Info Manager

Info Manager for March 3, 2003

[*]   Claiming lost funds

[*]   MYOB offers $100 refund on switchers from QuickBooks

[*]   Another large school district to get iBooks

[*]   PowerPC 970 chip for PowerMacs?

[*]   Recycling Macs

[*]   Computer sales on the increase?

[*]   This Old Mouse: OS/X Make it Quit

[*]   VOM - Peachpit Press

[*]   VOM - Matterform Media - Spamfire

[*]   SW: Tired of hidden log-ins? Get Little Snitch

[*]   Quotes of the week: Curie, Gandhi
 

Claiming lost funds

Sometime back, I talked about getting nearly $200 back from government bodies where I had left it with financial institutions years ago. I used a paid service. But there is also a non-profit that is setup that will also connect you back with your money. It provides links to state agencies all over the country.
See it at:
http://www.unclaimed.org/

MYOB offers $100 refund on switchers from QuickBooks

QuickBooks users who find themselves switching from QuickBooks for Windows to Mac switch to MYOB AccountEdge version 3 and get a $100 refund.
Full details at:
http://www.myob.com/us/promo/twitcher/rebate.htm

Another large school district to get iBooks

Schaumburg (Ill.) Township Elementary District 54 is going to provide all 4th, 5th and 6th graders with iBooks. Don't know that I would want my 10 year old running around with one. But it is good news for Apple.
Full story from the
Daily Herald

PowerPC 970 chip for PowerMacs?

IBM's PowerPC Blade, based on the PowerPC 970 process has been run in prototype at speeds of up to 2.5 GHz. This announcement has caused a lot of speculation about Apple putting these machines into their professional machines. Even though it would require an updated motherboard with much faster bus speeds. I think it looks like Apple might decide to go this route, but I would expect it as quick as some are expecting. Maybe in 2004, not this summer.

After all, they were talking about prototypes, not shipping chips. They will still have to get them ready in quantity and at prices that fit Apple's price models. Extremetech.com or IBM.com. More at: Yahoo News

Recycling Macs

Apple has announced that it is accepting old Macs for recycling. While I personally think the best way to recycle is to give the machine to someone that will actually use it, I do realize that many 68K machines will be viewed as no longer sufficient to the task that users want. So this is a good idea. Full details at: Apple Recycling
Or, directly from:
http://www.recycleapc.com/Apple/

Computer sales on the increase?

According to a story in Information Week, the Commerce Department has reported that orders for computer products rose 14.% in January over the previous year and even increased 1.5% from December. This must be business orders as consumer sales would have been greater for the holidays.
Full story at:
Informationweek.com

This Old Mouse: OS/X Make it Quit

Fred Showker

Nothing is worse than a Mac that won't start up -- except one that gets going and you can't make it stop!

The scene is a college freshman's room where the goofy guy from next door mindlessly shoved a CD game into the Ti. Of course, OS X mindlessly launches the DVD Player and starts playing -- which, of course turned out to be the auto-installer for the game: "BlackHawk Down".

No matter what the owner tried, the CD would not stop installing, so he restarted the Ti. When it came back up, the install simply continued. Next he restarted holding the mouse down.

When the CD came out we knew we had problems -- the label said: "Windows XP Only". Neither the student nor OS/X had sense enough to know you shouldn't attempt to instal a Windows-only game on a Mac. But X kept trying as hard as it could -- the instal continued.

Follow along as This Old Mouse untangles a problematic situation when this outlaw DVD installer defies all the tricks in the book and renders a brand new OS/X Titanium PowerBook useless. 
Log into "This Old Mouse" at...
http://www.aacug.org/MUG/showker/

VOM - Peachpit Press

I haven't done a vendor of the month lately, but I wanted to remind everyone that Peachpit Press has reformatted their MUG program and are now asking everyone to register their user groups. This will entitle MUG members a 20% discount. I have registered my local group, but haven't received a mailing from them yet. The program also includes review copies and even possible author presentations.
* The new contact is: susan.nixon@newriders.com. Susan is the Publicity Manager/User Group Programs Peachpit Press and New Riders. Her phone number is: (317) 581-4557
So register at:
http://www.peachpit.com/usergroups/

VOM - Matterform Media - Spamfire

Another company with a MUG offer is Matterform Media. They produce Spamfire an anti-spam email utility.

Visit their web site where you'll be able to request complimentary door prize software for your group, a complimentary reviewer's license, and a free MUG CD. The MUG CD contains lots of useful educational resources, such as anti-spam articles you can re-print at no charge in your MUG newsletter. They also offer a special MUG discount on Spamfire that are to be shared with your members. Michael Herrick is the President of Matterform Media.

They also have a special MUG offer, but I don't think I should post it to the web. Contact me if you want more information or contact Michael.
Visit their MUG page at:
http://www.matterform.com/mugs/

SW: Tired of hidden log-ins? Get Little Snitch

Do you need a firewall. Are you sick and tired of applications which phone home, internet worms, trojans and other network parasites? If you're running on fast internet, or a 'full time' network, there are lots of demons out there, all trying to get into your machine. Little snitch, for Mac OS X, is a simple shareware program that adds blocker rules dynamically, and learns your preferences. After a couple of days, you will rarely notice Little Snitch, but it still watches every outgoing network connection to protect you. Little Snitch is from Objective Development, makers of the popular LaunchBar utility.
Check out this week's MUG Shareware
http://www.aacug.org/MUG/shareware.html

Quotes of the week: Curie, Gandhi

"You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals. To that end, each of us must work for our own improvement and, at the same time, share a general responsibility for all humanity, our particular duty being to aid those to whom we think we can be most useful."
      - Marie Curie

"You can't shake hands with a clenched fist."
      - Indira Gandhi

pau

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Also see: MUG NEWS bursts from the AACUG Mac User Guide (MUG)

Note: Features schedule

The InfoManager invites user groups to use his column in full or in pieces in their newsletter. Or add a link to their web site. He would appreciate word that you are doing so however and if you can, please send a pdf version of the newsletter for his perusal. Or provide him with a link. The address is InfoManager@user-groups.net. You can also use that address for feed back.
Note: Features schedule
1st Monday Vendor of the Month; (VOM)
2nd Monday "InfoManager's Humble Opinion (IMHO);
3rd Monday TBA (What would you like to see?)
4th Monday: User Group Tips. (Send them in)
5th Monday: Nothing extra - my day of rest. ;-)
Of course I could make adjustments to this schedule as I see fit and will take suggestions. Have a great week! Note: In light of the new AACUG MUG tabloid publication, I may be changing the above schedule. Please send me your input.
Pau

The Info Manager is a veteran of the UGN (AOL User Groups Forum) and User Group Network. He's been a supporter and volunteer on many, many UGNet and User Group Academy projects. As a long time user group member, he's served as volunteer from Honolulu to Boston and many points in between. Currently working with the Apple Corp of Dallas, the Dallas Mac Pack, Cowtown MUG of Ft. Worth and TUMS (the Tulsa Users of Macintosh Society) doing newsletter articles and the monthly CD-ROM Update. Post a lead Info Manager should follow up on.

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