Another Airport That “Gets It”
I’ve had the pleasure of traveling to Columbus, Ohio twice over the last year. Last August, I was here to do a two-day class on my way to a conference in Cary, NC; now I’ve been here for four days doing a Business Analysis Boot Camp for ASPE Technology. One of the reasons I like flying to this city is that their airport is small enough to not have many delays, but large enough to cater to the many business people who have to fly in and out of the airport serving the huge insurance business here.
This is an airport that “gets it” when it comes to connectivity. I’m sitting here in an ex-phone booth that has been outfitted with a power plug, using the free WiFi that permeates the airport. And what’s really nice is that unlike the “free” WiFi at my home airport (Denver International Airport), CMH provides extremely fast and ad-free service. When I’m at DEN, I have to wait through a 30-second mandatory ad, then put up with banner ads at the top of every page. To top it off, the service is slower than mud.
They’re also one of the many airports that put their police force on Segway Personal Transporters. I love these devices - they’re a great way to get around and if my fargin’ state would ever get off of it’s dead ass, they’d approve ‘em for use on city streets, sidewalks, and bike paths like most of the states in this country.
Let’s hear it for Port Columbus International Airport in Columbus, Ohio!
Why the MacBook Air will be a successful product
Reading a lot of the posts or comments on other Mac-related web sites these days, you hear a lot of talk about the MacBook Air. People either love it or hate it, with not much common ground. After holding one in my hands at Macworld Expo, I knew I had to have one, not because it is so supermodel thin and sexy, but because it is a product that is aimed at me. (Click link to read more)
What the hell is going on with Apple’s stock price?
After announcing a number of new revenue-enhancing products and services at Macworld Expo, then following up with news of the best quarter ever for Apple, you’d expect their stock price to be countering the downward trend that the rest of the market is taking. Instead, the price is down about 35% from its high, and there seems to be no end in sight for the downward spiral. So what’s the cause of this dismal showing on NASDAQ for what was a darling of the tech stocks just two weeks ago?
I’m not an investment analyst, just a tech geek. So take what I say with a very large grain of salt and certainly don’t base your investment decisions on my comments. But it seems to me that the market is overreacting to a number of things. (Click on the link to read more)
Some MacWorld Expo Thoughts
I returned from a week at Macworld Expo Friday afternoon and thought I’d share some of my thoughts about the announcement with readers.
MacBook Air - Yes, I’ve already ordered one to replace my MacBook and no, I didn’t get the Solid State Drive option. I do a lot of traveling, averaging two trips per month, and any device that can reduce the volume and weight of what I have to carry is going to get my attention. The hands-on feel of the keyboard is excellent, actually an improvement on the good keyboards that come with the existing MacBook and MacBook Pro. The Air doesn’t get hot - I picked up a sampling of Airs that had been used hard all day at the 100 foot long display table and they were barely warm. The LED backlight produces a very even and bright display, and the location of the ports and MagSafe power outlet are good and unobtrusive. Read more after the break! Read more
Movable Beast Macworld Minute #1
OK, it took a while to get this done since my files had all been taken off of my MacBook when I upgraded it to Leopard, but warts and all this should give you a good feel for what happened during the keynote yesterday and what I’m doing today. Enjoy!
From The Floor - Invisible Shield
My best-laid plans of trying to hit the entire floor at Moscone South took a big hit this morning when one of the first booths I visited was that of the Invisible Shield guys. They’re giving away free Invisible Shields to anyone who gives up their old iPhone or iPod case, but since I don’t use one anyway I paid $20. This is a wonderful “skin” that is applied to the surface of your device to protect it from any and all damage. While I’m waiting for this to get done, I’ll be doing a bit of posting and podcasting. More soon!
Coming Up Next From Macworld Expo
Hi, MovableBeast fans! It was fun meeting some of you yesterday in the line for the Keynote and last night at the MacLevelTen meetup. Be sure to visit our sister sites (see the list on the lower right side of this page) for even more Macworld Expo news.
Today is my day to wander around the show floor, and you can be sure that I’ll be doing a number of interviews, grabbing info about new products, and otherwise gleaning through the mounds of Expo stuff to get you the best news about what’s new. I have a few visits that are going to be fun - like going to the Garmin booth and asking them what’s taking so long on their promised GPS products for Mac or meeting my buddies at Mark/Space in the flesh.
Stay tuned for more from MovableBeast!
Liveblog - Keynote
Steve J. announced Time Capsule, a backup device that features an Airport Extreme (802.11n) and a hard drive. 500 GB for $299, 1 TB for $499.
4 Million iPhones sold to date, now #2 in the smartphone market in USA, RIM is #1. SDK shipping in late February. Great features today - maps with location, webclips to be put on the home screen, up to 9 home screens, SMS multiple people at once, Lyrics support.
Steve demoed the locations feature, we can now drop pins anywhere and get directions to those pins. He then sent SMS messages to four people at once. Web clips demo - there is a + button that allows an “Add to home screen”. Icon added to home page. Steve showed New York times, zoomed into Technology section, added to home screen - goes right to that page. Touch and hold causes the icons to jiggle, at which point you can move them around on Home Page or to other home pages. (Click the link for MORE!) Read more
Liveblog - Microsoft Office 2008: A Day At The Office
This year I decided to get to Macworld a day early, primarily for one event – Microsoft’s introduction of the newest version of their flagship product – Office. Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac (from here on known as Office 2008) consists of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Entourage, along with some other pieces. Many of my consulting clients use Office, so it’s important that I learn how this new product may help them or how it could futz up their workflow in the near future.
The first part of the entire presentation (from Eric Wilford) was a bit of fluff, talking about how they went out and talked with business owners to determine their needs, created the suite to simplify your work and then get out of the way, etc… So the biggest task for Microsoft with Office 2008 was “discoverability”, being able to find those functions you want to use that are hidden deep in the current user interface. Of course, they’re using the Open XML file formats, the applications are native for both Intel and PPC Macs, and everything works with Leopard. Note that I will continue to update this article throughout the day as the presentations proceed. (Click the link to read more)
Movable Beast’s Coverage of Macworld Expo
As this post is being made, I’m sitting in my hotel room overlooking downtown San Francisco. Starting this evening, it’s a nonstop parade of dinners, meetings, and meetups with others in the Mac world. Yep, it’s time for Macworld Expo 2008.
Last year’s coverage consisted of a number of “Macworld Minutes”, short podcasts that discussed a topic or featured an interview with one or more of the luminaries of the Apple world. This year, I’ll be posting constantly from the Expo and providing podcasts whenever possible to give you up to the minute coverage.
I look forward to providing you with Macworld information from the viewpoint of mobility, so whether it’s a new tiny Mac laptop or updates to the iPhone, you’ll hear about it on Movable Beast. Stay tuned!
Updates By Mail
We’re going to be posting a lot of updates in the next week from Macworld Expo, so if you’re in the mood for instantaneous gratification, be sure to use the eNews & Updates link in the upper right corner of the site to subscribe to our email feed. You’ll receive all the Movable Beast goodness in your email inbox, perfect for getting your Macworld news fix at work or (gasp!) on your iPhone.
Macworld Newton Meetup
Macworld Expo Newton Meetup!
While we’re celebrating the future, let’s honor the past. If you own a Newton MessagePad and will be attending Macworld Expo this week, come to the informal Macworld Expo Newton Meetup. It will be held as MovableBeast’s part of the MacLevelTen meetup.
This no-host event will be held on Tuesday, January 15 from 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM at:
Chevy’s (next to Moscone, so the walk is easy)
3rd & Howard
201 3rd Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
415-543-8060
Register now so we know to look for you, or just show-up and enjoy!
The New Site
OK, I promise not to change the site again….
This was probably the biggest change I’ve ever made, moving existing material over to a new theme. The WordPress theme I’m using for the site is called Revolution Tech and is designed to be more of a magazine format. One thing you’ll notice as I get up to speed on the new site is that it’s going to be much more graphically oriented than the previous incarnations.
So, what’s coming up? I’ll be at Macworld Expo in San Francisco starting on Sunday evening, so expect to start hearing about new products. I plan on doing a number of audio and video podcasts, so you can feel like you’re at the show even if you’re not! As you can see, there’s also a spot on the front page for a featured video, so you’ll see video podcasts on a regular basis here on Movable Beast.
One final note - the site may still be a bit unstable over the next couple of weeks while I iron out some remaining bugs, so please be patient. THANKS!
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Joy of Tech!
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MacLevelTen
