MacVoices

User Group University is the premier user group event at Macworld Expo. The event is produced by the User Group Advisory Board, and two of the members join us for this last UGR before Expo. Gail Glore gives us a summary of the sessions and instructors for UGU and how it all fits in with today’s MUG scene. Lorene Romero then covers all the vendors who support the event, why they find it important to do so, and what they get out of it. A summary of all the user group events at Expo, including a special announcement about the Mega-MUG Meeting, round out this edition.

The User Group Report goes to suburban Washington DC for our first live remote. We talk with the new president of Washington Apple Pi, Pat Fauquet, who talks about taking over the largest physical group in the world, the challenges that face her and their upcoming summer camps.

Lorin Evans, the outgoing president, touches on his distinguished career as Pi president and what he’ll still be doing with the Pi after passing the torch.

David Ottalini talks about the many benefits and projects that Pi provides, and the history of the Computer Show & Sale.

Finally, Dave Gruver, an attendee scooped out of the crowd, confesses to blowing his budget on the deals at the sale.

Amaya Gergoff, the president of the Caracas Macintosh Users Group, has become a driving force for Latin American Macintosh User Group issues and visibility. She talks about her group and their recent anniversary event, her web site, LatinMUG.org, what she tries to accomplish as an Apple Regional Liaison, and the challenges of being a Macintosh user in Latin America. This edition of the UGR concludes with an outline of the user group chats on World Without Borders, including the LatinMUG chat hosted by Amaya.

Casady & Greene is a well-known supporter of the user groups, and Bonnie Mitchell is the architect of their program. Bonnie talks about the components of their program and why she feels so strongly about it and why user group product reviews are so important. She also covers things you need to know about vendors supporting user groups, and what user groups can do for vendors. A reminder about the Macintosh User Group Event Calendar on The MUG Center concludes this report.

David Empson and and Graeme Moffatt of the Wellington Macintosh Society talk about a wide variety of topics, including why their group decided to hold a Mac Expo & User Group Conference, and how they are involving local Apple resellers, Microsoft, PC users and even The Lord Of The Rings in the project. Their preliminary efforts to form a country-wide connection between the MUGs in New Zealand are also described. A review of some of the MUG Center’s most recent and significant additions on the third anniversary of the site’s launch round out this report.