It's Always Good to Laugh

Here are some highlights from yesterday and today at MacWorld:

Feature Presentation:

At 9:00 am this morning, I lined up outside the third-floor ballroom of Moscone West for a chance to watch David Pogue in action. He opened his show with a video that he created last July called iPhone: The Musical. It's sung to the tune of My Way and it is guaranteed to make you laugh! If you have never seen this - please stop now and follow this link.

The Vendors:

While walking through the exhibits, I saw this amazing backpack with built-in solar panels. Apparently it generates enough electricity to charge a phone or iPod. The company representative told me that their new solar backpack (expected to come out this Spring) would be able to charge a laptop! This, I've got to see! The company that produces this product is voltaicsystems.com.

The Presenters:

Steve Wozniak - co-founder of Apple Computer opened this morning's Educator Academy. Following the presentation, Steve held a book signing session - and I saw our own Tedd Landgraf with three signed copies!

John Couch, Apple's Vice President of Education, shared the company's educational vision - a vision focused on "empowering individuals". In preparing for the emerging learning environment, Apple is focused on several key components:

1. Mobility and 24/7 Access - achieved through iPhone, iPod, computers, and AppleTV. The newest version of the AppleTV now allows one to directly download content from iTunes (no need for a computer.)
2. Content Delivery - Couch explained that the infrastructure behind iTunes has already been created and paid for by the music and entertainment industry. Apple is now working on leveraging iTunes to deliver free educational content. They are currently working with States and public organizations offering iTunes as a repository to host that content. Just as iTunes created a new economic reality for the music and entertainment industry, Apple is working with textbook publishers to create a new economic model for academic content!
3. Easy Content Creation - creativity and innovation are key to Apple's educational vision. He pointed out that their software and hardware solutions are designed to facilitate the creation of content. The new Leopard Server works seamlessly with their software to provide easy capture of videos, slide presentations, documents, as well as facilitate editing and podcast production.

Touching the MacBook Air - so light it seems to float in the air!

Having a wonderful time. I saw Jerome Burg yesterday and he sends his regards to everyone at Punahou. Tomorrow morning, I have a three hour workshop on the Leopard Server, so I hope to learn more about possibilities. In the afternoon, I will assist Lucy Gray with a workshop on wikis!