Reporter's Notebook: user groups, tornados and protestors
July 15, 2004 - 10:44 PDT   by Dennis Sellers - The rain just keeps on trickling down, which crimps my usual style of hoofing it around a city I'm visiting. I'm in Boston for the Macworld Conference & Expo, and I'll have to use a cab if I wish to go anywhere. Bummer. Still, I've had a good time despite this and despite a potential threat back at home. Thank goodness for user groups and interesting sessions.

The most fun of the day was being guest speaker at the User Group Lounge. I've done it a dozen times and it's always a lot of fun. The group of Mac users was particularly animated, and we had a lively discussion about MacMinute's history, the Mac media in general, the future of Macworld Boston and what the next iMac might be like. As always, thank to Chuck Joiner, editor-in-chief of theMUG Center for the Hershey candy bars given to me after my User Group Session.

I was surprised to find myself the only person in the media line for the "How Mac Technology Enabled 25,000 Americans to Capture the Essence of America" session. It was interesting and the photos shown were breathtaking. Rick Smolan, CEO of Against All Odds Productions, gave a lively, intriguing and funny presentation.

Andy Ihnatko's Macquarium Live event on Tuesday was a blast. The Mac guru-author-columnist-humorist entertained the crowd in the "Geeks & Gadgets" theater by turning a classic Mac into a 2.5-gallon aquarium. What little I got to hear of "The Mac-Controlled Home" was also interesting. Raj Maya, president of Amazing Controls, demoed how Mac hardware and software could be used to create the ultimate "smart home," controlling everything from lights to security systems to garden management, curtains, audio-visual systems and more. Unfortunately, during the presentation I got a cell phone call from my brother in Tennessee who told me that the area of Nashville I live in had been hit hard by tornadoes. I then called friends living in the area to make sure my house was still there (my wife and kids are, thankfully, in Florida). All turned out to be okay, but it made for some scary moments.

I didn't get to attend Wednesday evening's 1st Annual Macworld Conference & Expo Attendees party sponsored by Macworld. I had to write articles and work on the MacMinute Showtime Awards (which will be announced later today; stay tuned). Anyway, the shindig was held at the Big Easy, 1 Boylston Place, and those who attended evidently had fun. There was a live band, hors d'oeuvres, a raffle and "lots of beads."

Also, in regards to the "Say No to Macworld" protesters, Gerry Curry of Curry Systems & Consulting writes: "Just a sidebar to your comments about protesters. What these people fail to realize is that Apple, Adobe and indeed MOST companies in the IT world may appear to be US companies, but actually they are multi-national companies. They have a working presence in many places in the world, not just the US. Then, of course, there are the many companies, like Corel (Canada), Sony (Japan), MYOB (Australia) and MacDraft (Great Britian) to name a few, who aren't 'American' in any way. IT is a global economy. It knows no borders. And speaking for me, that's a good thing."

Come back tomorrow for my concluding "Reporter's Notebook" from Macworld Boston 2005.

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