Blog Posts from MacWorld Expo

Posts Tagged ‘Macworld 2008’

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MacBook Air’s unremovable battery

John Gruber posted a great first look at the MacBook Air, chiding the tech media about its enclosed battery, and I couldn’t agree more:

No swappable battery. I think this aspect is going to play out exactly as it has with the iPhone: (a) there’s going to be a ton of criticism from the gadget and tech press decrying this as a terrible decision; and (b) the vast majority of users don’t care and won’t mind the sealed battery at all. Seriously, the press is not going to shut up about this — you can’t go 10 feet in the Expo media room without hearing someone complain about it.

I personally like carrying an extra charged battery with me on long trips, but it wouldn’t keep me from buying an Air if I otherwise wanted one.

Amen, brother. Folks need to get their heads around this.

January 16, 2008 at 12:18 pm by Chris Ainsworth. | No comments.

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I’m now officially a rumor site

So only 2 of my 8 predictions came true during Steve’s keynote, but I think that more than qualifies me to start a new Apple rumor site.

This keynote of course had some pleasant surprised:
(more…)

January 16, 2008 at 12:12 pm by Bryan Schwegler. | No comments.

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How to seduce a Mac geek

Last year for Macworld ‘07, San Francisco Chronicle newspaper sex columnist Violet Blue posted her sexy Macworld tips in a column entitled “How to Seduce a Mac Geek: A Macworld Sex Guide.” When I stumbled upon it this morning, I had a good laugh. It’s fun reading, and don’t worry–it’s safe for work–well, barely. It’s a newspaper web site, so c’mon. Here’s a taste:

You can tell by how they walk, male or female, that they’ve had a bite of that Apple. It’s obvious that the Mac user is just waiting to be uncorked like a bottle of foamy champagne — and with a few precise techniques, it’s playtime at the Genius Bar in no time. And there are so many Mac geeks in town, it’s practically our civic duty to find out what kind of hot widget-on-widget action gets them through the night. So I offer to you this: a Macworld sex guide.

January 16, 2008 at 11:33 am by Chris Ainsworth. | No comments.

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Mac Games at the Expo

Mac gamers: the phrase is pretty much a contradiction of terms. Or at least it has been traditionally. There are actually some encouraging signs at this year’s Macworld Expo that the gaming industry is finally coming around to acknowledging Macs.

For one thing, there’s a grand-looking “Mac Games” pavilion. True, it isn’t quite bursting with game demos, but at least there are enough to allow for an entire Mac Games pavilion. They were all supplied by the few game developers that have booths at the Expo, so I’ll just describe the games by company.

January 16, 2008 at 12:03 am by Michael Gaworecki. | 3 Comments.

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Hoo boy: The first day on the show floor

Aaah, there’s nothing quite like cruising the show floor at a big convention. It’s overwhelming, it’s over-stimulating, but it’s tons of fun. In the Expo’s South hall alone you’ve got major software application developers like Microsoft, Adobe, and Google all conducting tutorials and training seminars; you’ve got access to every iPod or iPhone accessory you ever wanted, and about 18 million more that you never knew you wanted, from big names like Samsung and Shure right down to local retailers from all over the country; and of course you’ve got the Apple store as the giant hub of it all.

January 15, 2008 at 9:00 pm by Michael Gaworecki. | No comments.

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Too Many Gadget Distractions for PC Girl

My goal going into MacWorld this week was to try to learn everything that I could about using Mac Notebooks. The idea was that this would make it easier for me to make the transition from PC to Mac. But what I discovered when going through the exhibitions today was that I couldn’t keep my mind focused on my goal. There were just way too many cool gadgets and fun accessories to let me stick with a Notebook-Only mindset.

I may not have decided on any Mac computer stuff yet but MacWorld did give me the final push that I needed to make a decision about another Apple item I’ve been wanting - the iPhone. I’m the kind of gal who always just gets whatever free phone comes with my contract because I really don’t use my phone much anyway. But what I do use all of the time is my computer. I’ve been eyeing the iPhone constantly since before it even came out. Checking out all of the accessories that are available for it now just made me want it even more. But then I realized that since I don’t use the phone part, I don’t need the phone part.

So I’ve made a decision, I’m going with the iPod Touch. It’s got a bunch of new upgrades that interest me. In particular, the fact that the Maps feature can find where I’m at before it points me in the right direction wins me over. And the fact that I can check the weather with “just a touch” is kind of appealing. But I imagine I’ll probably be more likely to use the mail function than anything else. After all, I’ve got to quickly tell everyone in my social network about everything that’s distracting me at MacWorld!

January 15, 2008 at 8:58 pm by Kathryn Vercillo. | 3 Comments.

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Super Sensory Overload

I spent several hours this morning wandering around the exhibits at Moscone West. The best description that comes to mind is “sensory overload”. There are so many sounds and sights, things to play with and people to talk to. I’ve just been going from booth to booth, trying to take everything in.

The Digital Photography stuff has captured most of my attention. There’s an exhibit of glamorous portrait photos when you first walk into the West Hall that immediately caught my eye. The bulk of my morning was spent wandering in the area around this checking out the different photo things that you can do if you know what you’re doing. The options range from simple services like getting your own photos made into useable postage stamps to more complex design applications that you can use on your computer. I’m still trying to get my mind around most of what I learned today as far as taking and manipulating pictures goes. And I’m starting to think I’d benefit from a more in-depth description at one of the presentations happening tomorrow or Thursday.

The rest of my morning was spent in the games section of MacWorld’s exhibits. I messed around with a few different games (Neon Tango, Sims) but spent most of my time learning about EVE Online. It’s a complex multi-player virtual SciFi world. I was under the impression that there aren’t too many MMOGs for Macs (World of Warcraft was the only one I really knew). Asking around a bit, I found that there are some but that EVE Online is, according to the people promoting it anyway, significantly more involved than any of the others that are currently available. I played for awhile but can’t say that I really grasped it too well. I suppose that’s a good excuse to spend some more time over in that area of the Expo!

For now, though, I think I need to go grab a late lunch. There is just too much information and activity going on here to keep running on empty. If lunch doesn’t refresh me, perhaps I’ll try napping in one of the MetroNaps machines that everyone’s taking pictures of at the front of the exhibit hall. They look a bit space-agey but I imagine they’re relaxing!

January 15, 2008 at 5:07 pm by Kathryn Vercillo. | 4 Comments.

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Keynote announcements

The Macworld Expo 2008 Keynote Address by Steve Jobs has finally come and gone, putting an end to all the speculation. The big news, of course, is that the MacBook Air predictions were nearly spot on.

There was plenty of other news, too, but it took quite a while for the event staff to get the masses in the door and in their seats. So long, in fact, that many of us missed half of the Keynote. The main auditorium was beyond capacity, and so were the rooms playing the Keynote on closed-circuit television. But no one was grumbling. Everyone had come to see a big announcement, and they weren’t disappointed.

January 15, 2008 at 4:28 pm by Michael Gaworecki. | No comments.

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My Macworld keynote initial impressions

Wow…where to start?

I gave myself time to think about Steve Jobs’ Macworld keynote on my way back from Moscone West to the hotel, and let what I just saw sink in a little. Let me take the major announcements and items one-by-one and give you my first thoughts. Bear with me…I’m still trying to get my head around some of this stuff.

January 15, 2008 at 3:04 pm by Chris Ainsworth. | 1 Comment.

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The Women of MacWorld

As I was walking around the MacWorld Expo yesterday and this morning, it struck me that there seems to be a fairly even balance between men and women attending the event. This is a notable change from many of the tech events that I’ve attended over the years where I frequently find myself to be the lone gal in a group of guys. That got me wondering whether women were also equally represented as speakers at MacWorld.

A quick perusal of the conference speakers’ schedule reveals that the speaking part of the event continues to be male-dominated. However, there are some women speaking throughout the week. Here is some more information about the women that I found on the schedule:

January 15, 2008 at 1:53 pm by Kathryn Vercillo. | 4 Comments.

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