July 1939. Gordonton, N.C. You really have to see the full-size image (at Shorpy) to appreciate this photo by Dorothea Lange (for the Farm Security Administration). [via J-Walk Blog]
Author Archives: Steve Mays
MacWorld 2008 (5 hours in line)
I mentioned a couple of posts back that, even at 4:30 in the morning, there was a long line of Mac faithful already in line for Steve Jobs’ keynote.
People kept coming and getting in line behind us for hours, so I have no idea how long the line finally got.
Macworld: Day Two
Winding down here at Macworld. Hit the exhibit floor again and watched a very cool demo of Photoshop Elements 6 for the Mac. Out in March. Show continues through Friday but I head home tomorrow.
Last night our gang attended a Devo concert at the historic Warfield Theater. I lasted about 15 minutes. Not sure if it was the head-exploading decibels or the depressing sight of a bunch of guys my age (or very close) dressed in yellow coveralls and orange plastic hats.
Dinner tonight at some fancy-pants French restaurant. More on that later.
Randy Newman – A Few Words in Defense of Our Country
Macworld: Day One (SF: Day 3)
In line at 4:30 a.m. for Jobs keynote. Waited in the cold and dark for a couple of hours… and a couple more inside the convention center. Got in to the keynote room just as Jobs began speaking. If we (Mark Snell was with me) had gotten in line 5 minutes later, we wouldn’t have gotten in. We would have stood in line for almost 5 hours…for nothing. Glad I had the experience. But the keynote looks pretty good online. I’m just saying.
After the keynote, we had lunch and then hit the exhibit floor. The Hot New Thing was/is the MacBook Air [Ad – Tour]. They have a long (150 feet?) table set up with 40 or 50 of these little beauties on display. But for the first couple of hours, you couldn’t get close. The crowd was three deep with people who just wanted to see, touch and hold The Worlds Smallest Notebook Computer. We got a few minutes with it and I must say it is impressive. But I am easily impressed.
Lots of other interesting stuff in the keynote but others will report on those. I’m looking forward to renting movies from iTunes. If it works as advertised, this could eliminate the need for Netflix.
I have some video of the day’s adventures and will post that later.
David Pogue: Imagine There’s No Apple
A few big names showed up at a reception held by the Mac Users Group tonight. Steve Wozniak was on hand and hung around to shoot the shit and pose for photos with fans.
New York Times columnist David Pogue debuted a couple of songs that he’ll perform later in the week.
Imagine There’s No Apple
Killing Me Softly with His Slides
San Francisco: Day One
Our little band swooped into San Francisco about midday, checked in to the hotel and headed for Fisherman’s Wharf to stock up on T-shirts and balloon animals. We also had some tasty chowder and crab cake sandwiches at a place called Lou’s.
We strolled around a bit before hopping a cable car back up (down?) town. We hung out in the Apple store for a bit (lots of folks and most of ’em were buying). Taking a break before dinner. The Big Show starts tomorrow.
PS: First time to stay in a hotel with HD TV sets (and channels) in the room. Nice, very nice.
Ditch Surfing
MacWorld: If you’re going to San Francisco…
…and I am. Leaving for MacWorld tomorrow. As a MacWorld virgin, I’ll be under the collective wings of George, Tom and Mark. Seasoned veterans all. If we were driving cross-country, this trip might make a decent road-trip movie. Middle-aged geeks search for meaning and happiness among 40,000 people talking to each other on their iPhones.
I’ll have the MacBook with me (I’m not sure you can get into SF without one for the next week) but blogging might be light. I really hope to soak up the experience and not worry too much about recording it. We’ll see.
Dave Winer podcasts “because I want to say something”
“There’s a mini-debate going on about whether podcasting is a success or worth it, or whatever, I’m not sure exactly what the issue is, but it’s framed this way –> if you can’t get advertisers to hitch a ride on your podcast then podcasting is not worth much if anything.
My phone doesn’t have a business model. Neither does my porch. I still like having a phone and a porch because they help me meet new people and communicate with people I know. Same with my blog and podcast.
I do a podcast from time to time because I want to say something. Whether I can run an ad on my podcast means nothing to me because I would never do it. … I would never burden my podcasting with the task of supporting me. It’s not why I podcast. … Blogging and podcasting exist independent of a professional’s ability to eek out a living using the tools of blogging and podcasting.”
You can read Mr. Winer’s full post here.
My colleague David is helping a number of clients with blogs and podcasts and none are ad supported. They exist solely to help tell the client’s story. Blogs and podcasts are inexpensive, effective, easy and fun.
For my part, nothing ruins a good hobby like trying to make money with it.