Terry and I headed over to MacWorld this morning after a bit of being annoyed at not being able to watch the keynote over the Web. By the time we arrived, the keynote was over and the Apple booth was open ... along with, of course, the rest of the show.
Overall, it looks like a good year for MacWorld, in spite of the fact that the show has now shrunk to just one half of Moscone Center. The iPod Shuffles were cute, and I think they will be phenomonally successful, even more than the current line of pods. Why? Because everybody who exercises will want one. The Mac Mini looks like it would be a nice lightweight server. And Apple's software updates look good. (And, thankfully, do not conflict with the project that we are currently working on, which today we informally code-named "iFoo".)
My biggest complaint about the show, one which I'm sure many thousands of attendees would agree with me on, is the noise generated when a half-ass cover band (which I found out later was the Spin Doctors, which confirms my long-held suspicion that they are a half-ass cover band) blasted the hall with a concert, making it almost impossible to talk to people or to give or receive demos in the 4 or 5 aisles near the stage. Vendors I spoke to in the area were exasperated, and commented on the thinner crowds during the concert. Maybe these doctors of spin would be enjoyable in a different setting, but people came to MacWorld there to talk Mac, not rock out!
Anybody know anybody who has any influence in deciding what special events to put on at MacWorlds? These people need to know that staging a concert on an expo floor is bad business.