Info Manager for July 01, 2002

[*]  Is Hollywood seeing the light?;   [*]  A Cheap Way to Broadband?;   [*]  MailArmmor to fight spam;   [*]  Bill Gates does "Switched";   [*]  VeriSignOff;   [*]  Who says Sculley Doesn't Learn from Steve? (Like Be, Like NeXT);   [*]  'MUGs Roar at The Shore!' July 28;   [*]  Mac Basics - Mac Graphics File Formats;   [*]  MacTeens;   [*]  More on the Cheap NYC Expo;   [*]  Red Skelton - The Pledge of Allegiance;   [*]  Things to do in NYC;   [*]  Some more;   [*]  VOM (Vendor of the Month);   [*]  Web site of the week: iFruit;   [*]  Mug Web Site of the Week: SMUG: Spartanburg Mac User Group;   [*]  Quotes of the Week: Gretsky;  
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Is Hollywood seeing the light?

The Warner Brothers "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" actually will allow a owner to copy the film to VHS. Just image, next we might be able to back up our $20 CDs! See this story at News.com:
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-938008.html?tag=fd_top

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A Cheap Way to Broadband?

Ray Thompson, one of the founding members of the Apple Corp of Dallas (celebrating their 25th Anniversary in January) sent in this item it seems that two software engineers have decided that they don't need broadband, just Wi-Fi. The New York Times reported it here:
http://www.nytimes.com/

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MailArmmor to fight spam

Ron Carlson at Insanely Great Mac reported that MailArmor is the first cross platform, Java based anti-spam application. I haven't tried it yet. But certain need something like this. Unfortunately it still doesn't work with AOL.. It is freeware and is available for download now. Read Ron's article at:
http://www.insanely-great.com/news.php?id=560

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Bill Gates does "Switched"

Brian passed this on via the MacWoburn mailing list. (Requires Flash 5) What if Bill did a "Switched" commercial: check it out:
http://www.macboy.com/cartoons/switch/gates/index.html

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VeriSignOff

VeriSignOff is a web sited dedicated to helping people get away from paying Verisign and Network Solutions "large payments" for URLs. You can see if you want to switch by checking out their web site
* Note that VeriSign has become a prominent source of spam, and they refuse SpamCop reports unless they contain your email and contact. at:
http://www.verisignoff.org/

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Who says Sculley Doesn't Learn from Steve? (Like Be, Like NeXT)

The register reported the following headline last week: "Be Inc. completes takeover of Palm". Of course, it was Palm who purchased Be assets and picked up nearly 50 Be engineers in the process full eight months ago. Now it seems by adding John Sculley to its board of directors, Palm is dominated by x-Be people, including Steve Saloman former Be CEO who now heads up the hardware division. You can read the full story at: http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/54/25886.html

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'MUGs Roar at The Shore!' July 28

Dennis Sellers over at MacCentral is pointing out that MacDinner 2.0 is to be held July 28th in Tinton Falls, N.J. Among the speakers are: our own Fred Showker, director of The User Group Network and User Group Academy; Dave Marra, Apple Senior Systems Engineer/MUGuru; Dan Sailers, director of The AACUG; and Daniel East, president of MaMUGs, director of The Bucks and Montgomery Counties Macintosh Users Group. From all the reports have had heard, the MacDinners are something to behold. Wish I was going. The dinners are $29 with a limit of 2 per person. It is possible to RSVP on line at: http://www.mamugs.org/macdinner102/. See the story at:
http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/0206/26.mugs.php

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Mac Basics - Mac Graphics File Formats

Applelinks has provided a really good look at graphic file formats on their web site. You can view it at:
http://www.applelinks.com/articles/2002/06/20020626130147.shtml

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MacTeens

Did you know there was a web site called macteens.com? Neither did I, but Andrew Wilkinson, the Senior Editor at MacTeens mentioned in an e-mail that Apple is expanding its new ad campaign to include Teens They are looking for "looking for boys and girls, ages 9-15, who use a Mac in some creative way. For example, kids who have their own websites, kids who mix or remix their own music, kids who are published writers, kids who use the mac for filmmaking or photography. Or surprise us with your own creative ideas! We are not looking for models, but real kids. " (I would love to see more teens involved in user groups!) This story is at:
http://macteens.com/news/news.php?id=1587404129

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More on the Cheap NYC Expo

One person on the AUGB mailing list said:
Incidentally, you don't have to spend a lot of money getting to and from the airports. If you arrive at JFK there is a free bus shuttle to the subway station, then take the A train from Queens to the heart of Manhattan.
Don't even think of bothering with the buses in getting to and from the airport. Super Shuttle now operates in NYC and for a fee of like $25 you canget to and from the airport. See: http://www.supershuttle.com
Followed up with a response that said:
I would avoid the airport buses too.
Taking the subway to and from the airport avoids traffic problems and can save you over $20 each way compared to SuperShuttle. Important if you're travelling on a budget or wish to save the money for something more enjoyable like a show or some goody you discover at the Expo. Pack to be mobile and you expand your options. ...
It's nice to know there are several options for getting to and from the airport and you don't need to be at the mercy of a taxi driver who might decide to take the "long route" on your dime.
http://www.supershuttle.com

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Red Skelton - The Pledge of Allegiance

I had a chance to see Red in person about 20 years ago. Really a great GENTLE man. I am glad that I was reminded of this web site by my wife today. In light of the ruling by the Appeals Court, please listen to this cut from Red's TV show:
http://home.att.net/~poofcatt/july.html

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Things to do in NYC

Hank, also on the AUGB mailing list (sorry, I didn't get names)
More ideas for things to do: Take a bus or subway to Fort Tryon park in the northwest part of Manhattan and visit The Cloisters. The Cloisters is a museum housing a medieval art collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and was built to resemble a religious building of that period. Going up there is opposite to the typical NYC experience and image most people have. Fort Tryon was an estate which belonged to the Rockefellers and given to the City.
It has beautiful grounds overlooking the Hudson River. Even if you have no interest in art, just going to Fort Tryon Park will be a nice change from the hussle and bussle of mid-town and downtown Manhattan.
The M4 bus finishes and starts its route at the Cloisters, so it's easy to get to.
* http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/department.asp?dep=7
* http://www.hhoc.org/fftp/index.html
See the NYC transit maps and schedules at...
* http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/nyct/index.html
(consider getting a multi-day transit pass. It's good for use on buses and subway and may save you money) Go to a baseball game. Both the Yankee and Mets games are easy to get to by subway. Check the game schedules at...
* http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/
* http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/
Staten Island Ferry. It's a fun and cheap way to get another viewpoint on NYC.
* http://www.si-web.com/SI-Ferry.html

Broadway Shows: There is a place just north of Times Square proper called Duffy's Square and there is a sales point called TKTS where reduced price tickets are sold for Broadway shows. The theatres send batches of unsold tickets to TKTS for sale. It's been a while since I've done it but be prepared to wait on line at TKTS. It's a good idea to do it with a buddy and you can take turns waiting or do it together for the company. Here's a web site which explains TKTS and lists some of the shows you might be able to get tickets for.
* http://www.curtainup.com/tkts.html

Those are just a few ideas. I could say more but that's enough for now.
      Incidentally, you don't have to spend a lot of money getting to and from the airports. If you arrive at JFK there is a free bus shuttle to the subway station, then take the A train from Queens to the heart of Manhattan.
      If you arrive at LaGuardia airport there are two public buses which can take you to the Flushing line subway. They intersect with two different points of that number 7 train line. Either bus will work. Just confirm with the driver that the bus will take you to the subway. Getting off the bus, take the number 7 subway line to the center of Manhattan.
      Taking public transit will save you a bunch of money and you won't get caught in any traffic jams.
      If you arrive at Newark airport: I haven't done that yet but I've read you can use public transit. Just go ahead and ask how to get to the New Jersey Transit train into Manhattan.
      Have fun ! - Hank

(BTW - you can also fly into Islip, Long Island and take the train to NYC. I looked at doing that a couple of years ago and it was quite reasonable. - lynn) http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/nyct/index.html

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Some more

things to do from : Elsa Travisano, President, MUG ONE, Oneonta, NY. (She is also on the UG Advisory Board).
* The Morgan Library and the Frick Collection are two other wonderful small museums:
      Frick Collection
      1 East 70th Street
      http://www.frick.org
Morgan Library
      29 East 36th St.
      (Personally, unless you are staying over a Saturday, I don't know how you would find the time to do anything other than Mac stuff. - See the Party list) http://www.morganlibrary.org

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VOM (Vendor of the Month)

Mediafour is our vendor of the month. On June 24th, Meadiafour released XPlay.
XPlay enables Windows users to use an Apple iPod. It does require that you provide your own Firewire (IEEE1394) interface on your PC. However it works with Windows 98SE, 2000 or 32 bit XP based computers. It also does require a CD drive. It is even compatible with MacDrive 5.0 and newer. (They also produce it.) Sue Nail has offered each user group a boxed copy of XPlay to use a review copy. Of course, it would then be available to use as a door prize. While this isn't strictly a Mac product and most of my readers are Mac users, many Mac users actually have both platforms and this will give them added flexibility. BTW - XPlay was a finalist for Best of Show at last month's PC Expo in New York. To get a copy for your group contact Sue Nail at: Sue Nail; Mediafour Corporation; 605-235-1991 ext.111 Or suenail@mediafour.com For more information about MediaFour's products, see:
http://www.mediafour.com

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Web site of the week: iFruit

the iFruit comics For a complete set of iFruit (Fox Trot) comics go checkout this Go to:
http://homepage.mac.com/giantmike/ifruit.html

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Mug Web Site of the Week: SMUG: Spartanburg Mac User Group

While I know of a few SMUGs around the country, this is first I have seen that refers to its members as "Smugglers". This is a smaller group of about 75 members who meet at a university location September through May and has a Swim/Picnic event during the summer. I whole heartedly approve of groups going beyond the Mac to build friendships within the club. See their web site at:
http://www.smug.org/

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Quotes of the Week: Gretsky

"I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been."
- Wayne Gretsky
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News and Info you can use...

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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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