If you're a Mac webmaster, you'll want to be at Mactivity/Web San Francisco 1/8-1/9/96. 40 sessions in 4 tracks, as part of the Macworld exposition. Java, VRML, security, CGI, sound, video, Netscape 2.0, Web Lab, business and legal tips, and a free vendor fair on 1/8/95. $695; , (800) 798-2928. [Paul Kent , MacWay, 12/7/95.]

On 1/11/96, there's also an annual "nerd herd dinner" -- the 10th Annual SF Macworld Netter's Dinner -- 6:30 at the Hunan in San Francisco. $16/person via or . [Jon Pugh , TidBITS, 12/18/95.] (Just to show that camaraderie isn't limited to academic communities.)

The QuickDraw GX Fan Club is a website for Apple's advanced graphics developers: applications, fonts, printer drivers, utilities, etc. . Two discussion lists there are GXList (for end users) and GXDevList. [Kenneth Trueman , EvangeList, 11/17/95.]

Is there a market for Mac programmers, now that Windows 95 is drawing most of the new software development? Concerning Java, James Gosling at Sun says " We've had a series of bizarre problems around getting a Mac version out. The central problem is that it is really hard to find people to do Mac hacking. It seems that whole population has been dissolving. There seem to be a lot of people who've decided that, 'Damn, Windows '95 has won; I better retrain.'" [David Bennahum , MEME, 12/22/95.]

(Another market for Mac systems people is at magazine publishing companies. I hear that nearly all PC magazines are produced on Macs, as are nearly all of the ad layouts in other magazines. Macs still rule the corporate graphic arts departments. See for the Gartner Group study showing reduced costs from supporting Macs in addition to PCs. Official reprints are still available at 800/232-9335. [TidBITS, 12/18/95.] And, yes, I do own Apple stock. :-)

The Macintosh Consultants Network Conference will begin right after MacWorld Expo, on 1/12-1/15/96. MCN is an 8-year old, international, nonprofit organization that sponsors semiannual conferences. Vendor presentations are a big part of the conferences, aimed at consultants who integrate products into "specialized, multivendor solutions environments." Attendees often take home hundreds of dollars in hardware discounts and not-for-resale software, plus consultancy advice and service offers. $545 for MCN members. , or , or call Doris at 800/729-4626 or 212/532-3365. [John Friedlander , Mac*Chat, 12/18/95.]