I love Macworld Expo. I’ve gone more years than I haven’t out of the last dozen. But for most of those years, Apple was presenting. That’s changed.
In the past decade and change, Expo went from technology side show to main event. Post iPod, the press arrived in greater numbers. By the time the iPhone launched, they began showing up in troop trucks. It became impossible to get a good seat. The number of exhibitors likewise swelled. It was chaos. And too normal. All the weirdos left. Or at least, there were so many normal people, the big old nerds weren’t as evident. I hated that. And I especially hated the media. Screw the media.
But then Apple pulled out. And so too did all the hangers on in the media. And Macworld canned the Expo, at least in the form it once was. Now it’s Macworld | iWorld. And it’s officially not a trade show, guys. It’s an event by and large for the fans. And that means that most of the exhibits are consumer-orientated. Everyone, seemingly, had stuff on sale. The exhibitors I talked to all said they were busy. So that’s good.
Trade shows are stupid. They’re kind of pointless, especially now that the Internet is the world’s biggest trade show. So the idea of re-casting this thing as a fan-con makes a certain sort of sense.
Having said that, I don’t know if it is going to work, or not. It was low-key to the point of nearly-empty. The throngs were gone. So too was the news. And without any new Apple products to talk about, or other big news to chase, I just went looking for things that were weird. There was still plenty of that.
It closes tomorrow. There’s a drum circle. Shanti. Shanti. Shanti.
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I know, I know, there’s a lot going on here. But try to ignore the woman singing a remixed horrible-ized version of The Girl from Ipanema, or the balding wizard in the center-left of the shot and focus in on the fellow on the right-hand side of the frame. Especially around the 30-second mark. Bringing your own food bucket to a convention center? Baller move.
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Not a penis.
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What’s happening here? Why is this woman dancing alone, in silence? Are those people talking about Short Circuit II? There was a Short Circuit II? I can’t understand this. Is this a metaphor? Please explain it to me in the comments.