Members
W. Thomas Leroux
My first Mac was a G5 PowerMac that I purchased at the very end of 2003 to work on a video and DVD project, originally as a Non Linear Editing System (NLE), but as I used the Mac more and more, I gradually moved away from my other computer systems to using my Macs for everything I do in my day job as owner of Darner media (web programming, graphics, video editing etc).
In February of 2005, I picked up one of the first Mac mini's in Ottawa to replace my wife's PC, and reviewed it for Monitor Magazine, which in a roundabout way enough led to me writing a regular column for the magazine.
Some of the software I use in my day to day work is Final Cut Studio, Textmate, Transmit, iDVD, Adium, iCal, iTunes, and many more. I blog over at leroux.ca.
I will admit that since I "switched", I have become a Mac evangelist, extolling the virtues of OS X to all my Windows-using friends. Sometimes I send them iCal invitations to things just to dig at them. Because I can.
David Rostenne
I have been doing Mac consulting for many years, and I am sure I have had the chance to work with almost every version of Mac (and a few Mac clones too!) that Apple has been selling since 1984.
As I write this, it is almost spring of 2008, and my "must go canoeing" urge is kicking in. This year I think I will do things a little differently: I am going to look into getting an iPod Touch, a Pelican Case for it.. and a Solio solar charger. After that all I will need is an ebook reader on the iPod! hmm.
Rock Norris
Rock is a local graphic designer for print, web and multimedia, and a Mac user since 1993. He started on a PowerBook 165c as part of an experimental "a laptop for every student" biomedical engineering degree, and lovingly named it "Fred" after the only usable System 7 Speech voice at the time. He's come a long way since then, metaphorically and geographically. He owns way too many Macs, mostly given to him well beyond their usable years to "give a good home to," and he dutifully has, packing them up and carrying them every time he moves. But they now rest quietly in a corner, until one day they rise up against their human masters. There are many copies. And they have a plan.
Rock has lived in many places, hop-scotching around the Eastern part of the North America as has his wife, Robin, a fellow avid Mac user for just as long, completing her Ph.D., and subsequently started her career in teaching, now in the English Department at Carleton University. Most recently, we lived in the New Orleans area (3 years), while also having called Toronto (5 years) and Columbus, Ohio (two years) our "home" over the past decade.
And just to get it out of the way, yes, together, we're Rock and Robin.
Katheryne Legault
I am a 2nd year master's student at U of O and I converted in May 2007 with help from Dave. I attend ByMUG whenever I can manage to climb out from my piles of articles and textbooks. I don't code, program or edit anything; I like finding apps to do that for me. I still consider myself a newbie when it comes to ever-evolving Macs, which is part of the fun.
I use my Mac for school & entertainment. My favourite applications are Mail, Safari, iCal, iTunes, Adium, CandyBar and PhotoBooth. The aesthetics of Macs is what drew me to them in the first place and the demos I do seem to focus on neat & pretty things you can only do with Macs. I'm currently debating whether I can bear to be parted from my iPod nano (3rd gen) in favour of an iPod Touch.
Keith Russell
I started at 11 with an Apple IIe then in junior high Mom got a Macintosh. Back then it was "Macintosh" not this new-fangled short version. After that things digressed into the PC swamp (though I never ran MS Windows at home) and have remained so for business. A few years ago I finally came back to the Mac universe with a 17" iMac. Eventually I replaced my wife's PC with a Macbook. We both have an iPod touch making this a purely Apple household. To pay the mortgage I work as a (non-Mac related) software developer. One of my many hobbies is learning to program my iPod. And yeah, I try to convert everyone I meet.
Jeffrey Lee
I am a school teacher in Ottawa who bought my first imac in 2001 primarily to edit my travel footage. At that time, imovie was the best software (and still is) for average people to edit and burn video. Since then I have been kind of a mac evangelist and have converted many friends and staff members. I have learned a lot since being a member of ByMUG and invite everyone to join.
Sara Lackie
Sara Lackie is a professional harpist living in Montreal. As a specialist in the Baroque triple harp, a rare instrument from 17th-century Italy, she is busy in the local early music scene.
Sara bought her first Mac in 1992. Obliged to use a PC during the intervening years, she very happily returned to the Mac world in 2004. Her most-used applications include Sibelius, a sophisticated music notation program, and the Adobe Creative Suite (particularly InDesign and Photoshop); Sara spends a lot of her time editing music scores, and is also an accomplished graphic designer. She recently taught herself HTML, and designed her ensemble's website (www.lafiorenza.ca) using only Text Edit. Her next computing project is to set up her Mac as a mini recording studio.
Because of the traveling she does, Sara loves being able to tuck her beloved MacBook under her arm and go anywhere in the world, knowing that everything she needs is in that little black box!
Sam Arseneau
Sam is a true Mac addict since childhood. He began his journey with a Macintosh LC 475 running @ 25 Mhz, and "we thought it was fast"! Years went by and the number of MacAddict and MacWorld magazines he collected grew exponentially... You would frequently see Sam conversing with grown-ups about what enlightened his mind - Macs!
Currently enrolled at the University of Ottawa as a commerce student, Sam is an entrepreneur at heart. Back in May of 2006, he launched SupportMyMac.ca, a Ottawa-based Macintosh support company. He enjoys every second of his new venture.
His current setup includes a suped-up PowerBook G4 15" which manages every aspect of his digital life. Finally, apps he uses daily include : Quicksilver, Yojimbo and Daylite.
Ray Binda
I started on the Mac in January 2002 after seeing demos of how sleek OSX was. My first Mac was a G4-667 Titanium PowerBook with the works. I call myself a Mac user of the X Generation.
My current machines include both a G4-667 TiPB and a G5-2.1G iMac. I am looking into the idea of adding an Intel-based Mac, but that's for the future for now.
Dwight Williams
Dwight Williams is a part-time writer, part-time artist, and part-time office drone. His main ambition lies in comic books, and he's currently at work on completing the artwork of Local Hero, a super-hero/police-drama mini-series created in partnership with writer Ian Gould. Dwight upgraded his Mac gear to a MacBook Pro in the fall of 2008 after five years of using a pre-Intel G4 iBook and it's giving him solid service thus far. He still isn't giving up the old iBook, though. If you want to talk to him, Dwight's got a blog at Livejournal.
Located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.