Lakes Region Mac Users' Group - Interested?

[Argie's Wife]

Hi, I'm a Mac...

Hubby and I are thinking about starting a Mac users' group after the first of the new year. The group would be free to all, meet once a month, and have an online forum for sharing, Q&A, etc. Anyone would be welcome - you wouldn't have to be a Mac user to join and all user levels would also be welcome. :)

(There isn't a registered group in the Lakes Region yet according to the Apple website.)

So, I'm starting this thread to see if there's interest in this area for the group...

[GWC...]

Good idea...

A number of Xerox, oops, Mac, users seem to be of the belief that their computer is invincible.

Example: That is why I use a Mac

No hoops it just does it.
Unfortunately, hackers love Macs (http://isc.sans.org/diary.html?storyid=3713), also.

So, I hope many will join and learn to keep their Mac fully updated (http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/).

[Ropetow]

Mac's rule!

[brk-lnt]

I'm mildly interested.

[Argie's Wife]

Good idea...

A number of Xerox, oops, Mac, users seem to be of the belief that their computer is invincible.

Example:
Unfortunately, hackers love Macs (http://isc.sans.org/diary.html?storyid=3713), also.

So, I hope many will join and learn to keep their Mac fully updated (http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/).

(I'm not a snob about Macs - don't get me wrong - just an interest, k?)

Actually, the virus you linked to isn't a Mac virus but designed to attack QuickTime virus. QuickTime is software, not hardware, designed originally by Apple, Inc. The patch has already been released and there's really no issue now.

As far as updates go, they're far less painful than what I experienced with a PC and my iMac is set up to install them every Friday afternoon at 5PM (Happy Hour!). I don't have to bother with it - it's just set up to do it. (It came that way, to be honest.)

I became a Mac user about a year ago when my trusty HP died a horrible death in the hands of the Geek Squad. They had my ride for over a month and I had to use Hubby's iMac because I earn my living on a computer. I got used to his computer and had even installed Windows and my treasure chest of software designed for Windows XP on it. (He's got one of those Intel Core 2 Duo iMacs.)

I found that's it's very easy to use - there was no learning curve. I liked the lack of interruptions that you get from a Mac vs. a PC. Vista was also coming on the market at the same time and I knew it was going to be a headache. I decided I'd stay with my Windows XP on an iMac and use both that and the Mac OS X (10) so I could be a little more "universal" for my customers. I'm now glad I didn't move to Vista because many people are ditching it and going back to XP because they're sick of the problems with it.

I liked his ride so much that when the Geek Squad handed me a gift card with $998 on it to replace my old HP because of the warranty I'd bought on the thing, that went to the Apple section of the store and hauled another iMac up for them to ring up. Getting another PC wasn't a thought - the iMac worked great for my needs and also took up very little desk space - another plus for me.

The things I really like about it though is the iLife creative suite. I used iMovie, iDVD, iWeb - and they're fun applications to work with - and I make money with them. My clients like the results and I get to work with no interruptions. It's just a joy to work with - if you're a creative person who likes multi-media it's like candy for your inner child!

(In case you haven't guessed, I'm the kind of gal who doesn't ask for jewelry for Christmas but gets excited to have extra memory cards or a cordless mouse under the Christmas tree. Yeah, I'm a geek and I admit it.) :)

For me, it's not being loyal to a brand name but simply learning how to take what works for me to a higher level - and make some friends along the way... :) I'm not a snob about it - I just like sharing what I know and learning from others...

[GWC...]

(I'm not a snob about Macs - don't get me wrong - just an interest, k?)

Actually, the virus you linked to isn't a Mac virus but designed to attack QuickTime virus. QuickTime is software, not hardware, designed originally by Apple, Inc. The patch has already been released and there's really no issue now.

As far as updates go, they're far less painful than what I experienced with a PC and my iMac is set up to install them every Friday afternoon at 5PM (Happy Hour!). I don't have to bother with it - it's just set up to do it. (It came that way, to be honest.)

I became a Mac user about a year ago when my trusty HP died a horrible death in the hands of the Geek Squad. They had my ride for over a month and I had to use Hubby's iMac because I earn my living on a computer. I got used to his computer and had even installed Windows and my treasure chest of software designed for Windows XP on it. (He's got one of those Intel Core 2 Duo iMacs.)

I found that's it's very easy to use - there was no learning curve. I liked the lack of interruptions that you get from a Mac vs. a PC. Vista was also coming on the market at the same time and I knew it was going to be a headache. I decided I'd stay with my Windows XP on an iMac and use both that and the Mac OS X (10) so I could be a little more "universal" for my customers. I'm now glad I didn't move to Vista because many people are ditching it and going back to XP because they're sick of the problems with it.

I liked his ride so much that when the Geek Squad handed me a gift card with $998 on it to replace my old HP because of the warranty I'd bought on the thing, that went to the Apple section of the store and hauled another iMac up for them to ring up. Getting another PC wasn't a thought - the iMac worked great for my needs and also took up very little desk space - another plus for me.

The things I really like about it though is the iLife creative suite. I used iMovie, iDVD, iWeb - and they're fun applications to work with - and I make money with them. My clients like the results and I get to work with no interruptions. It's just a joy to work with - if you're a creative person who likes multi-media it's like candy for your inner child!

(In case you haven't guessed, I'm the kind of gal who doesn't ask for jewelry for Christmas but gets excited to have extra memory cards or a cordless mouse under the Christmas tree. Yeah, I'm a geek and I admit it.) :)

For me, it's not being loyal to a brand name but simply learning how to take what works for me to a higher level - and make some friends along the way... :) I'm not a snob about it - I just like sharing what I know and learning from others...
Hope you give credit to the real person responsible for the Mac (http://www.markusehrenfried.de/mac/applehistory.html) - Jeff Raskins and not Mr. Reality Distortion Field - Steve Jobs, at the first meeting.

[Argie's Wife]

Actually, I'd heard of Jef Raskins... thanks for the link and the input. :)