Last Day at Macworld
Because of a tournament on Saturday, I had to leave on Friday, making Thursday my last day at Macworld. Thursday began even earlier than Wednesday. Macworld Live with David Pogue was scheduled to start at 9:00 in the same room as the other presentations. With my Platinum Pass, I managed to get a front row seat for this event.
The first guest on this late-night styled show was Craig Eisler, General Manager of the MacBU at Microsoft. He talked about Microsoft Office 2008 and presented David with a special launch edition of Office.
Next, he had someone from MacSpeech demonstrate the new engine for speech recognition on the Mac. The demonstration was very successful, and it is a very promising product. Even more surprisingly, he let David Pogue demonstrate the software using his own voice and somebody else’s voice profile. It still worked with stunning accuracy.
The next segment consisted of specially chosen members of the audience to explain why they are Mac zealots. They made me feel…normal.
David Pogue had some people from a computer museum show some of their artifacts from Apple history, such as the first circuit board, the first iPod prototype, and the first Apple portable.
After overcoming technical difficulties, David sang three songs. The first was called “Killing Me Softly with His Slides,” a song about Steve Jobs’ presentation magic. The second was “Imagine,” and it had a similar theme to the original song by Lennon, but instead about what the world would be like without technology or Apple. The last song was the final ever performance of “The Bill Gates Song.”
This concluded the presentation, but I went down to see him and got my picture with him. It unfortunately came out blurry, but you get the idea.
I had also noticed that his assistant, Lisa King, was the wife of Shawn King, the host of Your Mac Life Show who gave me my Platinum Pass in the first place. I wanted to meet Shawn and thank him in person, so I explained the situation to David Pogue, who took me backstage to look for Lisa King. When he couldn’t find her, he called her on his cell phone (alert: he doesn’t actually use his iPhone, don’t tell anyone).
He told me I could go down to the Speaker’s Lounge to meet her, and she could redirect me to Shawn. When I met up with Lisa, she told me she didn’t know where he was at the moment, but she knew he would be at the podcast booth from 2:00 to 3:00. At 2:00, I finally got to meet Shawn King, who actually recognized me for some reason, and I thanked him in person. He told me about how much IDG loved the video.
After playing around at the expo, I went to the presentation room again for another presentation, this one called “The Process of Elimination.” It was a sort of geek game show hosted by Andy Ihnatko.
Contestants were chosen using the strangest selections, such as the person with the last name at the end of the list alphabetically, the person with a certain blood type, or the person still using a Newton. There would be a list of 32 Apple products on the screen, ranging from the MacBook Air to the windsurfing board with an Apple logo on it. You had to guess the product, which was narrowed down by answering silly questions of a certain category. For instance, one question about the MacBook Air was something like, “According to U.S. Army regulations, from what height would you have to drop a MacBook Air on somebody’s head to give them a concussion,” and “On which terrestrial body would the MacBook Air weigh the least? Earth, the Moon, or Mars?” There was also a section called “Jobs, Woz, or God,” during which you had to determine which person said a given quotation. It was very entertaining.
This presentation pretty much finished my week at Macworld. Since I would be gone on Friday, I gave away my Friday lunch coupon and walked back to the hotel.
Wednesday Conferences and Presentations
The rest of the week consisted mostly of very enlightening conference sessions and entertaining feature presentations. On Wednesday, I started my day with a MacLabs session on using Terminal and bash scripting. It was very easy to follow and very interactive, and the speaker was able to answer almost every question. He even provided a PDF reference sheet so we didn’t need to take notes. Overall, the conference made me much more comfortable with setting aside the GUI and using the powerful core of the operating system.
After lunch, I had another session on running your Mac smoothly. The speaker was Dave Hamilton, CEO of The Mac Observer. I had my doubts about this conference at first, because I thought it would consist of information I already knew. Some of it did, but there were a lot of tips I didn’t already know. It was actually quite humbling. There were some tips for general maintenance, some tips for preventing problems, and even a few for what to do when serious problems do occur.
My first feature presentation was right after this session, and it was Macworld’s “Best of Show” presentation. Interestingly, it was held in the same room as the keynote, albeit with fewer people. My Platinum Pass gave me priority seating again.
The editors of Macworld Magazine took the stage to present what they believed were the most significant announcements at the show. They even managed to include the MacBook Air on the list.
Diggnation was supposed to be having a live podcast from 5:00 to 6:00 at the Podcast Studio in the West Hall, but they had to cancel for some unknown reason.
Disappointed, I spent the rest of the day browsing the expo instead. Here are some pictures from the West Hall.
Experiences at the Keynote
After my posts from the keynote line, I did my best to just enjoy the experience and not feel obligated to take pictures. However, I did take some pictures, and I will show some of those here.
After waiting on the second level of Moscone West for an hour or two, they sent us up another set of elevators, trying to prevent us from running. Before Tuesday, to discourage people from heading to the third floor, they have both escalators going down. It would actually be hilarious to see someone trying to get up there, with a security guard looking down from the top. Anyway, that last escalator ride felt like the longest escalator ride of my life, and I mentioned out loud that it was “the most significant escalator ride of my life.” After we reached the third floor, they couldn’t contain us any longer. It became a running game to see who could get to the best seats first.
There was something extremely surreal about seeing the keynote room for the first time. I paired up with my new Asian friend who I mentioned earlier, Edwin Tan, and we both found some reasonable seats somewhat close to the front. The reason we paired up was so that he could hold our two reasonable seats while I scouted ahead and looked for some better ones. It worked.
Some official keynote people were holding VIP signs to mark the VIP section in the front, and I noticed that VIPs would quickly flash their badge to get let in. I casually flashed my measly Platinum badge in the same way, and they bought it. I had successfully sneaked into the VIP section. There were a couple vacant seats about 18 rows back, so I signaled Edwin to come with me and we both got the seats. After we sat down, I took some pictures, which was difficult in the large dark room.
Our view was very nice.
He was nice enough to take a picture of me, which was also difficult from the tight seating. Our stumbling probably upset the journalists who were sitting next to us.
The music before the keynote consisted mostly of Coldplay, which I believe is a favorite of Steve. The last song before the keynote started was Feist’s 1234, made famous by the latest iPod nano commercial. It might have been the anticipation, but I would swear the music got louder and louder leading up to the keynote. As the song fades out, the lights dim, and everyone is silent with anticipation. The Reality Distortion Field™ is in full effect before Steve even takes the stage.
After the new ad finishes playing, Steve takes the stage. I’m so distracted by his presence that I forgot to do the Keynote Bingo. I didn’t really care either. The online video doesn’t do justice to the applause he gets. I won’t describe everything he said, because you can see most of that in the streaming video on Apple’s website. Here are some pictures anyway…
Steve made a couple mistakes, such as stating Time Machine as a new feature in Tiger and naming a percentage incorrectly. He handled the Flickr problem well.
One of the things you won’t see in the video is the audience response to when he announced that the iPod touch Software Update would cost $20. There was a distinct sound of discontent in the audience, and I might have even heard a “no” or a “boo”. Apple cleverly silenced this in the video.
Another observation I made from the keynote is the resolution and quality of the graphics on Steve’s slides. Clearly, he has required full quality images for everything; absolutely nothing is pixelated. The vector graphics look really nice, and the quality can’t be captured by any digital camera.
Randy Newman’s performance was both controversial and wonderful. When Steve first told who was performing, I remember wondering who the guy was. It was when Randy Newman was performing his first song about America that I realized he was the singer of You’ve Got a Friend in Me from Toy Story. To the delight of my inner child, he performed that song next. It was so great that I decided to use my live footage in my music video for Mr. Chovanes.
I’ve already made a post about my encounter with Steve Jobs. All I can add is that he looks a lot older and skinnier in person.
Outside the keynote room, I encountered David Pogue by the giant Apple banners, recording some footage for a story on CNBC.
He accidentally looked at me during one of his takes, and had to do it all over again. I managed to take a snapshot the moment he looked at me, and his face is priceless.
Once he was done with his video, I went up to him and shook his hand. I told him how much I enjoyed his iPhone musical, which he appreciated. Apple was also giving away large MacBook Air posters for everyone that attended the keynote, so I grabbed one before heading down the escalators. Once you go down the escalators, they don’t let you back up.
Edwin and I headed over to Moscone South, which was already being flooded by thousands of Apple fans. Even more interesting was that there is no tunnel connecting the West and South Halls, like there is between the North and South Halls. This means that there are thousands of people all crossing the busy San Francisco streets at once. I’m surprised nobody got hurt.
At the Apple booth, they were already giving demos of the MacBook Air, and you could check one out for yourself if you could get through the mass of people. They had about five suspended in the “air” on wires, and my first thought was that they sacrificed ten MacBook Airs to drill holes in them and hang them on wire. How appalling.
I spent the rest of the day checking out the expo and playing with the technology. It was a geek’s dream; the kind of thing the average person can’t appreciate.
One of the nice extras for the Platinum Pass was free meals all week. For each day of the week, I had a $15 coupon for anything served in the many food places at Moscone. It was enough to buy a large sandwich, chips, and a drink.
While I was there, I purchased a spare battery for my MacBook Pro from FastMac. They have had a special battery for a while that supposedly has more capacity than Apple’s battery for a lower price, but it had not yet been available for my computer. I have been waiting for them to release it for my computer, and I was finally able to get one at the expo. They even had a discount because it was at Macworld, and it is still unavailable on their website. I really enjoy having two batteries now.
That’s all for Tuesday. I’ll follow up with everything from the rest of the week.
Internet Connectivity Issues
So here’s the deal. If I don’t make another post until Friday night (when I get home), it’s because I couldn’t reason with the hotel to let me back on the network. Right now, the only way for me to access the internet is while waiting between conferences. So, if I can’t get back on the internet, how about some of the highlights…
- I saw Steve Wozniak.
- I saw Sinbad (the actor).
- I sneaked into the VIP section at the keynote and sat about 18 rows back.
- I met Steve Jobs. We made eye contact. I got chills.
- I (basically) sat next to Walt Mossberg during the keynote.
- I got to play with a MacBook Air 2 weeks before release.
- I had a rather long conversation with David Pogue.
- I formally thanked Shawn King in person for my Platinum Pass.
I still haven’t had the chance to watch the streaming version of the keynote, but since I was sitting right in the center, you can probably see me holding my camera up for half the keynote.
There’s a lot more, including pictures, and I’ll post those later if I can get back on.
Music Video for Mr. Chovanes
Just because I’m on vacation doesn’t mean I’m exempt from making a music video for Mr. Chovanes. Oh, wait, I was exempt. Anyway, I thought it would still be nice to make a music video, using footage filmed on location, right here in beautiful San Francisco. I actually finished it a couple days ago, but the hotel kicked me off their internet connection because I was using too much of the bandwidth :). Anyway, here it is, featuring a live performance from the legendary Randy Newman after the Macworld 2008 keynote…
San Francisco Music Video (On Location)
Quick Message
Right about now, Mr. Chovanes’ Digital Video Production Class Should be starting. I though I would give you a quick message as I wait for my first class to begin here. At 10:00 am here (1:00 pm for you guys), I’ll be learning about basic command line skills for Terminal. I didn’t post last night because I’ve been exhausted from Tuesday, but I’ll have a nice post by tonight with all the cool things that happened yesterday. I should be heading over to Moscone South now, where the class is being held. Talk to you later.
Oh, and I should have my music video finished tonight as well. 🙂
I Have Met Steve Jobs
I’m sitting here in Microsoft’s blogger lounge, which seems to have the only available internet connection, and although I don’t want to sit still for long, there is something I absolutely have to tell you about.
Right after the keynote, most of the people rushed out of the keynote hall to head over to Moscone South and look at the new products, specifically the new MacBook Air. I’ll be posting about this and everything else later, but for now there is something more significant that happened at exactly 10:50 am…
I SHOOK HANDS WITH STEVE JOBS.
That’s right. As everyone else was emptying out of the keynote hall, I stayed around and waited for Steve to come back out and meet with people. Surely enough, he came back out, but he stayed mostly out of reach.
Then all of a sudden, Steve actually turned toward me and started walking toward me. I desperately reached out my hand to touch him, but he had a hug and conversation with one of the Apple VIPs who was standing in front of me.
As his conversation ended, I yelled out, “Steve!” He turns toward me and makes direct eye contact. I reach out my hand, and he grabs it. I remember the scene exactly…
ME: Steve (shakes hand), it’s an honor to meet you.
STEVE: Ok, thanks.
I’ll never forget it. He left the stage almost immediately after he shook my hand.
He wasn’t the only geek celebrity I met, but I’ll write about the others tonight.
Apple Store is Down!
You had to expect it. Apple’s online store is down, probably for whatever products His Steveness will release today.
Live from the Keynote Line (Part 2)
I can see from my view that official Apple keynote people with blue shirts are heading up the escalators. I want one of those shirts.
A lot of the media folks are also already going upstairs. I’m kind of jealous. Some regular conference pass holders are also being let in, but we are assured we will get in before them.
Here’s my platinum pass again.
At 7:10, the geek legend Steve Wozniak went by on a Segway. I didn’t manage to get a picture, unfortunately, but it was really cool to see him. He looked very happy.
At 7:30, we were finally led in by a lady with a sign. There were cheers everywhere, and it is really an awesome experience. I have video of the escalator ride, but I won’t post it now because of bandwidth issues.
The line of platinum and super pass holders spans approximately one side of the building, and I am pretty much right at the front. Oh yeah, and the bathrooms smell. Bad.
It is now 8:03 am, and we should be moving into the hall in about 45 minutes. Thanks again to Ryan Hatch for letting me borrow his awesome wireless 3G card.
Live from the Keynote Line
Many thanks to Ryan Hatch, who just let me borrow his wireless 3G card to post this. The walk here was really eerie, mostly because it’s San Francisco and there’s no one around. I got here around 3:42 am (all times 3 hours behind the east coast). I realized at around 4:00 am that they have a special line for the platinum and super pass holders right from the start. They used to separate everyone inside.
At 4:11, I met TJ Ferreira, the person who won the super pass from the same contest. He seemed like a nice guy. I’m also sitting in line with some Asian guy named Edwin Tan, who seems pretty cool. There’s also a gay guy from Minnesota.
At 5:00, I just took a walk around the Moscone West building, and there is media EVERYWHERE (and I’ve been trying to get on the news). The keynote line is pretty much wrapped halfway around the building. It’s hard to capture this in pictures.
By 5:07, I had been trying to get on the network, but although there are a lot of networks, none of them had any internet. I was able to get an internet connection for about 3 seconds, but it cut out.
The platinum/super pass line had pretty much spanned one side of Moscone West at around 5:17, which makes me really glad I got here early. I’m basically 20th in line.
Here’s my spot…
At 5:21, one of the coordinators of the event explained that “we let you in when Apple tells us we can. That’s usually the drill.” She told us, “We’re going to keep this much more organized this year.” We’ll see. A bunch of people had to leave this line and go to the extremely long line at the other side of the building, because they don’t have the right pass. We have to keep telling people that this line is only for platinum and super pass holders.
Here are some shots of the building and the famed escalators…
At 5:56, I met someone from the Philippines who speaks Tagalog. It’s interesting who you can meet in a keynote line.
Okay, so I should give this guy his card back.