Summer on the Patio

For the last two months, we've been meeting at Carolina Ale House in Briar Creek. The change of venue has been a lot of fun. Panera food and Wifi is OK, but the vibe at CAH makes for more one-on-one and smaller breakout sessions. It's truly a user-helping-user group.

Tonight, we had quite a cross section of the industry. A new person came, who is an iPhone developer, but there were only two other iPhone/Touch users! The rest were Windows Mobile, Palm Pre, and Symbian. Later, a couple of CrackBerry addicts wandered in as well. There was a Kindle DX, we looked at Presto, a Linux quick-boot install. Alan showed how you can actually shell into a teathered Pre from the Mac terminal. We showed Mark/Space's Fliq and QuickOffice for the iPhone as well.

Pat mentioned that, since May will start our tenth year, we should think about a celebration of some kind. We'll have to discuss what kind of geekery we can get up to in the next few months. It's sure been a lot of fun!

If you've not been to a meeting in a while, you need to check out the new venue - with Monday Night football starting up, though, we may have to give it a pass. We'll see in September. See you then!

Moving locations

Tonight's meeting was great! Even though it was a bit smaller than it's been of late, we looked at a wide variety of software and hardware of interest to everyone there. Phi showed Bento, both on the Mac and the iPhone. Thwarted by an unfriendly network, he couldn't show syncing, but we found out many of the features of this syncing database. The interest in syncing data lead to talks of lists. I re-visited SplashShopper (which everyone thinks has a limiting name: it's so much more than a shopping list minder!). We also looked at three iPhone battery/case solutions: The Mophie Juice Pack, the Case-Mate Fuel, and the Tekkeon myPower. We also looked more closely at the WiFi settings, and how to sync when the infrastructure works against you.

We've been fighting the wireless at Panera for a while, so I've decided to move the meeting across the street to the Carolina Ale House. For those coming from I-540 or from Raleigh via 70, pass the exit into Briar Creek proper, and go to the very next street west on the right, Skyland Ridge Parkway, just beside the Best Buy. Turn in, and you'll see the Carolina Ale House immediately to the right.

For those coming from Durham on 70, turn in at the light, and turn left across the traffic at the first break in the median. You'll see it on your left.

We'll try to grab a table in the non-smoking section, immediately to the left inside the door, at least until January when the new NC SmokeFree law goes into effect and the whole place will be smoke-free. Every time I've been there, that's the most full section already.

Our July Meeting will be at the Ale House, and will hopefully feature a demo of the Palm Pre. Seven PM, 20 July 2009. Be there.

July Meeting called off - see you all in August!

There were many folks who could not make the July meeting for various reasons, so we're putting it off until the third Monday evening in August, which is the 18th! See you all there, with all your shiny new tech toys!

New iPhone OS, New Apps, much to discuss

With last week's release of iPhone 2.0, the second generation hardware, and the iTunes AppStore, much has changed in the handheld universe. Exchange syncing and push email is a shot squarely across RIM's bow. Apple is already outselling Palm and Windows Mobile devices (although in terms of active market share, it is just starting to show up as a niche player).

This month, we'll have to go through many of the things that have changed with the iPhone, and I am purposely inviting the TMUG group to visit our meeting. There was quite a lot of buzz generated during last week's upgrade, and this past Monday's meeting brought a few questions to the surface as well.

I will not be there, due to business travel, so I wonder if there is someone who would pinch hit for the "leader" role? (While I'm not nearly so formal as in the larger meetings, I do try to get everyone involved in the conversation. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it!) Let's discuss on the list.

June Meeting

An interesting, if short, meeting at Panera in Brier Creek. We chatted about the new iPhone and whether it would overtake the Blackberry. We pondered getting an iPod touch and keeping a Palm-based cell phone for PDA/phone, with the Touch covering eMail and iPod tasks. (Feel free to continue that discussion on the list.)

Alan brought some new toys for Fred, duly paid for per the terms discussed on the list. Alan also had his new full-bore 300mm lens. Quite a hossy piece of glass - but fun! We discussed point-and-shoot cameras, convergence, and using bluetooth or IR to connect a keyboard to your PDA. We looked at EverNote, and were impressed that you can take a picture of text, email it to your account, and then search on the text pictures, and it will find that picture. Pretty spiffy. The better the picture, and the less "design-y" your type, obviously, the better the OCR is, but it's a fine service for free at this point. Don't trust your bank statement to it, at this point, since we're still not sure how, if ever, this puppy could make money.

So, see what you missed by not coing to the meeting? We'll meet once again on 21 July, and you're more than welcome to bring out your digital toys and impress us all. See you then?

We are still going strong

We have been meeting at Panera in Briar Creek, with up to 7 people each month. We've seen MacBook Air, the One Laptop Per Child machine, various jailbroken iPhone apps, and more than a few web apps that enhance your mobile productivity. As far as the machines used by the group, they still range from various Palms, iPhones, and Windows Mobile, with the occasional Linux machine. If you're into handheld or otherwise portable technology (even if it's just a camera, a mobile phone, and your street bike), it's worth the time to come by or at least post a question to our listserv. We may have good insight into good body armour for motorcycles, or the best pannier system for a commuter to use carrying their laptop to work each day. If nothing else, we'll offer strident opinions.

New folks on the scene?

Last Monday night at the TMUG holiday party/meeting, the Q&A discussion centered around the iPhone. After about 10 questions, I finally stood and mentioned to the group that this group now had a broader charter, and iPhones were perfectly acceptable topics of conversation here. Matter of fact, there is a greater chance for sitting around a table and actually using one, watching it sync, and hearing firsthand whether or not it lives up to the hype.

Since then, I've had a few folks join our mailing list, and a few others request info on this site, so we may have some visitors to our meeting tonight. (This is not to scare away those not interested in iPhones - just to let you folks know what to expect. (Given the change in the weather and the proximity to Festivus and other holidays, attendance may not show a sudden surge, but you never know.