I’m lucky again have the chance to join the MacMania cruise. With over 100 Mac geeks taking part in a full schedule of conference sessions, it’s an incredible opportunity to learn more about using our favorite computer, share tips, make new friends and catch up with old ones. It’s also nice to hang out with folks who are using SmileOnMyMac software and show off some of the new features in TextExpander. We left New York harbor Sunday evening en route to Bermuda. We have two nights and one day at sea, before getting to our destination. Being geeks, we are not hanging out at the pool or the casino; no, we’re happy that we have a full day of conference sessions. The faculty includes Jason Snell of Macworld, David Pogue of The New York Times, Andy Ihnatko of the Chicago Sun-Times, Derrick Story of The Digital Story, Rich Siegel of BareBones Software, Â and Sal Soghoian of Apple. I am focusing on improving my photography skills and learn more about my new camera. I just picked up a new Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 compact, thanks to the helpful recommendation of John F. Braun of the Mac Geek Gab. I wanted something small but powerful, and this fits the bill. Derrick Story, photographer and teacher extraordinaire, gave an all-morning seminar on High Impact Photography, showing us how some simple strategies can result in extraordinary photos. Jason Snell helped decrypt the mysteries of video on Apple devices. Â And David Pogue did a session on digital cameras–how to choose one and how to use it. Extra fun: I was seated next to one of my favorite writers, Andy Ihnatko, at dinner. If you are familiar with his writing or his appearances on MacBreak Weekly, you’ll have an idea of how entertaining the evening was. (If you’re interested in the writing process, I highly recommend listening to Dan Benjamin’s interview with Andy on The Pipeline Podcast.) After dinner, I sat in with Pat Fauquet of Dr. Mac Consulting while she participated in a session of the MacJury with Chuck Joiner. It was quite fun to do a podcast from a boat. The topic was the iPad 3G. We were able to be online in a five-person Skype chat for over an hour. The wonder of modern satellite internet! PS. Congratulations to Daniel Jalkut of Red Sweater Software on the release of Mars Edit 3, the very software used to create this post. I’ve got the beta version, and will download the final version as soon as I have regular internet access again! Photos: leaving New York; Derrick Story’s photography seminar; Andy Ihnatko and me; Pat Fauquet on The Mac Jury; Pat and me.
