User group Newsletter Editors: Utilize this content in your newsletter -- PLEASE ... reference UG Network Channel ... Shareware Manager is coming: YUM!Show us the shareware! The Info Manager is looking for your rumors and tidbits... give him a post! ...or subscribe... see subscription notes below. I've posted my favorite Quotes-of-the-week... enjoy . December 24, 2001 [*]  MacWorld;   [*]  UGAcademy Soiree at Macworld;   [*]  PowerBook G4;   [*]  OKCPCUG;   [*]  Internet Explorer 5.1 ;   [*]  InDesign;   [*]  Comics;   [*]  VirtualPC 5 - slow?;   [*]  Texas Apple Store;   [*]  UG Management Material Shirt sales;   [*]  Stuffthis;   [*]  Hello InfoManager... goodbye RumorManager;   [*]  Quote of the week: Tom Regan;   [*]  News and Info you can use... . MacWorld One thing that is interesting about the Keynote is that the Apple Booth will be open to the press on Monday even though the floor show will not. At least according to MacReviewZone. See their story at: http://www.macreviewzone.com/frames2000/deal_zone_pwr_mac.shtml . UGAcademy Soiree at Macworld User Group Academy president Dan Sailers has announced that he will be at MacWorld San Fran, and the UG University. However, the UG Academy Awards, and Soiree are moving to the New York MacWorld this coming summer. Watch for full information on this and other upcoming programs from the User Group Academy after the first of the year. As always, they're at: http://www.ugacademy.org/ . PowerBook G4 Several web sites covered the Apple announcement on December 17th that the PowerBook G4 will now contain a CDRW/DVE drive. Wonder what else has coming in January. All these sites carry information: * http://www.insanely-great.com/news/01/1287.html * http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/0112/17.powerbook.php * http://www.apple.com/powerbook Full story available at: http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/top_news_item.cfm?NewsID=3981 . OKCPCUG The MacObserver is quoting the MUGCenter as saying that Apple is going to present MacOSX 10.1 at the Oklahoma City PC User Group meeting on December 20th. __ This great news for two reasons. One, that PC Users will get a look at something other than XP and the other is that the Mac SIG of the OKCPCUG has returned. When I lived in Tulsa, I was tempted a couple of times to go to an OKC meeting. (After all it was only 100 miles away.) But I never made it. From reading the newsletter of the group I got the distinct impression that the Mac part of the group was not very active. In any case. Welcome back to the SIG. More at: http://www.macobserver.com/article/2001/12/17.7.shtml . Internet Explorer 5.1 Microsoft has released Internet Explorer 5.1. According to Insanely Great Mac system requirements are: PowerPC with OS 8.1 or newer, 16 MB of RAM and 12 MB of disk space. Full story at: http://www.insanely-great.com/news/01/1293.html Download from: http://www.microsoft.com/mac/DOWNLOAD/IE/ie51.asp . InDesign A US District Court granted an injunction that will keep Adobe from further distribution of InDesign. The news stories are saying that this applies specifically to version 1.5, but I wouldn't be surprised that it also includes 2.0. This is because of a lawsuit that involves aledged violation of the terms of a license with Trio Systems. This should be interesting to watch. * http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20011219/tc/adobe_copyright_infringement_2.html Full story at: http://www.insanely-great.com/news/01/1296.html . Comics In the past, I recommended the personal comics pages of the MercuryCenter.com. (Later Bay.com). Yesterday I was unable to access my personal page. It seems that Bay.com is redoing the page and thus needs to have it down for a few weeks while making the changes. Now stop me if I am wrong, but isn't a change in pages just a matter of upload a series of new files? Why would that require a lot of time? It would seem to me that all development work could be done off line and then spend a hour or two deleting files and uploading new ones. In fact, may not even need to delete old files until the new ones are uploaded. Providing of course that new names for all files are used and no links are provided to the old files. Any way, I am looking forward to getting PC & Pixel again. http://www.bay.com/ . VirtualPC 5 - slow? Connectix is developing a FAQ page for VirtualPC 5. One question that you might be interested in is: "Why is Virtual PC 5 slower on Mac OS X than on Mac OS 9?" __ The reasons are to technical to go into here. You'll find the answer is at: http://www.connectix.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=51&t=000099 . Texas Apple Store The MacNN is reporting something of extreme interest to us in the DFW metroplex. That is that a new Apple Store is opening at Grapevine Mills Mall. This is one of the largest malls in the country. While it is suppose to be an outlet mall, there are many high end stores, like Virgin Records and Rodeo Drive. __ It is much more accessible to much of the metroplex than the current Willow Bend Store. Apparently the store already has an Apple logo on the wood paneling. Full store at: http://www.macnn.com/news.php?id=11419 . UG Management Material Shirt sales Want to sell shirts and caps with your user group logo? One place to consider is the Café Press. They take a small cut of each sale after expenses. The group would then get a check periodically of the profit. Sounds nice. If someone has tried it, please let me know how it goes. Here's where you find them... http://www.cafepress.com/cp/info/tour/index.aspx . Stuffthis I believe I have mentioned the cartoons at Stuffthis.com before. However what I just found out is that Pete Steinfeld, the artist who does these cartoons will allow user groups to use his material at no charge!!. Of course, the publication should include his web site address. Also you need to let him know you are going to use it. Most of these are truly funny looks at the computer world. Go get them at: http://www.stuffthis.com/ . Hello InfoManager... goodbye RumorManager This is the last Info Manager column. We are replacing it the first of the year with "The InfoManager". This is due to the fact that we have de-emphasized Rumors over the last couple of years. Partly this was in response to Apple's stand on Rumor sites, but also because it became it is becoming almost impossible to distinguish rumors from legitimate news stories. The Register and other have started printing rumors as news without any apparent effort to verify the information. I have always tried to "Manage" rumors by doing as much research as possible. The new column really won't change alot, just make an even greater effort to make sure that stories are true and if they can't be verified, then let you know that to be the case. __ I am also looking for new user group management aids, such as the above material. Some I will have tried and others will need to be tested. But I would like to hear from other groups as to what has been particularly successful for them. That section will of course, be easily removable from the rest of the column since it may not be something that some groups would want to put in their newsletter. Then again, it might help stir up a volunteer. __ BTW - I have written RM for over 3 years counting the time that it was a column only in the TUMS Digest. (Tulsa Users of Macintosh Society) It has been a good ride and I am looking forward to many more weeks of presenting technology and personal computer news. And to all, a healthy and prosperous Oh-2 http://www.user-groups.net/InfoManager/index.html . Quote of the week: Tom Regan "More than anything else, XP reminds one of a tourist trap. You arrive in a foreign city, and a handsome stranger walks up to you and says he will show you around the city. He offers to take you to the very best shops and restaurants. But you soon realize that he is taking you only to places that are owned by his relatives or by someone who gives him a kickback." __ - Tom Regan, Christian Science Monitor (Thanks to Shawn King, of MacShowLIve.com for this gem.) NOTE: after the first of the year, all our favorite Quotes and "Sites of the Week" will be available in the new "InfoManager" department of the User Group Network. . News and Info you can use... The Info Manager invites user groups to use his column in full or in pieces in their newsletter. 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 just provide him with the link. Use this address: mailto:rumormanager@user-groups.net or... our online RUMOR form . pau Don't forget ... the Info Manager invites you to use all or part of his column in your user group newsletter. Please let him know, and if possible send an electronic copy for the old scrapbook. Any suggestions for topics and reports of rumors are always welcome. Please me know. Thanks . 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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