Poll

With the choice of two Expos running at nearly the same time, which would you attend? Also assume Apple, Inc. will have no significant display at either - but.. assume solid Apple/Mac community exhibitor participation

This poll has expired. Voting is no longer possible.
26 votes were received.

Macworld Expo - San Fransisco with a sole focus on Apple/Macs and without the distraction of the non-Apple/Mac stuff	9		35%
CES - Las Vegas with a solid list of exhibitors in a dedicated Apple/Mac 'Avenue' + get to check out all the other cool stuff	6		23%
Neither - Never gone to a Macworld Expo/haven't gone to one in years and not going now	8		31%
Neither - Have been attending Macworld Expos, but just don't see the point anymore without Apple there	3		11%

---

There are no real details on the CES Mac section currently... but if it is a viable alternative to the IDG/SF show, curious to know if it's viable and receptive those who, without their attendance, make it moot - in fact make both options moot.

---

OWC Larry
Other World Computing
[www.macsales.com]

Both.

Macworld for the expo floor, a few classes and meetups, followed by CES for the gadgets.

Much the same as I've done in past years.

Unless I just happened to be in the area, I wouldn't pay to go all the way across the country for a trade show. I live in Philly, and went to MacWorld New York 2 or 3 times.

---

[www.zeemaps.com]

Hmm... Look at it this way:

Las Vegas vs San Francisco...

I would like to see iPod/iPhone at CES, and Macintosh hardware and software at MWSF. The only problem with this scenario is I am not sure it would fill half of the room.

Apple market share in the US may be clawing its way up to double digits but what is it doing worldwide? Do they even have 1% market share in the country where they are assembled?

---

In tha 360. MRF User Map

Can they get the Adult Entertainment Expo to over lap dance MacWorld like they do at CES ?

---

I'm already registered for Macworld.

I don't do CES.

---

I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

I never made it to SF but, did catch MacExpo in NYC & Boston. I've also been to CES. A Mac Avenue at CES would be great for me. CES used to have "Adult Entertainment" in a separate area. I understand that that part has grown so large that its' split from CES and now has its' own convention.

I'm in Vegas right now and according to the cab drivers and hotel staff, CES was poorly attended this year compared to the past. Obviously, the economy has much to do with it (they are expecting a 20-30% attendance drop for my own industry show which starts on Wednesday at Mandalay Bay), but I mention this for two reasons.

1. The hotels are really cheap. I am paying $55/night at Luxor. My associate, who gambles more than I do but is in no way shape or form a high roller, got 3 nights comped and an upgraded room. Mandalay Bay dropped to $99/night for most of the week. If things don't improve, it might end up being a cheap getaway for people.

2. If the show producers are expecting a drop in exhibitors, they may sweeten the deal to get you to come- bigger booth space, preshow marketing support and the like.

If there is no huge cancellation penalty, thing about reserving space at both locations and keep an eye on trends during the year.

DM

Here's my own personal MW post-mortem.

I went to the expo this year, I think it was my twentieth straight, and maybe because of the uncertainty about its fate, I took a little harder look at it than I usually do. I walked the entirety of both north and south halls, sat through some demos, talked to vendors, looked for some deals and swag.

It felt like I had just browsed the internet on foot. And that's a very bad thing.

I came away feeling like I had just sat through the performance of a past his sell-by-date pop singer. One that had for too long made the mistake of thinking that all he had to do was show up and the crowd would go wild.

It felt like almost everybody was phoning it in. Like just showing up and setting up a booth was enough to generate excitement about the show and their products. I've experienced more electricity in the air at swap meets.

The fire in the belly of the expo has been gone for at least a few years now. Some of it was silly, sure, but it gave life to the show. Vendors (or their representatives) genuinely excited about their latest products replaced by presenters going through the motions. Offering show "specials" that are about as special as a 'five cents off 2' coupon in the Sunday paper. There was a time when you'd see half the crowd toting bags of software and hardware they'd scored a deal on at the show; a great deal not just some meh 10% off.

Demos that used to have the crowds whooping so loud you thought you were at a college football game (Hell, crowds actually competing with each other to make the most noise), gone. Swag that ran the gamut of towers full of 'A-list' software, free full versions of software, sets of books, golf umbrellas and totes emblazoned with company logos, caps, and polo shirts. True, there were the bunny ears this year, but could only one company come up with something with at least a spark of imagination?

If it was practical, my suggestion would be to shut the show down for a year and get to work on re-envisioning and reworking the expo from the ground up. Just based on the amount of discussion this has generated, the desire for a really good Mac centered show is out there to be capitalized on. To do that, I'd say IDG has to figure out how to make the expo a capital "E" event again.

The conferences and the chance to network and see friends from far away are great, but the heart of the show has grown flaccid and needs to be revived. Sure Apple is a "mature" company now, and less the enthusiast community it used to be. But throwing a shindig, just once a year, that appeals to the the fanboy lurking in the heart of even a lot of the most serious and business minded Mac users is no bad thing. Preaching to the choir? Maybe. But the annual church picnic does have its purpose.

I'd rather go to the home show, boat show and hunting/fishing show.

As a proper trade show, a good many of the MW attendees wouldn't be able to attend CES, even if the wanted to.

Apple's rationale about not continuing with MW and the sentiments about shows in general will make them and others look like hypocrites if they show up at CES as rumored.

So they're going to pooh-pooh the talk about the expense, controlling the message/not needing the exposure, because of the stores/net, then ignore all that and then just trade one stage for another? CES might attract more general coverage, but it's still largely unknown to those who don't follow the CE/tech sector.

MW ain't what it used to be, but at least it still provides the direct contact with the buying public, and direct feedback that CES can't.

This year at MW, there was a company that was branching out into a entirely new sector for them, one dominated by one large player and assorted others. They were eager to show off their new stuff, and the raffles they held seemed to be very popular.

Unfortunately, while the hardware was nice, using it in the booth showed that the accompanying software was primitive, and in a critical point for Mac users, the human/machine interaction performed poorly and failed to meet the standards set by Apple and expected by Mac users. The good thing was, they were eager to listen, accept the feedback, and learn something no sales report or random Amazon "review" would ever tell them.