Nemo’s “Notes from Underground” v2007.09 — The show is over. Long live the show.

Macworld Conference and Expo 2007 San Francisco

Nemo’s Idiosyncratic Picks for the Year Ahead — The Ones to Watch For

The show is over. Long live the show. MWSF 2007 was the most unusual Expo in my career of following Macintosh developments and introductions. Apple released nothing nada zilch zippo fuhgeddaboutit, friends. Their long, proud showroom display tables loaded with previously-released hardware had an abundance of black-shirted paid staff talking to themselves and smiling vacantly at attendees who were elsewhere.

But not far, though. Crowds were going nuts only a few steps away, hour after hour, day after day, during rotating presentations on iPhone. There’s your buzz, pal, but don’t look too carefully for anything resembling an actual product release for a month or two three four.

Meanwhile, out in the real world of responsible companies with actual products at their Expo booths, the news is almost exclusively good to excellent. Public relations, engineering, corporate, and sales staff are well-informed, endlessly enthusiastic, and patient. Abundant iPod accessories rub shoulders with heavy hitters (Quark, Adobe, HP, Canon, Microsoft, and the other B I G names), and relative pipsqueaks like Netopia, Prosoft, Iogear, and Shure, not to mention almost-invisible newcomers with product names like Piano Wizard, Portago, V-Moda, or Unicorn.

Let’s stop there for a moment. A talented small group of developers created MCOPY at . It’s a handheld integrated high speed USB transfer device for moving ANY media onto ANY other equipment via card reader, iPod, flash drive, and other options. I was stunned by MCOPY’s brilliant simplicity. Check it out and watch MyMac.com for a review by late spring.

HP is producing hardware and corresponding software and supplies that *finally* make LightScribe a practical reality for everyday usage. LightScribe “etches” (for lack of a better term) your images and text directly into the surface of special CDs. Among HP’s many impressive innovations, this upgrade to last year’s initial product launch stands out for a multitude of potential applications. HP also wants to send MyMac.com a variety of printers and scanners for review. We’re excited, and we applaud the company’s dedication to the Mac marketplace.

Netopia is taking Timbuktu to new destinations, and that’s all you’re going to get out of me now. MyMac.com staff use Timbuktu Pro every day for remote computer access. Their new item continues the company’s core mission in a way that — whoops. Pay attention, and you’ll probably be using it (whatever it is) by a year from now. Hint: it’s affordable.

MacAddict magazine is now Mac|Life magazine, with a new supercharged web presence to be created by Rik, former editor on the print side. He gave MyMac.com a sneak peek of what he plans for , and if you’ve been disappointed with the [lack of an engaging] prior MacAddict URL, get over it. Right, Rik?

Artie already wrote about Lynda.com, and I briefly commented on Maxtor’s triple-threat lineup of external hard drives. Look into both companies’ offerings, and let us know if your opinion is as high as ours.

Adobe is coming out with [long silence]. Nemo knows. Stand still and it will hit you like a ton of bricks. 2007. Guaranteed.

Hitachi Maxell, two giant names, have the tiniest booth. Not even a booth, it’s one face of a triangular stand. Product is a graphics pen. I was fried by the time I finally located them late Friday afternoon, so we’ll have to pursue it when the dust settles.

Piano Wizard is a game-style educational application for music tutoring. It’s specially interesting for me, a part-time piano teacher. I’ll have more to report by summer.

How many booths were there? More than 400? I spent time at roughly 50 during three days on the Expo floor. Do I wish Macworld 2007 ran for a few more weeks, so I could explore a hundred more? Yes, impractical and unrealistic as it may seem.

David Weeks just called. He’s an airline captain in real life, and he flew over Moscone Center not long ago on his current route. “How many of you attended Macworld Expo,” he asked his passengers. Plenty of them raised their hands.

I raise mine in farewell to our loyal readers, listeners, and viewers. Thanks for coming along. Much appreciation to Tim, Guy, Bakari, David, Owen, Larry, and Artie (I hope I didn’t forget anyone!). And greatest T H A N K S to Apple, IDG, and the thousands of people from hundreds of companies that made this Macworld Expo one of the best of all time.

[Nemo]