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Presented by Ty Davison

.Mac, pronounced "dot Mac," is Apple's $99.95 a year online service which allows users to take full advantage of their Mac and the Internet.

While $99.95 a year might sound like a lot at first, an ever-increasing number of users‹there are over 1 million subscribers now- have found that given .Mac's feature list, it's a relatively small price to pay. Here are some but not all of the features which convinced them:

*.Mac email account: Users get an ad-free email with powerful virus scanning of incoming messages.
* iChat AV: Members can participate in secure chats (unlike standard iChat/AIM chats which are not encrypted).
* iDisk: .Mac users get a remotely hosted hard drive accessible over the Internet. Imagine being able to store up to 1 GB of information that you can access from any Internet-connected computer and which appears as a hard drive icon on your desktop when you log in.
* Backup: Apple's Backup program allows to you backup your important information to your iDisk or to CD or DVD.
* Sync: What if you could instantly update your Address Book contacts, your Safari bookmarks, and iCal calendars across multiple Macs?
* Access data: You can use .Mac to store contacts, calendars, bookmarks, email and files so that they're accessible using any Mac or PC connected to the Internet.

At the SMUG meeting on April 11, I'll be providing a .Mac feature overview which includes items from the above list and more. Additionally, for those interested, I will be taking orders for .Mac and donating $3 to SMUG for every copy sold. (Family Packs of one master account and up to four sub-accounts sharing 1 GB of space will also be available for order at $179.95, and I'll be donating $3 to SMUG for every .Mac Family Pack sold too.)

Meeting information:

There are 3 SMUG meetings, on Tuesday. All members are welcome to visit any of the meetings.

The Board Meeting. Your elected board members discuss and plan the direction of SMUG. Member are welcome to submit any information, bring up any concerns, or just observe the meeting. It takes place at Tong King Garden, 989 12th St. SE at 5:30.

Beginner's Corner. Questions answers and semi-moderated discussion with other NOOBS (Newbies). It takes place at 6:35pm at the Comfort Suites Inn prior to the general meeting.

The SMUG General Meeting. This is where we conduct our general business, take a look at interesting hardware or software. The meeting starts at 7:00pm in the Oregon Room on the First Floor.

To get to the Comfort Suites Inn:
From Mission Street: Turn North at Hawthorne Avenue - From State Street: Turn South at Hawthorne Avenue
Comfort Suites is on an unmarked street (or long driveway) heading East from Hawthorne Avenue. It is just North of the red brick buildings of the University of Phoenix.

The SMUG SIG (Special Interest Group) meets on the Saturday following the General meeting Comfort Suites 10:00am.