First, an addition to your already busy dance card.  Our local Apple User Group, MMOOS (Maine Macintosh Owners & Operators Society) will meet next Tuesday, March 18^th, at 6:30 PM in the large meeting room in Bldg. 25 at Thornton Oaks Retirement Community in Brunswick.  See our web site at mmoos.net for directions and more information about MMOOS.

Next week we’ll take an in-depth look at all the news in the Apple/Mac community, and then focus on “Sprucing Up Your Mac” – customizing your desktop, folders, window, etc.  Then we’ll answer all those questions that have been burning a hole in your question pocket since last month.  Should be a blast.

In other Apple news, last week Apple detailed their plans to open their revolutionary iPhone and iPod touch devices to third-party developers.  They released what’s called a Software Developer’s Kit (SDK) to software engineers chomping at the bit to get their applications onto the dynamic duo.  In the first four days of the SDK’s availability, over 100,000 SDKs were downloaded from Apple’s web site.

Developers have about 90 days to get their applications ready before Apple releases version 2.0 of the iPhone/iPod touch software in June.  At that time, Apple will open an “App Store” section of the iTunes Store to distribute third-party applications.  So, purchasing and installing new iPhone applications will be as easy as downloading a song or movie or TV show.  You’ll be able to download applications into iTunes on your computer and then transfer them over to the iPhone/iPod touch.

Or, if you’re on a WiFi connection (versus AT&T’s EDGE network) you can purchase and download applications directly onto your iPhone or iPod touch.  It’ll be very interesting to see how imaginative developers make use of the iPhone/iPod touch multi-touch and graphics capabilities, as well as the built-in three-axis motion sensor.

For example, at the SDK announcement press conference, Apple demonstrated a game they wrote in just a couple of weeks and with just 10,000 lines of code.  The demo game puts you at the controls of a space ship, blasting your way through asteroid fields and enemy fighters.  The graphics were, of course, stunning.  The motion sensor lets you “steer” your space ship by moving the phone around, firing your plasma cannons by tapping on the screen.

Just imagine what they’ll be able to do with Quicken.