Speakers and attendees are gathering in San Diego Friday, getting ready to kick off MacMania IV. The educational trip-on-a-ship will set sail tomorrow for seven days of sun and learning with ports of call throughout Mexico.
MacMania combines learning and a cruise to provide an enjoyable atmosphere, according to Neil Bauman, owner of GeekCruises.
“It’s a great place for people to meet and learn from some of the great names in the Mac market,” said Bauman. “It’s not about just sitting around on a ship, there is a lot of education. Each cruise offers something a little different from the one before it.”
Mac speakers on MacMania IV include Apple’s Sal Soghoian, Photoshop guru Bruce Fraser, Macworld Editorial Director Jason Snell, Macworld Editor Chris Breen and a man that needs little introduction, Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak.
Bauman said that MacMania offers users more than your average conference. Besides the sessions, there is also an opportunity to get to know the speakers and discuss what was learned on the trip will other participants.
Classes on the current cruise include Mac OS X Troubleshooting, Life is Good … iLife Makes it Better!, Power-User Productivity in OS X Tiger, Automator, AppleScript Fundamentals, Advanced iMovie: Beyond the Birthday Party and Final Cut Express and Final Cut Pro: A Step Up, among others.
The next two MacMania cruises are already planned, according to Bauman. MacMania 4.5 — called Mac Mediterranea — will set sail from Rome in July and cover the Western Mediterranean over 10 days visiting places like Monte Carlo, Carthage, Barcelona and more.
MacMania V will leave Tampa, Florida and sail the Western Caribbean from October 28 – November 4, 2006. Courses scheduled for this cruise include Mac OS X Hints: Top 20 All-Time Hints, Polish Your Photos in iPhoto, Getting Started with iWork and others.