I was not granted a Media Badge this year, so I only visited the Exhibit Hall. Since that was not scheduled to open until 11 a.m. (it never opens before Steve Jobs' keynote) I didn't plan to arrive until about 11:30 a.m. That ended up becoming 12:30 p.m. thanks to a traffic jam on 580.
I stopped into the Apple Retail Store since it's right at one of the exits of the Powell St. Bart station but saw no new products.
Here's the conversation I overheard while I was waiting in line to get my badgeholder.
Woman: "I have to wear a badge?"
Man: "That's how they know you're allowed to be here"
Woman: "But it's going to wreck my outfit!"
There was quite a crowd around the Apple areas, but I did manage to pin down a few reps and get a first-hand look at the new hardware and software. First was the new MacBook Pro. I was surprised that a "Pro" laptop was one of the first Intel-based Macs, since they had promised to release consumer hardware first. I was also surprised that it looked remarkably similar to the PowerBook G4. The only external differences at first glance were the built-in camera and the remote control infrared sensor for Front Row. There was a FireWire port, contrary to some predictions that Apple's first Intel-based laptop would not include this, but only one? I was impressed with the size of the screen, but I'm used to a 12" iBook, so that doesn't say too much. Curiously absent were any claims about heat, battery life, or wireless reception -- all problems that affect the current PowerBooks. The rep tried to show off Front Row to me, but the machine had crashed. This gave me the chance to see how fast it booted: the time between the Welcome to Macintosh status bar and the final load of the Finder desktop was mere seconds. And despite some who worried, there are no Intel branding stickers.
I next got to look at the new iMacs. Again, I was surprised these were the first Macs to receive an Intel processor, since they had just gotten a redesign a few months ago. And these look exactly like those G5 models. The speed seemed impressive. A gentleman asked why he would want this iMac instead of the one he currently owned. The rep then answered by clicking on every application in the Dock (Safari, Mail, iChat, iMovie, iDVD, iPhoto, iTunes, Keynote, Pages) and we could see them all start up in about 2-3 bounces. "Can your Mac do that?" the rep asked. Impressive. I also watched Word 2004 run via the Rosetta "translation" which was transparent. But Virtual PC and Apple's "Pro" apps will not work on either of the Intel Macs. Going against hardware introduction tradition, the older iMac G5s are still available. Choice is good.
There were plenty of stations showing iLife '06 and I was impressed with iPhoto's changes, especially full-screen editing and multi-image comparison. The greeting cards look nice and so do the calendars, but couldn't we have gotten those before the new year started? The rep could not answer my question about whether or not the new photo-sharing web page templates could hold more photos per page than the current ones do. In fact, he was unaware that there was even a limit. "I don't really use .Mac for publishing photos," he admitted. Hey, Apple, when your own reps use a competing photo-publishing solution, pay attention.
iMovie HD 6 was less impressive in terms of overall changes. I doubt I'll ever be able to take advantage of the 1080i editing mode. But the ability to open multiple projects at once is a welcome improvement. The themes were very impressive and I'm now glad I didn't finish our Hawaii movie before Christmas since I think they'll be very useful for that project. I've since discovered, however, that those themes require OS X 10.4.4. I still have not installed Tiger on our iMac G5 since I find Spotlight to be truly awful. I'm not looking forward to resolving this incompatibility.
It was very difficult to find anyone that could tell me about iDVD 6, which nowadays I am actually interested in. But I attended an Apple presentation on iLife '06 and saw some of the new themes and the ability to expand the window in order to view the menus "tree." The ditching of the bordered brushed metal interface for the borderless iTunes 5-6 look is actually good, I think, because it provides more usable screen space.
The introduction of Apple's iPod Radio Remote (hmm, does this qualify as fulfilling my "Apple-branded iPod accessories" prediction?) is welcome to me. Not because I actually want to listen to the radio on my iPod (What's the point?) but so that maybe it will finally SHUT UP all those people who complain about how the iPod isn't as good as other digital music players because it doesn't have an FM tuner. You've got video and radio now, okay? Stop complaining now!
Does anyone not have an iPod case? Because if you were looking for one, Macworld Expo was the place to be. There must have been dozens of exhibitors hawking iPod cases. Probably half of the exhibit hall floor was devoted to iPods instead of Macs. The weirdest accessory I saw was this 
iPod visor that looked like Geordi LaForge's banana clip from Star Trek: The Next Generation. If you're looking for a way to look like a geek, this thing is a lock.
Although I was denied a Media Badge this year (but the guy from ThinkSecret gets to attend the keynote?) I was invited to an evening press reception for Microsoft's Macintosh Business Unit at the posh W Hotel across the street. Free hors d'oeuvres and an open bar made a great end to a day that was actually pretty exhausting. Walking and standing around for hours with heavy bags on your shoulder is tiring. The true benefit, though, was the chance to talk to members of the MacBU and ask questions about the products. My main interests are Entourage and Virtual PC. It was great news to hear that Entourage would get an update in March to make it "Spotlightable" (maybe that's when I'll upgrade the iMac) and be compatible with iSync (and thus the iPod). They are aware that the Send Feedback link is broken and explained that it was somewhat out of their control. Virtual PC is not compatible with the Intel Macs, but one of the team members (who formerly worked with Connectix) said he was hopeful they would release a new version, but couldn't commit to it (understandably). They've been awaiting information from Apple on exactly what kind of processor would be used, since the application is tied so closely to the hardware.
I asked about Windows Media Player, although I knew the MacBU isn't responsible for that. They said they'd find someone to get back to me. Of course, it's since been announced that they have ended support for Windows Media Player for the Mac. They claim they stopped developing the Mac version so they could focus on efforts for Vista. It obviously didn't help too much since they stopped developing it two years ago and in that time still haven't shipped Vista. They also claim "We just did not have the resources to do a good job on (the Mac version)." Microsoft doesn't have the resources? Apple has the resources to create iTunes for Windows, but the biggest software company in the world doesn't have enough resources to reciprocate? Sure.
Another interesting nugget of info I heard at the reception is that Firefox will be rewritten in Cocoa. I have yet to see that information elsewhere, but I hope it's true. I also got a chance to see Shawn King of Your Mac Life there and complimented him on the great job he and J. continue to do on a weekly basis. Their live show on the exhibit hall floor with Adam Engst was entertaining, as well. He even gave me a free pin -- one of those nice form-cut ones, not a cheap button pin.
I didn't stay through the whole reception, as I still had to take BART back to Dublin and then drive home. But all in all, it was worth the trip. I scored a great deal on a 160GB LaCie FireWire drive, so that ought to solve my storage needs for another six months.
New Coke ads for 2006
First, read this story, which appeared in The Record: 
Simpsons Comics #112
