Macworld 2010 exhibitors happy

Every exhibitor I spoke to said the show was great and some say best sales ever at #Macworld2010

iPad event overflow

Its a long line. Seriously, this reminds me of when Steve was here.
We made it !!!

classfolio

Goto booth 677 to see a wonderful example of remote desktop used for classroom lessons.

Macworld and user groups

Macworld should be aligned with user groups (MUGs) and as such would be the user group summit meeting (as it has been in the past). This year there is conspicuous absence of MUGs. Why?

Handshoemouse

Funny name, serious intent. Handshoemouse is an ergonomic mouse designed to fit your hand and reduce repetitive stress injury. Goodyguru will post a hands on review soon. Check them out at handshoemouse.us.

Expo floor first look - a swag bag

Get your swag bag from Box your Sharepoint alternative in the cloud.

Trexta cases and more (ear bud wrapper giveaway)
WD daily giveaway of products like my book studio plus a bunch of goodies
Appigo will give you a T-shirt if their app "Todo" on your iPhone
Kanex kanexlive.com will give you a swag bag. Check out their Mac HDMI to displayport converter.

in the house of pogue

Macworld specializes in the line conversation experience. We were getting nervous about getting in 5 minutes before Pogue, but we made it. #macworld2010

Macworld 2010 - the line for Pogue

Beware the hidden line. There is no line around the building but don't be fooled. They are hiding the lines inside.

2 Days before Macworld2010

Preparing for Macworld2010 and coming to realize that as usual, nothing is certain. Where will I be when? What will I miss out on? Will those Cirque du Mac tickets ever materialize? Who will be there? Who do I need to avoid? Aaaarg!!

Any help from the physiological to the pragmatic will be welcome.

I will say that we are really excited about this year's Macworld. It will be smaller which means we will get to see more of it (Yay!). The opportunities to consolidate around a more defined community and become more mutually supportive are huge - I am talking to 3rd party developers and user groups (MUG) here. The beauty of Macworld is that it is independent from Apple which provides for so much greater freedom, creativity, and fun. Ultimately a strong independent community is good for all of us including Apple. More to follow.....

Follow me on Twitter (goodyguru) and goodyguru.com for live (if random) coverage. Maybe if I ever figure out how to use Facebook, I will post stuff on the goodyguru facebook page.

no they dih-uh...

iPad. for those heavy days when your internet is hemorrhaging.

iPad. for those long road trips when you can't stop to pee.

iPad. it's like a really big iPhone.

how cool is that!

Hope for Haiti: Overcome technical hurdles to donating

Are you trying to donate to Haiti relief efforts (especially at hopeforhaitinow.org) and finding website problems or unknown certificate? Or have you found the phone lines busy? Even iTunes appears to be overwhelmed if you try to buy the Hope for Haiti season pass (as of this writing, Hope for Haiti songs and album are #1 on the iTunes Charts).

While the response to the call for help is heartening, it is unfortunate that technical bottlenecks are hindering the flow of donations. Goodyguru has done some research to find out how you can donate and get info when the busiest sites are overwhelmed. Here are some thoughts.

• iTunes: Pre-order the album or songs (the downloads will become available in the next few days), but hold back on the TV season pass (which tries to download the promo and gets stuck). Note that Apple, the artists, and rights holders are donating ALL the proceeds to the charities below.
• HopeForHaitiNow (the main site of the George Clooney MTV telethon): donate at one of the recipient charity sites (Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, Oxfam America, Partners in Health, Red Cross, UNICEF, United Nations World Food Programme, and Yele Haiti Foundation.
• Many other charities and funds are dedicating funds to Haiti, including Ben Stiller's Stiller Strong, Mercy Corps (also via Amazon).
• Other organizations are providing direct assistance, such as Doctors Without Borders, Habitat for Humanity.
• Get some real news from Democracy Now!, Free Speech Radio News, MTV, and stay connected with Google Crisis Response.

The sites above will also provide phone numbers and codes to text your donations.

It is my understanding that when you use a credit card the bank/credit card companies will charge the charities their usual fee (everyone else is donating their portion of the donation). I'm sure this will further endear you to our fine financial institutions who we so generously saved from collapse recently (hint hint bankers if you are listening). I don't know if the phone companies will donate their part of the text transactions; it would be a nice gesture if they did.

I will update or add to this post if I find out anything new. Now go and do what you can.

Just picked up the free Macheist NanoBundle which includes 6 good Mac apps including WriteRoom, ShoveBox, Twitterrific, TinyGrab, Hordes of Orcs, and Mariner Write. Check these out - I'd be surprised if you didn't find 2 or more of these apps being added to your indispensable list. www.macheist.com

Happy earth hour everyone! Our lights are off - and counting....

Mac viruses a hoax?

I have noticed a rise in reporting about OS X malware and insinuations that Macs are or will be vulnerable to viruses. This reminds me of the rise in local media crime reports that leave the impression that crime is rising while statistics show it has dropped. Look at this article "The Mac Malware Myth" from Roughly Drafted that shines a different light on the topic and carries some good points. The comments are also informative.

I do believe the threat of identity theft posed by malware that tricks a user into loading malicious software is real and potentially could fool anyone. Do you know of a good anti-malware or anti-spyware tool that can ideally be used to sweep a Mac, but does not remain resident like a typical anti-virus tool?

Targus FileShare cable

Targus was very pleased with their USB FileShare cable that lets you move data between Macs or between a PC and a Mac without loading software. It also lets you transfer unlimited data as many times as you want. This seems like a good tool for admins as well as anyone wanting to switch machines (as long as one is a Mac). Targus has a 40% and 20% discounts at their website through Jan 30.

Best in show: coupon

UNIEA wins the best coupon of the show for their locally and sustainably produced organic coupon. These lovingly handcrafted coupon cards are bound to become collectors items. Get your hands on one if you can.

bye apple

The Apple booth in the stages of breakdown. Will this be the last time we see anything of its kind?

Bunny ears

Peachpit's bunny ears must be the top promo pick of the show. I have been asked about 100 times about them and the are one of the picks needed for the Mac|Life Scavenger Hunt.

Help me to find...

It's Friday, the last day of Macworld and there are 3 things to be done.

Stanford Laptop Orchestra (SLOrk) is playing and Andy Ihnatko is speaking, but I can't find out where. Can anyone help?

Of course the third thing is to hit the expo floor and gather goodies! 

Update: It turns out both were in the "Pulse Program" and I missed them (why was it so hard to find?). We spoke to Ge Wang of SLOrk just after their performance and it sounded like fun.  He was playing the iPhone Ocarina with some weird little speakers attached to his wrists. It was great watching as he took a phone call.

Back it up!

Go to Western Digital and pick up a talking head for your desk that reminds you to "back it up" when you squeeze him.  Also some great discounts on the top of their range WD drives.

Dermis is a family-owned business that makes iPhone protective cases (and more) with very cool designs. They are also giving away keyrings, one of which is a rubberised 1Gb flashdrive. www.dermiscases.com

iKleer is once again handing out samples of their excellent screen cleaner (travel pack).