We had an unplanned but totally fun inaugural M2M, or Member-2-Member session on June 12.  Our scheduled speaker unfortunately was unable to come and regrettably called to cancel.  We called those who had signed up, but others came, so we stayed and they shared their favorite iPad apps – M2M style!

Mahalo to Everett Youg for starting the ball rolling, Miles, Gregg Kamei, PJ Jergensen, Capsun Poe, Kate Paine, Terrence Young and Mike Perlman who we kidnapped from the Cafe for sharing the pile of apps you see here plus tips and cool accessories. Details here (no password needed)  http://drop.io/hmaus_maclearn.

Also there is a  summary of Christopher’s Breen’s “…Life Changing” Macworld article about great stuff to get to work your iPad into your life!

Now, Jerome’s presentation and expertise were greatly missed by everyone, including those who were turned around in their tracks.  Everyone will be happy when we reschedule it in the future!  We did confirm by circumstance, though, that M2M is also a great way to go!    There’s interest in doing it again – so stay tuned via the hmaus.org blog and your member announcements.

Mahalo to all who came and shared! It really was fun.

P.S. just out – Apple is releasing the iBooks app soon to make PDF document reading pleasurable. Hmmmm Kindle ooosh over?

Jerome Koehler, Apple Solutions Consultant from Best Buy Aiea will present the iPad on June 12, 2010 from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.  Bring your iPad!  And if you don’t have one, come anyway — After this session you’ll probably want one.  Jerome will show us how to feed and care for our iPads – Download fun apps, connect a camera or keyboard, and keep ‘em safe and shiny.  Free.  Everyone welcome!

ING Direct Cafe Ali’i Room  10 am – 12 pm

Seating is limited, so please sign up to reserve your seat, using the link below. Please indicate you’re interested in the iPad presentation and include any questions you already have so Jerome can be sure to address them.   http://www.hmaus.org/meetings-workshops/maclearn/maclearn-registration/

Driving directions here http://hmaus.org/INGDirectCafe

This-a-way graphics by Wolfman Gass

SpringFest 2010 on May lst brought over 120 people through the doors at Kapiolani Community College for a full day of workshops, door prizes and a swapmeet!  Congratulations to iPad grand-prize winner and new HMAUS member Darrel Baluscang!

iPad Winner Darryl Baluscang and President Wolfman Gass photo courtesy of Kate Paine

Mae Kishimoto, another HMAUS member, won the MacSpeech Dictate software with a Bluetooth headset courtesy of Andy Taylor and Nuance Software.  Other lucky winners walked away with $20 Best Buy gift-cards, camera bags and other prizes.

Alex and Zac Ozawa

Mahalo to  Ryan Ozawa for the photos; more fun pics at his Hawaii Flickr stream.

The iPad was definitely the big star of the day;  but there were a couple of little ones too! (see photo)

Presentations began with  Jerome Koehler, Apple Solutions consultant from Best Buy Aiea, who highlighted the iPad and the new MacBooks.

Four Professional Photographers of Hawaii members shared how they capture their unique images: Dwight Okumoto, of Studio 3 presented panoramas; Claude Ayakawa of Claude’s Photos, portraiture; Jennifer Chung, dance, and Terry Takaki of TMC & Associates, lenses for close up and landscape.  Mick Isde of Lighthaus Camera gave a preview of SLRs with HDR video. HI Communications demoed the super fast Clear 4G system and provided everyone with Wi-Fi all day.

Ohia Auditorium presentations

There was a short HMAUS annual meeting to confirm the election of six Board directors – Rick “Wolfman” Gass, Ronald Albu, Kimo Sutton, plus new Board members Burt Lum, Claudia Nygard and Christian Ganne.

And there was more!  Chris Gagiulo of KCC’s New Media Arts program explained the development of  websites, from concept through wireframing using Adobe Creative Suite.  Brian Kerber of AppleMagic.net offered Mac 101; Ross Rasmussen, iApps that come free with everyone’s Mac; Greg Kamei took folks deeper into iTunes;  Ron Albu & Lois Cain showed how to have fun with Skype and iChat. There was something for everyone.

Enjoying the day - Jerome Koehler, Apple Consultant, flanked by HMAUS members Mark McMahon and Ron Albu; Linda Hijirida with her iPhone; Burt Lum and Terrence Young in his cool Bytemarks Cafe t-shirt!

People agreed the sessions could have been longer, but that was OK because one of the purposes of Springfest is to get folks interested in learning more by attending other events held throughout the year. A schedule is always available at the HMAUS Signal website http://www.hmaus.org. Lecture presentations are free, hands-on workshops are very inexpensive.  HMAUS members get priority seating and discounts.

Want to support the programs and take advantage of the learning opportunities?  Join HMAUS for just $24 per year. It’s a steal!

And if you missed Springfest, keep your eyes and ears open, and be ready for Mactoberfest, the next big HMAUS event, coming in the Fall.

Top to bottom row: Swapmeeters Dwight Okumoto and Studio 3, Tony Ing of HI Communications, Eugene Villaluz, Lyle Awakuni and Candace Fernander,

]]> http://www.hmaus.org/2010/05/14/springfest-came-went-and-was-great/feed/ 0 http://www.hmaus.org/2010/04/01/ipad-demonstration-for-hmaus-members-april-10th/ http://www.hmaus.org/2010/04/01/ipad-demonstration-for-hmaus-members-april-10th/#comments Thu, 01 Apr 2010 20:57:55 +0000 markmcmahon http://www.hmaus.org/?p=4019 For the next HMAUS MGM (Members General Meeting) Apple will give a demonstration and hands-on experience of the new iPad at their Kahala store on April 10th. Seating is limited to 20 people, so register NOW.

The Wi-Fi-only iPad version will be released on April 3. So, members who attend that already have their iPads delivered prior to the meeting will get the chance to learn more as experts from Apple give us tips. For the rest of us, it will be a chance to see what this little beauty can do, and see if we can wait until the 3G option is available in a couple of months.

The event will be free but with limited space for about 20 members only. Register NOW to get a space. (Once those spaces are filled, registration will end.)

Let’s look at the iPad features you already have with iPhone: Safari, Mail, Video, Photos, YouTube, iPod, iTunes, App Store, Maps, Notes, Calendar, Contacts, Home Screen, Spotlight Search.  Wow, seems pretty complete already doesn’t it?!

But, let me help you “upgrade” your current device to be just as fancy as the iPad, and all for under $50!

* E-reader Capability:

one of the biggest new features of the iPad is the ability to read books on your device, called “iBook”. Well, “Classics” app (free right now, usually .99 cents) has been around for a while for iPhone/iPod Touch and gives you the same kind of look/feel as the $500 iPad but on your smaller screen. Great app, get it now while it’s on sale!

* Excel, Powerpoint, Word Document Viewing and Editing:

iWorks on the iPad looks great, but costs $9/each and are “coming soon”. “Documents to Go” ($14.99)
– is available in the iTunes app store now, and waiting for you to give it a try. (I personally haven’t used it, so you’re on your own to review it.)

* Large 9.7″ screen:

OK, that’s kind of tricky to fix, but check out this accessory from Amazon — for only $29 you can now view your iPod Touch/iPhone with so much magnification it will be IN YOUR FACE without limiting your multi-touch ability! (Great for Grandma and Grandpa too!)

So you see, for under $50, your “yesterday’s” device is new again!