Maclanta
Newsletter for the Atlanta Macintosh Users Group • November 2008
Since 1984 www.amugonline.org
Your source for Atlanta area Macintosh news and information
Inside This Issue Holiday Party Announcement Pg. 3 Got Your Facebook Account Yet? Pg. 5 MBAir Toy Turns Out Hefty Pg. 6 My Mother, the Magnet - Cat Speaks Out Pg. 7 Three Top Computer Horror Stories Pg. 8 Ask Mr. Peach - A Fruity Phenomenon Pg. 9 October Meeting Snapshots Pg. 15
November Meeting Announcement Program: Annual Business Meeting & Extended Q&A
Okay, it is now question and answer time!
The next general meeting of AMUG is Tuesday, November 18, 7 p.m. (6:30 p.m. social time). Topic for the Evening: Annual Business Meeting plus Extended Q&A Description: We need all members at this important meeting. We are voting on officers, bylaws, and covering important club business. Also during the meeting we’ll have an extra long Q & A session where you can get your questions answered.
A Note To Our Guests
Founded in 1984, the Atlanta Macintosh Users Group is a not-forprofit Georgia corporation organized and operated exclusively for the purpose of providing education and assistance to its members in the use of the Apple Macintosh computer and software. Made up of many members, AMUG consists of Macintosh enthusiasts from a variety of backgrounds: artists, technicians, programmers, designers, consultants, publishers, accountants--users of a variety of Macintosh types and software! This diverse gathering provides a unique resource for Macintosh information, creativity and education. We encourage you to join our community of Apple enthusiasts. You can either join online, at the information area prior to meetings, or by seeing our treasurer Adele Ward.
Official Annual Meeting Notice
In accordance with our bylaws, this is the official notice that our annual general membership meeting is Tuesday, November 18, 7 p.m. During the annual meeting, officers will be elected, any proposed bylaws changes will be voted upon, and other club business will be handled. All members are encouraged to attend.
About Maclanta Maclanta is published monthly by the Atlanta Macintosh Users Group, Inc.(AMUG™), Post Office Box 15130, Atlanta, Georgia, 30333-0130, a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational organization, as a service to the membership. Subscriptions: Portions of a member’s dues in AMUG are designated for an annual subscription to Maclanta. Annual membership dues are $40. A separate subscription to this publication is available for a fee to be determined by the Newsletter Director. © Copyright 2008 by the Atlanta Macintosh Users Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Maclanta is an independent publication, not affiliated or otherwise associated with Apple Inc. or any other organization that might otherwise advertise herein. The opinions, statements, positions, and views stated herein are those of the author(s) or publisher and are not intended to be the opinions, statements, or views of Apple Computer, Inc. or any other organization that might advertise herein. Rather than place a trademark, copyright, or registered symbol at every occurrence, we hereby state that we are using the names only in an editorial fashion with no intention of infringement of the owners work. Nothing herein may be reproduced in whole or in part without the express written permission of the Newsletter Director or the President of the AMUG Board of Directors, with the following exceptions: all articles and/or graphics not under copyright by the author may be reprinted by a nonprofit organization provided proper credit is given to the author and Maclanta. Proper credit is defined as Title, Author, and the words ‘Reprinted with permission from [month ] [year ] of Maclanta, a monthly publication of the Atlanta Macintosh Users Group, Inc.’ Permission to reprint copyrighted articles and/or graphics may be obtained by writing to the author or artist, care of this publication. Submissions: Maclanta welcomes unsolicited articles (including feature stories, commentary, and user group news) pertaining to personal computers, hardware, software, related products, services, and end users. Submissions should be made via E-mail attachment or body in text format. Unless otherwise arranged, the deadline for all articles, letters, and illustrations is 5 p.m. the Friday after the 1st Tuesday of the month before the month of publication. The editors reserve the right to edit for brevity and clarity. Payment will be in the form of credit in Maclanta and copies of the issue(s), at the least. AMUG Trademarks: AMUG and the AMUG peach are trademarks of the Atlanta Macintosh Users Group,Inc.
AMUG Board of Directors President .............................W. Michael Henigan Vice-President ...................... Christina Wellman Treasurer . ............................................ Adele Ward Secretary .......................................Wendell Dillon Education Director . ......................................open Membership Director ........ Christina Wellman Newsletter Director ........................ Todd Daniel Program Director . .........................................open Publicity Director . .............................. Jim Minter Telecom Director ..................... Lawrence Sharp AMUG Hotline: General Information line 404-327-9002 Atlanta Macintosh Users Group PO Box 15130 • Atlanta, GA 30333-0130 www.amugonline.org
Nominations & Elections
Uncle AMUG Wants YOU To Run For Office It is that time of year when AMUG members nominate and elect some of our friends and fellow AMUGers to join the Board of Directors for 2009-2010. The following are the current openings and nominees: Vice President - Martha Shannon Treasurer - Adele Ward Education Dir. - OPEN Program Dir. - OPEN Membership Dir. - Christina Wellman Publicity Dir. - Jim Minter Note that we still need two more nominees to fill the slate - can you help? Most of our board members have been holding two jobs, and we would really love for help on the board. Take the challenge and join the fun! Board members not up for election this year include president, Michael Henigan, secretary, Wendell Dillon; telecom director, Lawrence Sharp; and newsletter director Todd Daniel.
November Birthdays A huge HAPPY BIRTHDAY goes to the following. May each of you get something that starts with an “i”: John Goodman (11/2), Frank Luton (11/3), Judith Eckert (11/12), Bijal Patel (11/16), Eric Asberry (11/21), Chris Waldrip (11/23), Bill Williams (11/25), David McMorran (11/27), and Alan Koman (11/28).
October Treasurer’s Report Our treasurer Adele Ward reports that the treasury contained $9,014.78 in assets, which includes a fixed CD. Cost for the month were $212, which included bank charges, cyber, public storage, BellSouth, and Donate.net, which we use for credit card processing. Note that we are closing the public storage unit to reduce expenses.
Maclanta • Atlanta Macintosh User Group • November 2008
Meeting Reports
General meetings, SIGs, and more... October General Meeting - Mac Horror Stories After an extended Q&A period, presenter Lawrence Sharp got us all in the mood for Halloween by sharing several of his top computer horror stories. As an added touch, he showed us the website for Extreme Pumpkins.com. There were some really bizarre pumpkin designs. For the door prize, he gave out a copy of Check-It, which is loaded with utilities for maintaining your Mac computer. AMUG president Michael Henigan also shared his horror story. After that, announcements were given and the Apple enthusiasts filed out of the theatre and into a dark, scary world that is full of PCs.
charismatic Jay Cann. During the 90 minute session Jay and attendees covered some of the following topics: • Air Mouse - Jay showed how to use your iPhone as a remote to your laptop. Very cool! • Google Earth - We spent a lot of time looking at the latest features and we even visited some people’s houses. • Crossover - Jay announced it was free for one day only. He showed how it can run various Windows applications with out the Windows operating system. • NeoOffice - There was discussion about this free office suite. • Fusion HD Storage (www.sonnetttech.com) - Jay showed the features of this exciting storage system. • Toast 9 & Blu-Ray Video - More questions were answered on these two topics. ◆ FileMaker SIG — This SIG did not meet because Lee was in Cambodia visiting ancient ruins. A thanks to Lee for sharing the pictures from his trip.
October Super Tuesday SIG Night The SIGs (special interest groups) took place October 28 in the Macquarium conference room area.
SIG News
◆ OS X SIG — Ten people were present for the lively OS X SIG, which was led by the very knowledgeable and
• Holiday Closings - There will be no SIGS in November and December due to proximity with the holidays. We will hit the ground running in January.
As the fall starts to progress into the winter season it is time for Yule Festivities and of course the...
AMUG & ATLANTA PC Users Group Holiday Party! December 16, 2008, Macquarium
Ava the Elf invites all members of AMUG and APCUG to the joint December holiday party.
6:30 pm - Pot Luck Social 7:30 pm - Q & A 8:15 pm - Mac/PC Jeopardy! Yes, a rematch between the clubs to see who brings home the 2008 Atlanta User Group Trophy (YES, Trophy!) 9:00 pm - Holiday Gift Raffle
This year we are happy to once again have our AMUG/Atlanta PC Joint Holiday Social. We will start off with a Pot Luck Social. We are asking everyone to please RSVP to this topic on what they would like to bring to the Pot Luck...it could be a main course item, hot side, cold side, dessert or beverages. We would like to prevent the notorious 5 kinds of potato salad from happening. This year we will have a rematch of the Mac/PC Jeopardy hosted by our own Christina Wellman. To the winners goes the Annual User Group Trophy to be engraved with the name of the winner! To finish off the evening we will have our First Holiday Gift Raffle - We will have up for raffle colorfully decorated raffle items that people will get to pick from if they have their number called. Every item is a mystery as it WILL be wrapped! Each club will provide items to be raffled but we would like to ask for donations for raffle items as well. We ask that the items be new and in working order (no gag gifts please!)
November 2008 • Atlanta Macintosh User Group • Maclanta
Important Vote At November Membership Meeting
New Logo Design Contest
New Dues Structure Proposal
Attention graphic artists, designers, Photoshop experts, etc.... As part of our 25th anniversary contest we are holding a new logo design contest. You can come up with an entirely new concept to represent AMUG or you can make a play on our famous peach with a bite. Entries are currently displayed in the AMUG Forums. They will be posted there for 45 days. During this time we will discuss and vote on the top three designs. The finalists will then be voted on at the January meeting. To participate in the contest, craft up your design and send it to AMUG president Michael Henigan (mikeh@me.com). Designs will be presented to the membership for a final vote.
The winner of the AMUG logo contest will receive credit as well as a t-shirt, hat, and mousepad with the new logo design.
Deadline: November 20
The AMUG Board of Directors has agreed to bring a new, proposed dues rate structure for a vote. The proposal includes a $5 across-the-board rate reduction. Part of the reason for the proposed decrease is because of the economy, but also because we have reduced expenses by making the newsletter electronic, and we wish to pass on this savings to the membership. The following is the proposed rate change:
Individual - $35 HouseHold - $10 Academic - $25 Corporate - $90 (this is actually a reduction of $15 but for 3 members)
Membership Report Renewals: 8 New: 1 Expiring in September: 3 Expiring in October: 8
Publicity Report
Our Publicity Director Jim Minter is looking for names and contacts for media outlets so that we can better publicize our group. If you have any ideas or connections please contact Jim (jminter@aiscomputers. com, 770-461-2147, ext. 114).
Also, a thanks to AIS Computers for their willingness to publicize AMUG in their newsletter. We are very grateful for their continued strong support!
Communications Report
Our talented Telecom Director Lawrence Sharp has set up a new announcement list for the membership. You can join this list to receive updates on AMUG meetings and SIGs. We promise to never send you more than 3-4 emails a month. To join, visit: http://mail.amugonline.org/mailman/listinfo/amug-announce Items you’ll receive include announcements on newsletter uploads, general meetings, and SIG events. Sign up today — you’ll be glad ya did!
Maclanta • Atlanta Macintosh User Group • November 2008
The Newsletter Director Speaketh This Month: I Finally Created My Facebook Account. So, How About You? By Todd Daniel, todddan@me.com My latest craze now is social networking. First, I joined
the right column but they are not obtrusive. Facebook will Todd Daniel guide you through the process of finding friends and will even Newsletter Director recommend people that you todddan@me.com might know. The four main ways that Facebook finds friends is through your location, high school, college, and email address book. Once I entered the information many recommended friends started showing up. Also, you can “link” to someone by entering the name of a common group, and Facebook will find others in that group to recommend as friends. For instance, when I entered “AMUG” the system found several AMUG members that I didn’t already have on my list.
LinkedIn, which is the main social networking tool used in the business world. Then, I joined Facebook and that’s where the fun began. While Facebook is most popular with college-age young people it now seems to be the service of choice for about everyone. It didn’t take me long at all to set up my account, add some information about myself, and throw up a few photos. Immediately, I started finding family and friends on the system, including a handful of my fellow AMUG members. While I’ve just been on it a few days I’m seeing all the things that can be done with this service: • You can give up-to-the minute updates of what you What is the purpose? are doing. There are actually • Post announcements and practical uses for Facebook, invitations to events. other than just socializing • Share pictures from your and chatting. For example, day-to-day life. I’m seeing that some folks • Share videos. are using Facebook to find • Upload or link to articles. jobs, and even love (shouldn’t • Post comments on anythey be one and the same?). thing uploaded by a friend, I have a couple of friends such as updates, stories, blog who are working in political entries, invitations, photos, campaigns, and I’m impressed etc... In this way, ongoing conwith how they use the service versations take place. to post upcoming rallies and How did people ever survive before Facebook? I have two daughters in share newspaper articles. college and I was thrilled when they actually “accepted” me as a friend. I’ve been readWhat else is neat about Facebook? ing articles that tell how young people are horrified when Already, I’ve learned a lot more about my friends, their parents try to link with them via Facebook. Already, family, and colleagues that are in my network. Facebook I’m learning more about my daughters’ activities because even helps make connections, such as a mutual friend that they post regular updates and photos via their cell phones. you and someone else may know, but didn’t realize it. Or, I am fortunate to have good children, so I’m not spying you may find out that you and a friend went to the same on them. But it is neat seeing what’s going on in their little college or have memberships in the same organization, worlds. or support the same cause. Just learning more about my sister has been fun — more about her hobbies, interests, Getting started thoughts, etc... So, I think I’ll stick with Facebook for a If you don’t have a Facebook account, getting one is while. It’s been great reconnecting with some old friends free (www.facebook.com). Yes, you will see some ads in and getting to better know some current friends.
Advertise in Maclanta and get your message in front of a targeted audience today! November 2008 • Atlanta Macintosh User Group • Maclanta
MBAir Toy Turns Out Hefty Twenty four hours of discovery and magical bliss By Christina Wellman, christina@christinaworks.com Whew! I finally got my hands on one. Unfortunately it was defective and I had to take it to Apple store for replacement before I could play with it. Very lightweight. Fits in my lady style notebook bag. Definitely worth the trouble I went though to be able to hold onto it for 24 hours or so. It is the newer one, with the screw holes on the bottom for future battery replacements. Accompanied by an external Superdrive for the initial software installs and burning files. Oh SWEET! I don’t really need the extra drive for software installs, because I can read from disk images on the MBAir, or another Mac on the same router, even the CD/ DVD volumes mounted on the other Mac.
I’ve been complaining for a while now about the TiBook I’m typing on now getting kind of old Christina Wellman and worn out, and I can’t sync the Vice President iPhone with it. Perhaps this little christina@christinaworks.com MBAir would be enough for me. With the new NAS drives available now, and the wireless router and little mini I already have, I may not need the bigger machine. Ummm, I had to give it up. The owner really likes it, and I will have to wait for the holidays to find out the rest of the story. Revelation for the week: MobileMe doesn’t sync with Tiger. Oh bother!
Software Review: ‘What’s Keeping Me?’ Did you ever have the problem where you can’t empty the Trash or eject a disk because something is preventing you? By Thomas Baley, tbaley@tccww.com
your laptop and go somewhere. You need to eject the external drive and iPhone before you shut the cover, just to be on the safe side. You right-click the disk icon on your desktop and select Eject from the drop down menu. After “thinking” for a while, Finder says you cannot remove the device at the moment because it is in use. Buffering techniques used in modern operating systems often have data residing in memory that has not been written to the device. This is designed to speed up the I/O process, since the device is orders of magnitude slower than memory. Yanking the USB cable out before these buffers are flushed, or written, to the device can cause data loss or, worse, corruption of the file on the device. To be safe, it is a best practice to have Finder flush the buffers. This is the purpose of the Eject command. Sometimes, despite the best efforts of the programmer who wrote the operating system code to support Eject, things do not work out as planned. For instance, Force Quitting an ill-behaved application may create a situation where the OS thinks the file is still locked, even though the application that locked the file has been flushed and no longer needs the buffers. Hence, Finder cannot Eject the device. Enter the software “What’s Keeping Me”. It will tell you what the OS thinks has a lock. If you knew you had already Force Quit that application, you could pull the cable anyway You want to grab
and feel reasonably secure that nothing bad will happen. The time-consuming alternative is to Shut Down the system entirely before pulling out the cables. This handy little utility is free and can be found at FreeMacWare: www.freemacware.com/whats-keeping-me/
Alert • Alert • Alert March Program Surprise
Hold on to your hat - we’ve just learned that Tom Baley will be leading the March program, and is going to be demonstrating his favorite shareware utilities. Our investigative reporters did a secret scan on Tom’s Mac and found some of his favorite utilities. We expect Tom to be showing these and more in March. Yeah, it’s pretty awesome!
1Password AllBookmarks Audiobook Builder Disk Warrior Dropbox Evernote Flip4Mac Fluid FuzzyClock MacTheRipper Little Snitch
Maclanta • Atlanta Macintosh User Group • November 2008
Missing Sync Quicksilver Saft SugarSync+ SuperDupe TechTool Protogo VisualHub VLC What’s Keeping Me WhatSize
From the Cat’s Meow
My Mother - the Magnet
The cat on iCat, or is it iChat?
Mother loving on the TiBook, seriously.
By Lucky Shanez, lucky@shanexdesign.com
there, huh? Although, there is this new dude, sleeping in the office, which uses a PC, so he might be at a loss – but hey! He has his own Gateway laptop (eeww, that was NOT a plug) that my mother is not allowed to touch. Also, the two PC laptops were not new and were loaners – guess they won’t be going back! The dude realized what a fit my mother was in by not having her precious TiBook, so he hopped on eBay and picked up a logic board for a song (no fat lady singing here). When it arrived, he headed off to some computer shop that I’ve not heard of before and voila! It’s alive! My mother actually kissed and hugged the TiBook! Seriously! I have pictures… Needless to say, the two PC laptops will be listed on Ebay as parts… how ironic! This humorous tale has a moral to it. While a PC falls by the wayside, a Mac never dies! Editor’s Note: Martha’s cat occasionally writes articles for us. We are not sure how an animal with a pecan-sized brain can type on a keyboard, but who are we to question?
It has been a while since
I have written for you, but that does not mean I have not been writing. The dining room has turned into an office now. I do not have to go far to email, blog on Myspace, or video chat with my other cat friends. While I miss the laptop, this 20-inch screen is much easier on my eyes. I also have less typos with a fullsize keyboard. You might wonder why I am on the iMac and not the TiBook – in here lies a story…a story about my magnetic mother. I guess I should not call her magnetic – she definitely does not have the same affect on people that she does on electronics. Let us just say that she has the opposite of the “Midas Touch” – anything electronic that she touches stops working. You think I am joking, do you not? Far from it! You have not seen my mother recently, so you would not know that she has “killed” three laptops! I kid you not! Well, two of them were PCs, so no great loss
MacCollege - Committee Now Forming Can Ya Help? It’ll Be Fun!!! The MacLanta Expo is a day long experience that includes a series of classes designed to broaden knowledge about Macs, Mac programs, and how others use their Macintosh. Besides a day-long schedule of special classes, there are opportunities to meet with software and hardware vendors, get helpful answers to your questions, see the latest applications, chat with fellow Mac enthusiasts, bid for great prizes at our auctions, and much more. We are now forming a committee to plan the 2009 MacCollege. If you’d like to help, please contact Todd Daniel (todddan@me.com, 678-567-2052).
November 2008 • Atlanta Macintosh User Group • Maclanta
Software
Applications, utilities, and more...
My Three Top Computer Horror Stories By Todd Daniel, todddan@me.com In follow up to our October theme, I wanted to share a few of
my computer horror stories. I’m hoping that what I learned from “the school of hard knocks” will benefit others. Case 1: The Forgotten Scheduled Backup
Ahhh, the worst nightmare of my career, which almost got me fired. It was at work in 2004. I was using both a PC and Mac in those days. Each night the PC backed up to the office server at 12:00 a.m. I came in one Monday to find that my PC operating system had crashed, with all data lost. No problem, I can just retrieve the backup from the server. But unbeknownst to me, there was a smaller nightly backup, scheduled a little later, that was overwriting my main backup every night. The second backup had been going on for a month and I didn’t even realize it. Ahhhh! Resolution: I’m so paranoid now that I currently use a multi-tiered system. It goes like this — Time Machine — I keep it on all the time. It has already saved my rear once. Backup 3 — This application comes with your MobileMe account. I use it to back critical data daily to “the cloud.” I also use it for a weekly backup each Friday, which backs up a wider range of files. ProSoft Data Backup 3.0 — I won this $70 program at an AMUG meeting. It is more versatile than Backup. Once a month I use it to backup all the data in my backyard office to an external drive in my dining room. DVDs — Every quarter I burn my important data onto DVDs and then store them in a fireproof media vault under my house. Manual Backups — At the end This program is great for of each day I copy whatever I’m backups over a wireless working on from my external drive to network. my computer (I have too much data to fit on my computer). Once on my computer it receives a second backup with Time Machine, which backs up to yet a second external drive. Yes, I’m paranoid! Case 2: Mac Operating System Dies
There was something bad wrong with my daughter’s first iPod. I never could figure it out. It was a bad idea to hook it
up to my eMac at a time when I was on a project deadline. Somehow the corrupted iPod put serious errors on my hard drive. Resolution: I was truly a desperate man. I got in my car and started looking for a store that sold Disk Warrior. I found a copy at the old CompUSA, although at a painfully high price. But Got errors? This product is I was desperate so I purchased it. Once great for recovering data home I inserted the Disk Warrior CD and repairing damaged and the thing starting clanking and hard drives. I vouch that it works as advertised! clicking and it brought my computer up far enough to where I could get to my data and copy it to an external drive. Then Disk Warrior continued on with its lengthy routine and restored my hard drive to life. I am now a big fan of this product. When I’m traveling I always bring a copy because you never know when your laptop is going to take one bump too many. Case 3: Leopard Upgrade Fails
People always say to wait before upgrading an operating system, but I was far too excited. I had to run to the store and immediately upgrade my operating system. As usual, I did this right at a time when I had several important work projects due. Yes, I was a little excited kid. I inserted the DVD and began going through the routine, but then I got the Blue Before upgrading your operating Screen of Death. Wait a minute, system play it safe by removing the utilities in the “Other” section I thought only PC owners were of System Preferences. supposed to get the Blue Screen of Death! We Mac owners are only supposed to get eternally spinning beach balls. Well, brokenhearted and disappointed, I began searching Internet forums for an answer. I quickly found the problem: An audio program I purchased had installed a strange little program called “Applications Enhancer” in my preferences. Yep, I had remembered seeing that little program. Resolution: I ended up having to wipe the computer and doing a clean install. I did learn a valuable lesson — before doing an operating system upgrade, go to system preferences and remove all the utilities in the “Other” section. Yes, I did back everything up first, but despite my thoroughness, I still lost a few things.
Maclanta • Atlanta Macintosh User Group • November 2008
Ask Mr. Peach We’re not sure how Mr. Peach came to be. Some people think he is an artificial intelligence algorithm that was created one night when Chris Waldrip spilled coffee on his keyboard. However, what we know for sure is that Mr. Peach is smart and will be glad to answer your computer questions.
Dear Mr. Peach: I’m constantly spending money to upgrade
registration numbers, and other information that I need for various websites and applications. Help me, I’m going crazy.
Mr. Peach: Alas, my child. You have just asked one of the
Mr. Peach: There are several free password storage programs
my software and it’s making me broke. My wife is threatening to leave me. Is there a rule of thumb for upgrading software? great questions that plagues humankind. Keep in mind that one purpose of upgrading is to get resales from existing customers. Sometimes companies blast you with so much marketing hype that you fail to think through the real necessity of the upgrade. They entice you with fun new features and special offers. I suspect that some companies actually hold back on new features and carefully feed them to you a little at a time. They hit you with little $99 upgrades once a year and suddenly you realize that you’ve paid a LOT of money for the same program that really isn’t THAT MUCH better. Unless you are loaded and just want to impress friends by having the latest version of everything, I would suggest this simple rule: Don’t upgrade unless you are forced to or the new upgrade contains features that will make you more efficient. Sometimes you HAVE to upgrade because the program will no longer run with your processor or operating system. Or, maybe your clients or printer are all on a later version. With the money you save, buy lottery tickets or save it toward a new computer.
available. My favorite, by far, is a handy utility called Pastor. Once you set Pastor (www.mehlau.net/pastor) up, drag the document file into the right side of your dock. Mr. Peach has just learned that an iPhone version of Pastor is in the works — so be happy. Now, allow the Great Peach to pass on these tips: • Most people use a few generic passwords for everything. That’s probably okay, but be sure to make your passwords for financial stuff like online banking different and harder. • In addition to passwords, use Pastor to store the registration and serial numbers of all your software. Sooner or later either your hard drive will crash or you’ll upgrade to a new computer. The Peach cannot tell you what a nightmare it is to have to search for all your serial and registration numbers. It is so wonderful to have it all in one place. • Make LOTS of backups of your Pastor data and keep it in various places. Regularly burn it onto a CD and store it in a safe place. If you ever lose this data file your life will be over.
Dear Mr. Peach: I’ve committed the ultimate act of treason. I
am switching my calendar and address book to Google. Now, the question is, how do I get my contacts into Google. Mr. Peach: First off, feel no guilt. Google and Apple have
the same philosophy — they do everything first class. Now that I’m done with the infomercial, I will recommend a utility called A to G, which will easily get your Apple Address Book into Google.
Dear Mr. Peach: I cannot keep up with all my passwords,
Tip of the Month Even at 120 GB the hard drive on my desktop computer is mainly filled with applications and support data. Thus, most of my documents are stored on a 500 GB external drive. When working on day-to-day projects I create an alias folder and put it on my desktop, which provides a shortcut to the data on my external drive. The folder stays on my desktop until I’ve completed the project. Since I don’t like desktop clutter this gives me incentive to complete the project. As a reward to myself I then delete the folder alias from my desktop upon completion. If you see no folders on my desktop, that means I’m all caught up and happy. —Editor
November 2008 • Atlanta Macintosh User Group • Maclanta
AMUG Business
Minutes, Board Announcements, Elections, Etc...
Proposed By-Law Changes The club bylaws recently went through a review and update process by the Board of Directors. The bylaws were last revised in 2004. Most of the updates are general in nature. The most significant change is to the membership classes. These bylaws will be voted on at the November 18 general meeting. BYLAWS of the ATLANTA MACINTOSH USERS GROUP, INC. (Revised & Proposed - November 2008)
The address of the principal office of the User Group is the address of the current Secretary of the Board of Directors. The User Group may maintain additional offices at the discretion of the Board of Directors.
Article I. NAME The name of the user group is the Atlanta Macintosh Users Group, Inc., referred to in this document as “AMUG®” or the “User Group.”
Article V. MEMBERSHIP Section 1. Classes of Membership There are four (4) primary classes of membership: Regular, Household, Academic and Corporate. a) Regular membership is available to any individual, and includes a single member account on the AMUG® Forums, access to the online newsletter, admission to all General Meetings, and a single vote at meetings. Household membership is available to any individual residing at the same address as a Regular member. b) Academic membership is available to any individual in an accredited academic institution. c) Corporate membership is available to companies, which sponsor three or more employees as AMUG® members. Sponsored employees must be known by name to AMUG®. The sponsoring company is the owner of the corporate membership and may reassign names of sponsored members during the membership year by providing written notification to AMUG®. The sponsoring company may not designate a temporary substitute for a company assigned member at any AMUG® function. The privileges of sponsored members under corporate membership are the same as Regular membership. d) Honorary membership may be offered to an individual who has made a significant contribution to AMUG®. Honorary membership are recommended to the membership by the Board of Directors at any General meeting, and are approved by a simple majority of the membership present and voting. Privileges of Honorary membership are the same as Regular membership except that an Honorary member is not entitled to vote, and is not required to pay member fees. 1. AMUG® has one (1) Lifetime membership. Jerry Harris, who is recognized as the founder of AMUG®, holds the Lifetime membership in perpetuity. Privileges of Lifetime membership are the same as Regular membership, except that the Lifetime member pays no dues. Section 2. Changes in Membership Classes a) The Board of Directors may expand or change the privileges of any membership class or create new membership classes in addition to those defined in Section 1. b) Any new membership class created by the Board of Directors, or changes to existing classes, must be presented to the full membership for approval as an amendment to these Bylaws at the annual election following the creation of the new membership class or proposed change(s). Section 3. Eligibility Membership in AMUG® is open to any person interested in computers of any manufacturer, size or kind. If a candidate for membership has been previously expelled, as provided in Section 7 of this Article, the Board of Directors, by simple majority vote, may temporarily or permanently deny membership.
Article II. PURPOSE AMUG® is organized exclusively for charitable, educational, and scientific purposes, including, for such purposes, the making of distributions to organizations which qualify as exempt organizations under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code. Such purposes include, but are not limited to, mutual learning by and education of members and the public who share an interest in computers or computer sciences. Article III. PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES Section 1. No part of the net earnings of the User Group shall inure to the benefit of or be distributed to its members, directors, officers, or other private persons, except that the User Group is authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered, and to make payments and distributions for the purposes set forth in Article II. Section 2. The activities of the User Group do not include the carrying on of propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation. The User Group does not participate or intervene in any political campaign, including the publication or distribution of statements on behalf of any candidate for public office. Section 3. Notwithstanding any other provision of these Bylaws, the User Group is not to carry on any activities not permitted by: a) A corporation exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code; or b) A corporation, contributions to which are deductible under Section 170(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code, or the corresponding provision of any future federal tax code. Section 4. No member, director or officer of the User Group is to be financially interested, directly or indirectly, in any agreement relating to the operations conducted by the User Group, nor in any transaction for furnishing services, facilities, or supplies to the User Group for compensation, unless the fact of such interest is known by the Board of Directors prior to such agreement or transaction taking place. Such an agreement or transaction is to be authorized by the Directors who have no interest, direct or indirect, in such agreement or transaction. Article IV. OFFICES
10
Maclanta • Atlanta Macintosh User Group • November 2008
Section 4. Dues The annual dues for all classes of membership are recommended by the Board of Directors and approved by a simple majority of the ballots cast. Ballots physically or electronically mailed must be returned by the date specified. The vote to change dues may be either handled at the annual election or through a special election, with a ballot mailed or hand-delivered to each member in good standing. Dues set by the membership remain in effect until a subsequent vote in favor of changing them is passed. The Board of Directors sets the annual dues for any new membership class at the time of its implementation. Section 5. Limitation of Authority Except as otherwise specified in these Bylaws, no member may act in the name of AMUG® or take any action, which would bind AMUG® or create a liability for AMUG®. Section 6. Expulsion a) A member may be expelled from membership in the User Group for engaging in activities prohibited by these Bylaws, or contravention of any rule or practice adopted by the Board of Directors, when notice of such rule or practice has been published in the newsletter or otherwise distributed to the membership at large. Willfully damaging AMUG® property or disrupting services are considered grounds for expulsion. b) Before any member may be expelled for engaging in prohibited activities, written charges specifying the alleged cause must be filed with the Secretary and a copy sent by certified mail or personal services to the member charged. The member charged shall be given a minimum of fifteen (15) days written notice of a Hearing by the Board of Directors for the purpose of consideration of expulsion. The Board will make all reasonable attempts to ensure the member charged has received notice of the date, time, location and purpose of the Hearing. c) The member charged is allowed to present a statement before the Board at the Hearing. If the Board determines that the prohibited activities are correctable, the member charged may, at the discretion of the Board, be given an opportunity to correct such conduct. d) The member charged may be expelled by the affirmative vote of twothirds of the total membership of the Board of Directors; this vote being taken at the Hearing of which the member charged received notice as specified above, with expulsion to become effective immediately. The member charged will receive prompt written notice of the Board’s action. e) All AMUG® property in the possession of the member charged must be returned to a current member of the Board of Directors within fifteen (15) days of expulsion. AMUG® may pursue the return of AMUG® property to the fullest extent allowed by law. Article VI. MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS Section 1. General Meetings General Meetings are held on a regular basis at a date, time, and location determined by the Board of Directors. Notice of these meetings, stating the date and hour of the meeting, and the place where it is to be held, will be by publication in the AMUG® newsletter and electronic media. Section 2. Special Meetings The President, the Board of Directors, or a signed petition of at least five percent (5%) of current members may call special Meetings. Notice of a Special Meeting, stating the date and hour of the meeting, the place where it is to be held, and its purpose will be given by publication in the AMUG® newsletter and electronic media, or by a separate mailing to all current members. No official business other than that stated in the notice will be conducted at a Special Meeting. Section 3. Quorum Twenty Percent of members in good standing must be present at a General or Special Meeting in order to conduct an immediate, deciding vote on any issue requiring a vote of the membership. Section 4. Proxies No member may vote by proxy at a General or Special Meeting. Section 5. Annual Meeting
The Annual Meeting will be considered to be the November General Meeting, unless the Board of Directors specially sets another date. Notice of the Annual Meeting will be by publication in the AMUG® newsletter and electronic media no less than seven (7) days nor more than sixty (60) days prior to the meeting date. Article VII. BOARD OF DIRECTORS Section 1. Powers The business and affairs of AMUG® are managed by its Board of Directors, which may exercise all powers of the User Group and perform all lawful acts as directed by the membership Section 2. Composition a) The Board of Directors consists of ten (10) persons elected by the membership. b) The elected Directors are selected annually pursuant to Article X. c) To ensure stability, the term of office of the directors shall be staggered as described below; 1. Tier 1 Officers - President, Secretary, and the Directors of Newsletter, Programming & Telecom will all be elected in the odd years (2009, 2011 etc) 2. Tier 2 Officers - Vice-President, Treasurer, and the Directors of Education, Publicity, and Membership will be elected in the even years (2008, 2010 etc.) Section 3. Term a) The term of office for elected Directors is two years, beginning with the Board of Directors meeting in December. b) Elected Directors may serve for not more than two (2) consecutive - 2-year terms (for a total of 4 years) in any one position. Section 4. Removal A Director may be removed from office at any time either at a General Meeting, at a Special Meeting called for such purpose, or by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the entire Board of Directors at a Board meeting. Section 5. Vacancies Upon the resignation or removal of a Director, the Board of Directors, by a simple majority vote of the Directors present, may appoint a member to serve the remainder of the vacated term. Any such appointment must be ratified by a simple majority vote of the members present and voting at a General Meeting. The appointed Director has no vote in decisions of the Board of Directors until such time as the appointment is ratified by the membership. Failure to achieve a simple majority vote of the membership at a General Meeting nullifies the appointment. Section 6. Regular Meetings Regular Meetings of the Board of Directors are normally held monthly, at such time and place as determined by the Board of Directors. Notification of the time and place is to be published in the AMUG® newsletter and electronic media, and the meetings are open to any User Group member who wishes to attend. Section 7. Special Meetings A Special Meeting of the Board of Directors may be called by the President, the Vice-President or two or more Directors, where: a) Three (3) days notice is provided to each Director, if such notice is delivered personally, or by E-Mail, telephone, facsimile, or notice in the Board of Directors Conference on the AMUG®. Bulletin Board System b) Seven (7) days notice is provided to each Director, if sent by mail or published in the AMUG® newsletter. c) Only the official business stated in the meeting notice is conducted. Section 8. Conduct of Meetings a) The President, or in his/her absence the Vice-President, presides at meetings of the Board of Directors. In the absence of the President or Vice-President, the Directors shall elect one of the present Directors to act as the presiding officer. b) The Secretary of the User Group, or such other person as the presiding officer or Secretary may appoint, acts as Recording Secretary at all meetings. c) A majority of the Directors currently in office (not counting vacan-
November 2008 • Atlanta Macintosh User Group • Maclanta
11
cies and non-ratified Directors) constitutes a quorum. d) Meetings of the Board of Directors are open to all AMUG® members, except that upon majority vote, the Board of Directors may enter into an executive session to transact business which the Board considers confidential. Section 9. Action by Telephone or Electronic Media a) Any Board meeting can be conducted either via the Internet (E-mail, Online Community or any other method approved by a majority of the board) or by telephone. b) Members of the Board need not be physically present in one location to discuss, debate, or vote upon action or issue requiring the Attention of the Board of Directors. A quorum is still required when needed by other provisions of these by-laws. Members may participate using any digital (E-mail, chat, etc) or analog (telephone) means to communicate agreed to by a majority of the board. c) Participation by such means constitutes consent for, and presence at, such meeting. Article VIII. OFFICERS Section 1. Designation The officers of the User Group are the President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and 6 Standing Committee Directors to be elected by a direct vote of the membership at the Annual Meeting pursuant to Article VII, Section 2, and Article IX. Section 2. President a) The President is the chief executive officer of the User Group, and has general charge of the business, affairs, and property of the User Group, and general supervision over its officers and agents. b) The President presides at all official meetings and sees that all resolutions of the Board of Directors are carried into effect. c) The President submits an annual report to the membership describing the past year’s activities of the User Group, either in person at the Annual Meeting or through the AMUG® newsletter and electronic media. Section 3. Vice-President a) The Vice-President serves as an administrative assistant to the President, and oversees and coordinates the efforts of all committees. b) The Vice-President, in the absence of the President or in the event of the President’s disability, performs the duties and exercises the powers of the President. c) The Vice-President performs other duties as designated by the President or the Board of Directors. Section 4. Secretary a) The Secretary gives, or causes to be given, notice of Special Meetings of the membership, and of Special Meetings of the Board of Directors. b) The Secretary keeps minutes of all membership and Director meetings. c) The Secretary sends copies of the minutes of all meetings to members of the Board of Directors, and sees that approved minutes are promptly posted in the appropriate location on the User Group’s electronic communications system(s) and electronic media. d) The Secretary sees that the books, reports, statements, and all other documents required by law are properly kept, filed or submitted. e) The Secretary performs such other duties as may be designated by the President or the Board of Directors and may appoint one or more assistants. f) The Secretary may institute paid positions with the approval of the Board of Directors. Selection and managing of personnel to fill such approved positions is the responsibility of the Secretary. Dismissal of paid personnel requires the approval of the Board of Directors. Section 5. Treasurer a) The Treasurer has custody of the User Group funds and other valuable effects, keeps full and accurate accounts of receipts and disbursements in books of account belonging to the User Group, and shall promptly deposit all moneys and other valuable effects in the name and to the credit of the User Group in such depositories as may be
12
designated by the Board of Directors. b) The Treasurer posts such bonds as may be required by the Board of Directors. The cost for it is paid from the funds of the User Group. c) The Treasurer has the authority to disburse checks on behalf of the User Group as provided in Article XIII. d) The Treasurer maintains a system of internal fiscal control, and reports regularly to the Board of Directors and the membership on the expenses and financial condition of the User Group. e) The Treasurer is to maintain a register of all AMUG® assets. Items to be included in said register but not limited to, will be: asset description and serial number where applicable, purchase price, location where asset is kept, whose custody the asset is in. f) The Treasurer performs such other duties as may be designated by the President or Board of Directors, and may, subject to the approval of the Board of Directors, appoint one or more assistants. Section 6. Vacancies a) If the office of President, Vice-President, Secretary, or Treasurer becomes vacant for any reason, an elected member of the Board of Directors will fill the vacancy. This will be ratified by a majority vote of the Board of Directors. If no member steps forward, then a special election will be held to fill this position. A 30-day written notice must be provided to all members for said special election. b) Any officer elected or appointed to fill a vacancy holds office until the election or appointment of a successor. Article IX. STANDING COMMITTEE DIRECTORS Section 1. Designation, Operation and Vacancies a) Such positions may include Newsletter Director, Telecommunications Director, Membership Director, Program Director, Publicity Director, Education Director, and any other Committee Directorship which the Board of Directors decides would be in the best interests of AMUG®. b) Standing Committee Directors may appoint assistants and recruit members to serve on their respective committees. c) Standing Committee Directors may institute paid positions with the approval of the Board of Directors. Selection and managing of personnel to fill such approved positions is the responsibility of the supervising Director. Dismissal of paid personnel requires the approval of the Board of Directors. d) The actions of all Standing Committees are subject to the general policy direction of the Board of Directors. e) Each Standing Committee Director is responsible for communicating a regular progress report to the membership, by submitting reports to the AMUG® newsletter and electronic media to meet established deadlines. f) If the office of any functioning Standing Committee Director becomes vacant for any reason, an elected member or an appointed and ratified member of the Board of Directors will fill the vacancy. g) A simple majority vote of the Directors present at a Director meeting constitutes the appointment of a Standing Committee Director. Such appointment is considered ratified upon a simple majority vote of the members present at any General Meeting. h) Any Standing Committee Director so appointed holds office until the election or appointment of a successor. Section 2. Newsletter Director The Newsletter Director is responsible for managing the publication on a regular basis of the AMUG® newsletter. Section 3. Telecommunications Director The Telecommunications Director is responsible for managing the operation of the User Group’s electronic communications system(s) and electronic media. Section 4. Membership Director The Membership Director is responsible for managing the processing of memberships, the maintenance and distribution of membership records and mailing lists, the distribution of User Group material to new and prospective members, the production of membership materials
Maclanta • Atlanta Macintosh User Group • November 2008
used by the Membership Committee, and the operation of membership check-in at AMUG® events. Section 5. Program Director The Program Director is responsible for managing the operation and content of General Meetings. Section 6. Publicity Director The Publicity Director is responsible for managing the outside publicity for all AMUG® events, the production of meeting and special event notices to members, and the public relations strategy for increasing public awareness of AMUG®. Section 7. Education Director The Education Director is responsible for managing the Special Interest Groups and Auxiliaries within the User Group, the operation of classes and seminars, and the resource material used by the Education Committee. Article X. ELECTIONS Section 1. General a) The Board of Directors is responsible for assuring that an annual election of the Board of Directors is conducted in accordance with these Bylaws. b) The Board of Directors shall appoint an Election Committee that shall be responsible for the conduct of the annual election. c) The Board of Directors shall assist the Election Committees in the preparation and mailing of any notices, ballots, and related information. d) By the August meeting of the Board of Directors, the Board will solicit at least one volunteer to serve on the Election Committee. The Election Committee can solicit additional volunteers to assist them with the election process. Section 2. Election Committee a) Election Committee members must have been an AMUG® member for at least one (1) year at the time of their appointment; must be members in good standing and shall be affirmed by a simple majority vote at a regular Board of Directors meeting. b) The Election Committee is responsible for carrying out the election process, including: soliciting nominees, solicitation of biographical information from candidates, conduct of the election, and tabulation of the election results at the Annual Meeting. c) The election committee will submit a monthly status report to the Board of Directors. Any change in the committee must be communicated promptly to the President of the Board of Directors. Section 3. Election Process a) Nominations from the floor will be accepted from the membership at that the October General Meeting, or may be sent to the Secretary by mail or email. The Elections Committee may require certification that members so nominated are willing to serve if elected, before their names are placed on the official ballot. b) The deadline for nominations shall be the close of the October meeting. The final list of candidates will be presented to the Board at the November Board of Directors meeting. Section 4. Eligibility a) Nominees must be paid members through the date of the Annual Meeting b) Nominees may not be a member the Election Committee c) Nominees must be eligible to fill the position they are nominated for in accordance requirements set forth elsewhere in these by-laws. d) Nominees must affirm their nomination by the time the list of candidates is submitted to the Board of Directors. e) Only members in good standing at the close of nominations may be candidates for elective office. f) Executive Positions on the Board of Directors shall be restricted to only one (1) position/member per household. g) The Board of Directors shall resolve any dispute regarding the eligibility of a candidate, which cannot be decided by the Nominations Committee.
Section 5. Balloting a) The annual election is normally completed during the Annual Meeting held in November. Only members in good standing as of the date of the Annual Meeting may vote. b) A ballot shall be mailed to each member in time for the ballot to be returned by the date of the Annual Meeting. c) Completed mailed ballots are due by the start of the Annual Meeting. Members may hand deliver their previously received ballots at the start of the Annual Meeting. d) Members may receive a second ballot at the Annual Meeting if their previous ballot has not been received. Their previous ballot is thus voided. e) No more than one ballot may be received from any one member. No proxy votes shall be accepted. f) Each ballot shall be in such form that when it is returned it will include the voting member’s name separate from the list of candidates, so that membership standing may be determined. The portion carrying the member’s name shall be removed prior to tallying the votes’ cast, but must be kept on hand until election results are certified to verify that member’s vote was received. g) Any ballot received that does not include the voting member’s name, or which shows multiple votes for the same position, will be voided. Voided ballots will be kept until after the election results have been certified. h) The candidate with the most individual votes in each position shall be considered the winner of that position. In the event of ties between two or more candidates, undisputed winners will be declared elected subject to certification of results by the Election Committee; new ballots will be distributed to the members present at the General Meeting, votes for the disputed positions will be asked for, and the results used to resolve the tie(s). Section 6. Results a) The Election Committee shall agree on and certify and present the results of the election to the membership before the close of the Annual Meeting. b) Should there be just cause to delay the certification of the results, the Board of Directors should be notified and an announcement made that the results will be posted after the meeting. c) Results certified after the Annual Meeting must be posted to AMUG’s electronic community. Article XI. COMMITTEES Section 1. Audit Committee The Audit Committee shall be appointed by the Board of Directors to select the User Group’s accounting system and to review the financial records and reports of the User Group. The Treasurer and any Standing Committee Director receiving or disbursing funds of the User Group, may not serve as a member of the Audit Committee. The audit committee should submit to the Board of Directors their annual report no later than the end of the first quarter of the year (March 30th). Section 2. Other Committees The Board of Directors may appoint other standing or special committees. Article XII. FISCAL CONTROL Section 1. Disbursements a) Any disbursement over $50 must be supported by a voucher or receipt. b) All checks, drafts, notes, and other evidence of indebtedness of the User Group shall be signed by the Treasurer. c) Checks drawn to a single supplier in an amount not to exceed $1,000 require only the Treasurer’s signature; checks exceeding $1,000 must also be signed by either the President or Vice-President. d) Any disbursement over the amount of $1,000 shall be approved in advance by a vote of the Board of Directors. Section 2. Annual Budget
November 2008 • Atlanta Macintosh User Group • Maclanta
13
a) Prior to the close of each fiscal year, the Board of Directors shall prepare a proposed budget for the following fiscal year. b) The proposed budget shall be published in the AMUG® Online Forums with a notice in the newsletter before being presented at a General Meeting for approval and adoption. c) The annual budget shall be adopted by a majority of those present at the Membership Meeting at which it is presented. Section 3. Fiscal Year The fiscal year for AMUG® is a policy decision, and shall be determined by a 2/3rds vote of the Board of Directors Article XIII. DISSOLUTION Upon the dissolution of the User Group, assets shall be distributed for one or more exempt purposes within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future Federal tax code, or shall be distributed to the Federal government, or to a state or local government, for a public purpose. Any such assets not so disposed of shall be disposed of by the Superior Court of the county in which the principal office of the User Group is located, exclusively for such purposes or to such organization or organizations, as said Court shall determine, which are organized and operated exclusively for such purposes. Article XIV. NOTICE Section 1. Form of Notice a) Whenever under the provision of law, the Articles of Incorporation, or these Bylaws, notice is required to be given to any Director, officer or member, such notice may be given by publication in the AMUG® newsletter or in writing, by mail addressed to such Director, officer, or member, at that person’s post office address as it appears on the records of the User Group. Such notice shall be deemed to be given at the time it is deposited in the United States mail. b)..... Notice may also be given personally, or by telephone, facsimile, electronic mail or telegram. Section 2. Waiver a) Whenever notice is required under the provision of law, the Articles of Incorporation, or these Bylaws, a written waiver of the notice, signed by the person entitled to the notice, whether before or after the fact, shall be deemed to be the equivalent of such notice. b) Any member, Officer or Director attending a meeting without protesting the commencement of the meeting or the lack of notice, shall be conclusively deemed to have waived notice of such meeting. Article XV. INDEMNIFICATION Section 1. The User Group shall, in accordance with Georgia law, and to the extent legally permissible, indemnify and hold harmless any person serving or who has served as a Director, officer, employee, or duly authorized agent of the User Group against all liabilities and expenses, including amounts paid in satisfaction of judgments, in compromise or as fines and penalties, and counsel fees, reasonably incurred by such individual in connection with the defense or disposition of any claim, action, suit or other proceeding whether civil or criminal, in which such individual may be involved or with which such individual may be threatened, while serving or thereafter, by reason of being or having been such a Director, Officer, employee, or agent, except with respect to any matter as to which such individual shall have been adjudicated in any proceeding not to have acted in good faith in the reasonable belief that such individuals action was in the best interests of the User Group. Section 2. Expenses, including counsel fees, reasonably incurred by any such Director, Officer, employee, or agent in connection with the defense or disposition of any such claim, action, suit or other proceeding may be paid from time to time by the User Group in advance of the final disposition thereof upon receipt of an undertaking by such individual to repay the User Group the amounts so paid if it ultimately determined
14
that indemnification of such expenses is not authorized herein. The right of indemnification hereby provided shall not be exclusive of or affect any other rights to which any such Director, Officer, employee, or agent may be entitled. Section 3. As used in this Article, the terms “Director,” “officer,” “employee,” and “agent” include their respective heirs, executors, and administrators. Section 4. The User Group may, at the option of the Board of Directors, purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a Director, Officer, employee, or agent of the User Group or who is or was serving at the request of the User Group as a Director, Officer, employee, or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, or other enterprise against any liability asserted against such individual and incurred by such individual in or arising out of such individuals position, whether or not the User Group would be obligated or empowered to indemnify such individual against such liability under this Article. Article XVI. PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY The rules contained in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the User Group in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these Bylaws and any special rules of order the User Group may adopt. Article XVII. AMENDMENT Section 1. Unless otherwise specified in any Article, the membership may amend these Bylaws at any General Meeting if the text of proposed amendments to, or changes in, these Bylaws have been published in the AMUG® newsletter, or in a separate mailing, prior to the General Meeting at which the vote on the amendments or changes is taken. Section 2. Notice of all Bylaw amendments or changes shall be published in the next issue of the AMUG® newsletter following the General Meeting at which the amendments or changes are adopted. Article XVIII. POLICY Section 1. Policies are guidelines and procedures that help define the by-laws, which govern AMUG®. Policies are to be appended to the By-laws in this article for future reference. Section 2. Policies must be brought before the Board of Directors for discussion and majority approval. As policies are not By-laws they do not need ratifying by the general membership. _______________________________________________________ Policy of the ATLANTA MACINTOSH USERS GROUP, INC. (Proposed - November 2008) Part 1. Procedure for purchases over $500 For previously non-budgeted purchases over $500 the board member suggesting the purchase should provide to the board for consideration at least two similar alternative items (for a total of three items for consideration), if available and applicable, as well as the board member’s preferred choice, and why it’s their preferred choice. Part 2. AMUG® Travel Policy In certain instances, the Atlanta Macintosh Users Group will reimburse members of the Board or other specially selected members for partial or all travel expenses incurred while traveling for AMUG® business. AMUG® Business is defined as a conference or activity where the physical attendance of an AMUG® member would provide a direct benefit to the AMUG® organization. This definition is subject to interpretation and may be expanded/modified by a vote of the Board of Directors. AMUG® may reimburse members, in full or in part, for the following expenses related to travel:
Maclanta • Atlanta Macintosh User Group • November 2008
• Membership/conference fees • $30 per day for food • Room charges (excluding, but not limited to the following optional expenses such as mini-bar fees, pay-per-view charges, health club fees, etc) • Gasoline/fuel expenses • Airline (special circumstances apply) To be eligible for reimbursement, the AMUG® member(s) must present rationale for attending the desired conference and explain the following: • Total projected AMUG® cost to attend the conference, including all travel estimates, conference fees, and lodging costs. • Identify ways in which the AMUG® organization will benefit from having said member(s) in attendance. Notification and rationale must be presented no later than the Board of Directors meeting prior to the scheduled date of the conference. Please note that in order to address the Board of Directors at the monthly Board of Directors meeting, non-Board members must contact a current member of the Board and request to be added to the meeting agenda. Airline fees may be covered in special circumstances, left to the discretion of the Board of Directors. Part 3. SIGS (Special Interest Groups) 1. Formation
a) The Board of Directors encourages and may establish Special Interest Groups (SIGs) to provide forums for exploring topics of special concern to a portion of the membership. b) The Board of Directors may recognize groups of AMUG® members, in designated areas within and outside the metropolitan Atlanta area, as AMUG® auxiliaries. c) The Board of Directors has the authority to regulate the formation, activities, and dissolution of SIGs and Auxiliaries. d) The Education Director is the liaison between the Board of Directors and SIG/Auxiliary Leaders, and ensures that current activities information is relayed for publication in the AMUG® newsletter and electronic media. 2. Limitation of Authority a) No Special Interest Group or Auxiliary shall act in the name of, or take any action, which would bind AMUG®, without specific written authorization by the Board of Directors. b) No Special Interest Group or Auxiliary shall take any action which might jeopardize the 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status of AMUG®, nor violate any law or requirement upon which that status is based. Every Special Interest Group and Auxiliary shall comply with, and is bound by, the provisions of the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws of AMUG®.
October General Meeting Snapshots left: Lawrence led the October meeting.
We’re not sure what the lab coat was for, but it was really cool and fit in nicely with our Halloween theme.
Photos by Todd Daniel
bottom: Robin proudly displays his coffee
mug t-shirt, which many members said they liked. But where’s Albert???
left: Our leader gives announcements. top: A lucky door
prize winner holds her iTunes gift card. bottom: Looks like Martha won the grand prize - Check-It, a great computer maintenance program.
November 2008 • Atlanta Macintosh User Group • Maclanta
15
Member Discounts Available Many companies offer discounts to AMUG members. We keep an updated listing on the AMUG forums. Before you make a purchase, check out our listing and see if you can save money. To reach the listing, go to http://forums.amugonline.org and then go to “News and Information” and then to “Member Special Offers.”
Advertise in Maclanta and get your message in front of a targeted audience today! Have you hugged your Mac today?
Directions to General Meetings at Macquarium 1800 Peachtree Street,NW Suite 250, Atlanta,GA 404-554-4000 From I-75 South Take the Howell Mill/Northside Drive Exit (#252). Go to the second ramp, which is Northside Drive. Turn left off the ramp onto Northside Drive. Go Approximately 1/2 mile to Collier Road and Turn Right. Follow Collier road 9/10 of a mile until it ends at Peachtree Street,then turn right. Macquarium is about 100 yards on the right. From I-85 South Take Peachtree Street exit 86. This exit becomes GA-13 S. Take Peachtree Street exit ramp towards Buckhead. Merge onto Peachtree Rd. NE. Travel approximately one-half mile, Macquarium building is on your left. Parking entrance is on far side of Macquarium sign next to R.Thomas. From I-20 Head towards 75/85 connector. Go north on 75/85. Take the 14th/10th Street exit. Pass over 10th street. Turn right onto 14th Street. Turn left onto Peachtree. Macquarium building is on your left, approximately one mile. Parking entrance is on far side of Macquarium sign next to R.Thomas.
Buy AMUG Gear online at our CaféPress store
AMUG has an online store available to all our members through CaféPress.com. The store sells AMUG T-shirts, golf shirts, mugs, bumper stickers and other AMUG related items. Right now, all sales are done at cost and they’re quite affordable. You can order what you want, when you want right, on the Web. Check out the online store at: http://www.cafepress.com/amug This is a great way to publicize our club, PLUS when you wear an AMUG shirt to a meeting you receive an extra door prize ticket.
16
Maclanta • Atlanta Macintosh User Group • November 2008
General Meetings
Special Interest Group (SIG) Night
Dec. 16
Holiday Party w/ PC User Group
SIGs closed for holidays
Jan. 20
Macworld Conference Review
Jan. 27
OS X & Filemaker
Feb. 17
Adobe CS4 Creative Suite
Feb. 24
OS X & Filemaker
Mar. 17
Handy Utilities for your Mac
Mar 24
OS X & Filemaker
All meetings are held in the Macquarium auditorium. General meetings begin at 7 p.m. (6:30 p.m. social time). SIGs start at 7 p.m.
We are always looking for new SIGs - share your ideas by contacting any AMUG board member.
Need meeting directions, more details about the club, etc???
Visit: www.amugonline.org
November 2008 • Atlanta Macintosh User Group • Maclanta
17