MacWorld 2010

At first I did not think I would find the time to make it, but I did, and on a Saturday mind you. Last week was MacWorld 2010 in San Francisco. I went into the show this year not expecting much. I've become accustom to the rapid decline in attendance and quality of trade shows recently. That combined with the fact that Apple was not present, and Adobe not really welcome. I thought the show would be a little light. The show was actually pretty well attended, but the quality of the exhibitors not great. A lot of useless, almost Microsft'ish type clutter: mice, cases, keyboards with silly color coding systems that I'm still trying to figure out the point of and why that would make me more efficient, and an app pavilion that was so scrunched it was impossible to get an idea of what was even going on. There were a few things I would note from the show however.

Eye-Fi. I just like these guys, I like what they are doing, and I am impressed with the technology. Eye-Fi has a product that combines software and hardware embedded on an SD card to give you a way to automatically transfer photos and video from camera to your favorite location as soon as a Wi-Fi connection is available. There are several obvious limitations, but the future potential is outstanding. I don't like that they are tied to the DCIM file-system, but I'm sure that can be overcome.

Fujitsu ScanSnap + Evernote. Really played up their new scanning functionality. I like Everynote's App, but I don't like how proprietary it is. It is not easy ( takes a hack ) to get your documents out of the application. What if you need to use the data somewhere else, or heaven forbid need to migrate? They combined with Fujitsu's talk about there scanner profile on the ScanSnap to scan directly to Evernote now have created a complete personal content management system.

Neat Receipts. Always been a fan of the product. The particular scanner they use I'm very familiar with and have worked with directly on an OEM level. The great part about the scanner is not so much the quality of scan but the form-factor and convenience. As did all the other scanner guys, Neat talked mostly, not about the scanner, but about the software bundled with it. They also have a personal content management system or file cabinet application and they play up their recognition quality. Unfortunately optical character recognition ( OCR ) on the Mac is still not ported to the best version available on PC, so the quality is not great. I found it interesting in the time I was waiting to say hello how many complaints I heard about the business card ( BCR ) and receipt reading accuracy. I felt bad for the guys, but not too much. Vendors like Neat, ReadIRIS, etc. have painted a picture for end-users that is completely incorrect and they of course expect the reading of business cards and receipts to be very accurate, when actually on the desktop level it usually is not. They only hurt themselves with bad market education.

And finally, Microsoft. I found it humors there sarcastic marketing against Apple. Re-iterates the love-hate relationship that exists. It's like two brothers, one makes all the money off what the other creates. They know it, I know it, but we still pretend.

Not too much was said about the iPad at the show. Some companies quickly incorporated a photo or two into their marketing. And there was an amazing lack of Chotchkies. I Covered the show in 1.5 hours, and did not feel bad about the lack of effort. I doubt MacWorld will ever be what it was, but I'm hoping that next year brings more technology and less cases and accessories.

Thoughts on the iPad. Why it's more than a tablet

Apple even when faced with one of the most blatant rumor leaks ever, still managed to impress the world today with it's announcement of the iPad. Minuets after the announcement both Mashable and Engadget crawled due to excessive traffic. I too was overtaken by my familiar Apple announcement excitement, continually refreshing every source I could cling too. But what does it mean, getting past the hype, how will the iPad affect the digital world? Here are my thoughts:

We very often focus on the device that Apple releases, it's specs, it's artistic shell. What is overlooked is how Apple historically wins favor based on quality and user experience and less on it's sex appeal. People switched to Mac not only because it was sexy and new, but it was easy to use and did not have the problems of a common PC. Steve from the very beginning had a focus on controlling the experience of each and every user very tightly. The years in Steve's absence was the first time I ever felt frustrated with an Apple machine. Magically, Steve and the Apple team has tightly controlled the user experience of each and every device they released and the iPad will be no different.

Tablets have existed, many more powerful and functional prior to the iPad. So what will make the iPad win, assuming it does. The iPad introduces a concept started with the iPhone and now propagating further, and that is the App store. I don't know about you, but it's hard for me to avoid conversations about new App's in the App store, best App's, and jokingly App's that can do everything even brush my teeth. Now with the iPad we wont just have fun, cute, and sometimes functional mobile App's we will have more robust productivity App's.

This software distribution method is truly innovative. Apple I would say was not the first. My first flirtation with this method of purchase, distribution, and maintenance of software was created, I believe, by Valve in the video game industry with their Steam product. Steam was a way to manage all the games you purchased from Valve, their updates, and games of their partners. It was awesome, no CD, no worrying about updates or where and which machine they were installed. You received news on new games, and games you likely will enjoy. The iPad I believe is going to be the expansion of this method into not only the world of entertainment but also business and productivity. I've already planned a way to use the iPad for my recently started boutique winery representation business to manage profiles and inventory.

The App store is just one example of how it's not just the device, it's the experience. One of the lesser known and utilized products from Apple and arguable one of the most impressive is the AppleTV. This product too wins based on usability; plug it in, enter your WEP password if you have one, and enjoy. Undying pride, and perseverance has forced Steve Jobs style and vision into each and every device.

Some forecasting: as I said I believe the iPad will find a place in business and productivity, I hope, but I hoped this even with the Xserve and partnerships with Oracle. I expect more flavors to surface. I believe the iPad will start to become an eReader device of choice. Expect some lawsuits, Fujitsu? I believe the ability to drive external devices will become a common request and Apple will need to facilitate the ability to install device drivers ( experienced this with www.LivingSCAN.com and reason we did not go with the iPhone ). Finally, I expect the launch of the next iPhone to be the biggest yet..... Can't wait