Oh. My. Goodness.
Category: Technology
IDG moves Macworld Expo to Feb 9-13, 2010
IDG World Expo announced that it’s moving the dates for next year’s Macworld Conference & Expo from January to February 9-13. This is a great move on the part of the Macworld Staff. One of the few criticisms of the show was that it was held too close to the Holidays. The extra breathing room will benefit developers, attendees and even us lowly conference faculty.
But best of all, it will no longer coincide with my lovely wife’s birthday.
iPhone 3.0 discussed on MacJury
The latest installment of Chuck Joiner’s MacJury podcast is up. In it, I take part in a great panel discussion with a stellar lineup of “jurors:” Macworld’s Peter Cohen, Tonya Engst of TidBITs and Take Control, John Braun of The Mac Observer, Don McAllister of Screencasts Online and Adobe’s Terry White.
It’s a lively hour’s worth of talk about what’s in the update, what’s not and a little digging into what’s important and why. Panels this large can tend to get a little unwieldy, but thanks to Chuck Joiner’s expert choreography and the terrific panelists, the result is a spirited, friendly and fun discussion.
If you don’t already subscribe to the MacJury podcast, you should. It’s a consistently relevant, interesting and entertaining look at the issues surrounding Apple and the Macintosh.
Apple’s iPhone 3.0 update: the good, the bad and the still missing
Apple held its iPhone 3.0 event today and unveiled a slew of new features, but no real surprises. Cut and paste is finally here, Flash is still not, and Push Notifications are apparently here for real this time.
Perhaps the biggest news — or at least the news with the most far-reaching consequences — is related to commerce. The iApp store will now have support for “in-App” purchases along with subscriptions. That means you can buy new furniture within The Sims, buy new books within an eReader app, or subscribe to a magazine or online financial service. The “one-and-done” method of purchasing iPhone apps could well be over. As I “semi-live-Tweeted” the event, I called iPhone 3.0 the “Monetization” update and noted that it would be interesting to see how the inevitable attempts by developers to “nickel and dime” the iApp buying process would fly in the face of the existing 99ยข per app mentality that seems to be dominating the market.
What I’m hoping for in the iPhone 3.0 software
If you’re reading this, it should come as no surprise whatsoever that I’m eagerly anticipating tomorrow’s Apple event where they’ll describe the upcoming 3.0 update to the iPhone software.
Here are a few of the things I’ll be looking for:
‘Bootleg’ video of the Macworld All-Star Band at MacVoices TV
Chuck Joiner, of MacJury/MacNoteables/MacVoices fame, posted some video of the Macworld All-Star Band’s performance at Cirque du Mac 6.0 during this year’s Macworld Conference and Expo.
We’ve been doing this for eight or nine years now, and I’m always impressed by how the documentation of the event evolves as technology progresses. From postage-sized, choppy video of our first gig at New York’s “Cooler,” to the High Definition clips of 2009, it’s been a pretty amazing progression. And, it’s always cool for those of us in the band to have a look and listen from the audience’s perspective.
So thanks to Chuck for taking, editing and posting these clips, and of course, a big thanks to the guys in the band who consistently make this night my favorite experience at Macworld: Paul Kent, Dave Hamilton, Chris Breen, Bob LeVitus, Duane Straub and Bryan Chaffin.
The episode — along with links to other videos taken that night — is available on the MacVoices TV website.
Jobs steps down for now as CEO; on medical leave through June
I don’t do much breaking news these days, but word is getting out that Apple CEO Steve Jobs is taking a medical leave until the end of June and leaving COO Tim Cook in charge of day to day management of the company.
According to Silicon Valley Insider, Jobs sent an internal email to Apple employees informing them of the decision:
Team,
I am sure all of you saw my letter last week sharing something very personal with the Apple community. Unfortunately, the curiosity over my personal health continues to be a distraction not only for me and my family, but everyone else at Apple as well. In addition, during the past week I have learned that my health-related issues are more complex than I originally thought.
In order to take myself out of the limelight and focus on my health, and to allow everyone at Apple to focus on delivering extraordinary products, I have decided to take a medical leave of absence until the end of June.
I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for Apple’s day to day operations, and I know he and the rest of the executive management team will do a great job. As CEO, I plan to remain involved in major strategic decisions while I am out. Our board of directors fully supports this plan.
I look forward to seeing all of you this summer.
Steve
Trading on Apple stock was briefly suspended today on the news, and is scheduled to resume in about five minutes (in after-hours trading) as I write this. According to Yahoo, Apple is currently selling at $85.33.
This should be some ride.
(Hat tip to Shawn King for the news.)
Macworld keynote reaction on MacVoices TV
I joined a great group of Mac pundits for a session of Chuck Joiner’s new MacVoices TV podcast. It’s a 20-minute or so round table discussion about Apple’s last Macworld keynote and Phil Schiller’s performance as a substitute for Apple CEO Steve Jobs. The panel included Bob “Dr. Mac” LeVitus, Mac author and columnist for the Houston Chronicle and The Mac Observer, Terry White of Adobe, Adam Christianson of the MacCast and of course, Host Chuck Joiner.
I like the video format and I think Chuck Joiner’s onto something here. Video’s bound to have a different set of obstacles, especially once the panelists are no longer in the same location, but the production values so far have been pretty good and improving. While podcasts are likely to remain a commuting activity (and therefore audio-only) for me, seeing the panel is a lot more compelling than just hearing them. It will be interesting to see how the format works over Skype, but given Chuck’s track record, I’m optimistic that he’s got another hit on his hands. For the video-resistant, the show is also available in an audio-only version through the MacJury feed.
While I was out…
I’m back from what was a very interesting Macworld, and possibly one of the best. (It was surely one of the most exhausting.) I delivered three sessions this year (well, one session delivered three times), and they seemed to be very well received. The crowds were definitely smaller than I expected — an observation I heard repeatedly at the show. But just from the timing, it seems to me that the decrease in attendance was more a result of the economy than Steve Jobs’ absence.
I also wrote a column for The Mac Observer — an opinion piece on my reflections on the Phil Schiller keynote. I also took part in a MacJury/MacVoicesTV session on the same subject. I haven’t seen this posted anywhere yet, and it’s probably past the point where it’s relevant anymore. I love the idea of doing video, but if it’s going to mean this kind of delay in making it available, it’s probably better to stick with audio. Who knows — maybe I was so awful that host Chuck Joiner decided to scrap it altogether.
Finally, the band I’m in — the Macworld All-Star Band — played our 11th Macworld gig and our sixth Cirque du Mac show hosted by The Mac Observer. The party, originally meant as the successor to the Mac the Knife parties, has taken on a life and mystique of its own. This year, we had caricaturists, a superb light show by Andrew Stone — and even a trapeze artist. Attendance jumped from 500 people jammed into the Red Devil Lounge to 850 in the very stylish Broadway Studios. I think we sounded great and I know we had a blast. It’s an incredible group of very talented people who have become some of my dearest friends in the world: Paul Kent, IDG vice president and the executive in charge of Macworld; Dave Hamilton, president of Backbeat Media and The MacObserver; Christopher Breen, Mac author and senior contributing editor for Macworld magazine; Bob “Dr. Mac” LeVitus, Mac author and columnist at the Houston Chronicle; Duane Straub, former administrator at Lawrence Livermore Labs; and Bryan Chaffin, executive vice president at The Mac Observer.
RandomMaccess appearances at Macworld Expo 2009
I 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.