SCC Apple User Group President Chet Rindfuss in the club’s new lab in the Community Association complex. The growing club once met in what was effectively a closet. This week, they will be celebrating 10 years in a new, spacious lab outfitted with Apple computer products. Mitch Traphagen photos.
These days it’s hard to miss them: It seems that whenever a computer is shown on a television show or a movie, it is an Apple MacBook. Sometimes the distinctive Apple logo is covered but there is still no mistaking it. Apple, with the highly successful iMac, MacBook, iPad and iPhone, has reached into nearly every facet of life — even for those who don’t use their products.
And that reach is reflected in the growth of the Sun City Center Apple User Group, an official community club that is celebrating its 10th anniversary this week.
Just over a decade ago, it began as an offshoot, or a Special Interest Group (SIG), of the community’s PC Club. Eventually the SIG had enough members to be granted its own space — in effect, a coat closet. But this week, with 200 members and growing, the club will show off their large new space with an open house in conjunction with FunFest on Saturday, March 19.
During the celebration week, the club will raffle off an iPad. Tickets are $1 or six for $5 and may be purchased from members of the club or in their lab, located in the new Community Association building at 1203 N. Pebble Beach. The drawing will be held during FunFest, at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
The new Apple User Group lab features a large flat-screen TV to which instructors can beam their own MacBook, iPad or iPhone screens to aid in instruction.
The club has come a long way in the past year or so. The new lab is outfitted with new iMac computers and a large flat-screen TV on one wall. Using that screen and an Apple TV device, instructors are able to beam their computer screen, iPad or iPhone screen to the large screen to aid in instruction. But there aren’t workstations at every seat — and there is a reason for that.
“I’m amazed at the number of our members who have an iMac, a MacBook, an iPad and an iPhone,” said SCC Apple User Group President Chet Rindfuss. “People do use them all, and then wonder how they managed before having them.”
But Rindfuss, who spent his career in computers before retiring to the community to which his parents had also retired, acknowledges that there is a generation gap in computers, and there is a need to provide senior citizens with help on the devices that their children and grandchildren simply take for granted.
“The interesting thing that I’m seeing is that the technology is so rich these days; you look at kids using this, it’s part of them,” he said. “Some of our members look at it and are terrified. Our biggest challenge is to figure out how to make this technology available to senior citizens and make it something they can deal with.”
The growing popularity of the devices has increased the demands on the club. Rindfuss said that when classes are offered, whether for the iPad, iPhone or MacBooks and iMacs, the seats are usually gone within a day.
“I don’t think anyone was really prepared for what would happen when the iPhone came out,” he said. “It really changed the way we think about computing.”
The iPhone was the world’s first smartphone. And despite near ubiquity today, it’s easy to forget that it is still relatively new technology; it was just released in mid-2007.
As club president and a computer expert, Rindfuss places an emphasis on both teaching the basics of using the products and considering the longer-term implications and situations. Some people struggle to remember their passwords, which, with various accounts, can indeed be confusing. As the recent high-profile case of the FBI asking Apple to break into an iPhone reveals, Apple products are not easy to break into.
“What happens at death?” Rindfuss asked. “The problem now is people come in and say that my husband always took care of our accounts and now how do I get into my bank account? It’s all online now. We’ve started to recommend to our membership to talk to whoever will handle their estates, to talk about what attorneys are recommending for this problem. There are a lot of legal questions about this … who can be designated to handle your accounts upon your death? This is really the first generation to have to face this, and I don’t think that we really understand what all of the ramifications are yet and about how to handle it. But we are suggesting to be prepared, to make sure that someone you trust has a list of your accounts and your passwords at a minimum, so they can pick up and carry on.”
During the anniversary celebration this week, the club will hold various events, including helping members use photographs to create a movie and then record stories of the photos as a voiceover, a gift for children, grandchildren and generations to come. The idea is modeled on the Smithsonian Institution’s World War II project, in which veterans are interviewed so their stories are not lost to the passing of time.
The week will culminate on Saturday during FunFest.
“On Saturday the 19th, as part of the FunFest activities, we’ll have an open house, our lab will be open here and people can stop by to see what we have to offer,” Rindfuss said. “We’ll put videos up on our big-screen TV on the wall. That big screen has been a real blessing for offering classes. And we’ll have the drawing for the iPad.”
Both those who have Apple products and those merely interested are invited.
“I think it’s important for people to understand how critical it is for there to be a local place where people can come and ask questions,” he said. “They could always go up to Brandon (Apple Store) and go to the Genius Bar, but that is difficult for some. I grew up in this environment and it’s second nature to me. And it’s hard to remember what it’s like to not know all of this stuff. The big thing is to have a local place where people can come and get answers so they don’t have to call their kids on the phone in California or Nebraska and ask questions that are sometimes difficult to answer over the phone.”
For seniors and those with certain disabilities, Apple has worked to build in features to accommodate them. Chet Rindfuss sat for this interview with his MacBook, an iPadPro, an iPhone 6 Plus, and wearing an Apple Watch. This reporter carried much the same, except my iPad Mini is smaller and easier to carry. My Apple Watch and iPhone control my hearing aids, eliminating the need for a neck loop, greatly simplifying their use. There are also accessibility options for the visually impaired.
The growing popularity of Apple products is reflected in the growth of the club. For seniors, iPads and iPhones, in particular, open communication options with children and grandchildren. They provide information and entertainment. The computers are designed to be easy to use but, as Rindfuss knows, there can be a learning curve. He, along with the club, is working to soften that curve.
The Sun City Center Apple User Group lab is in the new CA building at 1203 N. Pebble Beach Blvd. For more information, email info@sccaug.org. The winner of the iPad raffle need not be present to win.
