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MWNY01: O'Grady's Notebook – Xpo After Hours

Macworld is typically a forum for all kinds of new hardware and software announcements but the lack of any new products left attendees feeling a little flat. After hearing the keynote address being described as “Steve Jobs channeling Gil Amelio” I would have to agree, and add the John Rubenstein should not take the stage at Macworld Expo for an extended period any time soon. A colleague told me that John’s section on the Megahertz Myth reminded him of an eighth grade health teacher.


Macworld is typically a forum for all kinds of new hardware and software announcements but the lack of any new products left attendees feeling a little flat. After hearing the keynote address being described as “Steve Jobs channeling Gil Amelio” I would have to agree, and add the John Rubenstein should not take the stage at Macworld Expo for an extended period any time soon. A colleague told me that John’s section on the Megahertz Myth reminded him of an eighth grade health teacher.

After suffering through the most boring keynote in the new Jobs era I looked to find solice on the show floor. Wait! not so fast, I had a conference to give, stories to file and pictures to post. After cranking through a raft of first day commitments I was ready to unwind.

The Go2Mac class photo took place on Wednesday at 5:30 in front of the USS Intrepid aircraft carrier and was a resounding success, as was the first annual Go2Mac cruise around Manhattan. Did you know that the records for more than 20 million U.S. immigrants are now available online at EllisIslandRecords.org?

That alone would probably have been enough for most people but there was another party that was not to be missed: the Apple developer party. Widely known for the best parties at Macworld, Apple didn’t disappoint. The gig took place at Webster Hall and the entertainment was the Wallflowers. Not a bad choice for a band, eh? Beer and wine were flowing but I really wanted a gin and tonic. My only complaint was that there were no t-shirts on the way out. Last year they gave out killer black Mac OS X t’s.

Thursday began with a bit of a haze, but I was determined to put in some time on the show floor. After posting the pictures from Wednesday and filing a few stories I finally got on the show floor for a grand total of about 15 minutes. The black “pro create” posters for the new desktop G4 were pretty cool but easily the most compelling thing at Expo for me was the six demonstration boxes showing Mac OS 10.1, a.k.a. Puma.

10.1 was supposed to be released at the show but was pushed back to September, but that didn’t stop me for looking under my seat on the outside chance that Steve was going to distribute 10.1 CDs to keynote attendees. Anyone remember the free optical mice at Macworld NY last year? Anyhow, the Puma demos in the booth were absolutely killer: lightning fast application launching and window resizing, movable dock and battery, ppp and monitor controls in the menu bar as opposed to taking up valuable dock real estate.

The Macworld build of 10.1 was labeled 5D15, but according to sources Steve Jobs was using an even later build, 4F25, on his keynote demonstration machine. 10.1 and some of the new applications for OS X were easily the highlight of the show, but stay tuned to these pages for our show picks on Monday. If you have a nomination for an Expo Show pick, let us know.

After day two of the show had come and gone I had a good mind to do nothing but sleep but that wouldn’t be Macworld Expo. There was a Tech Data party on the docket for early evening, but after Wednesday’s festivities I was determined to rest up, after all the Mac The Knife, er Knife is Dead party started at 10 pm. After a little R&R I booted downtown to check out the Knife gig (or whatever you want to call it) at a little bar known as The Cooler. They call it the cooler because it is a former meat locker, still equipped with stainless steel walls, concrete floors with drains, heavy steel doors and it even still had the overhead meat rack used to move sides of beef from one cooler to the next.

The highlight of the Knife gig was the All-Star Macintosh band, featuring the likes of Bob LeVitus, David Pogue, Dave Hamilton, Paul Kent, Ilene Hoffman, Tom Irish, Scott Scheinbaum, Duane Straub, Chuck La Tournous and a guest appearance by Andy Ihnatko. They ripped through a gaggle of rock classics like Mustang Sally, Brown Sugar and a killer rendition of The Doors’ Gloria.

By Jason O'Grady

Founded the PowerPage in 1995.