Zombie Attack In Texas
Hackers convert road traffic signs into undead alert systems.
January 29, 2009 - What would you do in the event of a zombie apocalypse? Would you head to the local mall with Ving Rhames or team up with a biker, army vet and cute college girl and try to cure the infection one bullet at a time? Well, motorists driving around the University of Texas got to entertain their undead thoughts a little on Monday morning when two electronic road signs flashed alerts of a impeding zombie attack. Quick, grab the medkits and uzis!
The signs, which were in place to alert drivers to a detour, instead contained messages like "Caution! Zombies Ahead" and "Nazi Zombies! Run!!!" for passersby to see. And you thought regular zombies were bad, but man, those Nazi zombies are a-holes. Traffic controllers reported that the signs generated substantial safety hazards thanks to drivers slowing down to view the messages and take photos. Welcome to the real world of what would really happen if the infected took over the country folks, photo opportunities. Hey mister zombie man, say cheese! "BRAINS!!!". Eh, close enough.
City officials speculate that the units were hacked by a local computer expert who broke into the access panels, changed the passwords and then were rerouted the systems to display five different zombie messages. The sign manufacturing company had to be brought in to override the hacker's work.
The city is happy to report that no zombies have since been seen in the area, but did offer up any advice in case next time the warnings turn out to be real: "Shoot 'em in the head". Ok, that's a line from a movie, but you get the idea. Now pardon us, we have to go shotgun shopping with Bill, Zoey and Francis.
source:http://gear.ign.com/articles/949/949442p1.html
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Filipino scientist says endangered plants may posses medicinal value
MANILA (PNA)-- A Filipino scientist found out that two plants of the coffee family (Rubiaceae), good sources of medicine, are facing extinction without proper classification in the plant kingdom.
Grecebio Jonathan Alejandro, a scientist at the University of Sto. Tomas (UST), said that paluay mabolo (Greeniopsis Merr) and tango (Villaria Rolfe), flowering plants, are facing extinction without proper classification in the plant kingdom.
Alejandro stated that Greeniopsis and Villaria are potential medicinal sources of iridoids. It is found in many medicinal plants and is responsible for some of its pharmaceutical uses.
Iridoids exhibit a wide range of bioactivities such as cardiovascular, antipheptotoxic, chlorectic, hypoglycemic, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, antitumor, antiviral, immunomodulator and purgative activities.
He claimed that the two plants should be put in the subfamily of Ixoroideae sensu stricto, a coffee plant. Greeniopsis should be added as a member of the tribe Ixoreae.
Villaria, on the other hand, should be considered as a plant that descended from a single ancestor.
The two plants are currently placed in the sub-family of Cinchonoideae, a sub-family of the coffee family, based on their physical appearance.
Alejandro aims in resolving the sub-familial and tribal positions of the two plants.
Some species of the two plants are considered by the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR)as endangered, while others are listed as wildlife species. (PNA).
MANILA (PNA)-- A Filipino scientist found out that two plants of the coffee family (Rubiaceae), good sources of medicine, are facing extinction without proper classification in the plant kingdom.
Grecebio Jonathan Alejandro, a scientist at the University of Sto. Tomas (UST), said that paluay mabolo (Greeniopsis Merr) and tango (Villaria Rolfe), flowering plants, are facing extinction without proper classification in the plant kingdom.
Alejandro stated that Greeniopsis and Villaria are potential medicinal sources of iridoids. It is found in many medicinal plants and is responsible for some of its pharmaceutical uses.
Iridoids exhibit a wide range of bioactivities such as cardiovascular, antipheptotoxic, chlorectic, hypoglycemic, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, antitumor, antiviral, immunomodulator and purgative activities.
He claimed that the two plants should be put in the subfamily of Ixoroideae sensu stricto, a coffee plant. Greeniopsis should be added as a member of the tribe Ixoreae.
Villaria, on the other hand, should be considered as a plant that descended from a single ancestor.
The two plants are currently placed in the sub-family of Cinchonoideae, a sub-family of the coffee family, based on their physical appearance.
Alejandro aims in resolving the sub-familial and tribal positions of the two plants.
Some species of the two plants are considered by the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR)as endangered, while others are listed as wildlife species. (PNA).
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Oil falls to near $36 on weak US crude demand
SINGAPORE — Asian stock markets tumbled today, with Japan’s benchmark sliding almost 5 percent, on gloomy U.S. holiday sales and renewed concerns about the banking industry.
Every market across Asian suffered steep declines, with broad-based selling hitting industries from energy to financials to exporters. The dollar slid further against the yen, and oil prices continued to fall on worries that the global economic slump will further weaken demand for crude.
Light, sweet crude for February delivery was down 59 cents at $36.69 a barrel by afternoon in Singapore in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 50 cents overnight to settle at $37.28.
Prices have fallen 27 percent since last week and analysts say they may test a five-year low reached last month of $33.87 a barrel.
U.S. oil inventories have been rising for months, proof the current recession is biting into demand for crude products. The Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration said Wednesday that crude inventories grew by 1.2 million barrels for the week ended Friday after jumping 6.7 million barrels the previous week.
Gasoline inventories rose by 2.1 million barrels and distillates increased by 6.4 million barrels.
“It just points to the doom and gloom in the American economy,” said Gerard Rigby, an energy analyst with Fuel First Consulting in Sydney.
Investors were also dismayed by bad retail numbers. The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that retail sales dropped 2.7 percent last month, more than double the 1.2 percent decline that analysts expected.
The Dow Jones industrial average, which oil traders monitor as a barometer of investor sentiment about the U.S. economy’s prospects, fell 2.9 percent on Wednesday.
Investors remain optimistic the price of oil will rise later in the year, as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries continues to implement 4.2 million of output cuts announced since September.
The May contract trades at $50.48 a barrel.
“OPEC is cutting and that should start impacting inventories,” Rigby said. “Economies will start turning around, and I think demand is bottoming out.”
In other Nymex trading, gasoline futures fell 1.67 cents to $1.15 a gallon. Heating oil slid 2.08 cent to $1.44 a gallon while natural gas for February delivery was steady at $4.97 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, February Brent crude fell 75 cents to $44.33 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 stock average fell 415.14 points, or 4.9 percent, to 8,023.31, with sentiment further hurt by new figures showing that Japanese machinery orders, a closely watched indicator of corporate spending, plunged in November.
Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 3.1 percent to 13,287.19 after earlier sinking about 5 percent. South Korea’s Kospi dived 6 percent to 1,111.34 while markets in Australia and Taiwan fell more than 4 percent. Singapore’s benchmark was down over 3 percent but Shanghai stocks were only slightly lower.
sources;http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/biz/6212218.html
SINGAPORE — Asian stock markets tumbled today, with Japan’s benchmark sliding almost 5 percent, on gloomy U.S. holiday sales and renewed concerns about the banking industry.
Every market across Asian suffered steep declines, with broad-based selling hitting industries from energy to financials to exporters. The dollar slid further against the yen, and oil prices continued to fall on worries that the global economic slump will further weaken demand for crude.
Light, sweet crude for February delivery was down 59 cents at $36.69 a barrel by afternoon in Singapore in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 50 cents overnight to settle at $37.28.
Prices have fallen 27 percent since last week and analysts say they may test a five-year low reached last month of $33.87 a barrel.
U.S. oil inventories have been rising for months, proof the current recession is biting into demand for crude products. The Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration said Wednesday that crude inventories grew by 1.2 million barrels for the week ended Friday after jumping 6.7 million barrels the previous week.
Gasoline inventories rose by 2.1 million barrels and distillates increased by 6.4 million barrels.
“It just points to the doom and gloom in the American economy,” said Gerard Rigby, an energy analyst with Fuel First Consulting in Sydney.
Investors were also dismayed by bad retail numbers. The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that retail sales dropped 2.7 percent last month, more than double the 1.2 percent decline that analysts expected.
The Dow Jones industrial average, which oil traders monitor as a barometer of investor sentiment about the U.S. economy’s prospects, fell 2.9 percent on Wednesday.
Investors remain optimistic the price of oil will rise later in the year, as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries continues to implement 4.2 million of output cuts announced since September.
The May contract trades at $50.48 a barrel.
“OPEC is cutting and that should start impacting inventories,” Rigby said. “Economies will start turning around, and I think demand is bottoming out.”
In other Nymex trading, gasoline futures fell 1.67 cents to $1.15 a gallon. Heating oil slid 2.08 cent to $1.44 a gallon while natural gas for February delivery was steady at $4.97 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, February Brent crude fell 75 cents to $44.33 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 stock average fell 415.14 points, or 4.9 percent, to 8,023.31, with sentiment further hurt by new figures showing that Japanese machinery orders, a closely watched indicator of corporate spending, plunged in November.
Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 3.1 percent to 13,287.19 after earlier sinking about 5 percent. South Korea’s Kospi dived 6 percent to 1,111.34 while markets in Australia and Taiwan fell more than 4 percent. Singapore’s benchmark was down over 3 percent but Shanghai stocks were only slightly lower.
sources;http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/biz/6212218.html
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Afghan Conflict Will Be Reviewed
Obama Sees Troops As Buying Time, Not Turning Tide
President-elect Barack Obama intends to sign off on Pentagon plans to send up to 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, but the incoming administration does not anticipate that the Iraq-like "surge" of forces will significantly change the direction of a conflict that has steadily deteriorated over the past seven years.
Instead, Obama's national security team expects that the new deployments, which will nearly double the current U.S. force of 32,000 (alongside an equal number of non-U.S. NATO troops), will help buy enough time for the new administration to reappraise the entire Afghanistan war effort and develop a comprehensive new strategy for what Obama has called the "central front on terror."
With conditions on the ground worsening by nearly every yardstick last year -- including record levels of extremist attacks and U.S. casualties, and the expansion of the conflict across Pakistan and into India -- Obama's campaign pledge to "finish the job" in Afghanistan with more troops, money and diplomacy has encountered the daunting reality of a job that has barely begun.
Since the November election, Obama has been flooded with dire assessments of the war. A National Intelligence Estimate warned that a reconstituted al-Qaeda leadership, dug into the mountains along the Afghan-Pakistani border, continues to plan attacks against the United States and Europe. The Bush White House delivered a major review of Afghanistan last month that echoed that judgment, acknowledged that a modern Afghan democracy -- stable and free of extremists -- may be both unattainable and unaffordable, and said that the United States may have to accept trade-offs among priorities.
ad_icon
"We have no strategic plan. We never had one," a senior U.S. military commander said of the Bush years. Obama's first order of business, he said, will be to "explain to the American people what the mission is" in Afghanistan. The officer is one of a number of active-duty and retired officers, senior Obama team members and Bush administration officials interviewed for this article, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the presidential transition.
The military is as concerned about the mission of additional troops as it is about the size of the force and is looking for Obama to resolve critical internal debates, including the relative merits of conducting conventional combat vs. targeted guerrilla war. With limited resources, should the military concentrate on eliminating a Taliban presence -- a task for which most think the United States and its allies will never have enough troops -- or on securing large population areas?
What is the plan for training an Afghan army expected to double in size -- from 84,000 troops -- in the next few years, when less than half of current U.S. trainer slots are filled? How will resources be shifted to the State Department and civilian development experts Obama has said must assume more responsibility? Can the new president do what his predecessor could not and impose order and a shared strategy on the 41 nations and countless international and nongovernmental organizations operating in Afghanistan? Will he follow through on pledges for more diplomacy with Iran, to the west of Afghanistan, and a more aggressive plan for Pakistan to the east?
"This is not a Shinseki versus Rumsfeld debate between 125,000 or 500,000 U.S. troops," a Pentagon official said, referring to the differing views of then-Army Chief of Staff Eric K. Shinseki and then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld before the Iraq invasion in 2003. "It's a real debate about what the correct answer is."
Obama has offered few public comments on Afghanistan since the election. "We haven't seen the kinds of infrastructure improvements; we haven't seen the security improvements; we haven't seen the reduction in narco-trafficking; we haven't seen a reliance on rule of law in Afghanistan that would make people feel confident that the central government can, in fact, deliver on its promises," he said last month on NBC's "Meet the Press." "We've got to ramp up our development approach," he said, without providing details.
The president-elect set out a "very limited" objective of ensuring that Afghanistan "cannot be used as a base to launch attacks against the United States." He cited the need for "more effective military action" -- even as he warned of fierce Afghan resistance to the presence of foreign troops -- and said the "number one goal" is to stop al-Qaeda.
In the current vacuum, the Joint Chiefs of Staff have made their own assessments and recommendations, as has Gen. David D. McKiernan, the commander of both U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan. Gen. David H. Petraeus, the Central Command chief, who has regional responsibility for the Middle East and much of South Asia, has set up what a Pentagon official only half-jokingly described as a "shadow government," assembling a team of more than 200 military and civilian experts to supply him with a comprehensive plan for the region by mid-February.
The Army is already spending $1.1 billion to provide facilities for additional troops in Afghanistan and plans to start an additional $1.3 billion in construction next year. But it remains unclear what kinds of forces, with what assignments, will be sent beyond the 10th Mountain Division's 3rd Combat Brigade, departing this month. Smaller "enabler" units with helicopters and other equipment are also readying for deployment, and significant training must begin soon for other units selected to go during the spring and summer. Gen. James T. Conway, the Marine Corps commandant, has pressed for a major Marine presence in Afghanistan once the Marine force has drawn down substantially from Iraq.
more information at:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/12/AR2009011203492.html?hpid=sec-nation
Obama Sees Troops As Buying Time, Not Turning Tide
President-elect Barack Obama intends to sign off on Pentagon plans to send up to 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, but the incoming administration does not anticipate that the Iraq-like "surge" of forces will significantly change the direction of a conflict that has steadily deteriorated over the past seven years.
Instead, Obama's national security team expects that the new deployments, which will nearly double the current U.S. force of 32,000 (alongside an equal number of non-U.S. NATO troops), will help buy enough time for the new administration to reappraise the entire Afghanistan war effort and develop a comprehensive new strategy for what Obama has called the "central front on terror."
With conditions on the ground worsening by nearly every yardstick last year -- including record levels of extremist attacks and U.S. casualties, and the expansion of the conflict across Pakistan and into India -- Obama's campaign pledge to "finish the job" in Afghanistan with more troops, money and diplomacy has encountered the daunting reality of a job that has barely begun.
Since the November election, Obama has been flooded with dire assessments of the war. A National Intelligence Estimate warned that a reconstituted al-Qaeda leadership, dug into the mountains along the Afghan-Pakistani border, continues to plan attacks against the United States and Europe. The Bush White House delivered a major review of Afghanistan last month that echoed that judgment, acknowledged that a modern Afghan democracy -- stable and free of extremists -- may be both unattainable and unaffordable, and said that the United States may have to accept trade-offs among priorities.
ad_icon
"We have no strategic plan. We never had one," a senior U.S. military commander said of the Bush years. Obama's first order of business, he said, will be to "explain to the American people what the mission is" in Afghanistan. The officer is one of a number of active-duty and retired officers, senior Obama team members and Bush administration officials interviewed for this article, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the presidential transition.
The military is as concerned about the mission of additional troops as it is about the size of the force and is looking for Obama to resolve critical internal debates, including the relative merits of conducting conventional combat vs. targeted guerrilla war. With limited resources, should the military concentrate on eliminating a Taliban presence -- a task for which most think the United States and its allies will never have enough troops -- or on securing large population areas?
What is the plan for training an Afghan army expected to double in size -- from 84,000 troops -- in the next few years, when less than half of current U.S. trainer slots are filled? How will resources be shifted to the State Department and civilian development experts Obama has said must assume more responsibility? Can the new president do what his predecessor could not and impose order and a shared strategy on the 41 nations and countless international and nongovernmental organizations operating in Afghanistan? Will he follow through on pledges for more diplomacy with Iran, to the west of Afghanistan, and a more aggressive plan for Pakistan to the east?
"This is not a Shinseki versus Rumsfeld debate between 125,000 or 500,000 U.S. troops," a Pentagon official said, referring to the differing views of then-Army Chief of Staff Eric K. Shinseki and then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld before the Iraq invasion in 2003. "It's a real debate about what the correct answer is."
Obama has offered few public comments on Afghanistan since the election. "We haven't seen the kinds of infrastructure improvements; we haven't seen the security improvements; we haven't seen the reduction in narco-trafficking; we haven't seen a reliance on rule of law in Afghanistan that would make people feel confident that the central government can, in fact, deliver on its promises," he said last month on NBC's "Meet the Press." "We've got to ramp up our development approach," he said, without providing details.
The president-elect set out a "very limited" objective of ensuring that Afghanistan "cannot be used as a base to launch attacks against the United States." He cited the need for "more effective military action" -- even as he warned of fierce Afghan resistance to the presence of foreign troops -- and said the "number one goal" is to stop al-Qaeda.
In the current vacuum, the Joint Chiefs of Staff have made their own assessments and recommendations, as has Gen. David D. McKiernan, the commander of both U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan. Gen. David H. Petraeus, the Central Command chief, who has regional responsibility for the Middle East and much of South Asia, has set up what a Pentagon official only half-jokingly described as a "shadow government," assembling a team of more than 200 military and civilian experts to supply him with a comprehensive plan for the region by mid-February.
The Army is already spending $1.1 billion to provide facilities for additional troops in Afghanistan and plans to start an additional $1.3 billion in construction next year. But it remains unclear what kinds of forces, with what assignments, will be sent beyond the 10th Mountain Division's 3rd Combat Brigade, departing this month. Smaller "enabler" units with helicopters and other equipment are also readying for deployment, and significant training must begin soon for other units selected to go during the spring and summer. Gen. James T. Conway, the Marine Corps commandant, has pressed for a major Marine presence in Afghanistan once the Marine force has drawn down substantially from Iraq.
more information at:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/12/AR2009011203492.html?hpid=sec-nation
Friday, January 09, 2009
Weekly Ketchup: Mickey Rourke, Sam Rockwell in Iron Man 2
Some unforseen circumstances kept the Weekly Ketchup from being published last week (you can read it here), but this week the column returns, featuring casting news for Iron Man 2 and Watchmen director Zack Snyder's next movie, as well as news about biopics about John Lennon, Edgar Allen Poe and the "real" Romeo and Juliet?
#1 IRON MAN 2: ARMOR WARS?
The really interesting part of the Iron Man 2 casting process kicked in this week as Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell were both announced as being in talks to play characters that suggest that the plot will closely resemble one of Iron Man's most memorable story arcs, Armor Wars, in which Tony Stark travels around the world, beating down several super villains who are wearing armor derived from his patents. Although The Hollywood Reporter describes Mickey Rourke's character as Whiplash, I'm pretty sure Variety has it right when they say that he will be playing a Russian arms dealer who calls himself Crimson Dynamo, because if Iron Man has one classic villain in an armor suit that would be awesome in a movie, it would be Crimson Dynamo. Fueling the idea that Armor Wars is the plot, Sam Rockwell is in talks to play Justin Hammer, the arms dealer who is really at the center of that story. The casting process is still underway for another enticing character, "Natasha," who has got to be Natasha Romanov, also known as one of the sexiest characters in comics (ever), Black Widow, and a future member of the Avengers. My next question for Iron Man 2 is whether the Crimson Dynamo will be the only armored foe, or whether other Armor Wars characters like the Beetle, the Controller, Titanium Man and (one of my favorite villains) Stilt-Man might also make the cut.
source:http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/iron_man/news/1790519/weekly_ketchup_mickey_rourke_sam_rockwell_in_iron_man_2
Some unforseen circumstances kept the Weekly Ketchup from being published last week (you can read it here), but this week the column returns, featuring casting news for Iron Man 2 and Watchmen director Zack Snyder's next movie, as well as news about biopics about John Lennon, Edgar Allen Poe and the "real" Romeo and Juliet?
#1 IRON MAN 2: ARMOR WARS?
The really interesting part of the Iron Man 2 casting process kicked in this week as Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell were both announced as being in talks to play characters that suggest that the plot will closely resemble one of Iron Man's most memorable story arcs, Armor Wars, in which Tony Stark travels around the world, beating down several super villains who are wearing armor derived from his patents. Although The Hollywood Reporter describes Mickey Rourke's character as Whiplash, I'm pretty sure Variety has it right when they say that he will be playing a Russian arms dealer who calls himself Crimson Dynamo, because if Iron Man has one classic villain in an armor suit that would be awesome in a movie, it would be Crimson Dynamo. Fueling the idea that Armor Wars is the plot, Sam Rockwell is in talks to play Justin Hammer, the arms dealer who is really at the center of that story. The casting process is still underway for another enticing character, "Natasha," who has got to be Natasha Romanov, also known as one of the sexiest characters in comics (ever), Black Widow, and a future member of the Avengers. My next question for Iron Man 2 is whether the Crimson Dynamo will be the only armored foe, or whether other Armor Wars characters like the Beetle, the Controller, Titanium Man and (one of my favorite villains) Stilt-Man might also make the cut.
source:http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/iron_man/news/1790519/weekly_ketchup_mickey_rourke_sam_rockwell_in_iron_man_2
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Town Hall gives clues to future directions for Macworld Expo
Future Macworld Expos could embrace film or music festivals. Or they could return to East Coast destinations like Boston or New York. Or they could move from city to city.
Those were some of the ideas floated at Wednesday night’s town hall meeting, in which Macworld Expo organizers tossed around ideas with Expo attendees and exhibitors about the future shape of the annual Mac trade show.
Wednesday night’s event was necessitated by Apple’s decision to pull out of the show after this year. Apple announced in December that it would not be back for the 2010 Macworld Expo, currently slated to kick off on January 4 of next year.
Paul Kent, vice president and general manager of Macworld Conference & Expo, began Wednesday’s standing room-only event at San Francisco’s Moscone Center with a few ideas of his own. With the moniker “The start of a new era,” Kent said he envisioned future Expos as embracing film festivals, music festivals, and digital photography as a way to engage the attendees.
“We come to Macworld to be inspired,” said Kent. “This show is going to evolve and you need to know that we are embracing this evolution.”
In his talk, Kent spoke about the conference sessions and the trainers the event brings to San Francisco. According to Kent, 85 to 90 percent of those trainers have already committed to returning to the 2010 show.
When Apple announced its decision to pull out of future Macworld Expos, the company said it was part of an overall strategy to reduce its presence at trade shows while using its brick-and-mortar stores to reach customers. The company says it holds the equivalent of hundreds of Macworld Expos at its network of Apple Stores every week—a contention repeated by senior vice president of worldwide product marketing Phil Schiller during Tuesday’s keynote.
On Wednesday, Kent disputed that claim, contending that 90 percent of the products exhibited on the Macworld Expo show floor are not available in the Apple Store.
“We want Apple to go build more great products and then we’ll be here to show you how to use them,” Kent said.
When Kent opened up the floor to ask what event organizer IDG World Expo should do with the 2010 event, suggestions ranged from having an e-mail address to send future ideas to having more “scrappy grass roots” involvement in the show.
The idea of having a traveling roadshow was brought up again, as was bringing a Macworld Expo back to Boston. Perhaps the loudest cheer came for another Macworld Expo in New York. The last Macworld Expo was held in the Big Apple in 2002—the Expo moved to Boston the next year, without Apple’s involvement. After two expos in Boston, IDG World Expo canceled the East Coast Mac event.
Variable pricing of conference sessions was another popular theme on Wednesday—that would allow users more choices in picking individual sessions to take during the week.
IDG did get hit hard from some attendees for the lack of support for gaming at the show. “Last year was a pathetic joke,” one town hall attendee declared.
Kent said that 60 companies, including HP, Microsoft, and Other World Computing, have already signed up for the 2010 Macworld Expo. He said IDG World Expo is talking to other developers and exhibitors throughout the course of this week.
After the event, Kent told Macworld that he was happy with the amount of participation from so many different segments of the market. “It was done in a very constructive way,” he said.
IDG World Expo has opened registration for Macworld Expo 2010, offering it for free. If you want to send feedback or ideas to the Macworld Conference & Expo team, you can send an e-mail to suggestionbox@macworld2010.com.
source:http://www.macworld.com/article/138033/2009/01/expotownhall.html
Future Macworld Expos could embrace film or music festivals. Or they could return to East Coast destinations like Boston or New York. Or they could move from city to city.
Those were some of the ideas floated at Wednesday night’s town hall meeting, in which Macworld Expo organizers tossed around ideas with Expo attendees and exhibitors about the future shape of the annual Mac trade show.
Wednesday night’s event was necessitated by Apple’s decision to pull out of the show after this year. Apple announced in December that it would not be back for the 2010 Macworld Expo, currently slated to kick off on January 4 of next year.
Paul Kent, vice president and general manager of Macworld Conference & Expo, began Wednesday’s standing room-only event at San Francisco’s Moscone Center with a few ideas of his own. With the moniker “The start of a new era,” Kent said he envisioned future Expos as embracing film festivals, music festivals, and digital photography as a way to engage the attendees.
“We come to Macworld to be inspired,” said Kent. “This show is going to evolve and you need to know that we are embracing this evolution.”
In his talk, Kent spoke about the conference sessions and the trainers the event brings to San Francisco. According to Kent, 85 to 90 percent of those trainers have already committed to returning to the 2010 show.
When Apple announced its decision to pull out of future Macworld Expos, the company said it was part of an overall strategy to reduce its presence at trade shows while using its brick-and-mortar stores to reach customers. The company says it holds the equivalent of hundreds of Macworld Expos at its network of Apple Stores every week—a contention repeated by senior vice president of worldwide product marketing Phil Schiller during Tuesday’s keynote.
On Wednesday, Kent disputed that claim, contending that 90 percent of the products exhibited on the Macworld Expo show floor are not available in the Apple Store.
“We want Apple to go build more great products and then we’ll be here to show you how to use them,” Kent said.
When Kent opened up the floor to ask what event organizer IDG World Expo should do with the 2010 event, suggestions ranged from having an e-mail address to send future ideas to having more “scrappy grass roots” involvement in the show.
The idea of having a traveling roadshow was brought up again, as was bringing a Macworld Expo back to Boston. Perhaps the loudest cheer came for another Macworld Expo in New York. The last Macworld Expo was held in the Big Apple in 2002—the Expo moved to Boston the next year, without Apple’s involvement. After two expos in Boston, IDG World Expo canceled the East Coast Mac event.
Variable pricing of conference sessions was another popular theme on Wednesday—that would allow users more choices in picking individual sessions to take during the week.
IDG did get hit hard from some attendees for the lack of support for gaming at the show. “Last year was a pathetic joke,” one town hall attendee declared.
Kent said that 60 companies, including HP, Microsoft, and Other World Computing, have already signed up for the 2010 Macworld Expo. He said IDG World Expo is talking to other developers and exhibitors throughout the course of this week.
After the event, Kent told Macworld that he was happy with the amount of participation from so many different segments of the market. “It was done in a very constructive way,” he said.
IDG World Expo has opened registration for Macworld Expo 2010, offering it for free. If you want to send feedback or ideas to the Macworld Conference & Expo team, you can send an e-mail to suggestionbox@macworld2010.com.
source:http://www.macworld.com/article/138033/2009/01/expotownhall.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)