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!”
