BMUG is an educational non-profit corporation dedicated to collecting, evaluating and disseminating information about graphical interface computers. We give users the information they need to use their computers most efficiently and painlessly. BMUG is not affiliated with any manufacturer; we represent the interests of thousands of users in the United States and in over 50 countries around the world.
We offer local activities in the San Francisco Bay Area and international services for our members everywhere. Meetings are free and open to the public; our disk library is available for sale to anyone; but our technical help and electronic information services are provided for members only.
Read on to learn about all the great products and services we offer, including our:
•BMUG Newsletter: published semi-annually, containing over 400 pages of reviews, tutorials, reference material and commentary without any advertising;
Helpline: high-quality technical assistance and expert data recovery available in person and over the phone every business day.
•Planet BMUG, The BMUG BBS: A 17-line electronic bulleting board service, running a graphical user interface, FirstClass.
•Software Library: one of the most up-to-date, comprehensive libraries of publicly distributable software, thoroughly tested and indexed, available on hundreds and hundreds of floppy disks, via modem on our BBS and electronic forums, and on one CD-ROM disk, the BMUG PD ROM™.
••Membership••
BMUG is financed by membership dues and the sales of our educational products. We accept no advertising in order to remain objective in our evaluations of the computer industry. We welcome, need, and are grateful for any contributions, financial or otherwise. The majority of BMUG members renew year after year. The rest of this booklet will show you what keeps them coming back.
Every one year BMUG membership includes two issues of our highly acclaimed Newsletter, at least one account of the BMUG BBS and access to our technical Helpline.
All our meetings, as well as the software library, Disk Catalog, PD ROM™, back issues of the Newsletter and other BMUG publications are available to non-members.
There are several types of membership: Individual, Family and Company. The differences in services are listed below. A trial membership lasting six-months is available for individuals. Departments within large companies may join independently. If this booklet fails to answer any of your questions about BMUG, please call our office at 510-549-BMUG.
After receiving your application, we send out a confirmation card indicating the date you joined, when your membership expires and the privileges you will enjoy in the interim.
Please support us by joining BMUG. Our goal is to provide you with the widest possible array of useful information. Find out why MicroTimes listed BMUG as one of the top 100 must important influences on the computer industry and said, “BMUG is what every user group dreams of becoming.”
BMUG Membership Packages:
Individual Membership-$45
• Two issues of the Newsletter
• One BBS account
• Access for one to the Helpline for a year.
Family Membership-$80
• Two issues of the Newsletter
• Three BBS accounts
• Access to the Helpline for up to four people for a year.
Company Membership-$120
• Two issues of each Newsletter, four issues total
• Five BBS accounts
• Access to the Helpline for up to10 people for a year.
••BMUG Online ••Planet BMUG
The BMUG 28 multi-line, electronic Bulletin Board System (BBS) is an information resource in itself. It is the crossroad of a much larger international network.
and is also part of UseNET and UUCP Mail on the Internet. Each of these non-profit networks is monitored by tens of thousands of computer users in America and abroad. Access to both on one system makes the BMUG BBS a unique value in information services because the BBS is available to the public and has no connect-time charges..
The latest publicly-distributable software is available online, and is subjected to the same intense scrutiny for viruses as our disk-based software library. Our multi-line capability gives you fast access 22 hours a day (our BBS exchanges messages with other systems from 2:00-4:00 am Pacific time), and all lines support 300 through 14,400 baud. Call us up and explore for awhile — free at 510-849-2684.
Other Information Services
BMUG volunteers monitor other information services, so they are available to answer your questions regardless of where you choose to log-on. You can reach BMUG at the following electronic addresses:
America Online: BMUG or BMUG1
AppleLink: BMUG or UG0001
CompuServe: 73237,501
FidoNET: 161/444
Internet: bmug@ aol.com
Usenet/UUCP: ucbvax!garnet!bmug
The WELL: bmug
••Publications••
The BMUG Newsletter
Twice a year, BMUG publishes a newsletter full of interesting articles on a variety of subjects. Unlike other user group newsletters — and unlike other Macintosh publications — the BMUG Newsletter contains no advertising and is generally about 400 pages in length. Our newsletter is the heart of our activities; it serves as a medium for the exchange of information and contains some of the most honest, insightful commentary in the entire computer industry.
Joining BMUG is the only way to get the Newsletter and we work hard to live up to our members’ expectations. We are extremely proud of each issue.
BMUG Disk Catalog
A comprehensive guide to BMUG’s software library, with descriptions, icons and author information for thousands of programs and files.
This 700-page book is the definitive reference for publicly distributable software, including sample of each font, including 85 screen fonts from the Adobe Type Library. It’s organized by disk, but has handy indices which allow you to quickly locate any application.
Guy Kawasaki, president of ACIUS, and author of The Macintosh Way believes: “BMUG is the quintessential example of the Macintosh users group phenomenon.”
Neil Shapiro, Sysop of CompuServe’s MAUG, remarked: “You guys don’t publish a newsletter, you publish an event! Something in this will appeal to every Mac owner.”
The New York Times said: “Mac owners in the other 49 states can certainly profit from the collected wisdom of the group’s newsletter, a whopping extravaganza that includes news, product review and recommendations, tutorials, how-to-information submitted by members, and a disk of selected public domain software.”
Andy Hertzfeld, member of the original Macintosh system design team, exclaims: “BMUG is righteous!”
John Dvorak, widely syndicated columnist for MacUser and MicroTimes, feels the BMUG Newsletter “…stands head and shoulders above any other… publication.”
BMUG holds meetings much more frequently than most users groups. Our Main Meeting is held every Thursday, and is attended by several hundred people each week (see the map inside the front cover for the exact location). We also offer various Special Interest Groups (SIGs), which focus on particular topics or issues. SIGs meet in the BMUG office unless otherwise specified. All our meetings are free and open to the public; beginners are always welcome.
*** Main Meeting ***
Thursdays, 7:00 pm, in the Physical Sciences Lecture Hall (PSL) on the UC Berkeley Campus. Lively question & answer session, followed by guest speakers. For all user levels. Free and open to the public.
Special Interest Groups (SIGs):
** BasicMac **
Getting started on your Macintosh. Question & answer session and demos. Meets every Tuesday, 7:00 p.m.
** Database Developers **
Writing applications with database management systems. Every other Wednesdays.
** Design & Graphics **
Publishing and graphic arts from the desktop. Alternate Mondays, 8:00 pm.
Environmental Design Group (CAD/CAM)
Use and comparisons of the latest CAD applications. Last Thursday of the month at 577 - 2nd St., S.F., 7:00 pm.
** HyperCard Scripting **
HyperCard & SuperCard development “behind the buttons.” Alternate Wednesdays, 6:00 pm.
••Helpline••
Nothing confounds like a computer. Unfortunately, even in the age of user-friendly graphical interfaces, this is still true. You no longer have to muddle through alone, because BMUG provides unlimited technical support for our members over the phone, through online informations services, and now via our FAX number (510-849-9026)
BMUG is in constant contact with thousands of computer users — who are doing virtually everything imaginable with their machines. We have an incredible knowledge base to draw upon in solving your problem. And we have been doing Macintosh tech support as long as anyone. We can answer virtually any Macintosh question, simple or advanced — just call. If we can’t answer your question, we can probably direct you to someone or something that can. We specialize in both beginner’s questions and hard-to-find technical tips.
You can also call the Helpline to avoid a problem. Our tech support is made up of paid staff and qualified volunteers. They can give product recommendations and purchasing advice based on real-life experience.
The Helpline is staffed by flesh & blood people Monday through Friday, from 10:00 am until 5:30 pm, Pacific Time. At other times, leave a message with a phone number and your question. We receive hundreds of calls a day, so please be patient, we will return your call — anywhere in the United States. International callers who leave a FAX number can receive their answers via their facsimile machines.
When you call the Helpline, please be prepared to answer some simple questions about the problem you are having. We usually need to know:
1. which machine you are using,
2. the version number of the System,
3. the version number of the application you are running (check in the About… box),
4. and the specific nature of your problem.
The Helpline staff cannot see what you see, so a careful description is needed to help solve your problem. We can often answer questions sent via FAX or electronic mail more efficiently.
Emergency Data Recovery
As a special service to BMUG members, we attempt to recover corrupted data and crashed hard disks for free. So, if an important file has gone south or if your hard disk has gone belly-up, call the Helpline immediately. We can not make any guarantees, but experience has shown we can recover your data most of the time. Comparable services typically cost $100 per hour and, yes, you can join after your disk crashes.
Helpline Volunteer Program.
For anyone interested in the Macintosh and other computers, being a volunteer for the BMUG Helpline is a great way to learn more than you ever thought you could. We encourage anyone interested to volunteer a few hours a week. Since BMUG answers questions on every major electronic service, you don’t have to be in the Berkeley area to help.
To Contact BMUG
Business Line: 510-549-BMUG / 510-549-2684 mail-order and membership questions
FAX: 510-849-9026
If you’d rather send a note"
Helpline: 510-540-1742 technical help and user advice
(limited access for non-members)
BMUG BBS: 510-849-BMUG 300 through 14,400 baud
electronic information service
(limited access for non-members)
Addresses:
BMUG Mailing Address:
1442A Walnut St. #62
Berkeley, CA 94709-1496
BMUG Office Address:
2055 Center St.
Downtown Berkeley, cross-street Shattuck
••Software Library!••
BMUG maintains one of the most comprehensive and up-to-date collections of publicly distributable software. The library has over four hundred 800K disks (single-sided disks are available on request). “Publicly Distributable” means that the author has given permission for the software to be copied and distributed freely. The great majority of this software is shareware, which you should pay for if you keep it and find it useful. Since shareware itself is typically quite inexpensive, BMUG tries to keep its disk prices low, so you will have money left over to pay for the software you use. Individual software prices are shown in shareware files and The Disk Catalog.
Unlike many shareware distributors, BMUG thoroughly checks each program for virulence, offensiveness and compatibility with current System software. BMUG disks are available in any combination, and the price includes domestic postage. You do not need to be a member to purchase disks.
••The BMUG PD ROM™••
We offer our complete software collection on compact disk. Our PD ROM holds 500 megabytes of publicly-distributable software, articles from our Newsletter and other special material. Much of this material is unavailable elsewhere.
The PD ROM comes with HyperCard, 1.2.2 and our own custom stack for browsing the collection.
Among Mac CD-ROM vendors selling shareware collections, only BMUG offers this combination of highest quality, low price, software updates available on floppy, and free technical support for registered owners. This has made the PD-ROM the best selling CD-ROM for the Macintosh.We have sold over 38,000 CD-ROMs in the past 4 years. If you buy the PD ROM from us, and, within 30- days, find that you just don’t like it, we will refund your money, no questions asked.
