It's a MacWorld After All

Every January, the publishers of MacWorld magazine put on a consumer expo at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.  Steve Jobs usually gives the keynote address, and it's one of the highlights of the Mac year.  Rumors fly, and certain groups within Apple scramble to make ready the new products which will see their first light of day before an adoring crowd.  This year was no exception, with the MacBook Air floating out on stage and iTunes movie rentals making their welcome debut.  I'm curious to try the new version of Front Row rolling out to AppleTVs everywhere in two weeks; the self-updating content is good (I can't wait for iPhones to support updating podcasts by themselves), but the interface looks more cluttered than the graceful lines of Front Row 2, standard on every copy of Mac OS X Leopard.

I went up on Thursday to check things out.  This was my first trip up to MacWorld; I've been to the Moscone Center twice now for WWDC.  (I think it was also my first trip to any consumer expo.)  It was neat to get to put some faces to companies, and a delightful change to get to talk to people who actually represent the company that makes a product instead of a third-party retailer.  They know their product!  (Except maybe for the Google gal who was demoing Google Maps on the iPhone, but doesn't actually own an iPhone herself.)

I had to chuckle at the contrast between some of the smaller booths, crammed with product, and Apple's gigantic theater in the center, crammed with people waiting to see the MacBook Air, AppleTV Take 2, and various iPods.

On the way back to the CalTrain station, I walked a little out of my way to see a bit more of AT&T Park (the old Candlestick Park).  From the outside, it looks a lot like Coors Field, but I don't remember Coors Field having free WiFi access.  I may have to see about going to a Giants game this season...