Free passes to MacWorld!
 

Yesterday I saw a news item on Macminute.com. PeachPit was giving away free passes to MacWorld 2005. Well, I sent them an e-mail. Lo and behold -- a few hours later I got an e-mail telling me that two free passes had been sent that very same day. And that they looked forward to seeing me there.

Nice! They have more... Here’s the address:
macworld@peachpit.com

With best regards,
ArcticStones

Let's start picking a date
 

I'd prefer the 12th, but I see staypuft is only planning to be there the 11th. Any chance you can do a reprise?

Breen

Of course she'd be welcome. Nor will she be anything close to the youngest attendee. MacWorld always has throngs of knowledgable and enthusiastic younger users. Talking to them was always one of my favorite things about the show.

Breen

Staypuft, thanks for clarifying!
Well... to be honest I’m still not quite clear. :confused:

My conference (exhibition floor) passes are on the way. I did notice the posting that made it clear that any package that includes the keynote is costly. Shucks...
Well, would it be broadcast anywhere, for instance at the SF Apple story?

Here in Bergen, Norway, an Apple dealer has a "great public service" history: They present the streamed keynote on a big screen at a pub/restaurant downtown, rented for the occassion.

Hmm... Can you please advise me? I wish to buy a 12" iBook for my daughter -- at a good rate. It can even be refurbished/used. I’m in California 12/21-01/13. What’s my best strategy? Is it too much of a chance to wait until the 11th or 12th of January? :rolleyes:

My idea was to see if anything new came along at MacWorld; maybe the "old" iBooks would drop in price. Or that someone on the exhibit floor would have a good deal, new or used (not "glow in the dark"). By the way, if anyone knows of such a machine, I’m VERY interested. (A Norwegian keyboard is not a must. ;) )

With best regards,
ArcticStones

The Exhibit Hall pass (what you're getting for free) is to get in to see the exhibits (product demos, some learning classes, buy things from the exhibitors). The exhibit hall opens to everyone with Exhibit Hall passes on January 11th after the keynote. There are specialized conferences on the 10th but no exhibits. People that attend the conferences can go to the keynote in the morning on the 10th, but there is limited seating so you still need to get there early.

You can view the keynote on Apple's website later in the day, and I would not be surprised if it is shown live at their San Francisco flagship store, but I don't know.

Years ago you could buy computers at the Mac World Expo, but that has stopped. I would look on Apple's website for refurbished iBooks. They have one now for $699 (12" 1GHz G4, 256MB RAM, 30 GB HD, CDROM only)
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPL...ts/AppleStore/
click on the red "Save" tag towards the bottom for the current refurbs.

Since you will be in the Bay Area search the Bay Area Market newsgroups.
ba.market.computer
ba.market.computers
ba.marketplace.computers
ba.marketplace

I purchased 2 PC laptops a few years ago that I found there. Generally you email the poster, you set up a time and place(often their house) to see the computer and make sure it works and everything checks out. Then you give them cash and you get a computer.

I hope that helps and clarifies things.

Yup. Thx! :)

If I had it my way I would be there every day ;-) but I'm flying out there to see my parents, brother, and friends for the holidays (Mac World was just an added bonus) and I'm flying back on Jan. 12th.

So if I can make it to the gathering, great... but don't let me spoil the plans for another day. Perhaps the 10th before the expo would work for everyone? Is this going to be a gathering to just sit and talk, or will it be centered around a meal (lunch, dinner, cocktails, appetizers) or activity (bowling, miniature golf, board games, learning more about certain computer programs)? I'm fine with anything, I'm just wondering.

No, I think we should settle on the 11th then. Everyone okay with that?

Breen

11th sounds good to me. Are we talking at the keynote, post keynote, after the show, or evening??? I'm up for anything.

11th is fine by me... I vote for after the show as I'm sure several of us only have Exhibit Hall passes and wont be able to see the keynote.

The 11th works for me; can someone local to SF pick a good gathering spot? I'm staying somewhere right near the convention center and I won't have a car, so that general area would work best for me...

-rob.

Well cameranerd74 offered his 4 person hotel room at the Pickwick which is near the Moscone Center. Or were you thinking along the lines of a place for dinner?

Yea, I was thinking it might be fun to have a crowd together for a dinner somewhere -- as soon as we get this figured out, I intend to post the details on the main site, so the crowd could get somewhat larger.

-rob.

Dinner ---> then PickWick ?
 

The 11th sounds good to me as well. Perhaps a dinner with the possibility of relaxed discussion afterwards, for example at the PickWick? (By the way, we’re trying to maybe get a room there...) Whatever you decide, I’m open to it.

Really looking forward to this! :)


With best regards,
ArcticStones

That sounds like a good plan. I'm not that familiar with places to eat in that area (I mostly dine in the East Bay where I grew up) but what I remember from walking around that area is small places with limited seating, and large places that appear fancy and expensive.

I'll email some friends and my brother to see if they know of any places. I assume we're looking for a reasonably priced place with plenty of seating. Any food restrictions?

My brother says that Max's Diner, a block or two from the Moscone Center, is good and reasonably priced ($10-$15 for a meal). He doesn't think they have any seating for large parties though. Also a block or two away is a Chevy's (Tex-Mex food for those that haven't heard of Chevy's). He said they have seating for large parties and dinner would be in the $15-$20 price range. Chevy's also has a bar for those that are interested.

For more options he said to look on citysearch.com
I checked quickly and searching for Moscone Center in San Francisco brings you to a page where can see restaurants sorted by distance from the Moscone Center. You can then narrow the search by type of food.

Dinner sounds good, diner or tex-mex is good with me, and yes the invitation to meet up a my hotel room is still open.

Also, I'm going by myself, so if anyone wants to meet up (to have someone to sit with) at the keynote please let me know. I don't mind sitting alone, but waiting in line by yourself is really boring.

This is going to be my first MacWorld. I have been to countless Comdexes, and Interops and CeBits but never delved into the world of the Apple and the Macintosh now. Perhaps it is because of just how far MacOSX has come and my proclivity towards Unix and Windows.

I spent the better part of this year recovering from surgeries and rather than picking up a book to read, i grabbed a hold of a Powerbook, immersed myself in the operating system and am now exploring it deeply.

I am curious to see how Apple and its vendors are looking for ways to approach the enterprise corporate community who are so staunchly in the Microsoft Windows camp.

Should be a hoot :)

I say we go with Chevy's
 

After looking at the San Francisco map, Chevy's looks like a good place. It's about half way between The Moscone and The Pickwick (about a block to a block and a half from each), and seems to have seating for medium to large groups. Not to mention it's hard to beat the location. Unless anyone has an objection to Tex-mex, I say we go with Chevy's... maybe 6pm on the 11th????

Any takers????

Sounds great to me! My daughter is a non-carnivore, but I’m sure the Tex-Mex menu will have something that tempts her as well.

By the way, I tried to get a room at the PickWick, with no luck yet. Considered the Montecello or Best Western Americania. Anyone know anything about these? Or other recommendations? I haven’t a clue...

There’s apparently a Housing hotline for MacWorld (866-704-6724). Professional, courteous and gives a discount.

– Arctic

PS Have we set a time?