Macworld 2006 recap

Well, it's the last day of the 2006 Macworld Conference & Exposition. Interestingly enough, today actually seems busier than the last few.

So what's happened the past few days?

Monday: I registered and got my badge.

Tuesday: Arrived at the Moscone Center shortly before five o'clock. Although it was four hours before Steve Jobs' keynote was scheduled to begin, we were only in the first fifty people or so. Even so, we barely made it in the first tier of people to be allowed to run to the auditorium.

I've got to say, pushing my way through the throngs of people to see the keynote, the last time I was packed in that close to people was in a mosh pit at a concert. This crowd was a good deal more civil, though.

It might just be because I'm a tremendous geek, but watching Jobs saunter onto the stage honestly sent a chill down my spine. I've never been as excited by any concert I've been to or any other public performance. Jobs is a showman, and what a show he gave.

The announcements, of course, were stunning. I'm going to have to work hard to keep myself from lusting unduly after the MacBook Pro. I cannot wait to fiddle around with iWeb; I already have plans to try and make a new blog template with it.

Coming out of the keynote, I swear I saw Adam Savage.

After the keynote, I walked around the exhibition floor and picked up the first batch of free stuff. I gave a killer performance on a nice Fender Jazz Bass at the Guitar Center booth (it was a demo for Guitar Rig). I saw the guys from Panic, Inc. and it was a lot like seeing a movie star. I was only capable of grabbing a sticker before stumbling away, star-struck.

Wednesday: I felt under the weather, so I took a day off. I was dragged along to the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, although I did enjoy parts of it.

Thursday: I returned to the exhibition. I bought iPod Armor to replace my busted case and checked out the Magnatune and EFF booths. Also saw the guys from Delicious Monster. Bought a few shirts.

Today: Attempted to visit all the booths that were missed. I saw Google Earth being demonstrated. Picked up even more free stuff, then sat down outside the exhibition hall and wrote this post.

To summarize: Macworld is really a tremendous experience. Between all the free stuff, the discounts, the seminars and demoes, the cost of registration really pays for itself. Not the plane tickets or hotel bills, but still.

Although it seems that the unusual amount of activity the past few days has been detrimental to my health, as I have developed a sore throat, a nasty cough, and various other unpleasantries, it was completely worth it.

The crummy little photos I took with my cameraphone are available under the Macworld tag. There are none of the exhibition hall because I was too busy ogling product and not walking into people.

All in all, this is something that I really wish I could do every year.