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More from MacWorld, 2008

Today I was fortunate enough to test an iPhone (still not available in Canada) and also to see the new Belkin Podcast Studio, '...a $100 accessory that basically turns your iPod into a mini podcasting studio – just add a mic.' The Belkin has dual XLR and 1/4 inch channels as well as a built-in mic and speaker which are powered by batteries in the Podcast Studio. It will ship in June. Perhaps the iPhone will make its way north about the same time. Both get rave reviews.

Podcasting was a hot subject at MacWorld this year. There were three days of sessions dealing with various aspects of production, marketing and equipment, and lots of interest in it from participants and exhibitors.

Some of the companies who are represented at MacWorld are small, new companies. They are often staffed by the entrepreneurs and programmers who own and operate the companies. Some of them get lots of visits; some of them do not. They are all excited to tell visitors about their products. The booths are compact, but certainly adequate.

I missed out on at least one test drive, but perhaps next year.

I also missed another opportunity: the MacWorld Napping Lounge powered by pzizz.

I've been to many MacWorld exhibitions and after each one I leave more excited and informed about technology and more impressed with the people who create and market new products.

I'll be discussing some of the new ideas and products presented at this year's Expo at presentations to members of the Book Publishers Association of Alberta (BPAA) in Edmonton (January 30) and Calgary (February 5). For more information on those sessions please call the BPAA office at 780.424.5060.

Creative Time at MacWorld

I've spent an intensive day playing with new technology and chatting with some of the people who have developed it. I've met teachers, IT specialists, developers and representatives of companies of all sizes. San Francisco is a very creative, high tech city, and MacWorld Conference & Expo attracts thousands of local, national and international participants every January to the City By The Bay.

Apple announced a new computer at this year's MacWorld. The new MacBook Air is the thinnest notebook (0.76 inches) in the world and the coolest. I read about it and watched the demo on Apple's website, but I did not expect to be so impressed with this computer. It does not contain an optical drive, but one is available (it plugs into a USB port). However, we don't miss floppy disk drives on contemporary computers and I doubt if most people will miss the optical drive on this unit. It's a computer for people who travel and also for those who love fine design. It's impressive, and costs only $1799.

Apple has also updated Apple TV. US clients can now rent movies, even HD movies, for modest fees and play them (as well as photos and video podcasts) on their television sets. International clients (and I hope that includes Canadians) will be able to do this later this year.

MacWorld includes educational sessions and demos.

And, there's private time for those who blog.

Bound for MacWorld

I'm bound for the MacWord Conference and Expo in San Francisco next week. I'll arrive a day after Steve Jobs gives his presentation announcing new developments in software and hardware so I will have to sit at my my computer on Tuesday morning watching the live blog entries from various sources. It's always an exciting process, one that I can continue when I get to the Moscone Center and join tens of thousands of others who have come to look and learn.

Last year I saw the new iPhone being demonstrated and decided that I would buy one as soon as they became available in Canada. I'm still waiting: but next week I'll likely see a new 3G model of the iPhone and again declare that I'll buy one as soon as they become available here.

I'll also attend mini-courses put on by various companies such as Adobe and, of course, Apple. I'll also visit with representatives of new companies, often companies which are attending their first show with new products, hoping that those products will meet the needs of those attending the show.

I look forward to the excitement of being with a very large crowd of creative and innovative people: presenters, students, designers, developers, young and old.

Watch this blog next week for news and photographs from MacWorld and San Francisco.

Wi-Fi Now More Accessible

I've travelled a lot this year in Canada and in the USA and have been delighted with the access I've had to high speed connections in the hotels I've chosen.
I stayed at the Delta Calgary South this weekend and was very impressed with the internet service: it seemed to be faster than my cable connection at my home office, and I was able to use my regular mail software to send as well as receive messages.
My neighborhood Safeway is now offering free wi-fi in the seated area next to the Starbucks kiosk in the store. One can now pause before, during or after shopping and access the web with a laptop or phone.
Most of the coffee shops I spend time at provide free wi-fi while others provide it through a third party on an hourly basis. One coffee shop in my area has a once-only charge: the staff charge a fee to provide a login code for you which will work every time you visit them.
Free wi-fi really means wi-fi at no extra charge to the user. We as users of these services are expected by the merchants to buy coffee or other products while we're online – and we do.
Later this fall I'll be able to use wi-fi on VIA Rail as I travel from Toronto to Windsor. Soon at least several airlines will offer the same service.
Wireless internet service will become as common and as accessible as wireless service for cell phones. While some people may feel that this could intrude on their lives we should remember that computers, like cell phones, can be turned off easily. We always have choices, and with wi-fi becoming more common we now have more of them.

Interview with Steve Jobs and Bill Gates

The D5 Conference interview with these two extraordinary people is fascinating.
This site contains a summary of the interview plus the entire discussion. You may have to scroll past other D5 interviews to find the several sections of this discussion – but it's worth the effort.

iPhone and Other Delights: MacWorld '07, Day Two

It's 9:54 PM but most MacWorld folks are attending parties, or writing blogs and answering e-mail. While most of us were going from booth to booth today, talking to industry reps and gathering information, there were many people sitting at tables and in hallways working on their laptops.

This morning we watched a presentation on the iPhone: and, yes, it's a fascinating and innovative product. It's a phone, an iPod, a link to the internet, and more.

There was standing room only at all of the demos of the iPhone. After the session I attended one of the attendees went up to the stage and asked the presenter if he could hold the iPhone for just a moment. The answer was 'No.'
We were told that iPhones will be available in the USA in June, in Europe by the end of the year and in Asia next year. There was no mention of The Great White North.

I was lucky enough to be at the Maxell booth when they announced that they were giving away sets of portable speakers 'for people on the move.' Several of us were on the move quickly and joined the line. The speakers are great. I connected them to my iPod when I returned from the show and was very pleased with the sound.
One of the benefits of coming to shows such as MacWorld is that one gets an opportunity to learn about new companies and new products. We all know about Adobe and Apple, but we don't know about the start-ups and their innovative software and services.
I visited several of those today. Some of them are attracting crowds to their booths, while others are doing their best to work the crowd so that some people will stop and chat.
MacBak provides backup services for 'creative professionals.' Most of us could use some help in that area.
Blurb provides free software to let you 'make your own bookstore-quality books.' They then print the book for you. They had a crowd at their booth every time I walked past, but I did stop and got a brochure.
Humble Daisy (love the name) offers a product called ProfCast which it says 'makes lecture podcasting easy.'

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is across the street from the Moscone Center, where MacWorld is held. We visited the Museum twice today, once to have lunch at their courtyard café, and once to tour the exhibitions.

It was a fine day. Tomorrow is the last day of the show: but we'll stop by the Apple Store in the afternoon.

A Day of Contrast and Excitement

The worst blizzard to strike Edmonton in some time started last evening and gained force early this morning. I shovelled my driveway and sidewalks at 5:00 AM. Merle and I took a cab an hour later to the airport; blowing snow caused difficulties for many drivers and traffic was very slow.
Our plane to San Francisco left a bit late due to the inclement weather, but we arrived in the city by the bay less than three hours after take-off. The weather here is sunny and quite pleasant.

We left our bags at the hotel and hurried to MacWorld at the Moscone Center. I wanted to see what had become, as a result of yesterday's announcement, the Holy Grail of the show, the mighty iPhone.
As I expected the only iPhone we could approach was revolving in a glass case, with a security guard present (he's the fellow in the white shirt). Mac fans stood in a circle waiting with their digital cameras as the case revolved, trying to photograph this very impressive unit.

We sat in on a couple of Mac sessions, one about Leopard, the new operating system due this spring, and another about AppleTV, announced yesterday by Steve Jobs. There are thousands of people here, and there is standing room only for some of these sessions.
There are lots of opportunities for individual consultations with experts from Apple and from other companies.

While I found some interesting music software (which I may try tonight) I have resisted the temptation to enter the John Lennon songwriting contest which is in progress at this show. I'll learn more about this later, I'm sure.

In addition to learning about new software, hardware and other innovations there's always loot: a young fellow (a publisher's son) from Santa Rosa tried on his new Google socks while he waited for the next session. He and his friends skipped school today to be part of MacWorld which I think was a fine idea. The Google folks told us that they would have more socks tomorrow. I wonder if they'll go well with my blue suit.

Books and the Third World

I first visited Africa in 1964 and have just returned from my second visit (Nov. 30 – Dec. 17, 2005).
Since books are a major part of my life I look for bookstores everywhere I go. I go to libraries and discuss books with librarians and with students. Whenever possible I buy books in the countries I visit.
On this visit I did not take paper books with me. I took a lot of work, two computers, an iPod and a Palm Pilot. I listened to podcasts and some music on the flights to Africa and did some work. I had a few e-books on my computer and several on my PDA, but I had read them.
I had hoped to buy magazines or books in Kampala, but since our hotel was some distance from the downtown area I did not have an opportunity to visit a bookstore. When we moved to the conference hotel on Lake Victoria (Entebbe) I was disappointed to find that there were no magazines for sale at the hotel. There was a shop attached to the hotel which advertised 'books for sale', but the seven used books in the shop were not appealing to me or to anyone else, apparently.Later I visited two private bookstores in Nairobi and bought several books to entertain me for the rest of the trip.
In 1964 school children sought books, any kind of books, they said. We left them some of the books we brought with us to read that summer. Churches and service clubs from North America and Europe have sent boxes of books to schools and other organizations in Africa, but, in many cases, these have been books that have been discarded by individuals and libraries. Children and adults who are in school or trying to increase their qualifications need the best books, books which are current and relevant to their needs.
Students in North America are complaining about the costs of textbooks. Imagine adding the cost of shipping these books 10,000 miles and then consider the total cost of supplying a foreign textbook to a child in Africa.

While I love paper books I feel that the only way that most libraries in the third world can stay current in terms of books and scientific journals is by using e-books and e-journals. The librarians I met with agreed with me.
Local authors and scientists could publish their material more easily if there were the alternative of using e-publications. These publications could then be made available to local libraries, schools and Universities. At the moment many local authors are dependent on foreign publishers for opportunities to publish their work.
I know that not everyone in the third world has a computer: but almost everyone has a CD player, and some have iPods. If one can play music, one can listen to an audio book. Many University libraries now have extensive computer labs, and virtually everyone in urban areas can access the internet through the many, inexpensive, computer cafés.
Investing in new technology in the third world will pay dividends. At the moment students and professors are excited about the potential of new and innovative approaches to making knowledge accessible.

Back from Africa

I returned recently from a trip to Uganda and Kenya. While most of my friends are certain that this was a relaxing safari my main purpose was to deliver a keynote address on e-books and new information technology to the African Crop Science Society conference in Entebbe, Uganda. While I was there my colleague Ross Wein and I visited Universities, libraries, and government agencies to learn more about the opportunities for using e-books, e-journals and other technology in science and education.
We also re-visited areas where we as students with Operation Crossroads Africa had spent time in 1964.
There have been some significant changes in the past 41 years: there is increased prosperity in the upper income sectors of society and even in the lower income sectors. However, poverty is a major problem as is HIV/AIDS. Urbanization – which includes numerous shanty towns in Nairobi and Kampala – is creating (or allowing us to focus on) serious social and environmental problems. Deforestation and cultivation threaten the physical stability of hillside farms. Drought has been a serious concern: Kenya has not had the expected seasonal rains for three years.
Nevertheless, many people are optimistic about the future, especially with respect to tourism. Tourists fly in and out of Nairobi's Wilson Airport to exotic locales such as Maasai Mara. Safari companies take other tourists on day trips to see wildlife. One can be picked up at a five star hotel in Nairobi early in the morning and be taken through the Nairobi National Park, returning for lunch to chat about the wildlife one has seen just 7 km from the city centre. It's perhaps the smallest but the most accessible park in east Africa.
Most people feel some connection to or significant interest in the landscapes and the people of Africa. That may be due to movies such as Out of Africa or articles in National Geographic, but there may be more basic reasons. The challenges that African countries are attempting to meet are important to all of us.