Macworld/iWorld 2013: The calm before the storm

Many of the TUAW team is still en route to San Francisco at this late hour, but a few of us have arrived and picked up our press credentials for this year's Macworld/iWorld event. In between trying to find a place to do today's TUAW TV Live broadcast (my hotel room wasn't ready), grabbing a quick lunch at Chipotle (running into several TUAW fans in the process), and bumping into the other Apple bloggers I've gotten to know over the years, I managed to take a few photos.

It's quiet right now, with just early sessions for the MacIT conference going on. Tomorrow, Moscone West will take on a whole new personality as thousands of the Apple faithful descend on the site to see what's new. The doors are still shut on the Expo Hall, where vendors are setting up their wares today. In this photo you can see the fairly empty registration area, and I was not surprised to see my good friend and well-known Apple podcaster Chuck Joiner (MacVoices, MacNotables, MacJury) doing what he does best -- interviewing people (he's down in the lower left of this image).

The team from Polish Apple site MyApple.pl keeps getting larger every year! They've been here for four days already, visiting the "mothership" in Cupertino as well as the more natural Redwood Natural Park.

The banners are hung by the ceiling with care, with hopes that tomorrow Ashton Kutcher will be there:

Lantronix has a bunch of xPrintServer-attached printers scattered about Moscone West, just in case you want to print up some last minute brochures or business cards:

And the big MacworldLive stage is ready to go:

And to think that it will all be over way too soon, ending with a drum circle (eyeroll)...