Sedona Starry Night
Wednesday, February 9, 2011 at 3:13PM
Wednesday, February 9, 2011 at 1:03PM
Look what I found at Macworld 2011. They call it the iGrill. I was originally going to make some smart remark about ridiculous apps for your I Phone, but I can’t because this thing is too cool. It’s a bluetooth thermometer for your iPhone with lots of features. It feeds info to you from 200 feet away. That’s important if you’re sitting in your chair drinking a beer, (that was my smart remark). It has alarms, recipes and even iGrill University. What more could you ask for? It’s $99 for the hardware and the other stuff is free. There were a lot of people, including me, hovering around this booth at Macworld. Oh, and no I didn’t buy one. I’ll just borrow Joe’s! Check it out at www.igrillinc.com.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011 at 10:55AM I know it sounds extreme. Especially after hearing that this year’s Macworld attendance and vendor count were both up from last year. I’m hearing numbers like 10 to 15% to the good. While I can’t speak to the number of attendees, the number of expo vendor booths was well documented. So if the numbers are up, what’s the rub? Quality. Not from the standpoint of organization. IDG, the company who puts on the conference and expo, did their usual excellent job. From the completely automated registration and badge pickup to the free, custom iPhone/iPad app for delivering all the event information including schedule, map and notifications, IDG makes attending the show easy, even for first-timers. No, the quality I'm talking about is the quality of vendors the show attracts. Big spectacle and excitement is created by big companies spending big bucks on massive show floor extravaganzas. I haven't seen any of that the last couple of years. In fact, when the iGrill seems to be the big news from the show floor, something is wrong.
I only purchased a one-day conference badge so I may not be the best person to speak to how the entire thing went, but everyone I spoke to seemed pleased with the classes and lectures presented in that portion of the event. But let's face it, conference-goers only comprise a small portion of total attendance and the conference isn't what makes the headlines. The expo with all its fancy displays, demos and new shiny stuff generates all the excitement and attracts the crowds and TV cameras. The expo this year (much like last year) was a bit of a yawn. In fact, since Apple stopped participating in 2009, Macworld Expo has taken a definite turn for the worse. Instead of exhibitors like Apple, Adobe and Microsoft filling Moscone North and South with huge, expensive displays and demonstration areas, this year's expo barely filled the bottom floor of the West hall and almost all the big name companies stayed away. It's not that there weren't some interesting and even exciting new products, but the spectacle that was once Macworld is no more.
One complaint I heard repeatedly was about the over-abundance of iPad, iPhone and iPod cases, stands and accessories on the expo floor. Someone even told me they thought the show should be renamed to "iWorld", referring to the relatively low percentage of vendors focused on the Mac. I see their point. My completely unscientific analysis of the vendor list for this year's expo revealed over two thirds of the products represented were for iPods and iOS devices. Not that I have anything against these magic toys (I own at least one of each), but how many cases, stands and screen protectors do you need to see before things get monotonous?
The social aspect of the event is what keeps me coming back. Macworld has become something of an annual pilgrimage for many of us, much like a family reunion. Being face-to-face (and maybe sharing a drink or two) with people I only see on-line or correspond with via e-mail or Twitter is the main reason I go. I know so much has been made out of the Mac “community” that it has almost become a cliché, but a community is exactly what it is. Through no action of their own, Apple has managed to forge thousands of fans into a loyal following other companies only dream about. From what I can tell, that is the only thing keeping Macworld alive. Will we be enough to keep the show going? The businessman in me tells me no. The fanboy in me says, “I hope so!”
Saturday, January 29, 2011 at 11:42AM Friday, Ken rented a SmartCar (more on that later) and we struck out to see with our own eyes a few of the northern California sites we see and read about on-line all the time. First, we headed north across the Golden Gate towards Petaluma, home of Leo Laporte and the TWiT Cottage. We knew they were normally closed to visitors on Fridays, but we just wanted to see it anyway. When we got there we took a couple of pictures...
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The TWiT CottageWe knew the rules, and not being there during normal business hours, we weren't going to impose by knocking and decided to leave. As we were getting ready to get into the car (I use the term loosely), John, one of the tech employees walked up the sidewalk an asked if we'd like to come in and have a tour! "Are you kidding?", Ken and I both replied. He showed us in just as Leo was leaving. He greeted us warmly and Ken and I re-introduced ourselves. We had just talked to and had our pictures taken with him the night before at the TWiT Meet-up at the hotel. That's where I got the idea to make the trek to Petaluma. Anyway, we got a great tour of the cottage and even had our pictures taken sitting on Leo's ball...;)
Me "On the Ball"
When Leo calls it the "Cottage", he means it. My first impression was, "How do they cram all that technology, office space, studio and even a kitchen into that small a space?" Well, they do it quite well and the product they produce speaks for itself. Next, John asked if we wanted to see the new building they just leased. Again, "Are you kidding?" Off we went down the street to the new TWiT complex, originally a drug store of over 9000 square feet. They were still in the "demolition" phase of clearing out the interior walls left by the last tenant. By comparison, this place was cavernous. In fact, it's six times the size of the cottage. John had set up a time-lapse camera to capture the rebuild and we all made sure to be in front of it for a couple of frames for posterity. We walked the entire facility and were quite honored to do so. One thing was quite evident; John was extremely excited about his job and the future of TWiT. His attitude was contagious. All employers should be as lucky as Leo to have someone like him.
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John and Ken at the new TWiT building.Ken and I spent about about half an hour at the new facility and felt privileged to have been given such royal treatment. We said goodbye to John and loaded up for a trip south to "The Mothership", the Apple campus in Cupertino. I know I promised to talk about the "Smart Car" so here it goes. Ken really likes these things. He owns one for his insurance business and has it plastered with his company logo and contact information. Even in a tiny SmartCar, it's hard to miss him. Personally, I don't get the attraction. I felt like the filling in a jelly donut when both of us rather large Texans (Ken is 6' 2", I'm 5' 11" and we could both stand to lose a few pounds) were inside this thing. One little squeeze and I felt like I would go squirting out the window. True, we did drive all over northern California on five gallons of gas, but every opportunity for me to unfold myself out of the thing was a welcome one. Sorry Ken, I don't get it.
Back to the Trek. We headed south on the freeway all the way to Cupertino, only stopping for lunch in Redwood City. Exiting the freeway in Cupertino, Apple is hard to miss. It's everywhere!
Every building for the first block is either a restaurant or another Apple campus. We took an opportunity to take a few snaps, bought a few souvenirs at the Apple "Company Store", and congratulate each other for a day well spent. Then we were back in the "SmartCar" and back to San Francisco. What a great day.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011 at 8:07AM
Macworld 2011 registration setting up
Ken and I have safely landed in San Francisco, all our luggage made it and the hotel didn't give our rooms to anyone else. So far, all is going smoothly. We picked up our badges yesterday afternoon and had a little time for some sightseeing. Bedtime was early (California time), so we're both up with the chickens this morning. We've checked all our audio/video equipment and we haven't discovered anything we've forgotten; so far. Ready, set...