MACWORLD CONFERENCE & EXPO DELIVERS NEW PRODUCTS, VALUABLE EDUCATION AND
INCREASED ATTENDANCE
More than 90,000 Mac enthusiasts converged upon the Moscone Center for the
world’s most comprehensive Mac event
FRAMINGHAM, Mass., January 14, 2003 – IDG World Expo, the leading producer
of world-class tradeshows, conferences and events for IT markets around the
globe, today announced that last week’s Macworld Conference & Expo
attracted 90,473 attendees to the Moscone Center in San Francisco. More
than 330 companies showcased products on the Macworld expo floor, and
thousands of conference attendees participated in a wide variety of
educational sessions throughout the week. Now in its 19th year, Macworld
Conference & Expo is San Francisco’s largest annual technology event and
the world’s most comprehensive Macintosh OS event.
The industry’s most innovative companies again participated in last week’s
event, including Apple, Adobe, Canon, Corel, EPSON, eZedia, FileMaker,
Harman Multimedia, Hewlett-Packard, Intuit, Macromedia and Microsoft.
“eZedia was extremely pleased with the attention our two newest
applications, eZeMotion for iMovie, and eZediaQTI, received from the
Macworld audience,” said Stefan Embleton, president and CEO of eZedia Inc.
“All of our scheduled product presentations drew such large crowds that
there was barely enough standing room around the booth.”
Apple CEO Steve Jobs kicked off the week with the opening keynote address
on Tuesday, January 7, annoucing a host of new hardware and software
products. These included two new PowerBook G4 notebook computers, available
in 12- and 17-inch sizes. Jobs also introduced Safari, a new Web browser
based on Open Source; Keynote, Apple’s new presentation software; and
iLife, which integrates Apple’s popular iTunes, iMovie, iDVD and iPhoto
into one application.
Following Jobs’ keynote in the morning, Macworld attendees were treated to
a second presentation featuring Apple’s other co-founder, Steve Wozniak. In
a special presentation, “The Move to Mac OS X,” Wozniak and other noted Mac
experts shared their opinions and experiences with a packed audience.
Hosted by Dave Mark, editor-in-chief of MacTech Magazine, the panel also
featured noted Mac authors Bob “Dr. Mac” LeVitus and Robin Williams, and
MacTech Publisher Neil Ticktin.
Macworld Conference & Expo also featured the debut of the MacBrainiac
Challenge, a game show-style contest testing the wits of well-known Mac
experts held Thursday, January 9. Hosted by Mac author and New York Times
columnist David Pogue, the MacBrainiac Challenge featured two teams of Mac
luminaries answering sometimes obscure questions about Mac technology and
culture as well as performing technology challenges. Led by “Your Mac Life”
founder and host Shawn King, “X.F.L.” ultimately defeated the Bob “Dr. Mac”
LeVitus-led “Mad Dogcows” in a hotly contested yet humorous match.
Mac enthusiasts from all walks of life crowded the halls of the Moscone
Center to check out the latest hardware and software for the Mac. Among the
companies introducing new products at Macworld were:
4D, Inc. (booth 1442) announced 4th Dimension 2003, a groundbreaking tool
that offers support for integrated Web Services and application integration
capabilities.
Alias/Wavefront (booth 3729) announced the availability of the highly
anticipated Maya 4.5 Personal Learning Edition* software, which can be
downloaded at no cost by anyone interested in learning digital content
creation.
Avid Technology Inc. (booth 2239) announced Avid=AE Free DV, a free, DV-only
version of its award-winning video editing software.
Blacksmith (booth 3561) showcased Chartsmith version 1.1, the premium
charting and graphing application for Mac OS X.
DAS Technology (booth 4036) announced the availability of LSP for Mac OS X
Server, a new tool that makes it easy for users to migrate from Windows NT
or Windows 2000 servers to Apple’s Xserve.
Discreet (booth 2125) announced updates to its award-winning Mac OS X
software products cleaner* 6.01, a professional video and audio encoding
software solution; and combustion=AE 2.1, Discreet’s unified paint, animatio=
n
and 3D compositing software application.
EZQuest (booth 1143) introduced its Cobra+ 200GB, 7200 RPM FireWire hard
drive, which allows fast, easy transfer and storage of large video, audio
and data files.
FOCUS Enhancements (booth 3961) announced its iTView Mac as the exclusive
desktop-to-video output solution for Apple’s eMac.
Other World Computing (booth 2323) demonstrated the beta version of
XpostFacto=A9 3.0, the software utility that enables users of older machines
to boot the Macintosh OS X 10.x from an external FireWire drive using a
FireWire PCI card.
SmartDisk Corporation (booth 1142) introduced its 60 GB FireWire FireLite*
high performance, portable hard drive for consumers and professionals.
While Mac developers and enthusiasts were striking deals on the expo floor,
thousands of attendees participated in conference sessions providing
education on a wide variety of topics. Macworld Conference & Expo offers
the nation’s largest technology conference program, providing in-depth,
unbiased Macintosh education and training for thousands of Mac
professionals and enthusiasts. More than 200 sessions =BE the most ever
offered at Macworld Conference & Expo =BE covered everything from digital
photography to advanced OS X troubleshooting, and from desktop publishing
to wireless networking. The newly expanded Macworld Power Tools Conferences
again proved most popular, while many other conference sessions drew
standing room only crowds.
Also at the show, Macworld magazine announced winners of the “Macworld Best
of Show Awards,” highlighting the most exciting new hardware and software
products announced at Macworld Conference & Expo. Winners included:
– Apple 12″ and 17″ PowerBook G4s
– Pixion PictureTalk 4.0
– 4D, Inc. 4th Dimension 2003
– M-Audio Revolution 7.1
– DigiDesign Inc. Pro Tools 6.0 for Mac OS X
– LaCie Big Disk
– LaCie Data Bank
– Sorenson Squeeze 3 Compression Suite
– Apple AirPort Extreme
– Dr. Bott ExtendAir
– MasterWriter Inc. MasterWriter 1.0
– MacSoft Unreal Tournament 2003
– Hewlett-Packard 6127 Printer
The next Macworld Conference & Expo will take place at New York City’s
Javits Center, July 14 – 18, 2003. For more information, please visit
www.macworldexpo.com.
About Macworld Conference & Expo
Owned and produced by Framingham Mass.-based IDG World Expo, Macworld
Conference & Expo is the world’s most comprehensive Macintosh OS event.
Macworld Conference & Expo showcases products and services for
professionals involved in media and creative content development for
corporate and home applications, as well as consumers using the Mac at
home. Macworld Conference & Expo brings together the loyal base of Mac OS
audiences in creative services, education, application development,
entertainment, small office/home office and Internet-based environments.
Macworld Conference & Expo offers professionals and consumers alike the
opportunity to discover the latest developments and hottest products these
markets offer. For more information, please visit the Web site at
www.macworldexpo.com.
About IDG World Expo
IDG World Expo (www.idgworldexpo.com) produces IT-focused tradeshows,
conferences and events for professionals seeking world-class education,
peer-to-peer networking and one-stop comparison shopping. As the leading IT
event management company, IDG World Expo leverages its experience and
knowledge of IT-focused events and conferences, enabling technology
companies to capture the attention and loyalty of influential buyers. IDG
World Expo’s portfolio of conferences and events includes Macworld
Conference & Expo, LinuxWorld Conference & Expo, Bio-ITWorld Conference &
Expo, COMNET Conference & Expo, Integrated Security Conference & Expo and
BiometricsWorld Conference & Expo. IDG World Expo is a business unit of
IDG, the world’s leading technology media, research and event company.
About IDG
IDG publishes more than 300 magazines and newspapers and offers online
users the largest network of technology-specific sites around the world
through IDG.net (www.idg.net), which comprises more than 330 targeted Web
sites in 80 countries. IDG is also a leading producer of 168
computer-related events worldwide, and IDG’s research company, IDC,
provides global market intelligence and advice through 51 offices in 43
countries. Company information is available at www.idg.com.