Macworld Mania !

For a non Apple affection-ado, the build up to a Macworld expo must be hard to comprehend. After all, it's just a trade show, one for a computer manufacturer at that. So why the fuss ?

Well, for a start, this isn't any old computer manufacturer we're talking about. It's Apple - the company that consistently redefines the meaning of 'cool'; the company that goes into insane levels of detail in it's products - ever notice the way the cables are neatly coiled in a new iPod pack ? But more than that, it's about one man - Steve Jobs, and specifically, his Keynote speech.

Unlike many other companies, Apple rarely releases a product without making a song and dance about it, and even those few are more often than not just minor bumps to current products. Instead, Apple maximises the impact of new products by having them personally introduced by the CEO himself - and the Macworld Keynote is the premier such occasion.

To get some idea of the level of preparation that goes into the Keynote, take a look at Mike Evangelist's recent Guardian article.

About a minute into the demo, Steve stopped me, saying impatiently, "you gotta get this together or we're going to have to pull this demo from the keynote."

Unlike any other corporate presentation I've ever been witness too, Steve (and his team) somehow manages to make the two or so hours of the Macworld Keynote an entertaining experience. So much so that I know come tuesday evening (UK time), I'll be watching the webcast .

(Or not, as the case may be - it seems as though the keynote won't be broadcast live. However, there are doubtless going to be up-to-the-second feeds on the Mac news web. Check out places like MacCentral, or try using iChat to connect to a group chat room called something appropriate - 'Macworld' would be a good one to try.)

So, what can we expect ? Well, the usual Keynote is a heady mix of recap, product introductions and a liberal dash of the infamous Reality Distortion Field - and the now expected 'One More Thing'. Steve is a great showman, and likes to keep his biggest hit right until the end. This is part o the joy of watching the Keynote - that no matter how wowed, or otherwise, you are by what Steve is demoing right now you know for certain that there's still One More Thing that's going to top it.

And within minutes of the Keynote having been delivered, the Apple web site will be updated with the details of the latest products, all with enticing links to the Apple online store.

This year, I'm certainly hoping that one of the things introduced is an Intel Centrino based Powerbook, available to buy straight away. I have a 3 year old powerbook that's recently been pressed back into active service, and I need something with more horsepower. But that's a topic for another post...