Category: Presentations

RandomMaccess appearances at Macworld Expo 2009

December 19, 2008 / / 0 Comments

mw_logo_4colorI suppose it’s close enough to the show that I should let those interested know where I’ll be this year. From Tuesday through Thursday, I’ll be presenting a Macworld “Supersession” entitled “The Ultimate Mac Starter Class.” If you’re a reader of this site, you’re way overqualified to attend, but please pass the word on to anyone new to the Mac who might benefit from a little “compressed experience.”

On Wednesday night, I’ll be performing in the Macworld All-Star Band at “Cirque du Mac” at an undisclosed location. The party is free, but invitation only. Like the Mac The Knife parties it replaced, “if you have to ask about it, you can’t go.” Unless you see me, that is. I’ll have a limited number of tickets to hand out to people who are especially nice.

On Thursday night, I’ll be stopping by the “Mac Mingle 2009” party, at Jillian’s on 4th St. Host/Mac speaker and author Deb Shadovitz was nice enough to invite me and silly enough to think I was worth including on the list of “Mac Celebs” who are attending. If you see me there, please say hi.

Finally, it’s likely I’ll be participating in some MacJury panel discussions that are slated to take place during the show.

If you’re interested, you can check here for updates and additions.

iPhone 2.0, 3G announced at WWDC; both due early July

June 9, 2008 / / 0 Comments

iPhone 3GFor those of you who weren’t reading the liveblogging of Apple’s WWDC Keynote, the company unveiled both its new software and hardware for the iPhone.

iPhone 2.0–the next-generation of the mobile device’s operating system, will be available in “early July,” the company announced. The new phone itself got a more specific due date: July 11th. The new OS will allow third-developer applications and will be supported by a revamped and re-branded dot-Mac service dubbed “MobileMe,” and will support “always on” wireless updating of contacts, email, calendars, etc. (I may have missed it, but I don’t recall hearing that syncing to-do lists were supported.)

One the hardware side, the new iPhone 3G will feature faster 3G networking, built-in GPS and a lower price: $199 for the 8GB model and $299 for 16 gigs.

More details are available at news sites including Macworld. Apple’s own site had not been updated as of this posting.

Only briefly mentioned was the next version of the Macintosh operating system, referred to as “Snow Leopard.” Apple CEO Steve Jobs said more details would come in an afternoon session, presumably covered under the conference’s No-Disclosure Agreement (NDA).

[UPDATE: Andy Ihnatko made a great observation: Apple’s webpage describing the 2.0 software update for existing (i.e., non-3G) iPhones specifically mentions the addition of GPS. As Andy says: “Signif(icant), or typo?”]

Under the wire: WWDC speculation on MacJury

June 9, 2008 / / 0 Comments

MacJury 807The latest installment of MacJury went live on Friday. In it, host Chuck Joiner and a panel including Jean MacDonald of SmileOnMyMac, John Moltz of Crazy Apple Rumors and Macworld, Jeff Gamet of The Mac Observer and yours truly pontificate about what we expect to see and what we’d like to see announced at this year’s WWDC Keynote (scheduled for today as I write this).

It’s a show with a short shelf life, but in my opinion one of the most fun segments of the series so far. I mean where else will you hear ponies and pink MacBook Pros thrown out as possibilities for a Steve Jobs keynote?

If you’d like to give it a quick listen before the keynote, you’ve got just enough time to download it and hear it before Jobs take the stage. Even more fun, though, might be to listen to it after the announcements and see just how far off base we were.

My thanks to Chuck and the whole panel for making this show so much fun. You can subscribe to the show via iTunes or listen to the show directly from the MacJury website here.

What’s your verdict on the MacJury?

April 11, 2008 / / 0 Comments

Back in the late-nineties, I produced what would now be called a podcast on the long-defunct “GiveMeTalk” Internet Radio Network. They were mostly 10-15 minute scripted shows, wherein I offered some analysis and commentary on the day’s news. Topics back then ranged from the introduction of candy-colored iMacs to the passing of legendary Mac journalist (when such a phrase could be used without irony) Don Crabbe.

I haven’t spent much time on-mic since then, although I’ve threatened to start up “RandomMaccess Radio” again every once in a while. This week, though, I finally return to the Internet “airwaves” as a member of the “MacJury,” Mac User Group guru and podcaster Chuck Joiner’s latest venture. The show joins his already excellent lineup of MacNotables and MacVoices. MacJury distinguishes itself by convening a panel (the jury) to talk in relative depth about two or three issues of interest to the Mac community, not to re-hash the week’s tech news.

I think this is a great strategy and fills a real void in the Mac podcast space. I like Chuck’s idea of rotating jury members, too–mixing up the panel should keep the discussion and interactions fresh. For episode two, Chuck’s panel included Steve Sande of Movable Beast, Red Sweater Software’s Daniel Jalcut, Rogue Amoeba’s Paul Kafasis and yours truly. We covered the future (and merits) of the Mac Mini, some of the possible consequences of Microsoft’s buyout of Yahoo!, and the iPhone’s dominance among mobile browsers. It was, I think, a good discussion and a fun listen (for geeks, anyway). I liked the way we interacted and had a few laughs along the way.

Panelist or not, I think it’s a good listen and a show with a lot of potential. Give it a try and let me know what you think. The show is now up and available for subscription on the iTunes Store. (Link via Chuck Joiner.)

Macworld WiFi session presentation now available

February 13, 2008 / / 0 Comments

The slides from my Macworld San Francisco 2008 session on setting up a WiFi network are now available as a PDF file. Thanks to all of you who attended and responded so enthusiastically. I was lucky enough to have great crowds for all four sessions — they were attentive, asked great questions and were very kind with their feedback. Thanks, too, to all of you who have been inquiring about the slides — I’m sorry it took me so long to get them posted.

Click here for the PDF.