The Portland Macintosh Users Group (PMUG) will hold the next edition of their semi-annual Mac event, MacCamp at the Silver Falls State Part in Oregon on October 26-28.

This event is part camping trip, part user group meeting and part tech conference. Structured sessions (this time the agenda includes Adobe Dreamweaver, Mac OS X Leopard, Getting the Most From Digital Images, Introduction to iMovie ‘08, Numbers ‘08 and Filemaker Pro ‘09.) are held during the day and informal sessions go on all night.

For complete details on the sessions, pricing and how to register, visit the PMUG web site.

The Apple User Group Advisory Board and UGAB Support Services have announced this year’s pre-Macworld Expo user group event: a Wine and Cheese Reception.

Announced to the September edition of the Apple User Group Bulletin, the event will be held will held at The Westin San Francisco Market Street (formerly The Argent) January 14, from 4-7 p.m. Unlike prior year’s leadership-focused events, the reception looks to be more social in nature, being open to the first 300 registrants with no user group credentials required.

The reception will reportedly feature, “vendor interaction, raffles, entertainment and some surprise guests.”

Registration is now open, and MUG members can enjoy a 50% discount on the $20 admission price by using the special user group member URL and discount code that is available from their group’s ambassador.

The September meeting of MacGroup-Detroit will feature a special guest who boasts the credentials to speak on Mac troubleshooting.

Christopher Breen of Macworld, PlaylistMag and MacNotables will visit the Detroit group on September 9 to share tips and tricks from his Mac 911 column in Macworld magazine. Chris is also known as an iPod authority, and can be expected to provide some insight into the announcements from Apple’s September 5 music event, the iPhone and more.

Visit the MacGroup-Detroit web site for information on their visitor policies, meeting location and more, then plan to stop by and hear one of the most popular Mac User Group speakers live and in person.

It is quiet on the Internet today. Not as in “peace and quiet,” with images of relaxation and content. The quiet is the deafening kind that comes crashing in when you’ve lost something important and might not get it back. And that’s exactly what may happen.

Today is the Day of Silence, a protest staged by the a long list of prominent internet radio stations and online music services to give us all a sample of what life could be like come July 15. That’s the day when a set of retroactive royalty rates kicks in and will effectively take much of the online music you enjoy offline…permanently. If that happens, the music you’re not hearing today from Pandora, HardRadio, Smooth Jazz and More, Live635.com, MTV Radio, and a whole host of others will become the norm, since they won’t be able to afford the initial hit from the royalties that, under the legislation, have stacked up since January 1, nor the royalties going forward.

If this matters to you, and it should, then you need to go to SaveNetRadio.org to learn more, and find out how to contact your Congressional representatives before this can’t be stopped. You don’t have to sign up for anything or give an email address; just visit the site to learn how to support the countering pieces of legislation, The Internet Radio Equality Act, S. 1353 in the Senate and H.R. 2060 in the House. Your phone call, email, fax or letter can drastically help.

Tim Westergren, the founder of Pandora, was the guest on MacVoices #774, talking about the situation, how it is unfairly penalizes online broadcasters of music, and how to most effectively communicate your feelings to your legislators. Listen, learn and act.

The Tri-Valley Macintosh Users Group (TMUG) has announced that Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak will be their guest at a special event on June 21. Steve will be talking about his experiences during the early days of personal computing, his thoughts on Apple’s most recent developments and computers in education.. There will also be an opportunity to have copies of his book, “iWoz, personally signed.

The meeting will be held at the Amador Valley High School in Pleasanton, California, starting at 7 PM. The meeting is open to the public, but you’ll want to get there early for a good seat.
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The O’Reilly User Group Program has announced this year’s Maker Faire will be held on May 19 & 20 at the San Mateo Fairgrounds in California.

The second annual Faire is, “… a two-day, family-friendly event that celebrates arts, crafts, engineering, science projects and the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) mindset. It’s for creative, resourceful folks who like to tinker and love to make things.”

Among the many interesting activities scheduled for this year’s event, and of special interest to Mac User Groups will be an interview with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak on the main stage on Saturday.

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The Silicon Mountain Macintosh User Group (SMMUG) will welcome special guest speaker on May 3: Macworld Contributing Editor, author and MacNotable Christopher Breen.

Chris will visit the group live and in person and will speak on the topic of Troubleshooting. As the author of the monthly Mac 911 column in Macworld (which user groups can distribute in their newsletters), and the man who claims to have destroyed more Mac equipment that most of us have owned, he is eminently qualified on the subject.

Visit the SMMUG web site to get the details and if you’re in Colorado on May 3, stop by for an evening of fun and information.

Popular Mac author, Houston Chronicle columnist and MacNotables panelist Bob LeVitus is back will once again visit some of the premier Mac User Groups next month when he embarks on his Mid-Atlantic MUG Tour 2007.

Bob will be bringing his unique take on Macintosh hardware, software and use to these groups in May:

• Princeton Macintosh Users Group - May 8
• Hershey Apple Core - May 9
• Main Line Macintosh Users Group - May 12

In addition to the meeting appearances, Bob will be the guest of honor at a Dr. Mac Dinner on Monday, May 7 and a special cookout and presentation at Mac Outfitters in Doylestown PA.

Details on all appearances and events can be found on the indicated web sites. Please consult them before planning to attend, because space for several of the activities is limited.

The next edition of a Mac User Group community tradition will be held from April 20th through 22nd when the Portland Macintosh Users Group (PMUG) holds their 44th MacCamp at the Silver Falls State Part in Oregon.

This semi-annual event is part camping trip, part user group meeting, part tech conference. Structured sessions (this year on Leopard, GarageBand, Entourage, iPhoto, iWeb and System Preferences) are held during the day and informal sessions go on all night.

Highlighting this year’s event will be a special 20-question Jeopardy-style quiz (and demonstrations of the answers) will be conducted by Macworld Contributing Editor and MacOSXHints.com founder Rob Griffith.

The cost for the weekend is $175 per person, including food and lodging and space is limited. You can get all the details below or visit the PMUG web site to learn more and sign up.

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They’re doing it again. The Final Cut Pro User Group folks are going to stage their 6th annual SuperMeet at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show in Las Vegas on April 18th.

This year’s event, to be held in the Palazzo Ballroom at the Venetian, will be bigger and better than ever before. The guest speaker will be renowned sound editor Walter Murch, who credit’s include films such as Apocalypse Now, The English Patient, Cold Mountain and the upcoming Francis Ford Coppola film, Youth Without Youth.

Also making an unusual feature appearance will be Apple’s Final Cut Studio Development Team, who will be talking about the latest edition of the video editing suite, answering questions and also asking for feedback from the attendees.

Exhibiting at the SuperMeet will be over twenty vendors who will not be on any other show floor anywhere during NAB, so if you want to see them you need to sign up for the event now.
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