HMAUS sponsored three diverse and interesting Hawaii Geek Week offerings about new ways of doing things. The presentations took place at ING Direct Cafe on three evenings.  They focused on capitalizing on the reach and power of today’s Internet and computers . . . without programming expertise.  That means they’ll work for a lot of us!

October 20, 2009  ”TechHui” by Daniel Leuck was about a science, technology and media arts social network that has taken on a life of its own.
October 21, 2009 “Do you really need a webmaster?” by Mark Johnson answered the question, “no you don’t!”
October 22, 2009 “Mac OS vs Windows 7″ was a fun side-by-side look at the two big operating systems presented by Rolf Nordahl and Jeff Litvinoff.

October 21, 2009
Daniel Leuck,  CEO of Ikazyo, the creator and principal sponsor of TechHui demonstrated how such a diverse community can work as a source of information, job leads, marketing and social and intellectual interchange.  He showed the underlying Ning structure and the multiple options for interactivity and information management Ning and various plugins can offer.  At this point, group formation and content at TechHui are user driven, an essential characteristic of a dynamic social community.  Join the new HMAUS group at TechHui that Rico Moreno created for us.  Mahalo to Rico, Daniel and Mika for helping us create our group and spreading the word about Hawaii Geek Week and Mactoberfest!  http://www.techhui.com/group/hmaus

October 21, 2009
Mark Johnson, CEO of logicspin.com and menumill.com presented “Do you REALLY need a webmaster?” He demonstrated a variety of online services that allow you to build a website using templates that  you then customize your content, without knowledge of coding.  Mark reports his product, Menumill.com offers clean code, user friendliness, customization and affordability. Regardless of the provider you choose, he stressed the importance of putting effort into first thinking through your site’s purpose, the nature of its content, and the type of user experience you want to present.   Then it’s much easier to create a site that’s coherent, easily navigable and focused.

October 22, 2009
Rolf Nordahl of Macmouse Club and Jeff Litvinoff of Personal Touch Computers put Snow Leopard and Windows 7 on two side-by-side monitors for a features comparison. Both offer simple navigation, speed and  claim stability. The Live Task Bar in Windows 7 is nice.  You can list favorite files for each open application and view them as jump menu popups from the task bar. A touch screen feature is possible with the right hardware and application. Some of the advanced Premium features will only work on new computers but there are several options to choose from. Rolf says “the war is over” the systems are becoming closer in functionality and usability.  Is it time to load Windows 7 on your Intel Mac?  A resounding “maybe!”

We thank our presenters for sharing with us and broadening our perspectives about what’s possible.  Mahalo to the members and new friends who joined us and the staff of the Waikiki ING Direct Cafe for again hosting us so graciously!

I picked up the proclamation from the Governor’s office this morning.

We’ll be presenting it at Mactoberfest, tomorrow, during the annual meeting.

Cynthia Oshiro volunteered her talents to produce two very nice posters for Mactoberfest 2008 and Web Weavers Workshop with Lorelle VanFossen.

Please grab them and distribute them at appropriate places.

Download the Mactoberfest 2008 poster

Download the Web Weavers Workshop with Lorelle VanFossen poster

Thanks Cynthia!

We’ll be posting information about the technology events for Hawaii Geek Week, from October 18 to October 24, 2008.

Events currently listed include:

• Macoberfest 2008 – October18
• Photo Walkabout with Lorelle – October19
• Web Weavers Workshop with Lorelle VanFossen – October 22
• Windward Community College TechTalk 2008 – October 24
• PodCamp / WordCamp Hawaii – October 24-25

HMAUS is very fortunate to have the very talented Mark McMahon as a member to help with the web site. You can find him at Hawaii Web Consulting.

It would be wonderful if she would declare October 18 to 25, 2008 as Hawaii Geek Week. I hope they approve it.

Here’s a copy of our application.

Proclamation Request for Hawaii Geek Week