Monday, June 11th, 2012

Backup and File Storage in the Cloud
an overview and comparison of some of the options

June’s program will expound on how you can use the “cloud” to backup and store your data. David Ross will give an overview and comparison of some of the on-line services available, including their pros & cons, costs, Mac friendliness, accessibility from multiple computers, and interoperability with other OS’s. Some of the services available that David may talk about include CrashPlan, Carbonite, Mozy, Dolly Drive, Back Blaze, Jungle Disk, Dropbox, SugarSync, and SpiderOak.

MobileMe is coming to an end on June 30. Duane Reaugh will remind us what absolutely has to be done before then in order to keep your .mac or .me email address, your calendar, and your contacts active. (Check MobileMe transition and iCloud to read Apple’s frequently asked questions about the MobileMe transition and iCloud.)

Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference begins on June 11. The keynote is scheduled for 1 pm ET. Expect some discussion about the announcements at the meeting. We plan to devote a full program to cover Mountain Lion in depth after its release, tentatively in a few months.

Dave Spector & Chuck Nall have been creating a series of video podcasts for the past month. 3 editions of Cup of TMUG have been published on YouTube. They will give us an update on their efforts.

TMUG’s MacBook Air membership contest has ended. The winner is Fred Lampe. Fred had 14 of the 445 entries. He was among 60 other TMUG members participating in the contest. Congratulations Fred!  (Here’s a picture of Fred shortly after he was announced the winner.)

TMUG’s Q&A session is a mainstay of our monthly meetings. Come and ask questions about your Mac or iOS devices, and then get answers from your fellow members. TMUG member & Mac consultant Bob Chandler will be there to moderate the discussion. Be sure to be there from the beginning of the meeting to get in on the discussion. And don’t forget to get a ticket for the door prize drawings, that is, if you are a TMUG member. If you’re not a member – join – and you too can get a door prize ticket. There are always a variety of nice prizes, and some lucky TMUGers will be winners!

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 contests such as the just-ended MacBook Air contest and our monthly door prizes. And it will likely give you a warm feeling inside, too, knowing that you are helping to support TMUG’s mission as an educational non-profit here in the state of North Carolina. 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 June 11, 2012!