TidBITS#736/05-Jul-04
=====================
We start this week with Apple's surprise revelation that it
has no more iMacs to sell and won't announce new models until
September. Macworld Expo Boston is on Adam's mind as he prepares
for next week's event and develops a rating system for other
industry conferences. Apple makes news with iChat AV video-
conferencing from an airplane, we start testing Postini to
reduce spam, Apple drops its AirPort prices, and we run a
DealBITS drawing for disclabel.
Topics:
MailBITS/05-Jul-04
DealBITS Drawing: disclabel from SmileOnMyMac
Apple Delays iMacs Until Sep-04
The Postini Test Begins
iChat AV Takes Flight with In-Air Wi-Fi
Macworld Expo Boston 2004 Events
Rating Industry Conferences
Hot Topics in TidBITS Talk/05-Jul-04
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Copyright 2004 TidBITS: Reuse governed by Creative Commons license
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MailBITS/05-Jul-04
------------------
**AirPort Prices Drop Before Airport Express Release** -- Apple
has taken advantage of the gap between announcing and shipping its
new $130 AirPort Express Base Station (due later this month; see
"AirPort Express Brings Audio, Portability to Wireless Networking"
in TidBITS-732_) to drop the price of AirPort Extreme gear. The
AirPort Extreme Card now costs $80, down from $100; the AirPort
Extreme Base Station with modem and antenna jack has dropped to
$200, down from $250. The business/education AirPort Extreme Base
Station with a fire-safety rating and Power over Ethernet support
remains at its $250 list price, but education customers pay $200
to $225 depending on quantity. The previous $200 base station that
lacked a modem or antenna jack was removed from the product line
informally a few weeks ago, and Apple has now made that formal.
This price drop brings Apple's equipment closer to the cost of
Wi-Fi gear from other manufacturers, and although you're still
paying a premium for Apple's hardware, in return, you get specific
features that other devices lack or are harder to configure. [GF]
<http://www.apple.com/airportexpress/>
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=07695>
<http://www.apple.com/airportextreme/>
DealBITS Drawing: disclabel from SmileOnMyMac
---------------------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
If you burn a lot of CDs or DVDs, you should take a look at
SmileOnMyMac's elegant utility disclabel, which helps you design
your own professional-looking stick-on labels. Even if you prefer
not to stick stuff on your discs, you can also use disclabel to
design jewel case inserts and DVD case covers for printing on
commercial stock. You can buy labels from within the program,
print to direct-to-disc printers like the Canon i875 and those
from Epson, and print on plain paper. disclabel imports track
lists from iTunes, can be automated with AppleScript, imports
images directly from iPhoto and iTunes, and lets you include and
edit text in a circle. disclabel requires Mac OS X 10.2 or later.
<http://www.smileonmymac.com/disclabel/>
In this week's DealBITS drawing, we're giving away three copies
of disclabel 2.1, valued at $29.95 each. Those whose luck doesn't
bring them a free copy this week will receive a discount price.
Enter at the DealBITS page linked below, and be sure to read and
agree to the drawing rules on that page. All information gathered
is covered by our comprehensive privacy policy. Lastly, check your
spam filters, since you must be able to receive email from my
address to learn if you've won.
<http://www.tidbits.com/dealbits/smileonmymac2.html>
<http://www.tidbits.com/about/privacy.html>
Apple Delays iMacs Until Sep-04
-------------------------------
by Glenn Fleishman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
In what appears to be an unprecedented move, Apple released
a statement last week announcing that their next-generation
iMacs would be delayed until September. Apple rarely provides
information or guidance about the release of new products more
than four to eight weeks in advance, and typically only when at
least one model is available in a shorter time frame. Apple also
said that it was no longer accepting orders for the older iMac.
<http://store.apple.com/>
The following message appears on the online Apple Store's iMac
page: "Apple has stopped taking orders for the current iMac as
we begin the transition from the current iMac line to an all-new
iMac line which will be announced and available in September.
We planned to have our next generation iMac ready by the time
the inventory of current iMacs runs out in the next few weeks,
but our planning was obviously less than perfect. We apologize
for any inconvenience to our customers."
Apple's stumble could cost it hundreds of millions of dollars
during the critical back-to-school period that's practically
started already as parents and students decide where to spend
their money in the next two to three months. Apple will almost
certainly be heavily promoting other models, potentially with
large discounts, to avoid turning impatient potential iMac
buyers into Windows users.
The Postini Test Begins
-----------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore! In
particular, what I'm hoping I'm not going to take is spam
destined for the tidbits.com domain. As a result, our good
friends at digital.forest have set us up with a review account
with the anti-spam service Postini, which I'll be turning on
sometime within the next week (digital.forest resells Postini
services to anyone for $1 per protected account per month).
<http://www.forest.net/>
For those that haven't heard of it, Postini is an anti-spam
service that protects an entire domain from spam, although it's
possible to prevent mail to certain addresses from being filtered
(at least initially, we'll set this option for all of our auto-
reply and mailing list addresses). To enable Postini to filter
all the mail destined for tidbits.com addresses, I'll change
the MX records in our DNS setup so all incoming mail goes
through Postini's mail servers, where it can be checked for
spam and viruses, before being forwarded on to our mail server
for delivery.
<http://www.postini.com/>
I mention this move in advance because we simply don't know how
effective Postini will be, and it's possible that mail to me,
or anyone else at the tidbits.com domain, will be filtered out
by Postini until our users adjust the settings appropriately.
In reality, we of course hope that Postini will be equally as
accurate as the client-side filters many of us already use;
Michael Tsai's SpamSieve remains about 99.6 percent effective
for me, but as my spam volume has crept into the 800 to 1,000
per day range, just receiving and processing that amount of spam
has become onerous. Worse, scanning my Junk mailbox in Eudora for
false positives has become essentially impossible; I can sort by
spam score and look at the lowest ranked message, but if I think
I've missed something, a search across the Junk mailbox is the
only real hope.
I'll report back on how well Postini works for us and how easy it
is to use in a month or so. In the meantime, I'm hoping for the
best, which would be an almost complete drop in spam with no
additional lack of reliability introduced into our email services.
Fingers crossed.
iChat AV Takes Flight with In-Air Wi-Fi
---------------------------------------
by Glenn Fleishman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
iChat AV might become the next way to annoy your seatmate. Apple
Computer product managers Eric Zelenka and Kurt Knight informally
demonstrated that in-flight video chatting could become an
alternative to tapping your fingers all during a flight. Two
Apple employees, one returning from Germany on a Lufthansa
flight, used the Connexion by Boeing high-speed Internet service
to communicate using iChat AV and an iSight camera.
<http://www.apple.com/hotnews/articles/2004/06/ichat_at_35k/>
Connexion by Boeing offers an advertised 5 Mbps downstream and
1 Mbps upstream connection for between $20 and $35 per flight,
depending on flight duration. Currently, only a single plane
serving a non-stop flight from Munich to Los Angeles offers the
service, but approximately 200 aircraft should be equipped for
long-haul flights in 2005 and 2006. The service relies on Wi-Fi
in the cabin connecting to a phased-array antenna which can
communicate with one of hundreds of transponders on satellites
operated by Boeing's related satellite business.
<http://www.connexionbyboeing.com/>
A competing service from Tenzing is offered in 900 planes, but
allows only a low-speed email proxy and requires a connection via
the telephone in seatbacks. The fee for Tenzing's service is $15
per flight; it's offered on many domestic United, Continental,
and Delta planes. Tenzing plans an upgrade next year after its
satellite partner Inmarsat launches a next-generation suite of
high-bandwidth orbiters that will allow Tenzing to offer
bidirectional 864 Kbps connections. They expect this service
will mostly be offered on some of the 3,000 international planes
already equipped with compatible Inmarsat gear.
<http://www.tenzing.com/>
Another effort is underway to put a picocells, or tiny cellular
transmitters, inside airplanes, relaying the service back to the
ground or to satellites, effectively allowing normal cellular use
while on board.
<http://www.economist.com/business/displayStory.cfm?story_id=2559174>
All of this combined reminds me why I haven't flown since
December, and why I'd rather avoid the talkative skies.
Macworld Expo Boston 2004 Events
--------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Macworld Expo in Boston is coming up soon, with the conferences
starting on 12-Jul-04, the trade show floor opening on 13-Jul-04,
and both continuing through 15-Jul-04. Although the initial
rumblings indicate that attendance may be comparable to the last
few Macworld Expos in New York City, from my vantage point, it
feels as though it's going to be a much smaller show. Apple won't
be exhibiting, of course, and although IDG World Expo has lined
up a few big name exhibitors, including publishing giant Quark for
the first time in years, at the moment, the show floor promises to
be, well, intimate. I've been tracking the number of exhibitors
that IDG World Expo lists since early June, when there were about
40. That number has risen to 67 as of this writing, though that
includes a few organizations that are only dimly related to the
world of the Macintosh.
<http://www.macworldexpo.com/live/20/events/20BOS04A>
<http://www.macworldexpo.com/live/20/events/20BOS04A/exposition/exhibitorlist>
Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to Macworld Boston, since even
with fewer exhibitors and fewer attendees, there will still be
plenty of TidBITS readers and friends to schmooze with - it's all
about networking these days. So come find me and Tonya and say
hello; we always like meeting TidBITS and Take Control readers.
Aside from the show floor, you can find me in the following spots:
* On Tuesday, July 13th, I'll be talking about Take Control and
initial impressions of the show at the User Group Lounge at 1:00
PM. Then at 2:00 PM, I head over to the Peachpit booth (#520) to
sign copies of my books and answer questions about iPhoto 4.
* On Wednesday, July 14th from 11:15 AM to 12:15 PM, I'm giving my
traditional Getting Started with iPhoto presentation for people
attending the Macworld conferences; look for details about the
room when you get there. The real fun begins at 3:00 PM with the
MacBrainiac Challenge, a game show-style competition between two
teams of Mac luminaries, moderated by Chris Breen. It's going to
be oodles of fun, and I'm confident that Andy Ihnatko, Dan Frakes,
Rich Siegel and I will either prevail or go down in a blaze of
entertaining glory.
<http://www.macworldexpo.com/live/20/events/20BOS04A/conference/tracksessions/
Cool+Tools/QMONYA048D02>
<http://www.macworldexpo.com/live/20/events/20BOS04A/keynotes>
* On Thursday, July 15th, I'll be back at the Peachpit booth
(#520), signing copies of The Wireless Networking Starter Kit,
Second Edition and trying to help people solve problems with
their wireless networks.
For a list of other events, be sure to check out the Hess Memorial
Events list, once again hosted by Ilene Hoffman. See you in
Boston!
<http://www.ilenesmachine.com/partylist.shtml>
Oh, one more thing. IDG World Expo has explicitly said that
children under 16 years of age must be accompanied by a registered
adult, and children under 5 receive free admission. That's
entirely reasonable, and should prevent a repeat of the
unpleasantness surrounding the banning of children at last
year's Macworld Expo in New York City. Of course, if you do
bring children, please make sure they're on their best behavior!
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=07288>
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=2022>
Rating Industry Conferences
---------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
An old joke says that to be successful, a college needs to provide
a winning football team for alumni, sex for undergraduates, and
parking for the staff. It's one of those self-deprecating jokes
where the punchline depends on the particular point the speaker is
trying to make. Living in Ithaca, home to Cornell University and
Ithaca College, I've heard the joke in various forms ("well, one
out three isn't terrible") numerous times. As I returned from the
successful MacDesign Conference and started to plan for the
intimate gathering of a few of my closest friends that could be
Macworld Boston this year, I was struck by the level to which the
basic thrust of the joke in fact applies to industry conferences
as well. For any conference, there are only a few groups of people
for whom certain things must be true for success to be achieved,
with the main groups being attendees, exhibitors, speakers, and
press.
So let's have some fun and see if we can put together a scorecard
to rate conferences from a variety of perspectives (obviously, you
may only rate a conference for the category in which you have
experience). For each of the items below, assign +1 point to the
conference if success was achieved in that area; give it 0 points
if it was neither successful or unsuccessful (or not applicable,
as in the case of a session rating at Macworld Expo if you didn't
attend the sessions); and allot -1 point if the conference flopped
in that department. In extreme situations, I'll allow +2 or -2
points for truly great things and utter disasters. I'll report
back on my rating for Macworld Boston in a few weeks, and if
someone wants to whip up a snazzy Web form for calculating and
recording these conference ratings for posterity, tell me when
it's done and we'll publish the link.
**Attendees** -- Nominally, attendees are of course the most
important audience, since without them, the conference has no
reason to exist. But a conference must do a great deal to please
attendees.
* Cost/value. There are different sorts of conferences, of course,
ranging from the more-or-less free to those that cost more than
$1,000. A high cost on its own shouldn't hurt a conference's
rating, so instead assign your rating based on the value you
received for the cost you paid. Make sure to include travel,
hotel, and food costs in your value calculation.
* Time/place. A successful conference should schedule itself to be
in an interesting, easily accessible city at a time of year when
being in that city is enjoyable. Rate the conference on its
overall timing (points off for intersecting with holidays);
offering reasonable travel and lodging prices; and the city having
good hotels and restaurants available. For instance, I've avoided
conferences in Austin (because, at the time, it was difficult and
expensive to fly there from Seattle) and in Houston (because it
was August). No one has tried to lure me to a city like Chicago or
Minneapolis in January, but those would also be tough decisions
(particularly given that I would have just returned from Macworld
Expo in San Francisco). I'm sure residents of these cities will
immediately write to tell me how wonderful their cities are in
these months, but that's missing the point: the time and location
of a conference has to _seem_ attractive to attendees who may not
live in that city; there's a reason all-expense-paid junkets are
traditionally to warm resorts in the winter.
* Logistics. Is it easy to sign up for the conference (preferably
online), pick up or purchase your badge and conference materials
in person, and move between the hotel and the conference center
every day? Include in this rating your opinion of general policies
such as admission of children and whether or not such policies
were well-explained in advance.
* Breadth and depth of exhibitors. For conferences like Macworld
Expo or Comdex whose success revolves around the trade show floor,
attendees want a lot of exhibitors, and they want exhibitors whose
products interest them. I once went to Internet World in New York
City, and although there were a ton of exhibitors, it took me only
a few hours to visit all those that interested me. At Macworld
Expo in San Francisco, though, I'm often hard-pressed to see all
the exhibitors within the four days of the conference (admittedly,
that's in large part because I have many other commitments at
Macworld Expo). And Comdex, the giant PC trade show in Las Vegas
in November, has fallen on hard times, such that a recent report
about why this year's Comdex has been canceled commented that
recent shows have been filled primarily with Asian PC component
manufacturers, and there are only so many hard drive enclosures
one can examine.
* Product support. Most of these items are under the control of
conference organizers, but I'm aiming this one at exhibitors.
Although it's of course important to bring marketing staff to
a trade show booth, the information those people can provide is
often available on the company's Web site. I'd definitely increase
this rating for shows where exhibitors cut down on marketers and
bring a few more tech support engineers (labelling both groups
clearly!) since many attendees find the value of a trade show is
being able to talk directly with experts about problems they have.
Include in your rating how well the staffers follow up after the
show on any promises they make.
* Session Quality. Almost all conferences - particularly training-
based conferences like MacDesign or the O'Reilly Mac OS X
Conference - now offer a significant number of talks by industry
experts, and they're key to attracting attendees who would
otherwise have a hard time justifying the time away from work.
Of course, you probably wouldn't even attend a conference with
sessions that didn't sound interesting, so base your rating here
on how good a job the presenters do, if the sessions are at an
appropriate level, whether or not the sessions meet their
descriptions, and if the session logistics work out well
(all the sessions in the same building, no overlap between
similar sessions, enough comfortable seating in rooms of a
reasonable temperature, well-executed audio-visual support,
session materials, and so on).
* Keynote. All conferences have keynote talks that in some way set
the stage for the rest of the conference. In the past, Macworld
Expo always scored big with Steve Jobs's keynotes, and MacHack's
late-night multi-hour keynotes have often proved to be more
interesting than the norm. A good keynote is definitely worth
points, but a boring and self-promotional talk by some unknown
and unpracticed industry executive can be painful.
* Free wireless Internet access. It's tough to escape the office
for many people, but being able to check email quickly and for
free greatly reduces the stress of being away. Conferences should
always make sure wireless Internet access is readily available,
though there is a question if it should be available during
conference sessions. On the one hand, there were sessions at
the O'Reilly Mac OS X Conference I wouldn't have gone to at all
if I hadn't been able to stay online at the same time, but on the
other hand, I paid more attention to those talks I did attend at
the MacDesign Conference because I couldn't access the Internet
from the session rooms. Bonus points for any conference that
coordinates attendees collaborating on session notes with
SubEthaEdit.
* Great deals. It's less true now, but in the earlier days of
Macworld Expo, people used to hold off purchases until they
arrived at the show and saw what amazing deals were being offered.
Attendees love the feeling of being able to score a huge discount
on an expensive product as a way of justifying the cost and time
of attendance.
* Freebies. Everyone loves getting something for nothing (or at
least having it seem that way), and a smart conference planner
will make sure attendees feel lucky. At larger shows, this job
often falls to exhibitors, who are smart to raffle off products or
give away clever tchotchkes (but clever is important - it's better
to pass on the freebies entirely than to spend money on one that's
bad or boring). To pick up points here, smaller conferences must
provide their own giveaways, ranging from t-shirts to mugs to
donated products from relevant vendors. Bonus points go to
conferences or exhibitors that put some thought into their
freebies. My recommendation: avoid t-shirts entirely unless
you're willing to create a truly amazing design, and if you do
give away t-shirts, bring a variety of sizes, since not everyone
can wear the default extra-large size.
* Snacks. Obviously, providing snacks at a show as large as
Macworld Expo isn't feasible. (Exhibitors can pick up the
slack at individual booths; WordPerfect showed their mastery of
demonstrations by tossing small bags of peanut M&Ms to audience
members who responded to questions during a demo. Almost everyone
got a bag, and the M&Ms gave people a small sugar rush and
something to do with their hands during the talk. As a bonus,
the talk was more interactive, as the audience competed for the
M&Ms in small ways and had to pay attention to catch the bags
thrown out by the presenter.) My experience is that attendees
like snack breaks in the middle of the morning and the middle
of the afternoon during session-based conferences. Unfortunately,
such snacks usually must be provided by the hotel, which means
you get the canonical sugary cookies and muffins - I'd assign
extra points to any conference that offers fruit, vegetables,
and other healthier snacks.
* Fun. Of all the conferences I've been to, the ones that have
tried throughout to provide entertainment to the attendees -
in addition to the serious focus of the conference - have seemed
the most successful. MacHack (now renamed ADHOC) always took the
crown in this respect, organized as it is by a group of attendees,
but Scott Kelby and the team that put on the recent MacDesign
Conference also did a bang-up job in this respect, providing some
humorous moments during the keynote, throwing a party on the first
night of the conference, and running an absolutely hilarious mock
game show based on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? on the second
night. That's worth points.
* Community. Larger conferences have a hard time fostering a sense
of community because there are simply too many people, but other
smaller conferences, such as MacHack and the O'Reilly Mac OS X
Conference, have done a great job of creating lounge areas where
attendees can meet, talk, check email, and generally interact
with one another. Since a huge amount of what goes on in the Mac
industry is about personal networking, any effort to bring
attendees together is worthwhile, and worth a point or two.
**Exhibitors** -- As much as every conference must focus on
attendees, since they're the heart of any show, many conferences
also provide space for industry companies to exhibit their
products. Obviously, a trade show floor with exhibitors is
the focus of a large, general show like Macworld Expo, but even
MacDesign and the O'Reilly Mac OS X Conference have had small
expositions. And since exhibitors pay to have booths, it's
important for the conference organizers to meet their needs
as well.
* Booth cost. For an exhibitor, attending a conference is a pure
business decision, and the first question any exhibitor will ask
is: "How much does booth space cost?" Given the astonishing prices
that some conferences charge for booth space, a reasonable price
goes a long way to ensuring a happy exhibitor.
* Location. Although it's certainly important to locate the
conference in a city that's good for attendees, exhibitors pay
even more attention to the costs involved. For a small company,
airfare, hotel, and food for a number of employees adds up fast.
When Macworld Expo was in New York, a number of well-known
Macintosh companies either side-stepped the show or settled
for reduced presence because New York can be so expensive.
* Hassle factor. Organizing a booth at a trade show is hard work,
and anything that makes it more difficult is a bad thing. Horror
stories abound among people who run booths at Macworld Expos,
mostly surrounding interactions with the venue's staff, who often
play petty power games surrounding who is allowed to do what (and
we're talking incredibly petty, as in vendors being "punished"
with poor service for failing to let the venue staff plug in
computers, for instance). The less hassle, the better, and the
higher the rating.
* Attendees. As much as attendees want to see a lot of interesting
exhibitors at a trade show, exhibitors want to see a lot of
qualified attendees. Needless to say, it's a feedback loop, since
more people will attend a trade show if the exhibitor list is
long and includes relevant companies, but if there aren't many
exhibitors, those that do show may be disappointed in either the
number or interest level of attendees. In the end, the conference
organizers are responsible for attracting the attendees, and their
level of success will tie directly to their rating in this area.
* Sales. Attendees should not just be interested, they should be
interested in buying. Purchasing exhibit space and paying for
travel and lodging is expensive, and if an exhibitor can sell
enough product to break even or even make money, that's a good
thing. Some conferences don't allow sales, but in my mind that's
self-defeating. If attendees want to buy (and given that these
are industry conferences, they probably will), they should be
allowed to.
**Speakers** -- In recent years, as the rise of the corporate Web
site full of product information has made the big trade show floor
with lots of exhibitors less compelling, conferences have focused
more on training sessions and other talks by industry experts.
Speaking as someone who presents at conferences regularly, there
are a number of things that can be done to make speakers happy
and ensure good sessions.
* Payment. Traveling to and staying at a conference isn't cheap,
and if a speaker has to pay her own expenses, as happens at
Macworld Expo, it's often difficult to justify the trip. Waiving
attendance fees is also essential, although it's meaningful
only to those speakers who would definitely have attended the
conference anyway. MacHack has traditionally offered free
attendance to anyone who gives a session, but the community-driven
nature of MacHack makes such a reward both entirely appropriate
and all that's necessary under the circumstances. My take is that
a free conference pass counts only for 0 points, whereas covering
expenses as well increases that to +1 point. To move to +2 points
and elicit the best sessions, an honorarium is necessary. Most
Macintosh industry experts earn their livings writing books,
consulting, or doing high-end design and illustration, and for
such people, time is money. Or, to put it another way, time away
from work preparing for and presenting at a conference is time
that can't be spent earning income, so the effort level isn't
what it could be. MacDesign paid its speakers for each session
they gave, and from what I could tell, that honorarium went a
long way toward increasing preparation and improving the quality
of the talks for attendees. By the way, claiming that the
speaker will get lots of useful exposure doesn't cut it for
any established expert.
* Moderators. The MacDesign conference was the first multi-track
conference at which I've spoken that had a staff member introduce
each speaker and stay in the room to assist with any audio-visual
problems and other logistics like giving away prizes at the end
of the talk. It wasn't the first time I've been introduced to an
audience, but I hadn't realized until that point just how helpful
that introduction was for starting a talk without needing to
introduce yourself and explain briefly, without sounding like
you're bragging, why you're qualified to stand at the podium.
Self-introductions are embarrassing for most of us, and being
introduced by a moderator not only made getting started easier,
it also allowed the conference organizers to boast about what
impressive speakers they had assembled. I'd definitely give +1
to any conference that offers introductions.
* Logistics. A significant aspect of what prevents me from
speaking at as many events as I'm invited to is the stress of
dealing with travel and lodging logistics. Just clearing the time
from my schedule, figuring out exactly when to travel and where to
stay, and making all the arrangements can destroy an entire work
day. Some logistics are unavoidable, of course, but the more that
the conference organizers can remove from the shoulders of the
speakers, the happier those speakers will be. Years ago, when
Thunder Lizard Productions was organizing a series of Adobe
Internet Conferences, a woman named Marci Eversole handled the
conference logistics. To this day, I don't know how she did it,
but hotel staff would bend over backward for her, and awkward
items like transportation from the hotel to the airport at the
end of the conference just happened. Every conference should have
a Marci Eversole handling logistics, and if they do, a +1 or +2
rating is warranted.
**Press** -- My last audience usually attends the larger trade
shows, but members of the press can show up at any conference,
and the coverage they provide during and after the conference can
prove extremely helpful for drawing future attendees. Keep in mind
that members of the press are also attendees, so they can include
many of the attendee categories when rating a conference.
* Press registration. Some conference organizers put onerous
requirements on press registration to avoid giving free admittance
to anyone who claims an occasionally updated Web page counts as
a publication. Some restrictions aren't unreasonable, but the
requirements should be clear and geared toward minimizing the
number of people trying to scam a free pass. Include in this
rating the logistics of getting your press pass - we've had some
sticky moments at Macworld Expo trying to pick up our press passes
in time to get into the keynote.
* News events. It's tricky for smaller conferences to arrange news
events, but if important companies can be convinced to make
announcements at the show, that goes a long way toward giving
journalists something to cover. The more news items from a
conference, the more coverage will occur, and the more likely
journalists are to give the conference a good rating.
* Press room. When covering a conference live, journalists need
both a place where they can interview attendees or exhibitors,
and a quiet place to write. Some conferences provide two separate
rooms for this purpose - it's a good idea. The press room should
offer wireless Internet access (as well as a few wired ports,
just in case) so journalists can research stories and submit
their pieces via email. Ideally the press room should provide
both tables and couches, since the standard banquet tables and
chairs provided by hotels and convention centers are about as
non-ergonomic as could be imagined; it's often easier to write
on a laptop while sitting at a couch anyway.
* Food. Members of the press are always on the run from one
meeting to another, and being able to stop in the press room to
grab a bite to eat at breakfast or lunch goes a long way toward
improving my mood (and my opinion of the conference). I seldom
have time to wait in line to buy lunch, and even meetings that
involve a meal can be stressful since they're often sandwiched
between meetings that might run over.
**Adding Up Your Results** -- I'm sure there are other criteria on
which you could rate a conference, so feel free to add a wildcard
category for something that's not included above. For instance,
if the conference does a good job of allowing people to attend
remotely, that might be worth an extra point or two.
When you're done, feel free to post the results to TidBITS Talk
along with any other comments you may have so others can take your
experience into consideration when considering future attendance
at that particular conference.
Hot Topics in TidBITS Talk/05-Jul-04
------------------------------------
by TidBITS Staff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
The second URL below each thread description points to the
discussion on our Web Crossing server, which will be much
faster, though it doesn't yet use our preferred design.
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/>
**Tiger: Performance, Stability, Security** -- The preview of Mac
OS X 10.4 Tiger features at WWDC prompts discussion of how the
operating system's performance will be improved. (4 messages)
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=2265>
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/131>
**Apple copying small developers** -- The new Dashboard feature in
Tiger has a lot in common with Konfabulator. To what extent is
Apple copying programs from small developers, and should the
company be paying for them? The consensus is that the situation
isn't as simple as it may have initially appeared. (30 messages)
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=2263>
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/130>
**HFS+ on Tiger?** Readers make the case for and against case-
sensitivity in filenames, and how the operating system recognizes
files. (28 messages)
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=2262>
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/129>
$$
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