MacWorld Expo or^H^H is a Bust
I had such high hopes for MacWorld Expo 2010. And not unrealistic hopes, I thought. I believed the pundits who said that the focus of MacWorld was just going to have to shift from Apple's big keynote to a place for Mac fans to gather together. I was inspired by Paul Kent's encouraging words about the upcoming Expo on MacBreak Weekly. I believed the Mac fanboys who said that it didn't matter if Apple wasn't there. After all, I usually spent no more than 15 minutes in the over-crowded Apple booth; I'd rather see what new and interesting products other people were making for the Mac (and, in recent years, iPhone) than play with some hardware that's also on display a few blocks away at the Apple Store.
But I was wrong. Oh sure, I didn't much miss the Apple booth this year. (What would have been there to see, but an iPad prototype slowly rotating inside a plexiglass container?) But all my other favorite vendors were absent, too. Where was Adobe? Where was FileMaker (and my Expo special pricing for Bento)? Where was Intuit (with a demo of the upcoming and long-anticipated Quicken Essentials)? And what about some of my smaller favorites? Where was Solio? Delicious Monster? Bare Bones? Any game company? (Okay, so there was one game company there, Telltale Games, not counting all the iPhone games, but it's a far cry from the usual entire-side-of-one-hall game section.)
Seriously, this Expo was tiny. Where my buddy and I used to spend most of the day covering the large hall, and then discover that there was an entire other hall on the the other side of the street, this year I covered the whole thing in less than 4 hours. Comfortably. Including the time I spent to back-track to buy the few things I took notes on. The Expo barely covered one of the Moscone halls, and the companies that were there (Microsoft, OWC) had booths that were much smaller than in previous years.Not All Bad
This isn't to say that it was all bad. I got to stand close to both Andy Ihnatko and Merlin Mann (though I didn't actually interract with them). I only wish my schedule could have allowed me to actually see Andy's presentation on The Year with No Media. Ah well, I'm sure I can find a podcast of it soon. And if I were going back today or tomorrow, I would definitely check out some of the other Main Stage presentations.
And I did get my MacWorld Expo discount codes for some software and hardware I was thinking of purchasing anyway, like NeatReceipts and Timbuktu Pro. (I'd share them here, but there are other sites that already do that.)Frederik's Best of Show
And there were some interesting products there. As usual, there are a set of MacWorld Best of Show products. Of these, I like the FastMac U-Socket and Quickoffice Connect Mobile Suite best (remember Documents To Go for the Palm? I missed that). But I'd like to highlight two of the smaller gems I discovered there.
The first is FastTrac by Juicy Development. Not, it's not an app that helps you find parking garages that let you pay with your FasTrak. It's an iPhone app for optimizing your ride schedule at Disneyland. Now, I've used GotPlanS Disneyland before, to check wait times, track FastPasses, make to-do lists, and the like. But FastTrac promises to actually algorithmically create an optimized plan for whatever set of rides you choose, based on "historical data and tips and tricks from Disney veterans with over 30 years of park attendance experience." I can't actually vouch for this app, since I haven't used it yet, but it sounded interesting enough (and deals with a subject close to my heart) that I had to mention it here.
The second one is a simple little device dubbed the BudSock. It's a unique solution to the tangled earbuds problem, which I've been wresting with for months now. In fact, one of the things on my list of things to find at MacWorld was one of those gadgets to wrap your earbud cord around. (In previous years, some booths were giving them away as tchotchke. No such luck this year.) Well, right after plunking down $3 for a Bone Collection Bone Wrap, I discovered (and bought) the $4 BudSock. Made of 100% organic cotton, this nifty device creates a closed loop out of your earbud cord, making knots virtually impossible.
Oh, and since I mentioned Quickoffice Connect, I should throw out an honorable mention to Office² (apparently pronounced "Office Squared"). It's another iPhone app for editing Microsoft Office documents. I'll likely get them both, and maybe Documents To Go (which-lo and behold-exists for the iPhone, too) and see for myself which one I prefer.Conclusion
Some friends have asked if it's worth going to MacWorld Expo this year. Honestly, my initial answer is "no". But it depends on what you're after. Apart from socializing with my best Mac buddy, the reasons I go is to see cool new products and get discounts on products I want. If that's all you're in it for, forget it: get your discount codes on-line. On the other hand, there are some interesting presentations on the Main Stage, and if you like that sort of thing, or like rubbing elbows with the likes of Leo Laporte, Andy Ihnatko, and Merlin Mann, then go. As long as the price is right. (The full-price $45 for a expo-only pass is not worth it in any case, in my opinion.)
So that's it. It wasn't a total bust, but it was sorely disappointing. And given all that, unless I hear about some major changes next year, this may have been my last MacWorld Expo ever. And who knows, it may also be IDG's last one, too.
But I was wrong. Oh sure, I didn't much miss the Apple booth this year. (What would have been there to see, but an iPad prototype slowly rotating inside a plexiglass container?) But all my other favorite vendors were absent, too. Where was Adobe? Where was FileMaker (and my Expo special pricing for Bento)? Where was Intuit (with a demo of the upcoming and long-anticipated Quicken Essentials)? And what about some of my smaller favorites? Where was Solio? Delicious Monster? Bare Bones? Any game company? (Okay, so there was one game company there, Telltale Games, not counting all the iPhone games, but it's a far cry from the usual entire-side-of-one-hall game section.)
Seriously, this Expo was tiny. Where my buddy and I used to spend most of the day covering the large hall, and then discover that there was an entire other hall on the the other side of the street, this year I covered the whole thing in less than 4 hours. Comfortably. Including the time I spent to back-track to buy the few things I took notes on. The Expo barely covered one of the Moscone halls, and the companies that were there (Microsoft, OWC) had booths that were much smaller than in previous years.Not All Bad
This isn't to say that it was all bad. I got to stand close to both Andy Ihnatko and Merlin Mann (though I didn't actually interract with them). I only wish my schedule could have allowed me to actually see Andy's presentation on The Year with No Media. Ah well, I'm sure I can find a podcast of it soon. And if I were going back today or tomorrow, I would definitely check out some of the other Main Stage presentations.
And I did get my MacWorld Expo discount codes for some software and hardware I was thinking of purchasing anyway, like NeatReceipts and Timbuktu Pro. (I'd share them here, but there are other sites that already do that.)Frederik's Best of Show
And there were some interesting products there. As usual, there are a set of MacWorld Best of Show products. Of these, I like the FastMac U-Socket and Quickoffice Connect Mobile Suite best (remember Documents To Go for the Palm? I missed that). But I'd like to highlight two of the smaller gems I discovered there.
The first is FastTrac by Juicy Development. Not, it's not an app that helps you find parking garages that let you pay with your FasTrak. It's an iPhone app for optimizing your ride schedule at Disneyland. Now, I've used GotPlanS Disneyland before, to check wait times, track FastPasses, make to-do lists, and the like. But FastTrac promises to actually algorithmically create an optimized plan for whatever set of rides you choose, based on "historical data and tips and tricks from Disney veterans with over 30 years of park attendance experience." I can't actually vouch for this app, since I haven't used it yet, but it sounded interesting enough (and deals with a subject close to my heart) that I had to mention it here.
The second one is a simple little device dubbed the BudSock. It's a unique solution to the tangled earbuds problem, which I've been wresting with for months now. In fact, one of the things on my list of things to find at MacWorld was one of those gadgets to wrap your earbud cord around. (In previous years, some booths were giving them away as tchotchke. No such luck this year.) Well, right after plunking down $3 for a Bone Collection Bone Wrap, I discovered (and bought) the $4 BudSock. Made of 100% organic cotton, this nifty device creates a closed loop out of your earbud cord, making knots virtually impossible.
Oh, and since I mentioned Quickoffice Connect, I should throw out an honorable mention to Office² (apparently pronounced "Office Squared"). It's another iPhone app for editing Microsoft Office documents. I'll likely get them both, and maybe Documents To Go (which-lo and behold-exists for the iPhone, too) and see for myself which one I prefer.Conclusion
Some friends have asked if it's worth going to MacWorld Expo this year. Honestly, my initial answer is "no". But it depends on what you're after. Apart from socializing with my best Mac buddy, the reasons I go is to see cool new products and get discounts on products I want. If that's all you're in it for, forget it: get your discount codes on-line. On the other hand, there are some interesting presentations on the Main Stage, and if you like that sort of thing, or like rubbing elbows with the likes of Leo Laporte, Andy Ihnatko, and Merlin Mann, then go. As long as the price is right. (The full-price $45 for a expo-only pass is not worth it in any case, in my opinion.)
So that's it. It wasn't a total bust, but it was sorely disappointing. And given all that, unless I hear about some major changes next year, this may have been my last MacWorld Expo ever. And who knows, it may also be IDG's last one, too.