Stan's List

MacWorld 2010 is considered a success due to the number of attendees. Crowded bothThursday and Friday. due to the expo being only in the North conference center. Apple was always on the South side and thus crowds were divided between the two sides with more on the South side than the North where smaller venders usually were found.

The Showwx laser pico projector can be connected to any device that display photos or video, such as a Mac Book or iPod or iPhone. Always stays in focus, whether projecting a 6 inch image up to 200 inches, in WVGA (848×480) format. The battery can usually power projection of an entire movie before requiring recharge. The Showwx should be available in the US in March, they had a working prototype at the expo. It is currently available in Europe and Asia. Certainly deserved the best of show award.

Office for iPhone or IPod Touch allows viewing, editing and creating MS Word and Excel documents. Many of the commands in the full version are included in the iPhone/Touch version and are listed on their web page. A number of the commands take advantage of the iPhone/Touch, particularly the Excel commands.

Both the Showwx and Office for iPhone/Touch would seem useful together, though graphs are not mentioned as a feature.in Office for iPhone/Touch.

Eye-Fi adds Wi-fi to your camera, enabling one to send photos to their computer without connecting either one to each other.

There is a compatibility page, as some camera’s can not accept a 4 GB SD memory card. My Nikon D50 can not read more than a 2 GB memory card, whereas my wife’s CoolPix S710 can.

Eleven Engineering, a semiconductor company, has targeted a new wireless technology for use in portable devices with what it contends is better-than-Bluetooth performance in stereo music applications. This company is the chip maker, partnering with potential product companies.They were demoing a wireless speaker system, nothing tempting. The technology is the key, it they can convince their partners to use their circuit board in their products. As said, Wi-Fi is preferable to Blue-Tooth. Any product using the symbol, which is a abstract of TRIK will be assurance they are using Eleven Engineering’s technology.

New York Times’ Pogue’s Post reports attendance at 55,000, 10,000 more than last year, and vendors at 475, 100 more than 2007. Not surprising in that Gartner research has Mac shipments 28% over the year before.

Apple will release their quarterly report tomorrow.

We’re almost there. The expo opens Tuesday at 11:00 a.m., as the Keynote commences at 10:00. Some conferences begin on Monday and continue during the week What was unusual, there were not a last minute free expo passes by any vendor. There are slated some 455 exhibitors, with 50,000 attendees expected to attend Tuesday.So far, this is the predicted agenda for the Keynote (not in any particular order):A major update to Apple TV in response to the movie contracts to be announced.Slim laptop of some description, as a number of possible features have been predicted.iPhone firmware 1.1.3 update (yippee)Last year, the iPhone was announced and released the end of June. With the 3 G iPhone predicted June or July, an announcement would be consistent.  

Seattle Times correctly advises that as we know, we know nothing about what will be announced at Macworld. With only a week to go, no sense in being impatient. If your favorite model is not updated, then you have till spring to expect an update. You can order your new Mac on Tuesday evening, after the Keynote. More …

Bloomberg is predicting the sub-MacBook and a 3G iPhone at Macworld SF. The iPhone is what no one has thought of. The sub-MacBook is a given. Anything is possible, but none of the more reliable sites have any information about a 3G iPhone. It is coming, but more likely a June or July, but it would be sweet. More or less …

Registration for Macworld 2008 is available. The 2008 Macworld Conference & Expo takes place between January 14 -18, 2008 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA. Use priority code 08-E-VF01 for free Exhibit Hall passes until October 5th. Last year they extended the time to apply, but there is no guarantee.

Audio Update 2007-001 remedies the audio bug in Intel Mac OS X 10.4.10.

The Audio Update 2007-001 addresses an issue with version 1.0 of the Mac OS X 10.4.10 Update in which a “popping” sound might be heard with some external speakers on Intel-based Mac. This update is recommended for all Intel-based Macs running Mac OS X 10.4.10.

This years MacWorld did seem to have a bit more pep in it than the last few years have. I was beginning to think that the glory days of the expo were behind us and that the famous trade show would continue to dwindle but this year has given me hope. The vendors were more energetic, the swag was plentiful, and the crowds were buzzing. As Apple’s share of the market grows, and with the switch next year to the third week of January (to alleviate the conflict with CES) I hope to see our favorite gathering become an even more exciting place.

MacWorld Expo 2007 Best of Show

What were your impressions of Macworld? Let us know.

AppleInsider: New Apple product announcements at next week’s Macworld Expo in San Francisco could include iTV, a new iPod, and the iPhone, according to a Macworld Rumor Roundup issued by research and investment firm PiperJaffray on Thursday.

Peachpit is offering free passes to the upcoming Macworld Conference & Expo taking place at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, January 9-12, 2007. To request a pair of passes (exhibit-only passes, a combined $90 value), send an email message to Peachpit with your name and postal address, and Peachpit will mail out the passes.

All free passes from Peachpit are available on a first-come, first-served basis, and Peachpit must receive requests by January 3, 2007.

If you prefer to register online and obtain your own free passes, simply go to this Macworld Web page and use the Priority Code: PC0249.