The latest edition of The Macworld Podcast features host Christopher Breen and MUG Center editor Chuck Joiner discussing the state of Mac User Groups.

The absence of user group activities at Macworld 2010 and some other changes have led some to question the viability of Mac User Groups. Chris and Chuck discuss the perceptions, evolution and reality of this important part of the Mac community, Apple’s view of MUGs, and more.

On March 11, SF Cutters, the San Francisco Final Cut Pro Users Group, will celebrate their 10th anniversary with a special meting and party at Adobe.

The event will feature not only the requisite celebratory activities, but also s special session of “Stump the Gurus with Kevin Monahan, Jesse Spencer, Karl Soule, Sean Safreed and more; a presentation by Karl Soule on the making of AVATAR & Adobe Production Premium, a sneak peak of the New Mercury Playback Engine; a sneak peak at new releases by Sean Safreed of Redgiant Software, organizing your FCP project with Chris Fenwick of Slice Editorial and more.

Space is limited, but registration is free, so be sure to do that now if you want to attend.

One of the most star-studded schedules we’ve seen in quite some time is on deck this week on The MUG Event Calendar.

Original Macintosh Team member and nature photographer Bill Atkinson will visit a California group to show off his latest project while Apple Senior System Engineer Dave Marra will present to a New Jersey group. The Mac Observer will dominate two different groups this week when Bryan Chaffin talks to a Texas group and Vern Seward addresses a Florida group. MacVoices producer and host Chuck Joiner will virtual visit a Washington group, Tropical Software’s James Lee will grace a Florida group with his presence, Jill Saligoe-Simmel from Mapdiva will demo their mapping utility, Ortelius, to an Indiana group, the folks from YELP will visit a California group, and Jason Panucci of SoundTree will visit a New York group.

Other topics on this week’s schedule include several Macworld 2010-themed presentations, iMovie, GPS systems, Photoshop Elements 8, Skype, Facebook, MobileMe and more.

Email the details of your next meeting to The MUG Center and we’ll get it listed on The MUG Event Calendar and in our weekly Briefing. We want to hear from you.
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Capitol Macintosh (CapMac) in Austin will welcome a very special speaker to their March 9 meeting: Bryan Chaffin of The Mac Observer, The Apple Context Machine and MacNotables.

Bryan will bring his unique blend of reporting, analysis and humor to his presentation, commenting on last month’s Macworld 2010, the upcoming iPad launch, and the hottest tech stories of the moment.

For all the details, and to see the many activities the group has going, visit the CapMac web site.

The March 9 meeting of the Whatcom Macintosh Users Group in Bellingham, WA will host MUG Center editor and MacVoices Group producer and host Chuck Joiner via Skype.

The topics for the evening include Mac User Groups then and now, where they fit into the Mac community, and where they go from here. Chuck will also talk about the four internet shows he produces (MacVoices, MacVoicesTV, MacNotables and The MacJury), how they got started, and what they deliver to the Mac aficionado.

For more information on location, time and visitor policies, visit the WhatMUG web site.

Apple Senior Systems Engineer Dave Marra continues his never-ending series of presentations to Mac User Groups and more. The latest additions to Dave’s calendar include:

• March 13: Macintosh Association of Central NJ

• March 20: Annapolis Apple Slice

• March 31: Mac Users Group of Southern NJ

• April 10: MacWaves Macintosh Users Group

• April 12: Princeton PC Users Group (PC/Windows group)

• April 25: Trenton Computer Festival

• May 5: Macintosh User Group of Oneonta NY

• June 11: Long Island Macintosh Users Group

• June 19: Mac2MUG – Ohio Area User Groups (combined multi-MUG event in Ohio)

• September 11: Main Line Macintosh Users Group

• October 8: Atlantic City Area Macintosh Users Group

What will you get if you attend one of Dave’s presentations? Arguably more Mac and Apple product information and demos that you’ve ever seen packed into any given unit of time, that’s what. Dave is always updating and changing his presentations, even when new Apple products aren’t in the mix, so you get something new each time. You can keep up with Dave’s schedule on The MUG Event Calendar or on Dave’s own site, Marrathon.

Be sure to visit each group’s web site for time, location and guest policy details, then plan to make as many of them as you can.

March opens with a full MUG Event Calendar for the week.

Macworld 2010 is still making waves at more than one Mac User Group, Alan Oppenheimer will visit a California group to talk about security, a Final Cut Pro User Group will celebrate three years together in Louisiana, while an Australian group will celebrate 30 years of Australian Macworld with Anthony Caruana.

Other topics on this week’s agenda include home theater, iPhoto, backup, the Mac mini as media center, iDisk, troubleshooting network connections, and more.

Email the details of your next meeting to The MUG Center and we’ll get it listed on The MUG Event Calendar and in our weekly Briefing. We want to hear from you.
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On the heels of an outstanding Macworld 2010, IDG has announced that free exhibit hall registrations are available for a very limited time for Macworld 2011.

Macworld 2011 is scheduled for January 25 – 29, 2011 (Conferences) and January 27-29 (Expo) at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco. You can get a free Expo pass now though March 8 by visiting the special registration page.

Do we need to say this? Free registration to the year’s biggest and best Mac event, no strings attached. If you’re even thinking of perhaps going maybe, sign up now. Still not sure if Macworld is for you? Check out all the interviews, panel discussions and more that were documented on MacVoicesTV, and you’ll be convinced.

Even though Macworld 2010 is two weeks gone, it is still creating lots of talk around the MUG community.

A California Final Cut Pro group will deliver their usual wide variety of presenters and products, and an Indiana Final Cut Pro User Group will help their users get started with Apple’s Motion.

Other topics on the agenda this week include iWork, iPhone and iPod touch applications, TopX Notes, iLife, home networking, and more.

Email the details of your next meeting to The MUG Center and we’ll get it listed on The MUG Event Calendar and in our weekly Briefing. We want to hear from you. Read the rest of this entry »

With the Apple universe still on a high from last week’s successful Macworld 2010, this week on The MUG Event Calendar is filled with “notable” presenters , guests and topics.

Three different mbmers of the MacNotables‘ panel will be sharing their experiences and impressions of Macworld 2010 at three different user groups. Macworld Senior Editor Christopher Breen will be speaking at one California group, while Andy Ihnatko of the Chicago Sun Times will visit another on the same night. Later in the week, Bob “Dr. Mac” LeVitus will be delivering one of his trademark “State of the Mac” addresses to a Texas group.

Apple is on the calendar with two appearances as well. Apple Senior Systems Engineer Dave Marra will be talking to a group in Philadelphia, and an Apple Genius will visit one California group, and on the vendor front, Ken Hogan of Fujitsu will demonstrate their ScanSnap to another California group.

Macworld 2010 will be the hot topic at virtually every Mac User Group meeting this week and into the future, but other subjects to be covered include digital photography, iLife, iWork, iWeb, HTML, the iPad, backups and more.
Email the details of your next meeting to The MUG Center and we’ll get it listed on The MUG Event Calendar and in our weekly Briefing. We want to hear from you.
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