6 Macworld Users Conference Presentations for the Average User

The Macworld Expo has a number of different conferences going on within it. Some people started attending lectures today at the Power Tools Conference. Others are waiting until later in the week when the Mac IT Conference begins. For the average user, the best conference is probably the Users Conference. Happening on Wednesday and Thursday, this conference is absolutely jam-packed with things to satiate the curiosity of any kind of computer user.

On each day, there are three time slots during which presentations will take place. This means that a person attending a full presentation during each time slot can catch six different Users Conference information sessions during the conference. There are seven to choose from at each time (falling under the general categories of Click, Create, Inspire, Leopard, Magic, Work, and Vision). Many of these presentations are of specific interests to certain niche users (gamers or photographers, for example). But there is at least one during each time slot that appeals to a more general audience.

Here are the six general presentations that a basic user might check out this week at MacWorld’s User Conference:

• Real World Mac Troubleshooting. No matter what level of user you are, it’s nice to be able to troubleshoot the basic problems that can crop up with a Mac on any given day.

• Collaborative Editing Tools and Techniques. Computer collaboration is getting increasingly important to people in all fields, particularly as jobs of all kinds allow increased telecommuting. It’s important to know which tools will help you to make the transition easy.

• Living with Data. It’s easy to get lost in the world of computers but it’s important to know when to emerge from that world. Tools that help you increase online efficiency also help provide you with time for the other things in life. Lessons on life balance are always applicable.

• Macs and the Media, Behind the Scenes at The Washington Post. Most of us get our news online these days. Insight into a major paper’s workings and plans can help us better understand the world around us.

• Adobe Tools and the Brave New World of Design: Bridging Print, Web, Interactive and Mobile Publishing. Most of us are publishers in some format these days. We blog or we use social networking sites or we otherwise communicate via some form of the written word. Learning how everything is getting more integrated in this area helps us be more effective in our own daily work.

• Keeping Safe on the Internet. Who doesn’t need more information about this? Even the very secure Mac has some areas of risk so it’s good to know how to protect yourself online.Users of all kinds will find that there is a lot to see at Macworld this week. People with strong interests in Leopard or a passion for photography can combine a few of these basic user presentations with more specialized presentations to get a well-rounded Expo experience.

As for me, I’m trying to decide whether I’d rather learn about keeping safe online (the smart choice) or about making my own games on Mac (more likely).