Info Manager for March 4, 2002

[*]  IBM;   [*]  Civ III ;   [*]  Adobe;   [*]  StarOffice no longer free!;   [*]  Or will it still be free?;   [*]  MWNY;   [*]  About burning CD-ROMS and Desktop Files;   [*]  OSX;   [*]  MacRadio;   [*]  Test Drive Office v.X;   [*]  UGN on Meeting Topics;   [*]  Web Site #1 of the Week: Comics ;   [*]  Web Site #2 of the Week: Reseller Ratings;   [*]  Web Site #3 of the Week: ISBN;   [*]  User Group Site of the Week: AMug;   [*]  Quote of the week: Postman;   [*]  Favorite Sig: Stand Still...;   [*]  VOM (Vendor of the Month): Deneba Software;  
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IBM

Talking about taking speed to the maximum. IBM has announced that they have produced a 110 GHz microprocessor. Unfortunately, it is not a PowerPC chip. IDG reported that the chip was to be used in telecommunications equipment for routing calls. See: http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=644675 and: 
and: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20020225/bs_nm/tech_ibm_dc_21

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Civ III

According to Michael Flaminio of Insanely Great Mac, MacSoft has posted bug fixes for Civilization III that you really want to get.
Some of the new features:
* Stack movement for units of the same type
* Undo/Redo in Editor
* Improved unit activation sequence: Units will be selected for orders more logically.
* And much more.
Of course, you can go to http://www.macsoft.com to download the update or go our friends at VersionTracker to get it.Full story at: 
Full story at: http://www.insanely-great.com/news.php?id=54

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Adobe

Wow! What a bunch of announcements; GoLive 6.0, LiveMotion 2.0 are now shipping AND the long awaited PhotoShop 7.0 will be shipping in April.
You can get all the details at http://www.adobe.com/products

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StarOffice no longer free!

According to John Leyden in the Register, Sun is going to start charging for StarOffice. At least for the Linux and Windows versions. This will happen in May when the latest versions are released. After that, only the Solaris version of StarOffice 6.0 will be free. No word on what it will cost, but you know they will have to keep it significantly lower than MS Office for Windows.
People have been complaining that StarOffice wasn't being made for OSX. At least if Sun starts to make money on the product they might consider it for Mac. Don't you think?
Full story at: http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/24192.html

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Or will it still be free?

After writing the above, eWeek then stated that the pricing policy on StarOffice 6.0 has yet to be decided.
See their article at: http://eletters1.ziffdavis.com/cgi-bin10/flo?y=eOp80Bf1BW0DUm0fMB0AB

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MWNY

I know it is early, but IDG is trying to get our commitment to come to New York. (Expo dates: July 15-19.) They are offering discounts of over 50%, depending on which conference track chosen. A great deal if going for one of the conference tracks. However if, like yours truly, you only see the show and attend extra curricular events, then you might want to wait and see if they offer user group free rates for general admission. You must register before June 17th.
You can get the full details and register are: http://www.macworldexpo.com/reg/index.shtml

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About burning CD-ROMS and Desktop Files

About This Particular Macintosh e-newsletter, has a great article that anyone that burns their own CD-ROMs should read.
It is about the fact that under OS9 and earlier, your Mac had 2 desktop files and they can be recorded to the CD, thus exposing your secrets to the world.
To see how to stop that read this one: http://www.atpm.com/8.02/howto.shtml

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OSX

For awhile now, Gene Steinberg has been doing a weekly column for the Arizona Republic newspaper called Mac Reality Check. It is always a good and useful read. The current one is useful for OSX users who miss a number of features from OS9 and earlier. He tells how to get some of them back. (He also does an e-newsletter called The Mac Night Owl. If you want info on it, drop me a line.)
See his column at: http://www.gannettonline.com/e/eteam/mac_reality_check.html

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MacRadio

Well, it looks like MacShowLive is the show that blinked. Starting March 5, they will be on air at 7 PM Pacific Time on Tuesdays. So now we can listen to www.macosradio.net on Monday. www.macshowlive.com on Tuesday and our old friend Shawn King on Wednesdays at his regular time but at www.yourmaclife.com. The last two are still having live chat rooms going on while they are on the air. MacShowLive is still doing 2 hours, but is now charging a monthly fee to MSL club members who get to hear the 2nd hour and have access to the archives and also special deals. Both hours of YML will remain free. MacOSRadio.net is the low man on the totem pole in my estimatation, but does a good one hour each Monday. The only other program I know of is Dallas' Dru Richman who does MacHelpDesk on Tuesday evenings for two hours. His format is apparently more of a Q&A than the others, but he also has some guests.
His URL is: http://www.mactvnetwork.com/radio/tuesday/

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Test Drive Office v.X

In Microsoft's user group newsletter put out by Mindshare, there is an article about the MS Office v.X test drive. It offers a free 30 usable product.
The Office v. X Test Drive is available at http://www.microsoft.com/mac/, where it can be downloaded or ordered on CD-ROM.
They are also offering (with Apple) some nice rebates.
1. For a limited time, customers who acquire a Mac and the full version of Office v. X are eligible to receive $150 back by mail.
2. Customers who acquire a Mac and the upgrade version of Office v. X are eligible to receive $75 back by mail.
3. Customers who acquire the Mac OS X upgrade and the full or upgrade version of Office v. X are eligible to receive $50 back by mail.
More information can be found at: http://www.microsoft.com/mac/

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UGN on Meeting Topics

Wonder what kind of meetings you can do with just a little preparation and little skill? Well, UGN has been developing a list of possible meeting topics for twelve years now.
You can see the results and add ideas of your own at: http://www.user-groups.net/UGNetwork/UGHelp/Meetings/index.html

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Web Site #1 of the Week: Comics

... this site appears to list all the comics being done commercially in the United States.
See it at: http://www.stus.com/3majors.htm

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Web Site #2 of the Week: Reseller Ratings

What to know what others think of the company from whom you are getting purchase?
Then check out: http://www.resellerratings.com/#companies

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Web Site #3 of the Week: ISBN

I know, we aren't used to seeing a .nu address. But this is a good one. ISBN.nu lets you enter the title of any book and it will give you comparison prices at at least 6 different online booksellers. It is completely supported by affiliate rebates. So it costs you nothing.
Check it out for the best prices at the major book sites. http://isbn.nu/

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User Group Site of the Week: AMug

The Arizona Macintosh User Group has one of the biggest groups in the country and was one of the first groups to really embrace the Internet when they created their own ISP on a UNIX system. (not sure of the date, but I believe it was about 1990). I don't know if they continue the ISP, but they do continue to run a First Class BBS. As well as sell their popular shareware collection on DVD. While I haven't been a member in several years, I continue to get their mailings and appreciate it greatly. May even rejoin one day. (Can't attend those meetings though.)
Their web site is at: http://www.amug.org/

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Quote of the week: Postman

"It's just that we wanted it to arrive as soon as possible."
-- A U.S. Postal Service spokesman, after letters stating that postal service was better than ever were sent via courier to the Federal Trade Commission.

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Favorite Sig: Stand Still...

One of my favorite sigs that I recently came across again: "Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there." Don't know who said it or even whose e-mail I stole it from. But it is a good one.

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VOM (Vendor of the Month): Deneba Software

This month we are looking at Deneba Software. One of their products, Canvas started out as a program that was an update to MacPaint/MacDraw and SuperPaint. Which were their main competitors at the time and the others didn't have the feature set of Canvas. It has since blossomed to much more. In addition to the graphic (paint & vector) features today it also has major page layout and presentation capabilities. I have used it for years since it is a much less expensive to the alternative group of products from Adobe.
Curtis Christensen, is the Public Relations Manager and the user group contact. He can be reached at the following address:
Curtis Christensen
Public Relations Manager
Deneba Software
1150 NW 72nd Ave., #180
Miami, FL 33126
305-596-5644, ext. 134

Of course, they do have downloadable versions of their software at the web site. See the product line up at: http://www.deneba.com/products/default.html

While they do not have regional representation, Curtis is willing to do a limited number of demonstrations a year at groups around the country.
If you are interested in having Curtis do a presentation or signing up for one of your members to do a presentation, a User Group President must contact Curtis and provide him with the following:
* URL of your groups web site.
* Membership numbers
* Demographics of the members
* COMPLETE and ACCURATE contact information, including phone number, email and mailing address. NO P. O. Box PLEASE!
He will provide a NFR copy of Canvas 8 Professional Edition in the appropriate OS to the club that promises:
* Review the product and
* Publish the final review on the club's web site and in the club's newsletter.
Additional marketing materials will be provided for distribution during the general membership meeting when Canvas is discussed.
Curtis of course can't do all presentations that are requested. So if after contacting him, it turn out that yours is one he can't get to, he will make arrangements with the group President to handle a locally produced presentation meeting. Another restriction on the presentation is that the club must have a decent quality LCD projector (at least 800x600) to be used for the presentation.
For his personal presentations, he will give priority to clubs that can GUARANTEE a minimum of 50-60 minutes for the presentation. An additional 15-30 minutes should be set aside after the main meeting to allow him an opportunity to answer individual member questions and to allow attendees the opportunity to purchase Canvas on site.
Curtis also served on the Board of the Gold Coast Macintosh User Group for about 9 years, so he knows user groups and their needs.
http://www.deneba.com/products/default.html

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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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