Blog Posts from MacWorld Expo

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:
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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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MacBook Air ad song: New Soul by Yael Naim

I searched on all the lyrics that I could recognize to find the song in the MacBook Air envelope ad in iTunes. It’s called New Soul by Yael Naim. Kinda catchy. You can download it here.

And how cool is it that Apple continues to introduce artists to a bigger audience via their television commericals?

January 15, 2008 at 9:04 pm by Chris Ainsworth. | No 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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Interoffice envelope

C’mon, how cool was it when Steve brought out the MacBook Air in an interoffice envelope? And how many of you are going to slide your new MBA (yes, folks are calling it that) into a manila envelope the first day you take it to work? Huh? Huh? Yeah, that’s what I thought. All of you.

Check out the MacBook Air envelope ad introduced in today’s keynote at Apple.com.

January 15, 2008 at 8:26 pm by Chris Ainsworth. | No comments.

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An update for MacBook Air-like gestures?

I really liked the demonstration of the multitouch gestures on the MacBook Air during today’s keynote. Its got me wondering though. Couldn’t Apple release an update to Leopard that would enable these trackpad gestures on existing MacBook and MacBook Pro hardware? I think the trackpad on the MacBook Pro is certainly big enough to accommodate most, if not all of them.

I can’t find information on this anywhere. Does this seem like something Apple would do? Or is it strictly a selling point for the MacBook Air? Post your thoughts in the comments.

January 15, 2008 at 7:56 pm by Chris Ainsworth. | 4 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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The MacBook Air’s environmental progress report

My biggest hope was for a truly green Mac, and that hope faired extremely well. No, we didn’t get the first fully recyclable, 100% toxin-free, super-energy-efficient machine, but Jobs had prepared a presentation on the environmental friendliness of the MacBook Air, and he stated that he would deliver an environmental progress report with every product Apple announces henceforth. That is huge: It means Apple has really taken the mandate for a greener Mac to heart, and is committed to being the leading environmentally responsible computer manufacturer they should have been all along.

January 15, 2008 at 4:59 pm by Michael Gaworecki. | 1 Comment.

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