Dig a little deeper — beyond the job titles, gender, ethnicity and computer skill level — and you’ll find what binds the members of Apple User Groups together. These diverse communities are united by the desire of members to develop new friendships and share how technology can improve their everyday lives.

A sky-diving instructor who has made over 7000 jumps. A criminologist who works with law firms and universities. A family physician in Northern Ireland. A retired ergonomist who now investigates elder abuse. A web designer who likes to garden. A marine science center employee who received a prestigious volunteer service community award for his work at local schools. We can’t forget the NASA aerospace engineer by day, artist by night. Nor the deputy district attorney and avid baseball fan. And last, but certainly not least, a ninety year-old pilot, artist, and engineer who, for seventeen years, supervised the electronic design group on a major space program.

User groups are made up of men and women, young and old. Some were computer industry pioneers — others recently learned another meaning for the word mouse. With such a diverse group of individuals, you might wonder how user group members work so well together. They’re linked by a common desire to enhance their computer skills and develop new friendships.

Anybody with questions about Apple products is always more than welcome at user group meetings. Vicki Andreotti recently became treasurer of her sculpture group and needed to create a member database. When she ran into problems, she turned to the MacNexus user group in Sacramento. “They helped me with the problem areas and saved me hours of time,” says Andreotti.