MacVoices

The evolution of the world’s largest Macintosh User Group, going global with (and without) your Mac, a new internet audio browser with an unusual development story, MUG Center news and updates and more are all included in this week’s UGR.

Christopher Stadler, the lead Macintosh developer for East Bay Technologies talks about their internet audio browser, iWire Broadcast, how it was developed, and his surprising story of how he got into Macintosh software development.

Warren Williams of The AppleWorks Users Group makes the first in a series of appearances to talk about how the world’s largest Mac user group is evolving with the advent of iWork as the successor to AppleWorks.

Fred Johnson, the author of Global Mobile: Connecting without Walls, Wires or Borders from Peachpit, discusses the best hardware and services for being on the go and staying connected in an increasingly wireless world, why he is a BlueTooth enthusiast and more in an in-depth interview.

An expert covers the Apple .Mac service, the genre of business groups is profiled, we cover a new user group offer on internet audio software and tell you how to do a “test upgrade” to Tiger, just to be safe.

Chuck Toporek, the author of Inside .Mac from O’Reilly, discusses the evolution and usefulness of Apple’s online service, how it integrates into Tiger, the value of the new family pack, the “extras” .Mac offers to its members and more.

Chris Urban of the The Macintosh Business Users Society of Greater Philadelphia (MacBUS) talks about his group’s involvement with a local educational institution, how they are getting young people involved in their group, and how their business focus differs from their community group counterparts.

We talk new Tiger eBooks, a must-have utility to help you manage your files, a Mac donation program and news about the Adobe User Group Program in this week’s edition of The User Group Report.

Adam Engst of TidBITS discusses the four Tiger additions to the Take Control ebook series, some of the coolest features in the new version of the Mac OS, provides some tips on upgrading to the new Mac OS and reveals his browser of choice in a feature-length interview.

Jon Gotow of St. Clair Software talks about the latest, Tiger-friendly version of one of our all-time favorite utilities, Default Folder, their special user group discount and why being a small software company has advantages he isn’t interested in giving up.

Dave Sevick of the North Pittsburgh Macintosh Users Group tells us about his group’s Computer Donation Program and how they have donated almost 300 Macs to those in need and one way his group built up enthusiasm for the release of Tiger.

A prominent author talks about the latest version of Apple’s iLife suite, the two new members of the Apple User Group Advisory Board join us for their first interviews since their appointments, the results of our recent TMC Survey question and more are all in this edition.

Jim Heid, the author of The Macintosh iLife ’05 from Peachpit, discusses what’s new and cool in the latest edition of Apple’s suite of apps, how his book is only one of three “legs” of support that he offers to readers, how iLife fits with novices and professionals alike, and more in our feature-length interview.

Tom Piper of appleJAC and one of the new members of the User Group Advisory Board talks about being appointed to Apple’s premier volunteer team, his responsibilities for the Board, and what he hopes to accomplish as part of UGAB.

Lynn Poos of the Silicon Mountain Macintosh Users Group is the other new member of the User Group Advisory Board, and talks about how his experience as a senior member of the Regional Liaison Team will benefit him in his new post, ways to get youth involved in user groups, and the challenges of producing organized events.

How a utility program has gotten even better, how you can customize one of the new age browsers and make it your very own, and how to create perfect audio tracks for any projects are all included in this edition, along with user group events, vendor offers and more.

Elizabeth Statmore of Circus Ponies is back to update us on all the changes that make the latest revision in their flagship product, NoteBook 2.0, the best yet and her busy user group appearance schedule.

Nigel McFarlane, the author of Firefox Hacks: Tips & Tools for Next-Generation Web Browsing (O’Reilly) tells us what is cool about the open source web browser “out of the box” and how it can be even better with a few hacks that you don’t have to be a geek to install.

Brian Dickman of SmartSound Software introduces us to Sonicfire Pro, the solution to creating perfectly timed music tracks for your Keynote, iMovie or Final Cut Pro projects, and a new training option to help you get more out of the program.