About the NHMUG
The NASA Headquarters Macintosh Users Group, or NHMUG, is dedicated to the
distribution of information about the Apple Macintosh. Our primary purpose is to
help the Macintosh user community within NASA Headquarters know about new
developments in Mac technology, and how the Mac can best be applied to the
business of NASA. This may include evaluations of new Macintosh products,
letting users know about new contract vehicles for acquiring Macintoshes, or
demonstrating a new HyperCard application developed down the hall that may make
your daily business a little easier.
As part of Macintosh support effort, we have established several activities and
services for the use of our members. These include our monthly meetings, the newsletter,
our CD-ROM software library, our distribution disks, and other items.
While we are interested in promoting the use of the Macintosh as an office tool,
we also recognize that many of our members have Macintoshes at home for use as
education and entertainment systems. We also know the reason that the Mac has
been so successful is not just due to the innovative user interface, or the neat
mouse that comes with every machine, but also that the Mac is also a cool tool
to use! Thus, while the NHMUG tends to focus on the "official" uses of the Mac
within NASA , we also mix in a fair portion of fun.
This page will introduce you to the NHMUG, let you know who we are, and detail
the offerings of the group. If any of this looks exciting, and you would like to
find out more, just attend one of our meetings and become a member!
The NHMUG is open to all NASA employees and contractors, with affiliate
membership for other government agencies. Becoming a member of the NHMUG is
extremely easy: just come to one of our monthly meetings
and sign the check-in sheet, or just e-mail the NHMUG
Chairman at any time to be added to the membership roster.
The NHMUG is open to all NASA employees and contractors. The group is not
limited to just NASA Headquarters: we include members from several off-site
contractor locations and several NASA field centers. Affiliate memberships are
also available for employees of other government agencies. We do not currently
collect any dues, nor do we charge for any services (even the newsletter!)
We rely heavily upon volunteer efforts for the continued support and growth of
the NHMUG, and we recognize that the key to our success is the involvment of our
members. We urge everyone interested in the NHMUG to join, and all of our
members to become involved with the growth of the group.
The NHMUG is located at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. This map shows our
location, as well as the other major NASA centers. Click on the map to get a more
detailed view of our location, or more information on the NASA centers!
At the present time, we do
not have a formally elected slate of officers. All decisions regarding the
future direction of the NHMUG, group policies, etc. are decided by popular vote
of the attending membership at the monthly meetings. Everything that needs to get
done is done by volunteers, and we are ever in their debt. For items that do
require individual attention, these individuals have been pressed into service:
Chairman: Dave Lavery (dave.lavery@hq.nasa.gov)
Co-Chairman: Mike Little (mlittle@aeromail.hq.nasa.gov)
Treasurer: Vacant
Librarian: Vacant
Newsletter Editor: Dave Lavery (dave.lavery@hq.nasa.gov)
If you would like to assist the group in any of these capacities, please let the
Chairman know. We are always looking for new talent!
The main activity of the NHMUG is our
monthly meeting, which occurs on the fourth Wednesday of every month, from 11:30
am until 1:00 pm. We usually meet in one of the conference rooms in NASA
Headquarters. Check the NASA HQ Bulletin and the NHMUG newsletter for notices listing the meeting site.
Since our first meeting in April, 1988, the group has grown to over 250, with
35-50 members at each meeting.
Our meetings usually start with 15 minutes of general news and announcements,
followed by a question-and-answer session. Have a problem that you have been
beating your head against for a while? Ask about it here, and the odds are good
that someone will have a solution for you! The major presentation is usually a
30 minute software evaluation, demonstration, or panel discussion. When outside
vendors and product distributors are invited to the meeting, we attempt to have
the actual product developers present their creations, rather than a third-party
sales representative who may not be as technically familiar with the products as
we would like. "Sales pitches" are discouraged, and tough questions from the
audience are encouraged strongly. The meetings close with an informal
"free-for-all" discussion session.
The NHMUG publishes a monthly newsletter, which is electronically mailed to all
members. Each issue of the newsletter is filled with information about NHMUG
activities and articles intended to help you get more from your Macintosh.
Newsletter topics cover a wide range of information, including previews of
upcoming meetings, reviews of previous meetings, quick hints and short cuts to
make your use of the Mac easier and faster, hardware reviews, software
evaluations, trade show reports, and membership survey results. The newsletter
is free, and will be sent to you if you can be reached via electronic mail on the
Internet. To receive the newsletter, just attend one of our meetings, or contact the NHMUG
Chairman.
In January, 1994, the NHMUG Newsletter was converted to an all-electronic format, to
speed up distribution, save paper and reduce mailing costs. Prior issues of the newsletter are
available on the NHMUG ftp newsletter archive.
The NHMUG is currently in the process of moving all existing bulletin board files
and file archives onto our Internet ftp site.
When completd, this site will
contain copies of all the NHMUG newsletters, distribution disks, indexes to CD-ROM library, and public
domain file collections (right now, the newsletter and shareware sets are
already available). Come on in and visit anytime!
The NHMUG publishes an occasional series of disks which contain NASA-relevant
clip-art, drawings, forms, applications, documents and other utilities. These
disks provide supplimental material which help with NASA-related activities,
which may not be available elsewhere. The disks are not used to provide
"general purpose" items which can be found on public access bulletin boards or in
the Public Domain Software Library.
To obtain one of the Distribution Disks, simply bring a blank disk to one of the
NHMUG meetings, and trade it for a full Distribution Disk. What could be easier!
The contents of these disks have been compiled with the NHMUG membership in
mind, and are intended for their use. However, the contents are not restricted
in any way, and may be duplicated and distributed appropriate. An index of
the disk contents is also available.
The NHMUG is building a library of Macintosh-related CD ROM (Compact Disk - Read
Only Memory) disks. The CDs in the library are similar to the the music CD with
which you are probably familiar - the only difference is that these ones contain
Macintosh files instead of your favorite tunes! The library includes disks
provided by Apple, other users group, third party vendors and other government
sources. Each disk can contain up to 600 megabytes of public domain software,
shareware, images, information, demonstration software, animation, sound samples,
and just about anything else you can imagine. The disks are accessed by using a
SCSI CD drive which makes the CD appear on your Mac desktop, just like a huge
floppy disk. As with other libraries, the CDs can be "checked out" any time
for a day or weekend. At any time, you can view a list of
the NHMUG CD ROM Library holdings.
Macintosh training courses for NHMUG members, and for all NASA Headquarters staff, is
provided by the Headqurters Computer Training Center (CTC), located on the
Concourse Level of the
NASA Headquarters building. The current course offerings include Macintosh
Orientation, MacDraw, Excel, MacWrite, FullWrite Professional, Word Perfect, and
HyperCard. Most courses are three hour sessions, and are generally offered
every three weeks. The class schedule is posted in the Headquarters Bulletin.
Additional courses are developed based on user requests. If you need training
in a system not yet offered by the CTC, please call and ask about starting a
new class. Call the CTC at 202-358-0099 for more information, or to register for
classes.
Back to the NHMUG page
Last updated: November 11, 1997
Who can be a member?
Meetings
Newsletters
File Server / ftp Site
CD ROM Library
Training