Nemo Weeks Casseres sitting with other media chums in special room NOT in the live Keynote ballroom. Casseres got here first and reserved three seats. We’re banished this year, for the first time, into the guts of Moscone, unable to experience His Stevenss in person. The room we’re in, number 103, has a live wireless Internet service available, so we can transmit comments as they happen (wish us luck).
It’s a dark room; with two large screens both side front and a couple of easy chairs and a desk center stage. Familiar faces and new ones are trickling into the seats. Nobody is overjoyed at being shoved down here, but at least we’re in good company. Roger just called to say he’d take photos, meaning he may have special access to the in-person keynote.
Casseres has placed his mind into a Zen state so as not to corrupt the flow of new info that actually happens. Rumors are flying everywhere, colliding with one another and neutralizing any coherent thought.
Next to me is Gary Coyne from AppleLinks.com, a congenial fellow who publishes witty, insightful postings as often as he can. In real life he’s a scientific glass blower, meaning he’s full of hot air except when doing his Mac writing.
Many media editors and reports are REALLY annoyed at not having full access to the live Keynote address, but gradually people are letting off steam. People from IDG, the conference company, are trying to keep the feather from being too ruffled, with limited success. A huge line of VIPs and paid attendees fills the upper and lower halls here at Moscone, and *these* folks are the ones being able to feel Steve’s vibes up close and personal.
Hey! Let’s come up with some advantages of having media restricted to a basement closet:
1. No need to stand in line nervously for over an hour, trying to maintain witty conversation with other hung-over or bored stiff media colleagues.
2. Not necessary to risk life and equipment when dashing into the Grand Ballroom in order to obtain a decent seat closer than Tacoma.
3. Much more spacious seating down here in Gutland. David, David, and I have ten feet to stretch out legs and the opportunity to move around freely any time we wish.
4. Aha! Full access to an always-on wireless connection to send you this commentary as it happens, especially since no simulcast in QuickTime is being broadcast this year (also for the first time).
5. We three can sit together and compare notes.
Yikes. Casseres is worried our Internet access will be shut down as soon as Steve starts talking. If I disappear suddenly, that will be the reason.
"We are Grey People," says David Casseres
It’s the missing yellow sticker! Intrepid media reps are scrounging for anything yellow they can stick onto their media badges, because yellow stickers are required for VIP access to the live in person Keynote address.
Let’s shift gears and hear from some of the finest minds in the MacUniverse.
Thoughts in the air here at Macworld SF 2005
* the lawsuit against ThinkSecret.com has some observers ruminating on the actual possibility of the low-cost "headless" iWhateverMac.
* Is there a real reason for Apple to create a flash memory iPod, or similar?
* An expanded iLife suite, including an upgraded AppleWorks plus Keynote v.2, would be a huge competitor to Microsoft’s Office X.
* Or, since "AppleWorks is a mess," any new productivity suite will be a complete replacement, not an upgrade!
* Will the G5 tower top processor speed get goosed up to?
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