Graeme Thickins on Tech

Reflections & analysis about innovation, technology, startups, investing, healthcare, and more .... with a focus on Minnesota, Land of 10,000 Lakes. Blogging continuously since 2005.

Category: The Web & Web 2.0 (Page 19 of 41)

Macworld 2008: Thoughts and Images

January 16, 2008 / / 0 Comments

It was a long, hard day at the office-away-from-home.  My feet sure hurt, I’m on mega-sensory-overload, and more people are definitely not something I want to deal with right now — trust me.  But, somehow, I seem to have survived Macworld Day One, as I blog here from Annabelle’s Bar & Bistro next to the hotel, just up the street from site of this huge gathering. Annabellesbistro_3

Watching the Steve Jobs keynote on the live blogs, starting at 9:00 am, was quite an experience again — even if it was uneven as far as connections go here on-site, on the press room wi-fi. (This is the first time I’ve tried to watch the keynote from the event itself.) All the bandwidth the techies could muster here was being challenged beyond belief, I’m sure.  I Twittered a lot while I was watching live blog updates from Gizmodo and Engadget (simultaneously listening to a fun, live discussion of the proceedings streamed from Mactalk in Australia) — though a few of my tweets somehow just disappeared into the ether, I later realized. I was pretty happy with Twitter up till then, though I later saw bloggers saying it was a big disappointment this day. Anyway, a few images I snapped last night and today are included here, and everything I’ve shot so far on this
trip is now up on Flickr.

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As I said on my Twitters, the market sure didn’t seem to like the keynote today — AAPL just kept trending down throughout the whole thing.  Counting after-hours trading, Apple’s stock had drooped more than 9%, or more than $16, on the day.  That sure went against what the pundits were predicting!   And it also was the opposite of what happened during most, if not all, previous Macworlds — at least those in recent years that I’ve heard about. And Forbes’ take later in the afternoon sure echoed what the market was saying — with this less than complimentary headine: Jobs Fails to Wow at Macworld.  Maybe the worshiped one is losing the magic touch, huh?

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I’ll be here at Macworld till 1:00 pm or so tomorrow, when I must leave for the airport, so I may grab some more images with my new Canon Powershot before I leave.

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High Anticipation at Macworld

January 15, 2008 / / 1 Comment

The hotel is stirring early this morning. I thought I’d sleep in till maybe 5:30 or so (still kinda being on MN time and all), but no way — doors were slamming in the hallway early. [And then I found out this damn hotel doesn’t even put coffee out in the lobby till 7:00 am? Geez…] Anyway, the line for the Steve Jobs keynote must be hugely long already, two blocks down 4th Street. I’m convinced people were in it all night.Macworldkeynotesign

I don’t care — I’ll follow it on the blogs.  If all those bloggers really want to invest that much effort, work that hard, to type faster than the next guy, who am I not to relax and take advantage of it?  I did it last year while sitting comfortably in the CES Bloghaus — I’ll do the same this year.Stevejobsiflubbed

Which blogs are the best bet?  Well, Paul Kedrosky suggests these major names, but there are many. For the past several years, Apple has not provided a live video stream (rather, a tape-delayed broadcast hours later), but Kedrosky says they really have an obligation to, since it’s such a market-moving event.  And he’s right — an analyst on CNBC this morning even said GOOG and EMC will get a boost today from Macworld, with announcements related to the event. So, it’s more than just AAPL here, which is likely to get a 4-5% pop itself, I just heard.  Here’s what I said in comment on Kedrosky’s blog:

yeah – Walt Mossberg et al get unfair advantage to trade stocks 🙂

the competition to get into the keynote is unreal – soo restrictive – I talked to a guy in the press registration line yesterday who’s been to 12 Macworlds, and even he can’t get in this time

when I asked the lady behind the desk about a live stream, she said, "Well, I can’t say" – so there may be hope

We’ll see if that live stream happens. You might want to watch the Macworld Expo site.

Biggest Macworld Ever, But More Sedate?

January 14, 2008 / / 0 Comments

The lines were blocks long around Moscone West early this morning, and that was just people wanting to get their badges.  The real stuff doesn’t even start till tomorrow morning — the Steve Jobs keynote and the opening of the exhibitor floors. Somethingintheair

From the Starbucks a block away, and now from the media lounge, the best stuff I’ve seen online so far:
• Troy Wolverton’s piece in the Merc News comparing to last year’s event, Macworld: Always cool, but calmer?

• A UK site that reported Job’s keynote speech outline has been spied on the web, which was repeated by another site here: Steve Jobs Macworld 2008 Keynote Speech Leaked on Wikipedia. True?  Who knows. (Any Apple employee discovered leaking anything gets summarily fired and forfeits every penny of their financial benefits, based on the contract they sign when they accept employment.)
• Macapper ran this Pre-Show Link Orgy post.
• Mainstream blog Techcrunch reported earlier today about Google Beefing Up the iPhone Interface.
• And I discovered I only need to carry my iPhone to navigate the Macworld showfloor, thanks to this little iPhone app. Great, cuz this laptop bag is already getting heavy….

More soon.

DEMO ’08 Is Coming – And I’m Pumped

January 7, 2008 / / 2 Comments

Fellow innovation junkies, your day is fast approaching: it’s almost DEMO time again, and I can’t wait!  You’ve heard me say before that this is simply the best tech conference there is, which is why I cover every single one of them. Demo08reignite
The anticipation for this event is like no other, not to speak of the surprises — with up to 70 new companies or products launching at each of the twice yearly conferences. This is where you see the new stuff. How does 2,380 company launches over 17 years of experience sound?  It’s an amazing record. Through it all, as the DEMO folks say, their focus "remains on one thing: the future." Read more on the DEMO About page.

Jwmarriott1So, yes, January 28-30, I’ll be in Palm Desert, CA, attending the DEMO ’08 conference as a member of the press corps again. And, as part of this prestigious group, I’ve been given the opportunity to offer Tech~Surf~Blog readers a special discount to attend.
You can get more than $600 off if you register through this special, whiz-bang link. Demo07poolsceneClick here for more DEMO information and conference details, and here’s a great FAQ page, too. (Just be aware that this discount cannot be combined with other offers or promotions, or applied to registrations that have already been processed.) 
I really hope you can make it, because I love to meet my readers in person!  And I know you will find it a valuable experience.Jwmarriott2_2

The thing about DEMO is that it’s so much fun, too. Here are some of the events. There’s nothing that beats partyin’ with your fellow innovation junkies (between blog posts, of course).

And the venue?  Oh, baby, this place is awesome: the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort, as you can see from a few pix I’ve included here. Click here as well for more about the hotel and travel details.

Here’s how the DEMO folks recently talked about their record over the years in picking winners. They do have an uncanny ability to uncover new trends:

"DEMO was there when the seeds of Web 2.0 were planted… exploring some
of the first Web services before we even had buzz words to describe
them. We have stayed true to our mission: to find great innovation
wherever it occurs, identify market trends through the lens of the
products coming to market, and expose you to new ideas and
opportunities.

"DEMO does not follow trends – we invent them.
Never has this been more apparent when the NBC Today Show segment on
January 1st featured Top Tech Trends for 2008 and highlighted two DEMO
Alumni who launched at previous DEMO events – Ugobe and Dash. It was
great to see companies making an impact on the market with technologies
identified by DEMO two years earlier."

Want to read some more good stuff about their predictions and trends for 2008?  The DEMOblog is a great resource, written by the show’s executive producer, Chris Shipley, and edited by Keith Shaw. It’s one of the best kept secrets out there in blog-land, and is actually an online version of the venerable DEMOletter.

So, net-net — you really want to know what’s coming?  Attend DEMO — simple as that.  See you there if you can make it!  And watch for my next post on the event, which will include a listing and links to all the presenting companies, just as soon as they’re announced to us press folk (the weekend before).

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