Here's the February 2010 SMMUG newsletter! This issue includes:

"Clicking the Right Button"
Club News
Apple Announcements
More

Click the link below to read it

Attention SMMUG Members:

We’d like to make you aware of a unique opportunity for you to learn more about iPhoto ’09 in a hands-on classroom setting at the Bemis School of Art, being taught by current SMMUG member and past Director-At-Large, Mark Pimentel.

Mark will be teaching a three week class on Thursday afternoons or Saturday mornings beginning this coming week on “iPhoto Orientation” and another three week class, “iPhoto:  Advanced Techniques”, again on Thursday afternoons or Saturday mornings beginning March 4th.  Since it’s a hands-on seminar, students are expected to bring a laptop computer with the current version of iPhoto (version 8.1.1 from iLife ’09) to the class.

You can get more details about class descriptions, times, location and cost on the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center website, under Bemis School of Art Winter / Spring Classes at the following link:

http://www.csfineartscenter.org/bemisClasses.asp

For those who have attended a SMMUG meeting or SIG meeting where Mark has given a presentation, you know that he has a wealth of information to share about his topics, and a single hour isn’t nearly enough!  This is your opportunity to spend 4-1/2 hours learning iPhoto basics or advanced techniques, spread out over 3 sessions so you’ll have the chance to absorb and practice the skills you acquire in each class.

This would be a great way to strengthen and improve your abilities with iPhoto while at the same time helping support a fellow SMMUG member and the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center.  We hope you’ll consider taking advantage of this opportunity.  Sign up at the URL above under Beginning Digital Arts, and Intermediate Digital Arts.  The class cost is $92 for non-members, and $77 for Fine Arts Center members ($45 individual FAC membership).  Check out the site - Bemis has Photoshop Elements classes too.

When I took architecture classes, we had to establish vanishing points, horizons, and the height of the viewer. We used pushpins and string to transfer locations of objects onto the drawing. T-squares have been replaced by computer graphics and static interior views are now 3D. What is new is creating a path in the drawing to simulate a person walking through a room with a video camera and looking at the viewfinder display. It has been several years since I reviewed programs that allowed a person shopping for new kitchen cabinets to see how they would look in their kitchen using a simulation. Things have really improved but it does take a lot more time to get as detailed as Live Interior 3D allows.

With the introduction of Apple’s Time Machine you may wonder if there is a place for a backup program. The answer is Yes. Time Machine is good at what it does, but it is not designed for long-term archiving and is minus some of the bells and whistles of a dedicated backup program. Enter Get Backup from BeLight Software...

...I use a product called iBiz from IGG Software to track the time spent and money earned on various projects for clients. It works pretty well for me, so I set out to try their financial software, iBank, as a replacement for Quicken. If iBank isn’t the best financial tracking software for the Mac, it isn’t because their people aren’t trying their best to make it so. In my three+ month relationship with it, I have given up twice only to restart and be more impressed with the bug fixes and new features...

Labels & Addresses is a program that takes the headache out of creating all sorts of labels along with designing and printing name cards, price tags, envelopes, and postcards.

Akvis ArtWork is a Plug-in and a Standalone application that lets you transform your photos into works of art. It accomplishes this by letting you specify the brush: stroke, length, density, curvature, etc. of your final digital painting.

The Mac OS X SIG will meet at 12:00 noon in Voelkers training room. In addition to the normal Q&A session on all topics related to the Mac OS. Bring your questions and any tips and tricks you would like to pass along. Hope to see you there. Directions: See our SIG Meetings page for more information, including directions.
 

The Saturday Mac Users SIG typically focuses on digital photography and video projects for Macs. Come join us, and bring your questions and your camera! Directions: See our SIG Meetings page for more information, including directions.