Mac Expo

Rob and I popped along to the Mac Expo at Olympia today, hoping to tinker with some shiny new gadgets and software. You know, expensive toys that we could convince ourselves would change our lives for the better. Unfortunately we left disappointed by the show; half the stands seemed to be selling iPod covers and other related tat, and after about an hour we’d pretty much run out of things to look at. At the MacUser stand we were given a carrier containing a free copy of a magazine - great, we thought, until we opened the bag on the tube only to discover that the magazine was an issue of “Poker Room”. Rather summed up the whole event.

Adobe were doing some demos on their stand, but unfortunately there was no sign of Macromedia’s new releases. Apple were also showing off Aperture, which has a great interface and looks like it could be pretty useful.

I did finally get my hands on an iPod nano, but it didn’t do anything to allay my concerns about the scratching issue; after a day and half on display, the nanos on the Apple stand seemed pretty badly scratched. I think I’ll wait for the second generation nano instead.

For us, the highlight of the show was definitely the Solio - a solar powered charger and battery for iPods, mobile phones and PDAs, which the inventor’s charming sister demonstrated for us. It’s such a great bit of design, with 3 solar panels that fan out when needed, and it’s made from recycled and recyclable materials. Would have been perfect for Glastonbury this year.

On the way back through Victoria we were sad to see the last of the Routemasters running on the 38 route. After today, the only remaining Routemasters will be on the 159 run, and they’ll be stopping on the 9th of December. Seems such a shame that a solution couldn’t be found to their accessibility problems.

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