MacWorld SF 2008 Report: Poor Planning & The Quiet Evolution of Wireless

by Mike Swope

 

My last MacWorld was 1998 in Boston. Since that 1998 MacWorld, I have been impressed with Apple's advances on all fronts. Though Apple released the latest iMovie to an unimpressed public, and confined iPhone buyers to the AT&T network in the U.S., overall Apple has done well. For this MacWorld, my friend and I were both excited that Apple might announce new products that increased their technological lead in the computer, MP3 player or cell phone industries.

 

Unfortunately, this MWSF was nothing like that 1998 MW in Boston.

It was clear early on that this MacWorld was poorly planned. At least for attendees, anyway. Regular and advance registrations were taking place only at the West Hall of the Moscone Center.

 

Conference and media registrations were taking place at the South Hall, but Conference registration had ended early Tuesday morning and media registration was only a trickle. What does this mean? That ALL 40-50,000 attendees had to either register or pick up their badges at the West Hall only. If you are familiar with the size of the lobbies at either center, maybe only a couple thousand people will fit rib-to-rib in either.

 

But wait...the plot thickens. No one had planned to provide pre-registration badges. Lots and lots of people pre-register for events like this, thinking it will reduce crowding and long lines and ultimately get them into the show more efficiently, with less hassle. Realize now that no one was allowed to register or pick up badges before the doors at the West Hall officially opened, an hour later than scheduled, after Steve Jobs' keynote. From the early morning hours until 11 AM, a crowd gathered outside the West Hall, growing impatient. And many members began to complain. The camaraderie and excitement I remember from 1998 was nowhere to be found.

 

When the doors finally opened, the crowd surged inside, only to discover that once inside, no one could move. Those who had pre-registered were being served by only a person or two (maybe three) at a small counter I could not see 40 feet away. Having pre-registered myself, I stood in line nearly an hour, having advanced only a few feet, before deciding to go to lunch and return. I even bravely quipped, "This is almost reason enough to switch to Windows”. To my dismay, I received nods of agreement from those closest to me!

 

My friend, who had pre-registered but forgotten his barcode printout, had given up long before I did and waited for me outside. After lunch, we were able to get into the show after another 30 minutes, mostly waiting in line for my friend to resolve the issue of a lost barcode. He was not alone. In the time we were there, hundreds of others who had lost their barcodes waited patiently in loose lines, much more patiently than expected. Throughout the day, we overheard rumblings from the attendees about registration.

 

The good news is that the rest of the show was better, though lacking the excitement I remember from 1998.

 

Booths were set up at both the West and South Halls of the Moscone Convention Center. The halls are one block apart. Like most large conferences, there is a lot of walking involved. By the end of the day, you can be sure that everyone's feet hurt. My friend, in fact, developed blisters from all the walking just the first day!

 

Despite the number of booths, I found that I wasn't too excited. My interests only slightly overlap my friend's, so we were on our own to find exhibitors that interested us. Amazing how in a group of hundreds, even thousands, who had chosen to attend MacWorld, that I felt so isolated! Perhaps conference attendees felt different, more connected, more excited. I certainly hope so. They share common interests and careers. I had attended MacWorld 1998 in Boston as a conference attendee, and I recall that the entire week was nothing short of feverish.

 

It strikes me that, for exhibit hall attendees this year, this camaraderie seemed to be in short supply. Perhaps it was the same in 1998 but I hadn't noticed since I attended conference sessions. This year, it wasn't clear whether either hall housed special interest groups such as gaming, design, photography, imaging, etc, except maybe by the loosest of threads. There were no crowds gathered in any particular area for any particular reason, except when Mac celebs and authors spoke or gave presentations.

 

It also strikes me that better planning would have improved this MacWorld. Not only would devotees have been registered more efficiently, but were special interests grouped together, like those at the annual SEMA Show (Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association), I think attendees would have been happier, if for no other reason than they would walk less to see the hardware and software of interest to them, their companies, and their careers. I think better organization would generate greater excitement, too, since the people crowded in any particular area would have similar interests, problems and ideas, and be more likely to talk about the products. Such an arrangement might also lead to greater networking opportunities for attendees. Special interest events, too, would further generate a sense of excitement.

 

Though I met some of the companies and folks that I have corresponded with while writing reviews, and I enjoyed meeting them and placing faces with names, it further strikes me that there weren't too many exciting new products to be seen. Everyone at the expo probably saw hardware and software that interested them. It's hard not to. I even found a few products that I liked and look forward to reviewing. But most of the products and markets are mature, leaving little room for innovation at present.

 

Even Apple's announcements fell short of expectations. Apple introduced the MacBook Air, touted as the world's thinnest notebook, to divided opinions. It lacks many features laptop users take for granted, such as an optical CD/DVD drive, multiple Firewire and USB ports, and a large hard drive. Though Apple addresses these shortcomings as cleverly as possible, offering a $99 add-on optical drive, and Remote Disk, a small application that must be installed on a compatible Mac or Windows laptop or desktop with an optical drive, the MacBook Air, in sum, further clutters users' lives with cables, attachments, and even a better-equipped second computer. Like the MacBook Air itself is an add-on appliance like an iPod, antithesis to Apple's vision. On the flip side of the coin, the Air is aptly named, as it is designed to be used in today's increasingly wireless environments, even if ill-equipped. Obviously, wireless is where it is at.

 

Speaking of wireless, I would like to briefly mention one device from this year's Expo: The Eye-Fi Card, a wireless memory card that automatically uploads pictures from your digital camera to your PC or Mac and to your favorite photo sharing, printing, blogging or social networking site. No cables. Ingeniously simple.

 

Readers can learn more about the Eye-Fi Card at http://www.eye.fi.