Macworld Random Thoughts
Dateline Macworld Expo 2007
I don’t have a unifying theme for this posting, so I’ll just ramble (in a really endearing way) for a bit:
The iPhone
I’m finding it difficult to express how the upcoming Apple iPhone has avalanched over everyone’s consciousness here. It’s clearly a big hit with the early-adopter nerd crowd. From what I’m hearing, it’s all that anybody’s talking about in Las Vegas at the CES convention. Lots of people in Nevada are wondering if they are attending the wrong convention!
This photo doesn’t begin to show how many people are jammed around the Apple pavilion. The seats are full of nerdy oldsters, and they are surrounded by hundreds of avid people who don’t move a muscle (or blink much) during the entire presentation. It’s a standing-room-only show, over and over, all day long.
The AppleTV Box
I griped about the lack of support for geeky file-formats yesterday, but I’ve relented a bit since then. Who knows? Maybe Apple’s two supported file-formats for high-definition video will force the rest of the world to stop coming out with exotic video-clips that require a dedicated techie to enjoy. I really don’t relish finding player-programs that constantly need to be upgraded in order to support some new, alien video format. It’s time to settle down and go with the simplest answers. Thanks, Apple!
I Think That I May Have Instigated A Fight
I went up to one of the guys from Apple’s Aperture Team and asked him whether they had inspected the new Photoshop CS3 beta yet. He told me that nobody had said anything about it to him, so I pointed him to the Lynda.com booth about 200 feet away and told him that they featured some free Quicktime tutorials that clearly demonstrated how Adobe Bridge (that comes free with Photoshop CS3 beta) is a direct rip-off of ALL of Apple’s Aperture interface design and features. He got a hard glint in his eyes and thanked me very fervently.
I suspect that Apple’s team is going to be very angry at Adobe for designing software (included with Photoshop) that is designed to kill off Apple’s pro-photographer business! If scuffling breaks out while I’m here (or a naked knife-fight), I’ll video-capture it for you on my Treo 650. Yes, my next phone will be an iPhone.
Warm, Tender, Affectionate Thoughts about Microsoft
I admit it - I’m a complete pig for being pampered. I’ve been tramping around the Moscone Convention Center for the last few days, lugging my computer bag and getting back-aches. One of the high points of my day is to arrive at the Microsoft Blogger’s Lounge. I sign in, sink into a big, comfy chair, hook up to a nice, fast Ethernet cable and grab a soda. MmmMMmmmm… Nerd Paradise.
I’ve been writing these messages from the Lounge, and it’s so much better than sitting on the sidewalk outside the Apple Store, getting pigeon-poop on my butt while I leech the free Airport signal after the store is closed. I can afford to pay ten dollars a day to get Internet access at my hotel, but I object on moral grounds.
To me, it’s sort of like being charged for water, or electricity, or sewage pipes (or air) in the modern age. The Internet is CRUCIAL in the new century, and being charged for it (when the competition doesn’t) is just plain dumb. No hotels without free internet from now on!
What’s In My Plastic Bag
Everything that I’m buying during this trip is a Business Expense, but I’m still being very frugal in my choices. My wildly-profligate days are over. So - What items have I found that I’m willing to spend money upon?
- I couldn’t resist the Expo Discount Price for Micromat’s Techtool ProToGo software, which simplifies the process of creating digital “doctor’s bags”, in the form of those little keychain drives that contain all of the best diagnostic-tools for a computer consultant’s needs, along with a bootable copy of the operating-system.
I can whip out my keys, plug in a thumb-drive, re-start while holding down the Option key on the Mac’s keyboard, and start up my favorite diagnostic programs that will help me to fix the Mac’s problems. It’s a heck of a lot faster than booting from a CD - around 1/3 the wait. I have better things to do with my youth and beauty than wait eighteen minutes for Disk Warrior to boot frm a clunky old CD!
- I bought three MacAlly IceCams
So, I bought three webcams that will work (adequately) with older Macs, and this will shove a few family-members further along the path to long-distance web-chatting pleasures. I love my family, and want to see them more often.
- I bought a few MacWorld 2007 shirts. Two of them say “Mac Daddy” on them, and the third one is a nice “bowling-shirt” design.
What I WISH Was In My Plastic Bag
- I’m quite attracted to the NEC Multeos flat-screen LCD monitors. I’m planning to sell my 1961 Imperial Crown Convertible on eBay starting March 1, 2007, and I have only ONE “frivolous” purchase in mind after I sell the car and several tons (no exaggeration) of parts. I want a big-screen display for the living-room.
I’m limited to a certain physical size for the display - It has to fit between the hammered-copper sconces on the wall of our 1918 Craftsman-style bungalow’s living-room. Also, it shouldn’t be an eyesore design that will clash with our “turn-of-the-century front parlor” decor. Whatever monitor I eventually get, I’m tempted to construct a frame out of quarter-sawn oak that will make the monitor appear to be an antique from 1918!
So, I stopped by the NEC booth and threw some unusual questions at the reps standing around. All of my nerdly concerns were handled nicely… My main interest was in how Mac-friendly the plug-in connectors were. No matter how pretty a display may be, if it doesn’t just plug in and work right away, EVERY SINGLE TIME, I can’t be bothered. Right now, the Mac-friendly NEC’s are at the top of my wish-list.
If you are about to buy a big-screen monitor for any purpose, it must, must MUST support “1080P” resolution. If it doesn’t clearly say so, walk on by. Only the newest monitors can handle such enormous resolution, but you WILL want it someday, so don’t be a cheapskate.
