MacVoices

This week we look at a vendor-user group project from both sides, get the details on one of the premier training sites on the internet and what they offer on- and offline, talk about the week’s Mac news, discuss the importance of off-site backups and more.

Lynda Weinman, the founder of lynda.com, talks about her start in the user group community, how her site has grown into on of the largest and most diverse providers of computer training, how they maintain their quality while contining to expand, and more.

Margaret Strubel of Hawaii Mac Nuts discusses their new series of Mac training seminars for both their members and their community, and their partnership with lynda.com as the supplier of some of the materials being presented.

Dennis Sellers of Macsimum News covers some of the most important Mac news of the week and peers into his crystal ball to discuss what may be coming later this year.

Our bonus-length show this week includes a visit from two of the most informed and influential people in the Mac industry, a report on what may be the last Ad-Hoc/MacHack Conference, and commentary on the most recent Mac headlines by a member of our Mac News Braintrust.

Adam and Tony Engst of TidBITS talk about Macworld Boston, podcasting (and Tonya adds two new terms to the lexicon), the evolution of Macintosh computing and more in this week’s feature-length interview.

Bryan Chaffin of The Mac Observer is this week’s Mac News Braintrust guest, and discusses Mighty Mouse, the iTunes Music Store’s opening in Japan and other timely topics from the Mac headlines.

Scott Knaster, the author of Hacking Mac OS X Tiger is back to give us his take on the recent Ad-Hoc/MacHack Conference. Scott explains why this conference is different than any other, describes some of the cool hacks, and talks about the future (or lack thereof) for Ad-Hoc/MacHack.

Hacking Apple’s latest operating in ways both simple and advanced, a cool new publishing product from a user group-supporting vendor, and some practical thoughts on digital photography, digital asset presentation, Filemaker Pro, why we don’t care about podcast votes and highlights of the month’s MUG Events are all here waiting for you in this weeks’ show.

Irina Nasarova of Belight Software is back to discuss their brand new page layout product, Swift Publisher. Irina tells us why Swift Publisher is a viable contender to Pages, outlines some of the key features, reveals where Belight got their name and corporate mascot, and announces a contest so you can win a free copy of a Belight Product.

Cynthia Baron and Dan Peck, the authors of The Digital Photography Field Guide, FileMaker Pro 7 Advanced for Windows and Macintosh : Visual QuickPro Guide, and more, all from Peachpit, talk about digital photography, Filemaker Pro 7, defining yourself in the digital age and more.

Author Scott Knaster talks about his latest project, the just-released Hacking Mac OS X Tiger from Wiley, how it differs from other Tiger books by forcing the reader to get involved, poking around under the hood of the newest version of the Mac OS regardless of whether you are a novice or a programmer, and why doing so is something you should try.

Customizing your Mac in a new and unique way, a user group awards program focusing on their local Mac community, catching up on MUG Center announcements and Mac user group news, and music from two young Mac performers are all on tap for this week’s show.

Our second podcast from Boston, and the first day on the Expo floor, features interviews with Phillip Chipping of invisible SHIELD, Ben and Jen Waldie from Automated Workflows, our old friend Pekka Helos, a freelance journalist who covers the world of Apple from Finland, and Dahiana Rosenblatt and Joakin Eskansan from the Berklee College of Music who knocked out the crowd at a Geeks & Gadgets Stage presentation.