2014-01-31

2014.01 History: The Greatest User Group Meeting of All Time

It was probably the greatest user-group meeting of all time, the day back in 1984 when Steve Jobs showed up at a gathering of the Boston Computer Society to introduce the Macintosh to actual users. And, while you probably weren't there in person, Time has just unveiled the next best thing: a video recording of the entire presentation.

It runs 90 minutes, so if you're not quite up for something that long, check out the post on this very blog from a couple of days back and remind yourself of why the Mac's introductory Super Bowl commercial is still considered to be the best of all time in its field.

2014-01-21

2014.01 Nostalgia: 1984

Monday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Tuesday was the 4th anniversary of the infamous Citizens United Supreme Court decision.

Do you know what turns 30 on Wednesday?

It's Apple's introduction of the Macintosh, using a Super Bowl commercial that later was declared by Advertising Age magazine to be the best TV commercial of all time.

And now we all know why 1984 was not like 1984.

2014.01 Humor: When Fonts Find Love

OK, there's a little quiz that goes with this cartoon. Skip right past the puns in the dialog and figure out which are the fonts depicted here. (Hint: They're more common on Windows machines than Macs.)

2014-01-20

2014.01 Humor: Autocorrect vs. NSA

Thanks to Sarah Karon of the ACLU of Wisconsin for this month's presentation on "Computer Privacy in a Surveillance Culture". Speaking of which ...

2014-01-04

Update on Former Member Danny Matson

Some of you may remember Danny Matson, a long-time member of our group when it was known as Mad Mac.  Danny created and edited Mad Mac News, the group newsletter, for several years before I took on the responsibility. True story: he picked me up in a limousine and took me to brunch at the Edgewater - complete with mimosas - and pitched the editor job to me. It worked!

The State Journal ran a story on December 28th of the story of Danny's recent kidney transplant that says a lot about friendship and shared passions for music.  Congratulations, Danny!

http://tinyurl.com/qc9vx7v

Paper vs. iPad

As this French paper company advertisement reminds us, while iPads are ideal for many many tasks there are times when paper is essential.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/V_gOZDWQj3Q?rel=0

2014.01 Opinion: Speaking of Death ...

Time's Techland experts opine on 5 Tech Products That Will Be Dead in 5 Years. For the SAS generation, they are:
  • Blu-Ray/DVD players
  • stand-alone in-car GPS units
  • dial-up Internet
  • low-end digital cameras
  • car keys