Put away the picnic basket. Ditch the suntan lotion. Macworld Expo is coming to New York this week, and it’s time for some serious Mac business.
Well, not completely serious. The summer edition of Macworld Expo, which runs July 21-23 at Manhattan’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, promises its share of fun and games for Mac enthusiasts.
But first, all eyes will be on Apple iCEO Steve Jobs as he delivers the Wednesday morning keynote speech. Will he finally unveil the fourth piece of Apple’s simplified product lineup, the long-awaited consumer notebook ? Will he spring any other surprises? Which lucky developers will get to show products on stage?
Apple never lets an Expo go by without some major announcement, so you know there will be big news for Mac users. (And because Jobs is the consummate showman, the event is also sure to be entertaining.)
Given the Mac’s resurgence, this promises to be the biggest summer Expo in recent years. More than 300 exhibitors — many making their Expo debuts — will bring their hardware and software to the Expo floor. Along with such familiar names as Epson and Adobe, you can expect to see a bigger presence by companies such as Hewlett-Packard and Canon, which have both re-committed to the Mac market. Plenty of smaller vendors will also clamor for attention with innovative new products.
What else can you expect? Lots of Universal Serial Bus and FireWire hardware. Peripheral vendors outdoing each other with translucent blue-and-white industrial designs. Exploding spaceships lighting up iMac screens as gamers try the latest shoot-’em-ups. And, as always, the usual assortment of oversized booth props, over-the-top performers and other trade-show kitsch.
Then, after spending the day absorbing the onslaught of new products, Mac loyalists will take to the streets of Manhattan for an endless succession of parties and other opportunities for mayhem. Expos may be serious business, but after all, this is a Mac show. And most serious Mac users will agree: Day or night, it even beats a trip to the beach.
Resources:
Tune into ZDTV for a live Webcast of Jobs’ Expo keynote address. The event kicks off July 21 at 6 a.m. Pacific Time.
Throughout the show, Mac Publishing and ZDTV will collaborate on Macworld Live!, a Webcast forum for the latest hot Expo news. ZDTV has also prepared its own Mac news page in honor of the big event.
The Macworld Expo/New York ’99 page provides show news from Expo organizer IDG Expo Management Co.
Palmtop Publishing offers an Expo guide that users of Palm’s handheld computers can take with them to the show.
The Robert Hess Memorial Macworld Expo Events and Party List includes events, breakfasts, parties and other activities too numerous to mention here.