January – February 2009 — Vol 31 No 1
Source
Open full PDF (43 pages) • Jan–Feb 2009 • Vol 31 No 1 • eJournal (free download for members)
Note: An earlier ingest used a 21-page abbreviated PDF (original DevonThink copy). This entry has been expanded with the additional 22 pages of content from the full version.
Overview
MAJOR FORMAT TRANSITION: Pi Journal is now eJournal — electronic-only PDF optimized for Adobe Reader. "Second in a test series of three." Bimonthly schedule. Issue is 43 pages (richer than the abbreviated 21-page version).
Cover: "Building a Better Pi" — Pi Clubhouse GRAND OPENING + Pi 2009 Strategic Plan + Time Machine Essentials.
Officer roster (Vol 31 N1, masthead): - President: Bob Jarecke - Treasurer: Thomas Carlson - Secretary: Gordon Nord - Directors: Len Adler, Richard Allen, Jonathan Bernstein, Jay Castillo, Pat Fauquet, Larry Kerschberg, Brent Malcolm, Richard Orlin, Charles Reintzel, Mike Schneible - Editor: Lawrence I. Charters - Design Editor: Nora Korc - Photo Editor: Richard Sanderson - Copy Editor: Patsy Chick
Pi office new address: 12022 Parklawn Drive, Suite 201, Rockville, MD 20852 (per masthead — though by Nov-Dec 2008 2008-11 — V30 N06 had moved to Suite 701; suite re-numbering or back-and-forth).
Table of contents (full)
| Article | Author | Page |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction and Reading Tips | — | 4 |
| 2009 — The Year of the Pi! | Bob Jarecke | 5 |
| Time Machine Essentials | Lawrence I. Charters | 6 |
| Pi Clubhouse — GRAND OPENING | Bob Jarecke | 10 |
| Still Using AOL? | Travis Good | 11 |
| Everything is Miscellaneous: A Review | Lawrence I. Charters | 12 |
| Preparing for the Switch to Digital TV Broadcasting | Dick Rucker | 15 |
| A Strategic Plan for the Washington Apple Pi | Jay Castillo | 17, 34-35 |
| Resources — December 2008 General Meeting | — | 19 |
| Washington Apple Pi Meetings | — | 20 |
| Best of the TCS — certificate errors | Jarecke + Rucker comp. | 18-21 |
| October 2008 General Meeting: Retired with your Mac | Bob Jarecke | 22-25 |
| December 2008 Holiday Party: Andy Ihnatko and his Internet Pants | Lawrence I. Charters | 26-30 |
| Resources (cameras / iPhone / books) | — | 31 |
| Retired SIG October 23 (Pages/iWorks) | Leonard Adler | 32 |
| SIGs Overview | — | 33 |
| Genealogy SIG meeting recaps (Oct + Dec 2008) | — | 33 |
| iLife SIG (Oct + Dec 2008) | Travis Good + Pat Fauquet | 34 |
| Afternoon Learners — Retired SIG November 2008 (Keynote) | Seth Mize + Len Adler | 35 |
| Century Club ($100+ donors honor roll) | — | 35 |
| Highlights of WAP Board Activities, Oct-Dec 2008 | Gordon Nord | 38 |
| Volunteer-Opportunities Section (Pi Reporter, Bookkeeper, Education Lead, Marketing Lead, Design Editor understudy) | — | 38-41 |
| Continued: Preparing for the Switch to Digital TV | Dick Rucker | 42 |
| Graphic Arts SIG recruitment | Cheryl Lavoie | 42 |
| Classified Ads | — | 41 |
| MBS Ad (back cover) | — | 43 |
Highlights
eJournal launch
Major format transition — Pi Journal goes electronic-only. PDF designed for Adobe Reader's Full Screen mode, with clickable TOC and embedded web links. "Reading Tips" intro on page 4. Closes 30 years of print Pi Journal (Feb 1979 → Nov-Dec 2008 2008-11 — V30 N06).
2009 — The Year of the Pi! — Bob Jarecke
President's rallying cry for his last year (per 2008-11 — V30 N06 "Grand Poobah" essay). Sets the year's agenda.
★ Pi Clubhouse GRAND OPENING — Bob Jarecke
Renovation reopening of the 12022 Parklawn Drive clubhouse (Pi's identity at this address since 2006-11 — V28 N06 "first mention"). The 2005-2007 renovation project (see anonymous "Renovation Project" piece 2005-11 — V27 N06) completes here.
Time Machine Essentials — Lawrence I. Charters
Time Machine backup (Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, Oct 2007 2007-11 — V29 N06) — Charters's practical guide.
★ Strategic Plan FULL TEXT — Jay Castillo
The Strategic Plan that Jarecke previewed in 2008-11 — V30 N06 "What's the Plan, Stan?" now published in full. Castillo lays out: - Mission Statement — "Washington Apple Pi is a community of people with a common aim: to improve our knowledge and enjoyment of Apple products. We approach this through social interaction, sharing, fun, cooperative activities, mentoring and education." - Vision Statement — "Washington Apple Pi will be the best Macintosh User Group… dynamic service organization with a growing membership of Apple enthusiasts who are mutually supportive, socially interactive, and dedicated to learning, volunteerism and helping others." - Operating Principles — quarterly utility review, periodic facility review, every product/service needs a champion+backup, members value face-to-face support, deep accessible knowledge base. - Strategic Goal 1: Efficient/effective infrastructure (Leopard Server Open Directory; transition to WAP eJournal — this issue is the transition). - Strategic Goal 2: my.wap.org electronic member services Web interface. - Strategic Goal 3: Reverse the trend of declining membership; focus on the mature and retiree WAP community. - Strategic Goal 4: Effective communications with constituencies. - Strategic Goal 5: Recruit and manage volunteers on a win-win basis.
★ Andy Ihnatko's "Internet Pants" — December 2008 Holiday Party — Lawrence I. Charters
Andy Ihnatko (Chicago Sun-Times tech columnist, blog "Andy Ihnatko's Celestial Waste of Bandwidth") keynotes the Dec 6 Holiday Party at Luther Jackson Middle School. Ihnatko's signature "Internet Pants" — 5.11 Tactical Series pants with many pockets (the result of a Twitter shopping crowdsource). From those pockets: iPhone, Kindle, Panasonic HDC-SD11 HD camcorder, Flip MinoHD, Kodak Zi6 HD, Aiptek HD camcorder, Nikon P6000. Covers iMovie vs Final Cut Express, iPhone as "the closest thing to a tricorder I've ever seen," Kindle vs Sony Reader, Slingbox.
Steve Roberson's Top Ten Mac Gifts (Dec 2008)
Steve Roberson annual tradition. #1: Washington Apple Pi membership. Other entries: monitor wipes for "fingerprint magnets," More memory, iPhone or iPod touch, Podcasts, USB Flash Drive, iPhoto Calendar, DVD Ripping Software, Bigger display, More storage (Drobo), Bonus: Virgin Galactic ("ultimate way to experience WiFi").
★ October 2008 General Meeting: Retired with your Mac — Bob Jarecke
Strategic shift in audience targeting: "club's leadership is coming to grips with the fact that our membership is older, and efforts to recruit a younger demographic are problematic. The reality is that we need to concentrate on bringing in new 'older' members." Family + Travel + Health + Entertainment themes. Steve Roberson on Family (iPhoto, MobileMe, iWeb, Apple TV, iCal, iChat). Travis Good on Travel (lost MacBook Pro to catastrophic failure during the meeting — Web-published presentation saved him; National Parks, blogs, GPS-tagged Waymarking). Bob Jarecke on Health + Entertainment.
TCS Best of: Certificate Errors
Multi-voice debate on browser certificate errors — Charters's "Don't, ever, do business with a site that gives you a certificate error" position vs. nuanced takes (TeleBlend taking over SunRocket's site, sub-domain certs, etc.). George K. shared the original bank-certificate-error question.
Century Club — $100+ Donors
Recognized donors Nov 2007 – Dec 2008: Charlotte Wunderlich (twice), Meg Gabriel, Grant Peacock, Merle Junker, Patti and Bill Schneider, Tom Carlson, Dr. Finerty, Bertha Alexander, Tom Herlihy. Privacy respected; names added only with explicit approval.
Still Using AOL? — Travis Good
AOL departure guide — moving members off AOL as it declined.
Preparing for Digital TV Switch — Dick Rucker
June 12, 2009 DTV transition (originally Feb 17, 2009 — Congress moved it). Detailed ATSC standards walkthrough (480i SDTV / 480p EDTV / 720p+1080i+1080p HDTV). Cable + satellite + signal-splitter + amplifier guidance.
SIG Reports
- Retired SIG Oct 23: Pages from iWork (Len Adler) — making event posters.
- Afternoon Learners — Retired SIG Nov 2008: Keynote with Seth Mize on Olympic-photo slideshows; group renamed "Afternoon Learners — Retired SIG."
- Genealogy SIG (Tom Carlson, Bob Jarecke co-leads): Oct 25 — John DiBella on Poland trip; Dec 6 — DiBella's wife's genealogy quilt; Nov 8 — Harvey Levine on LAB colors and portraiture.
- iLife SIG (Pat Fauquet leader; Travis Good stand-in Oct): Oct 25 — iPhoto plug-ins + photo books; Dec 6 — Mediterranean cruise photo workflow, RapidWeaver vs Sandvox.
- Programming SIG (Aaron Burghardt leader) — did not meet this quarter.
Volunteer Opportunities Listed
Recruitment for Pi Reporters, Bookkeeper assistant, Education and Training Expertise, Recruiting/Retention Expertise, Marketing/Advertising Expertise, Journal Design and Production Editor understudy (Nora Korc as mentor).
Andy Ihnatko's iPhone Fully Loaded
Ihnatko's book iPhone Fully Loaded (Wiley, 2008) — won by Frank Manion in the drawing. Paul Silverman won an 8GB iPod touch.
Entities
People: Bob Jarecke, Thomas Carlson, Gordon Nord, Len Adler, Richard Allen, Jonathan Bernstein, Jay Castillo, Pat Fauquet, Larry Kerschberg, Brent Malcolm, Richard Orlin, Charles Reintzel, Mike Schneible, Lawrence I. Charters, Nora Korc, Richard Sanderson, Patsy Chick, Travis Good, Dick Rucker, Andy Ihnatko ★ DEBUT, Steve Roberson, John DiBella, Harvey Levine, Seth Mize, Aaron Burghardt, Tom Carlson, Charlotte Wunderlich, Meg Gabriel, Grant Peacock, Merle Junker, Bertha Alexander, Frank Manion, Paul Silverman Topics: eJournal Launch, Pi Clubhouse, Pi Strategic Plan 2009, Year of the Pi, Pi Rockville Office, Mission Statement WAP 2009, Vision Statement WAP 2009, Andy Ihnatko Internet Pants, Retired with your Mac, Roberson Top Ten Mac Gifts, Pi Century Club, Management Committee, Travel Series Travis Good References: Time Machine, Everything is Miscellaneous, Adobe Reader, AOL, Digital TV Switch, iPhone Fully Loaded, 5.11 Tactical Pants, Samson Zoom H2, Canon PowerShot G10, Drobo, Slingbox, Kindle, Sony Reader Digital Book
Connections to other issues
- First eJournal issue — predecessor print era ends with 2008-11 — V30 N06 (30 years of print Feb 1979 → Nov-Dec 2008)
- ★ Pi Strategic Plan 2009 fulfillment of "What's the Plan, Stan?" preview at 2008-11 — V30 N06
- Pi Clubhouse Grand Opening = renovation reopening; "Clubhouse" identity since 2006-11 — V28 N06
- ★ Andy Ihnatko Internet Pants = future-famous Pi anecdote
- Travel Series Travis Good = continues from 2007-03 — V29 N02 "Publishing a Travel Blog" debut
- Retired with your Mac = strategic-membership-targeting shift toward retiree demographic
- Roberson Top Ten Mac Gifts = annual Pi tradition continues from earlier years