Newsletter to Members
October 2005
Hello AMUG members,
As we do not currently have a magazine editor – and therefore no printed magazine this month – this is an interim newsletter to members to keep you informed of the club's activities.
Ken Driver
Vice-President/Webmaster
In this issue:
President's Message
First of all I would like to thank all the AMUG members who have endorsed me as President. I will do my best to promote and help the club to prosper.
One of the most obvious things which strikes me each month when we meet at UNSW is the lack of younger members. It appears we have many members who are middle aged and above but very few younger ones. This is a problem which I feel the club needs to look into. Before I go any further I should point out that I do not consider myself to be a young member! I find it strange that we have our meetings within the midst of many young student users, many of whom probably use Macs, but we are unable to attract them to the meetings. I am relatively new to the club, so I am sure this topic may have been brought up before. Younger members will not only bring new ideas to the club but will hopefully swell our numbers and keep the club alive and give it strength for the future. But how do we entice them?
I think we need to find out in which department the Mac users predominate (probably graphics) and somehow lure them into the club. More importantly once these members are in the club, we must keep them there. Older members - do not feel that you are unwanted! You are the backbone of the club and have been so for many years. Without your efforts over the years we would not exist. Let me know if you have any feedback on this or any other issues.
See you at the next meeting.
Warwick Harty
President
October Meeting
Monday 10th October 6:30 pm
Room 327 Theatrette, Level 3, Webster Building, UNSW Kensington
NB: Back in our usual venue; Second Monday – just for October – because of the long weekend.
Guest Presenter
Ric McLallen – former AMUG member, Editor of 'Applecations' magazine from 1993-1995, and a professional trainer – will present an exclusive Apple Training Session.
Ric is now External Relationships Manager with Apple Centre Taylor Square–Academy. After providing us with a valuable training session at the meeting, Ric will tell us about the professional training courses and modules available at the Academy, for anyone interested in learning specific applications. More...
Beginners Mac Workshop
Learn Mac OS X basics in a friendly, informative environment. Presented by AMUG Sydney.
Saturday 15th October 10am-2pm.
Room 136C (Computer Lab), Ground Floor, Webster Building, UNSW Kensington.
- One Mac per person
- No questions too silly
- Use one of the Uni's eMacs or bring your own Notebook
- Free for AMUG members
To book, phone Rob on 9387 2069 or email sydamug@mac.com
News from Apple
iPod nano. 1,000 songs. Impossibly small.
Take everything you love about iPod and shrink it. The pencil-thin iPod nano packs the entire iPod experience into an impossibly small design. So small, it will take your music places you never dreamed of. Listen to music, audiobooks, or podcasts. Enjoy full-color album art on a gorgeous color LCD display. Use the acclaimed Apple Click Wheel to scroll through up to 25,000 photos. Play games. Check your calendar. Look up a phone number. Take advantage of a built-in world clock. There's even a new stopwatch and lap timer.
iPod nano comes in two models. Both come in white or black:
2GB (holds up to 500 songs) for $299 RRP
4GB (holds up to 1,000 songs) for $359 RRP. More...
iPod nano accessories
Seen the new, to-die-for accessories for iPod nano? They include a new Dock; a lanyard with built-in earbuds; armbands - in luscious colours - and even nano Tubes that fit iPod nano like a glove.
Check them out on the iPod nano Accessories page.
Introducing iTunes 5
Apple has announced iTunes 5, bringing new features and a refined look to the world’s most popular digital music jukebox and online music store. iTunes 5 includes a new Search Bar to make it even easier for users to find what they’re searching for; the ability to organise playlists into folders; Smart Shuffle, which lets the user change the 'randomness' of shuffled songs; and the ability for Windows users to automatically sync contacts and calendars from Outlook onto their iPods. The iTunes Music Store has also added parental controls and album reviews, and now features a catalog of over two million songs, making it the largest online music catalog in the world. More...
.Mac enhancements
Apple has announced a significant update to .Mac, the membership-based online service that combines the simplicity and elegance of the Macintosh with the power of the Internet to facilitate group communication and make sharing, storing and protecting digital photos and videos easier than ever. New features include: .Mac Groups, a service that helps members communicate, coordinate schedules and stay in sync with private groups of friends or colleagues; an updated version of .Mac Backup software that makes it easy for members to archive their iLife and other important files; a four-fold increase in combined iDisk and email storage to 1GB for individuals and 2GB for families; and full French and German localisation. More...
FileMaker Pro 8
The best version of FileMaker ever, FileMaker Pro 8 lets you work significantly faster and share information with More people and programs than ever before. Providing the tools you need to manage, customize, and share all of your information on a network or over the web with Windows and Mac customers, FileMaker 8 lets you create PDF and Excel files, instantly email the contents of any field, import tables easily, perform mail merge, and build layouts with multiple tabs. More...
Software Update
As at 30 September 2005, Mac OS X updates available via Software Update include:
- Backup 3.0 (for .Mac account holders)
- QuickTime 7.0.2
- Security Update 2005-008
- Java 1.3.1 and 1.4.2 Release 2 (See MacFixIt Forum - KD)
- iTunes 5.0.1
- iPod Updater 2005-09-23
Australian Widget Watch
Hundreds of those amazing Dashboard Widgets for Mac OS X Tiger are available for download and new ones are being added all the time. With a single click, the Dashboard zooms across your Desktop, giving you fast access to nifty widgets designed for fun as well as function. Here are some Widgets specific to Australia:
- Australia Post Search (suburb/postcode lookup)
- Australian Population (running tally from Bureau of Statistics)
- Australian Stock Exchange (share prices and portfolio valuation)
- Degrees Down Under (updates data from Bureau of Meteorology)
Australia-specific Widgets are listed in the International category.
Macworld Expo San Francisco 2006
User Group Discount on Exhibit Hall, Conference Packages and Accommodation...
If you're lucky enough to be planning a visit to San Francisco in January 2006, Macworld Conference & Expo has once again extended special pricing for Apple User Group members. More...
MUG Center Vendor Offers
The MUG Center regularly negotiates special discount offers for members of Macintosh User Groups worldwide. For an up-to-date list of all available user group offers, visit the MUG Center Vendor Offers web page. Just look for those marked as 'Global' availability and check the expiry date. Most offers require a special order code or URL; if these are not published, contact us at AMUG Sydney for that information.
AUSMUG/PICA Software deal
Australian Mac Users Group (AUSMUG), created by Greg Sharp, is an online compilation of forums, news and information interchange for representatives of various Macintosh User Groups around Australia. AUSMUG has organised an offer with PICA Australia of 10% off PICA's entire range of software. This is a perpetual offer and as the largest local distributor of Macintosh software, their range is quite extensive. Just let PICA know what MUG you belong to when ordering.
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