<s>
A	O
Macintosh	B-Device
User	I-Device
Group	I-Device
(	O
MUG	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
users	O
 '	O
group	O
of	O
people	O
who	O
use	O
Macintosh	B-Device
computers	I-Device
made	O
by	O
Apple	O
Inc	O
.	O
or	O
other	O
manufacturers	O
and	O
who	O
use	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
Macintosh	I-Device
operating	O
system	O
(	O
OS	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
groups	O
are	O
primarily	O
locally	O
situated	O
and	O
meet	O
regularly	O
to	O
discuss	O
Macintosh	B-Device
computers	I-Device
,	O
the	O
Mac	B-Device
OS	O
,	O
software	O
and	O
peripherals	B-Device
that	O
work	O
with	O
these	O
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
groups	O
focus	O
on	O
the	O
older	O
versions	O
of	O
Mac	B-Device
OS	O
,	O
up	O
to	O
Mac	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
9	I-Operating_System
,	O
but	O
the	O
majority	O
now	O
focus	O
on	O
the	O
current	O
version	O
of	O
Mac	B-Device
OS	O
,	O
Mac	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Macintosh	B-Device
user	I-Device
groups	I-Device
are	O
independent	O
organizations	O
that	O
elect	O
their	O
own	O
leaders	O
,	O
develop	O
and	O
present	O
topics	O
at	O
group	O
meetings	O
,	O
schedule	O
special	O
events	O
,	O
frequently	O
have	O
a	O
newsletter	O
and/or	O
web	O
page	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
activities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
website	O
,	O
the	O
MUG	O
Center	O
,	O
provides	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
resources	O
to	O
MUGs	O
and	O
Mac	B-Device
users	O
,	O
including	O
a	O
comprehensive	O
list	O
of	O
links	O
to	O
MUG	O
websites	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
early	O
users	O
 '	O
groups	O
were	O
Apple	O
user	O
groups	O
that	O
became	O
MUGs	O
when	O
Apple	O
started	O
the	O
Macintosh	B-Device
line	O
of	O
computers	O
in	O
1984	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
following	O
is	O
a	O
2005	O
list	O
from	O
the	O
Apple	O
User	O
Group	O
Locator	O
of	O
19	O
still	O
active	O
MUGs	O
that	O
had	O
initial	O
meeting	O
dates	O
in	O
1975	O
-	O
1978	O
(	O
note	O
that	O
these	O
MUGs	O
supported	O
Apple	O
products	O
prior	O
to	O
the	O
Macintosh	B-Device
computer	I-Device
line	O
with	O
original	O
meeting	O
dates	O
that	O
predate	O
the	O
Macintosh	B-Device
computer	I-Device
line	O
)	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
MUGs	O
exploded	O
in	O
size	O
in	O
the	O
1980s	O
and	O
were	O
a	O
primary	O
method	O
of	O
distribution	O
of	O
freeware	B-License
and	O
shareware	B-License
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Computer	B-Architecture
hardware	I-Architecture
and	O
software	O
companies	O
found	O
MUGs	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
valuable	O
place	O
to	O
provide	O
information	O
about	O
their	O
products	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
largest	O
MUG	O
was	O
the	O
Berkeley	O
Macintosh	B-Device
Users	O
Group	O
,	O
closely	O
followed	O
by	O
the	O
Macintosh	B-Device
SIG	O
of	O
the	O
Boston	O
Computer	O
Society	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
friendly	O
rivalry	O
between	O
the	O
two	O
groups	O
energized	O
both	O
throughout	O
the	O
1990s	O
.	O
</s>
