Meeting Times
Meetings (generally) start at 6:30 p.m. with a Question and Answer (Q&A) session, and the program starts at 7 p.m. on the third Tuesday of the month. At present, most meetings are virtual via Zoom, emanating from Sequim, Washington. Check here before meetings for the latest information.
January 2026:
The January 2026 meeting will be January 20. The topic is still under discussion, but is unlikely to be Windows 11.
December 2025: iPhone 17 Pro Max resolutions compared
An article with lots of pictures.
December 2025: No meeting
November 2025: Using OS 26
October 2025: A look at macOS 26, iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and watchOS 26
Science Fiction writer reviews Apples
It is … unexpected. https://terribleminds.com/ramble/category/theramble/
September 2025: iOS 26 and screening unknown callers
September 2025: Virtual machines on the Macintosh
September 2025: New Books September
September 9, 2025: Awe dropping Apple Event
Apple is holding an “Apple Event” on Tuesday, September 9. Read what little we know about it.
August 2025: Preserving and transferring information
August 2025: Things of Interest
July 2025: Short Technical Topics
June 2025: WWDC25
The next meeting will be June 17, 2025. This will be a virtual meeting via Zoom where we will talk about, among other things, Apple’s software introductions during the World Wide Developer Conference 2025 (WWDC25), held June 9-13.
We will also cover why you should update or upgrade your software, and the dangers you risk by not updating, or by using your devices with out of date software.
The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a Question and Answer session, and the program will begin at 7 p.m. A link will be sent out on June 15 or 16 to everyone on the SMUG mailing list. If you are not on the mailing list, please use the Contact link to write and request to be included.
May 2025: No meeting, but updates to everything
April 2025: New Books, First Quarter of 2025
April 2025: Utilities Part 3
April 2025: New books, first quarter of 2025
April 2025: A terminal, security updates, a conference, and emoji
March 2025: Utilities Part 2
And a shoutout to World Backup Day.
February 2025: Utilities Part 1
January 2025: Security, Privacy, and Apple Intelligence
December 2024: Apple Security and Apple Intelligence updates
December 2024: A free toy and more books
December 2024: No meeting in December
We decided that December 17 (a week from Christmas Eve) was better spent on last-minute holiday activities. See you in January 2025.
November 2024: Apple Intelligence and new Macs, iPads, etc.
November 2024: New books for fall reading 2024
October 2024: New Macs, iPad mini, Apple Intelligence first steps, bug and security fixes
October 2024: Sequoia, iOS 18, iPadOS 18, etc.
September 2024: Apple Security Updates and Operating System Upgrades
If you were to print that page (don’t), it would require 65 sheets of paper. That is a lot of broken things that are now fixed. You might want to consider upgrading right now.
September 2024: Basic Maintenance and Glowtime
September 2024: Apple security updates and upgrades, September 2024
September 2024: Things of Interest
August 2024: No Meeting
At the July meeting, we decided everyone should spend August at the beach, riding bikes, visiting Canada, or something.
July 2024: Internet of Things (IoT), and some security tips
June 2024: Building and editing a website
May 2024: postponed
May 2024: BASIC was introduced 60 years ago
April 2024: Artificial Intelligence (AI)
March 2024: Short Topics
February 2024: Backups, and Archives
Think of it as preparation for World Backup Day.
February 2024: Keep your Apple software current
January 2024: Basic Digital Photography, Part 2
In August 2020, we had a meeting topic called “Basic Digital Photography, Part 1.” We talked about a great many things, but when it comes to photography, there is even more we can discuss.
On Tuesday, January 16, 2024, we will discuss more the “how to” aspect, rather than the technological considerations.
- How do you take a sharp photograph?
- How do you take an action photograph?
- How do you take a photo in dim light?
- How do you take a photo in bright light?
- What kinds of photos can you take with an iPhone? With an iPad?
- What should you do to share a photo with someone?
Remember this sobering, startling fact: more photographs are taken every day with iPhones than were taken by everyone, using every kind of camera, in the entire 20th century. Photographs in the 21st century are a Big Thing.
The meeting will start with a Question & Answer session at 6:30 p.m., with the presentation starting at 7 p.m. This will be a virtual meeting via Zoom. A link will be sent out to everyone on the mailing list on either Sunday, January 14, or Monday, January 15.
December 2023: No meeting
Steve Lockwood shared his first effort at stop-action animation, and it is appropriate for the season:
Looking forward to seeing everyone again in January 2024.
November 2023: Web browsers
October 2023: macOS Sonoma, iOS 17, iPadOS 17
September 2023: Fonts and Font Management
August 2023: Apple Maps, Google Maps
July 24, 2023, Apple operating system updates
July 2023: Bring your favorite application
June 2023: New Apple Hardware and Software, plus Apple TV
June 2023: Computer Troubleshooting for Non-Techies
May 2023: Upgrading: When, Why, and How
No meeting in April 2023
March 2023: Photo editing on the cheap with Preview and Apple Photos
February 2023: Apple and Accessibility
January 2023: 🩺 Things Apple and Health 🍎
December 20, 2022, meeting postponed until 2023.
November 2022: macOS Ventura and a bit of accessibility
October 2022: Questions and Answers
October 2022: Computer Literacy: Privacy and Security for Seniors
This was our first in-person meeting in over two years.
September 2022: Siri and New Stuff
August 2022: iCloud
July 2022: General Cleanup
June 2022: How to get help
We also talked about Apple’s keynote offered at WWDC22 (World Wide Developers Conference 2022). Apple introduced some new products, and gave previews of forthcoming versions of macOS, iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS.
May 2022: Passwords and password managers
This cartoon was posted as homework for the meeting. It was posted on xkcd in August 20111,
April 2022: No meeting
No meeting, but did you know that Emperor Constantine was declared Emperor in 306 CE while he was in England?
March 2022: SMUG Discussion Board
We also talked about Apple’s Peek Performance Special Event. Added: a blog entry about the Apple Peek Performance Special Event.
February 2022: Housecleaning!
January 2022: What, when, and how to upgrade.
December 2021: No Program
It was the collective wisdom that we skip a December meeting, as visions of sugarplum fairies were dancing in everyone’s head.
November 2021: macOS 12 Monterey
October 2021: Yet more about email
Also, on October 18, at 10 a.m. PT, Apple held a “Special Event.”
September 2021: We talk about email
Homework for the meeting: while we don’t generally assign homework for a meeting, please check out this page and think about watching the two videos before the meeting.
August 2021: macOS Monterey and other things
July 2021: Summer Questions and Answers
June 2021: Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, etc.
May 2021: Files, Clipboard, Reminders, AirDrop, and other mysteries
April 2021: A virtual meeting vanishes
If at first you don’t succeed, reschedule
Ahem: the April 20 meeting was cut short just as the presentation was supposed to begin. We were finishing up the last question in the Q&A (Question & Answer) session when the Zoom session collapsed. A quick diagnostic survey showed that the lights and power were on, but the TV, telephone, and Internet were out. Sigh. Rumor has it that the participants in the Zoom meeting chatted amongst themselves for a bit, wondering when the Vice President would return with the presentation. The host wondered about that, too…
But the extensive Q&A is available.
March 2021: Preview and TextEdit – Mac superheroes
Preview is positively ancient, dating back to 1989, and TextEdit is almost as old, dating back to 1996. Both programs have their own Wikipedia entries. Preview also has a Take Control book, which is recommended.
February 2021: iMovie by a non-expert, for non-experts
For the second meeting of 2021, we had a presentation on iMovie. We couldn’t find anyone willing to admit to being an iMovie expert, so a non-expert was volunteered. (Note: was volunteered by someone else.) Unfortunately, we didn’t record it, and no one took notes.
January 2021: macOS 11 Big Sur and Apple Silicon
Big Sur was bumped up to 11.†
† To the great joy and happiness of Spinal Tap fans everywhere. Yes, this description was cut and pasted from December, with modest changes.
Canceled: December 15: macOS 11 Big Sur and Apple Silicon
The December 15 meeting was canceled with little notice (“literally at the last minute plus 120 other minutes”). Stay tuned for 2021.
November 2020: Apple Watch and Health
We also talked about Apple’s announcements at their November 10 special event, One More Thing…
October 2020: Word Processing
September 2020: Backups, Time Machines, and Archives
August 2020: Basic digital photography, part 1
July 2020: WWDC (World Wide Developer Conference)
June 2020: Basic digital photography, part 0
May 2020: Staying Together Using Macs, iPhones, and iPads in a Time of Social Distancing
March 2020: meeting canceled due to pandemic outbreak.
February 2020: iMovie
January 2020: Setting up iCloud services
December 2019: Mobile health devices
November 2019: Macintosh file management
October 2019: Securing macOS Catalina
September 2019: Preview of macOS Catalina
August 2019: crickets.
July 2019: Questions and Answers
June 2019: Web browsers, continued
April 2019: Web browsers
December 2018: Troubleshooting your Mac
June 2018: iMovie on iPad
Strait Macintosh User Group (SMUG) is open to owners and users of Macintosh, iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod), HomePod, Apple TV, Apple Watch [etc.] devices. Our goal is to spread computer literacy and technical savviness to residents of the Olympic Peninsula.
Located in the upper left-hand corner of the United States, the Olympic Peninsula is rich in natural beauty but isolated from the services commonly found in metropolitan areas. There are no computer stores, no electronics stores, no television stations, and limited broadband connectivity. On the other hand, we do have elk, deer, a floating bridge, volcanoes (though not that close), and a fair number of computer wizards willing to teach, and learn.
Meetings are (generally) at 7 p.m. on the third Tuesday of the month, at the Library in Sequim, Washington. [Map] Since the library meeting room is closed due to COVID-19 and, more recently, remodeling, virtual meetings are being held at the same time and date. Check here before meetings for the latest information.
To keep up with SMUG, enter your email address in the box to the right below Follow Strait Macintosh User Group, and you will be notified of new posts via email.
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