For those of us familiar with the Malaysian Mac User Group, or myMUG, Azul Adnan is a familiar character at meetings and MacFests. Arguably one of Malaysia’s biggest Apple fans, Azul took time out to be interviewed by myMacBUZZ for our first ever monthly feature article. In our quick chat, Azul tells us about himself, his love for Macs and myMUG.

Azul Adnan loves his 12� Powerbook G4 that follows him everywhere he goes. He even brings it to work, where it stands out among all the Windows boxes in his office. Think different, right?

“My first experience with Apple computers was when I was studying in UK back in 1986. I was on the yearbook committee, and I occasionally had to use an Apple for desktop publishing,� says Azul. “It was the first computer I used with a graphical user interface (GUI). Previously all the computers I’ve used only had the green text on black background, so that was pretty cool.�

However, the short exposure to that machine didn’t even pique Azul’s interest in Macs. He didn’t even bother to notice which model it was at the time.

“It wasn’t the original Macintosh, that’s all I remember. At that time, I was more interested in writing code rather than the hardware because I was studying programming,� he explains.

Growing interest

It wasn’t until he joined Bursa Malaysia, his current employer, where his interest in Macs blossomed.

“This colleague of mine bought an iMac, the Blueberry one,� he said, referring to the original iMac released in 1998, which featured an integrated monitor and CPU design.

“He kept going on and on about his iMac and Apple. At about that time (2001) Steve Jobs had returned to Apple and was doing many interesting things, and I found myself interested in the company. Eventually I started thinking of buying my own iMac.�

Already an avid follower of Apple news, Azul had heard of rumours that the iMac was about to undergo a revision and decided to only buy his first Mac once the new version came out. It was 8 months between the time he made his decision and when he bought his own iMac G4 in 2002.

The Switch

While he was happy with his purchase, Azul found himself in a somewhat awkward situation – he was finding it difficult to get used to OS X 10.1.

“OS X was quite different from Windows which I had grown so used to. I must admit, I struggled quite a bit during the first three months,� he reveals.

“Now that I’m familiar with both OS X and Windows, I can see that OS X is so much better. In fact, I get irritated with Windows with lots of things, like how it gets so cluttered. On my Windows computer, I keep trying to hit F9 for Exposé. It’s just so much easier on OS X.�

Azul has since grown quite accomplished with his Mac, and regularly creates home movies with iMovie on his 12� Powerbook G4, his first ever portable which he purchased in 2004.

Besides his Macs, Azul also possesses an original 1st generation iPod, which he won in a contest organised by Macasia. The first iPod he actually bought was the iPod Shuffle, but the one he carries with him now is his 4th generation iPod Photo.

myMUG

In 2004, Azul heard of a bunch of local Apple users who were thinking of starting a user group. That meeting was attended by other local Mac early adopters like Hisham Hassan and Ian Cheong.

“At the meeting we decided to register the Malaysian Mac Users Group, or myMUG, as an official society under the Registrar of Societies. We set up a pro-tem committee with Hisham as the president as myself as vice-president. Unfortunately, Hisham had to go back to Singapore, and some other things happened in between and we’ve still not gotten around to registering as a society,� he says with a sheepish look.

Registered or not, myMUG has still managed to turn out successfully. Ever humble, Azul points out that myMUG has been meeting regularly since November 2004 for their bi-monthly MacFests.

“In the beginning we had about 5 people attending. Today we have a bigger attendence, sometimes up to 35 people,� he explained.

Besides coordinating meetings and activities, Azul also helps maintain the myMUG website, where he puts his iMovie skills to good use by creating video highlights of past MacFests which he posts online. myMUG received a great boost as well when Peachpit Press accepted myMUG as an affiliate and sends books and materials which are given away as prizes during MacFests.

“Going forward, my vision for myMUG is to see it grow further and attract more participants. Besides just having fun, a Mac User Group should be a community where Mac users can meet up, network and help each other out. I really hope that myMUG can provide that kind of value to the local Mac users,�

If the growth of myMUG regulars are any indication, myMUG has definitely been proven valuable to the local Mac community. And with the number of Mac and iPod users growing in Malaysia, it looks like Azul will continue to have his hands full with myMUG.