MacNexus is hosting a digital photo contest to showcase member work in photo arts. All the photos will be put onto our MacNexus website for your viewing pleasure. Then a panel of judges will select winners in ten categories in August. You will be able to see a print of the winning photos at the Tuesday, September 15th general meeting and you will be able to vote for the "Best of Show" photo from the category winners.

Prizes will be awarded. Yes, prizes! We have contacted last year’s sponsor, O’Reilly, and expect to again have a great array of prizes. The Best of Show prize will again be a $100 Visa Gift Card. Plus, of course, winners receive the intangible accolades of their fellow MacNexans.

So, round up your favorite photos and enter the contest!

Categories:

• Professional - (one category) open to those who make 50% or more of their income from photography. Up to three photos may be submitted on any subject in this category. No professional work may be submitted to the other categories.
• Amateur - (nine subject areas) open to those who are not considered "professional" by the above definition.

Up to 3 photos may be entered per person in the Amateur category. Only one photo may be submitted per subject area. You choose the three subject areas you wish to enter.

Amateur Subject Areas:

• Animals
• Architecture
• Close up, macro
• Flower
• Humor
• Landscape
• Objects, still life
• People
• Travel

Submit your photos, using the rules for submission, beginning July 15, 2009, via email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Show off your work! Reap rewards! Photos will be displayed in an online gallery.

The Official Rules are printed below. Questions may be directed to Barbara Effenberger or emailed to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

MacNexus Photo Contest Rules

1. Only a MacNexus member may enter the MacNexus Photo Contest 2009. Membership must have started by the date of submission and not expire until after October 16, 2009.
2. Only one person per membership card may submit entries.
3. Each submitter may only enter 3 photos.
4. Photo Contest members may not enter.
5. The photo submitted may not contain the name of the submitter, the likeness of the submitter, or other identifying information in the photo.
6. Any work submitted must the work of the member-submitter.
7. Submissions must be in JPEG format, at a resolution of 200 dpi, size maximum of 1024 wide by 768 high.
8. Photo editing or manipulation is permissible. Submissions may be in color or black and white.
9. Any submission is provided with permission for MacNexus to use the image in the contest, on a website, and in a printed form for display and possible publicity, from the date of submission to December 31, 2009.
10. All submissions must be in good taste, as determined by the Photo Contest Team and panel of judges. All decisions of the Team and panel of judges are final.
11. For the purposes of category determination, a "professional" is anyone who derives 50% or more of his or her income from photography or image manipulation. Up to three images may be submitted to the Professional category. No images from a Professional may be submitted in the Amateur category subject areas.
12. "Amateurs" are those members who do not meet the definition of a Professional. Amateurs may submit only one image per Amateur subject area up to a maximum total of 3 entries.
13. Each submission must include the submitter's name, MacNexus member number, postal address, e-mail address, and telephone number, the file name, the category name. Submission will be by email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or by CD by arrangement with the Photo Contest Team, and the image must be sent no earlier than July 15, 2009 and be received no later than 5:00 pm August 15, 2009.

2009 Contest Time Frame:

• Submit images from July 15 to August 15
• Display of submissions on a website to December 31.
• Judging of categories completed by September 15.
• Category winners contacted after August 15 for a high-resolution file of the winning images for MacNexus to print for display. Prints will become the property of the category winners after September 15.
• Winning images will be displayed at the September General Meeting of MacNexus, September 15. During that meeting, attendees will vote for the "Best of Show" image which will receive the grand prize.

The servers where the MacNexus email domain and the MacNexus website live suffered a Denial of Service Attack overnight. We had no existence on the web from about 8:30 pm on Friday night until shortly after noon on Saturday. (Update: And there was a repeat performance from sometime during the wee hours of Sunday until about 11:30 am on Sunday. Hopefully, the problem has been solved.)

Our host, Bluehost, had to make changes on the server for our email to work again. Review the following and make changes as needed.

1. Check your incoming and outgoing server settings in your email client.
2. If they are already set to "mail.macnexus.org," read no further. Your email should be working.
3. If your settings are either "69.89.31.249" or "box449.bluehost.com," or "webmail.macnexus.org," you must change your settings to "mail.macnexus.org" and save the new settings. It is not necessary to change anything else in your mail settings.
4. Also do NOT check the SSL box
5. POP port = 110
6. SMTP port = 26

After making any changes, click on the General icon (looks like a lightswitch) and save changes. Then QUIT the Mail application, then restart it. 

You might have to re-enter your mail password one more time, & be sure to save it in your keychain. 

If you need help with this, you can contact the usual crowd.

• Stan Lunetta 457-1781
• Tom Smithson 961-7214
• David Badovinac 359-5364
• Bill Davies 452-4844
• Bob White 363-7115

MacNexus announces upgrades on email services

Taking advantage of the cost savings, the MacNexus Board of Directors has restructured the fee for an "@macnexus.org" email account.

• In the past, in addition to the $40 membership fee, MacNexus charged $20 per year for each email account.
• Starting immediately, that same $20 will now purchase up to four email accounts.
• Benefactor members will also receive up to four email accounts.
• As with membership, the user of individual mail accounts must live under the same roof as the primary member.

Billing will be adjusted for members who already have multiple email accounts. No credit or adjustment will be made for email paid for prior to Jan 1, 2009. If you currently have a bill for multiple emails, as a Basic member, you should pay $60 or as a Benefactor, pay $100.

No action on your part is necessary unless you wish to start new email accounts.

If you wish to start a new email account or add additional ones, do one of the following:

• If you do not have an existing "@macnexus.org" email account, contact either Bob White or Tom Smithson to purchase your account
• If you have one or more "@macnexus.org" email account(s) already, contact one of the people below to set up additional accounts.