Nemo Macworld Special Report #4 Late Tuesday Night January 6, 2004

It’s late and I’m tired but I need to get some thoughts out of my crowded brain before attempting to sleep. Big day today. Bigger day tomorrow planned. Tremendous help at Macworld from Owen Rubin, new MyMac.com contributor. Sensational to have Tekserve iBook, making all our coverage possible. Missing old pal David Weeks, unable to attend this year. Outstanding support from publisher Tim Robertson, who organizes and posts all our submissions.

Impossible for Nemo to go to press conferences, take photos, prepare JPGs for publication, cover showroom floor, type up coherent thoughts, listen to speakers, and 999 other things I would like to be able to do. Taking it one thing at a time, meaning less quantity but better depth. Are photos satisfactory for you? Let me know. Ditto for articles. What did we miss, and where did we hit home runs?

Macworld Expo is smallest in many years, fewest exhibitors, least number of new wowzer products, but quality and commitment is tops in every category. Entire show could fit into giant South Hall, which would change flavor of event but make it more buzzworthy, MUCH easier to see more products in less time.

Steve Jobs world-class presenter, in love with his own talent, taste, and timing, proud of his achievements. Well deserved in all of the above. Sitting mid-section in giant keynote auditorium, Nemo not feeling need to dash up to front, found myself in excellent position to see and hear better than ever, plus fill frame on Fuji FinePix digital still camera with images projected on enormous presentation screen. How do they look on your monitor? Suggestions for MWSF 2005 point of view?

Thanks to cousin Jim Nemo for providing transportation and conversation each direction from residence to Moscone. We walked a mile this morning from his office, providing much needed exercise and air. Set my precious clipboard down on ground for a moment, forgot to pick it up, was not upset when I realized it was lost an hour later. We’re pros here at MyMac.com, not set back by minor glitches. I had all my most important notes and appointment sheets in backpack. Whew! Close call.

Great pre-keynote hallway greetings with Jeff Carlson and Glenn Fleishman of TidBITS; John Tollett, Robin Williams, and publisher Nancy Davis from Peachpit Press; author and raconteur Bob LeVitus the Great, plus a few more fine folks since forgotten. It’s been that kind of day.

Free lunch is still free, but not quite so glamorous. Media reps receive vouchers for $12 worth of conventional grub offered at carts in Moscone hallway. Twelve bucks buys one sandwich of questionable pedigree, one orange, one banana, and one cookie. Not complaining — very appreciative, but miss fine lunches of the past.

Which reminds me: please peek back at our special coverage from previous recent San Fran Macworld conferences, to give this year’s reporting some perspective. (here, here, and here). Nemo and Weeks scurried, learned a lot, enjoyed ourselves, and are proud of our reports and photos. Much of the flavor of Macworld seeps out between the sentences, and there was an abundance of it in the three years’ of Macworlds we attended before MWSF 2004.

Yikes. Forgot to prepare summary of Steve’s keynote speech, while working so hard on getting those photos ready. You still interested in Nemo perspective? Let me know, and I’ll dig out my notes. Previous years’ keynotes yielded detailed essays, well worth a visit even now.

All for tonight. Considering skipping a year in 2005, depending on the direction Apple’s heading. Seems to be splitting into two branches: consumer/multimedia and professional/server. Those categories are my capsule punch lines from this morning’s keynote address. You agree or see otherwise?

Thanks for sticking with MyMac.com. How do we rate versus other online publication these days? Send Nemo a note. I’ll be honored to receive it.

John Nemerovski

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