Monday, April 9th, 2012

OS X and iOS Image Editing

“I’ve got lots of pictures, what can I do with them?”

With OS X 10.4, Apple introduced core image processing to the operating system. Since 10.5 developers have been able to exploit this image processing feature. Many of the core image operating system features have made their way to the iOS operating system as well. This means that there are lots of fun options for us users — whether on our Mac, on our iPhone, or on our iPad.

Photo editing isn’t  just for Photoshop any more!

Allen Emory will preview several image editing software applications for Mac: iPhoto, Pixelmator, Flare, & Funtastic Photos; and for iOS: Photo, Instagram, Camerbag, iTimeLapse, TinyPlanets, Color Effects, 360, Cinemagram, HDF FX, & Snapseed. (NB: MacZOT is offering Funtastic Photos for $9.99 through 4.12.12. Some of the other apps are also on sale. Check their web sites for more info. Check the iTunes Store for the iOS apps.)

TMUG officers Dave Spector and Chuck Nall are working out some glitches with creating audio & video podcasts of TMUG meetings. The intent is to create a short podcast of our monthly meetings & publish them to YouTube &/or other services. If you are interesting in helping with the podcasts, let them know.

The May 14 meeting will focus on Life After MobileMe. The program will feature a remote webcast by Joe Kissell (author of many Take Control of e-books) live from Paris, France. To help facilitate the discussion, send any related questions you have to questions(at)tmug(dot)org. We will compile them for Joe prior to the meeting.

One of the most popular features of a TMUG monthly meeting is our Q&A session. Ask your questions about your Mac or iOS devices, and the attending members will likely provide answers. TMUG member & Mac consultant Bob Chandler will be there to moderate the discussion. And be sure to get a ticket for the door prize drawings, that is, if you are a TMUG member. There are always a variety of nice prizes, and some lucky TMUGers will win them!

TMUG’s MacBook Air membership contest is still ongoing. The contest has 2 purposes – we are celebrating and promoting TMUG’s new web presence with its forum, and we are having a membership drive. The winner of the contest will get a new Apple 11″ MacBook Air (or Apple product of equivalent value at the end of the contest). Don’t forget to sign the contest logbook at the meeting to get credit for your attendance! The contest is scheduled to end after we reach or goal of 50 new & renewing members.

The contest is similar to the iMac giveaway contest that we held 3 years ago. Members get points for renewing, attending meetings, & participating on the forum. And if you’re not a TMUG member yet? Join or renew your membership now to start earning points. Details are published on the MacBook Air Contest web page, along with a member point tally table. Check the contest entry log to see your updated points on the regular meeting day.

Do you know that TMUG has connections on Google+, Meetup, Twitter, & Facebook? Check the right-hand column at TMUG.org for updates & details. We hope that all TMUG members & other folks in our community will participate in the forum at our new home. Forum subscribers may opt to receive email notifications when a topic or reply is posted on the forum. And you may subscribe to the RSS feed of the forum.

TMUG meetings are open to the public – you don’t have to be a TMUG member to attend. The same applies to participation on the TMUG forum, but a TMUG membership will grant you greater access to our services, including entries in our MacBook Air contest and our monthly door prizes. And it will likely give you a warm feeling inside, too. Join TMUG or renew your membership for only $35 for a full year. You may pay with cash, check, or most major credit & debit cards at a monthly meeting. (We are using the Square card reader for iOS for card payments, which will send you a receipt by email. TMUG absorbs the transaction fees using this card payment system as a convenience to members.) If you can’t make it to a meeting, you may also join or renew by mail by completing a membership application and sending your check to our PO box.

Be sure to join us at Caldwell Hall on the NCSU campus on April 9, 2012!