we should fix. Go ahead, sock it to me! Send your suggestions to: president at hmaus dot org

And if you really want to contribute more than just your two cents, in February, we will be getting together for an extended planning session with the intent of constructing a full schedule of events and classes (among other possible activities) for 2008. It could be a timely opportunity to make a substantive investment in your club and assure a valuable long-term return. Think about it.

We will be notifying everyone shortly with more details. Stay tuned.

Remember — Keep in touch!

Peace,

Terrence Young

HMAUS President

Happy New Year!

As the new year commences, allow me to wish everyone of you Da Best.
Together we are going to make 2008 a fabulous year!

Are you ready for action?

(watch this spot)

Peace,

T.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!