MWSF07
Latest
MacworldEncore: Macworld Sessions Online and DVD
For all of us who couldn't make it to Macworld in January comes MacworldEncore. The folks behind the Macworld conference have collected more than 80 presentations on a whole variety of topics that were presented in San Francisco. For the most part these are 640x480 QuickTime movies that have the audio from the presentation along with what appears to be a video capture of the (I assume) Keynote presentation itself. They are available both all together on a $299 DVD (which will ship in 4-5 weeks) or now for individual download at prices ranging from $5 to $30 each. To whet your appetite they've put Rob Griffiths' 75 minute "The Best of Mac OS X Hints" online as a free download.[Via Macworld]Update: correction
Hints of the Next Version of Keynote?
Many people noticed some unusual Keynote presentation effects in Job's recent keynote at MacWorld (e.g. the small text exploding above). Now Brian Peat over at KeynoteUser.com has gone through the keynote with a fine-toothed comb, identifying a bunch of new stuff, like path animations and lots of explosions that cannot be done with Keynote 3 (editorial note: explosions = good). Since it stands to reason that Jobs might just have access to some pre-release version of Keynote, it's a pretty safe guess that this is a preview of what's in store for Keynote 4. It's an interesting read and will probably have heavy Keynote users salivating for iWork '07.[Via MacRumors.com]
Macworld 2007 Show Floor Showoff: Etymotics
During my interview with Jeremy Horwitz, Editor of iLounge, I asked him what headphones he would recommend to replace the Apple supplied earbuds that come with an iPod. Without missing a beat he said the Er6is from Etymoic Research. I had to find out what made these headphones so good, so I headed over to the Etymotic booth on the showfloor and managed to get some time to talk with Mead Killion, Etymotic's President and founder. This man knows his sounds, and he knows how to make an awesome headphone.We chat about the Er6i and the ety8 (the Bluetooth earphones). As always, if you like to enjoy these in Quicktime point your browser here.
Macworld 2007 Show Floor Showoff: LaCie
Tiffany from LaCie was nice enough to show off a variety of LaCie's goods for us. LaCie, as we all know, makes hard drives but they also are now entering the accessories market. They have a cool new product called the LaCie FireWire Speakers, which are bus-powered speakers which also send the audio signal over FireWire. One cable is all you need.If you want a QuickTime version head on over here.
Picture of Steve's notes for the Macworld 07 keynote
It goes without question that Steve Jobs can teach a few things to anyone who needs help with their presentation skills. Watching his on-stage performance can offer a wealth of ideas and tips for the keynote-impaired, but now, so can viewing his notes. AtariST, aka a co-founder of Spymac.com, has posted two images he managed to snap of Steve's on-stage notes, offering a glimpse into why the big J is able to delivery so much shock and awe during his keynotes. How that book is produced is anyone's guess, though one commenter at Spymac mentioned it could be the work of iPhoto. Has anyone else seen something like this made from iPhoto's book printing service?[via digg]
TidBITS Macworld Superlatives
TidBITS is perhaps the grand-daddy of electronic Mac publications (their motto should be: we were the Mac-web before the Mac-web was even invented). Anyway, they have published a lot of great articles over the years and their wrap up of MWSF '07 is no different. There are links to a variety of interesting things you may have missed in the flurry of coverage, and this superlative article (i.e. the best/worst/most whatever at Macworld) manages to sum up the Macworld experience nicely for those of us who couldn't make it to San Francisco. Enjoy.
Macworld 2007 Show Floor Showoff: mStation Audio
One of the joys of attending Macworld is that you get to meet smaller vendors. Companies that you may never have heard of are showing off their wares, and in some cases they are pretty cool. mStation is one of those cases. Marc from mStation gives us an overview of the company and two of their products, the mStation 2.1 Stereo Tower and the mStation HTS (which isn't even on their website yet, though it will be available in March).As always, there is a QuickTime version for your viewing pleasure.
Macworld 2007 Show Floor Showoff: VMware
Virtualization is the new black in the Mac market these days. I got a chance to talk with Pat who is the product manager of VMware for the Mac (aka Fusion). VMware is the granddaddy of virtualization, and a 'big deal' in that space. Pat gives us an overview of what VMware is trying to do with Fusion and a glimpse at their software philosophy.If you would rather view this view in QuickTime an iPod video formated version can be found here.
TUAW Video: A Mac Moment with Adam Goldstein
We're on a roll: In this edition of TUAW's Mac Moment series, I sit down with Adam Goldstein, the young author of AppleScript the Missing Manual. "But Dan," you ask, puzzled, "what's so special about this particular author?" Just watch the video to find out: he started his book, working for David Pogue, at age 15. He's also an MIT student, a writer for MacDevCenter, and a killer poker player. He even schools me in my own interview (worth a watch just for that). Click here for the direct mp4 version.
TUAW Video: A Mac Moment with Chris Breen (Part 2)
Part 1 was good. Part 2 is even gooder. Check out my continued Mac Moment interview with Macworld luminary Chris Breen, as we discuss the AppleTV, the lack of Mac announcements at Macworld (gasp!), more talk about the iPhone, and Chris's iPod book. (Click here for the original mp4 file.)
Macworld 2007 Show Floor Showoff: Griffin Technology
We continue to relive the wonder and joy that was Macworld Expo 2007 with yet another showfloor interview. I got a chance to speak with Jackie from Griffin Technology about the Evolve and the Amplifi. Both iPod speaker systems sound impressive, though the Evolve is a little more exciting. Check the video for more details.You can grab an iPod ready version of the interview here.
TUAW Video: A Mac Moment with Chris Breen (Part 1)
In this edition of TUAW's Mac Moment, I speak with Macworld/Playlistmag editor Chris Breen, unquestionably one of the most notable faces at Macworld. In Part 1 we discuss -- what else? -- the iPhone: his impressions, its various realities (and uncertainties), and the Cingular tie-in. (Those looking for the direct .mp4 file can download it here.)
Macworld 2007 Show Floor Showoff: Freeverse
More video from the Macworld show floor, I bet you're excited! I spoke with Colin Lynch Smith of Freeverse, distributors/makers of more Mac software than you can shake a stick at. We spoke about Sound Studio 3, Lineform, and the forthcoming Heroes of Might and Magic 5 as well as Big Bang Brain Games.Check out the iPod ready version here, and be sure to watch the whole thing to catch a 'blooper' at the end (mostly just me being me).
Macworld 2007 Show Floor Showoff: Newer Technology
Grant Dahlke from Newer Technology took a few moments out of his busy day on the Show floor to talk to us about some of his cool products. I especially liked the USB 2.0 Universal Drive Adapter,which I am going to have to order soon. Grant also showed off some replacement iPod batteries that'll keep your iPod rocking for hours longer than the stock battery.If you want to watch this on your iPod, or in QuickTime, check out the interview in iPod ready video.
Macworld 2007 Show Floor Showoff: Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac
Microsoft's Sheridan Jones was nice enough to sit down with me in the Microsoft Blogger Lounge at Macworld to discuss Office 2008 for Mac. WE cover what's new, when it'll be shipping, and break the news that there will be a Universal version of Remote Desktop for the Mac (sweet!).If you want to check out some Office 2008 for Mac screenshots be sure to check out this gallery. As always, if you hate the flash player we have the video in an iPod ready format for your enjoyment.
TUAW Video: A Mac Moment with Leo Laporte, Part 3
The third, and final installment, from my conversation with Leo Laporte covers a number of topics that you, the TUAW reader, wanted to know about. Will Leo bring the Screensavers back? Is Amber MacArthur single? Will Apple keep selling computers? All these questions, and more, are answered by Leo.The video is also available in iPod format, as well as a large QuickTime movie for all you broadband users out there.
The Keynote boom count
We all know that Steve has a few words that are bound to crop up in his Keynotes, and other presentations. Automatic, great, and revolutionary are likely contenders but his favorite word seems to be 'boom' as evidenced by this video.Some enterprising Mac users set up Boomcounter.org to track the Jobsian exclamation. The tally for this year's Macworld keynote was 15 (to put that in context for WWDC it was 9, and Macworld 2006 clocked in at 17).Boom away, Steve, boom away.[via Micro Persuasion]
TUAW Video: A Mac Moment with David Pogue
Continuing our Macworld Mac Moment series, I talk (more or less) to Macworld fave, New York Times' tech columnist and "Missing Manual" author David Pogue. I ask him "three" versioned questions about iPhone, the AppleTV and, of course, the surprising lack of Mac product announcements during the keynote. (He actually got to touch the iPhone. It's worth watching the interview just so you can say "I watched an interview with someone who actually touched the iPhone." Seriously.) Click here to avoid the flash player and download the original format (.mp4) version.
TUAW Video: A Mac Moment with Leo Laporte, Part 2
We continue our conversation with Leo Laporte from the press room at Macworld. Today Leo and I discuss the iPhone, the Apple TV, and if Apple is still a computer company. For those of you who hate the Netscape player (you know who you are) here are links to the iPod ready version, and the full quality QuickTime file (which, oddly enough, is the largest file but looks the best. Funny how that works).Stay tuned for our final segment tomorrow, where Leo answers your questions.
Pen-it Bluetooth Digital Pen
Okay, this is just plain cool. Watching MacBreak 59 I came across the Pen-it from Hitachi Maxell. I suggest you watch the video (the segment starts about 6:35), but basically it's an ink pen with built-in Bluetooth. When you use it to write on special paper (which has been pre-printed with literally millions of little dots), it records your strokes for later wireless upload to your Mac. Apparently the pen has a tiny camera which makes this possible. The Pen-it NOTES application on the Mac then retrieves your scribbles as vector data(!) which can be saved or further edited on the Mac. Of course, as Merlin Mann notes, this locks you into their paper, and they don't say exactly how much it will cost. It is also not clear whether this is compatible with Apple's Inkwell technology. Since this is a brand new product for the Mac (though a PC version has been available for a while), their website is rather incomplete. However, they are running a special promotion for Macworld with a $100-off coupon, bringing the price down to $199 for the pen (and USB charger), one notebook, and the software. It appears that this is the same technology (from Anoto) behind Logitech's io2 Digital Writing System, but it's not clear at all whether the Logitech pen (which is Windows only), would actually be compatible. (If it is, three 128 page notebooks of the Logitech pen's paper sells for about $12.)
