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WOW! We discussed the future of bmugwest!:

1. John Riley created a facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=12409253079
2. everyone was encouraged to create a facebook page of their very own.
3. David M. discussed ning http://www.ning.com
4. Lorca mentioned Plaxo http://www.plaxo.com as a way to backup/share your addressbook and keep track of the various social media sites.
5. also discussed was http://upcoming.org, http://laughingsquid.com/squidlist/events/, and http://craigslist.com as ways to "Get the Word Out" about the monthly meeting.

6. Very Important is the fact that we need to get (more) vendors and/or speakers for the monthly meetings so that they don't descend into simply two hours of Q&A, frequently dominated by a few members sometimes seeking what amounts to personal techsupport, a la the old bmug helpline clinic in Berkeley, from the entire group.

7. Speaking of the old bmug, several members brought up the idea that maybe a new name is in order. whaddya think? (we DEFINITELY need a need LOGO for the facebook page).

ps. we also discussed the "mupromo.com" deal that ended the next day. its over now but a few of us thought it was a good deal in that it included Parallels, itself a $70 product to run Windows on any intel Mac, amongst 10 other products.

it was a phoney meeting.

Lorca:
GrandCentral http://grandcentral.com. aggregate all your phone numbers (and voicemail) under a free, new number by GrandCentral. Numerous options to route calls to cell, work, home numbers as well as voicemail. telemarketing/phone spam protection. call screening and more. was recently acquired by Google.

prepaid cell phone options. for new and/or low usage cell phone users. don't spend $40-50 month when you use you cell phone for less than 3-5 hours a month. monthly usage costs can be as low as $5 month but usually $8-15. upfront costs, to purchase the phone, can be as low as free but usually costs $50-100. pricing/network info: http://cellguru.net/prepaid_compare.htm be sure and check the user reviews of any phone you might want to buy at http://phonescoop.com and/or http://gsmarena.com Lots of people, including Adam Engst of http://tidbits.com fame, like http://virginmobileusa.com (they use the Sprint CDMA network) which has its own comparison chart at http://web.virginmobileusa.com/about/why-choose-us and ways to earn "free" minutes by watching ads. you must spend at least $15 every 3 months (18 cents a minute, can be as low as 10 cents a minute if calling other Virgin Mobile users) and you can only use the phone in North America. T-Mobile http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/phones/prepaid.aspx has better phones (and the "quad band" 850/900/1800/1900 phones can be used worldwide. T-Mobile uses their own GSM network. T-mobile will "unlock" your phone for free so that you can use a cheaper per-minute rate SIM when you are overseas after you've had your phone for at least 3 months.). you can spend anywhere from $10/month on up -OR- $100 which gives you 1000 minutes (10 cents a minute) that don't expire for a year. Virgin Mobile has their phones available at the Virgin Megastore downtown on Stockton/Market T-Mobile has their phones available a block away at 3rd/Market. for the more adventurous: http://ebay.com and others have a broader selection of already unlocked GSM phones (want a RAZR? ~$100 new and unlocked on eBay)

UPDATE: LA Times story on prepaid: Message for cutting cellphone bills: prepaid calling
Consumer Research article
Ron:
demoed http://apple.com/iphone