One Happy New Year, With a Side of Nostalgia Please
Here we are, almost through our first full month of
the new year, and with each passing day I find myself closer and closer to
becoming one of those old geezers who always bugged the crap out of me. You know
the ones: things were so much better in
the old days! I've always thought of myself as
someone who looks forward to the future and embraces change, but 2005 seems to
have brought with it a bigger heaping helping of nostalgia than any past new
year in recent memory.
I suppose it all started with MacWorld. My
employer, Soliant Consulting (formerly The Moyer Group),
was asked by FileMaker, Inc. to be present in their booth at
MacWorld. Our firm is the engineering talent behind many of the
shrink-wrapped solutions sold by FMI, such as
Recruiter, Tasks, and so
forth, so FileMaker wanted us there to answer questions and help "work the
crowd." This was my first MacWorld since leaving Apple, so from that aspect
alone I should have expected a certain amount of nostalgia. But what really
struck me were the changes in MacWorld
itself.
First of all, it was small. Remember when MacWorld used to fill all of Moscone Center? Not in 2005. This year the exhibition hall was just that; a single hall. The second hall was used for the MacWorld tutorial, or hands-on sessions, or whatever they call them. And in fact, the exhibition hall itself was only about two-thirds filled with exhibitors. A large chunk in the center of the hall was set up as a wireless, "internet cafe," and another even larger section of the hall was set up with a stage that was used for demonstrations, and yes, even performances by live bands. And whose idea was it anyway to allow live, amplified, rock and roll performances in the exhibition hall? Whoever it was should be given a special edition iPod with one volume setting of 11, no stop and no pause, and then have those trendy white earbuds superglued into his or her ear canals. It's usually hard enough to hear yourself think at MacWorld, but just try getting information about a product of interest from a vendor when there's a live rock band playing at one end of the cavernous hall. That was a really bad decision.
And speaking of the iPod: remember when "MacWorld" meant just that? "MAC" world? Not so in 2005. The show could (and possibly should), be renamed "MacPodWorld" -- or maybe even, "PodMacWorld." I used to always enjoy going to MacWorld to see the latest and coolest software, peripherals, and accessories for the Macintosh, but in 2005, it seemed as though well over half the products being shown were accessories and peripherals for the iPod. Don't get me wrong, I like my iPod, but it's not my bread and butter. It doesn't pay my bills and I'm not using it for most of each day (well, to be fair, my Mac is no longer my daily computing platform either, but I still use it more than my iPod!). So anyway, with the momentum of the show seeming to be clearly in the iPod's court, I found myself reflecting on MacWorld's of Days Gone By; but then the show ended and I once again decided to put all that nostalgia behind me and get on with the future. Until the next event of the new year made me again reflect on the past....
Remember when the President-elect used to actually walk up Pennsylvania Avenue during the inauguration? As you would probably guess if you've read any of my political rants in this blog, I had no intention of watching Bush's second-term inauguration. However, this year the inauguration fell on a Thursday, which also happens to be the day that I bowl on the "Apple Lunch Bunch" bowling league (nope, they haven't laid me off of that yet!). So on inauguration Thursday, the bowling alley had every TV in the place tuned into the broadcast of the event. And the really strange part was that, although it was Bush's inauguration, every time I looked at one of the TV's, I never saw Bush. All I ever got to see was a black, Cadillac SUV, with blacked--out windows, and flashing lights and soggy flags on the front-end, rolling slowly through the rain down Pennsylvania Avenue. Even the commentators had nothing else to talk about, so they gave us the full skinny on this specially built SUV, equipped with better armor protection than the Humvees our troops drive in Iraq. What the hell is Bush so afraid of that he needs a rolling fortress to protect himself within his own nation's capitol? Perhaps he knew that Washington DC's security was greatly weakened when he raided the city's Homeland Security budget to fund his $40-million inauguration celebration? He shouldn't have worried though. After all, he won by almost the slimmest margin of any presidential candidate in U.S history. Oh yeah; he has a "mandate," "political capital," and the people just love him. And speaking of Bush loving....
Remember when journalists used to be devoted to impartiality? That seems to be a thing of the past in 2005. It seems like every journalist on the planet is no longer just interested in reporting the news, but also making sure that they report their often-biased opinion on it too. And for those who don't have an opinion, just slip them a few grand and they'll have whatever opinion you want. Want an article filled with glowing praise about your corrupt administration? No problem! It costs a mere ten grand. Softball questions loaded in your favor to help you hit your talking points during presidential press conferences are even cheaper! Buy two and get one free! And speaking of free....
Remember when our top government officials attended solemn state functions dressed for the part instead of wearing articles of clothing that appear to be free hand-outs from iPodWorld? Isn't it really embarrassing to have a Vice President who looks like he needs a queer-eye makeover? And the guy has the gall to call himself a capitalist? He didn't even have the marketing savvy to wear Haliburton logo'd clothing! What a rube!
Ah well. Enough of this nostalgia. It's time to get back to embracing the future. If anyone wants to drop a few grand on a custom-tailored opinion, I take PayPal.
First of all, it was small. Remember when MacWorld used to fill all of Moscone Center? Not in 2005. This year the exhibition hall was just that; a single hall. The second hall was used for the MacWorld tutorial, or hands-on sessions, or whatever they call them. And in fact, the exhibition hall itself was only about two-thirds filled with exhibitors. A large chunk in the center of the hall was set up as a wireless, "internet cafe," and another even larger section of the hall was set up with a stage that was used for demonstrations, and yes, even performances by live bands. And whose idea was it anyway to allow live, amplified, rock and roll performances in the exhibition hall? Whoever it was should be given a special edition iPod with one volume setting of 11, no stop and no pause, and then have those trendy white earbuds superglued into his or her ear canals. It's usually hard enough to hear yourself think at MacWorld, but just try getting information about a product of interest from a vendor when there's a live rock band playing at one end of the cavernous hall. That was a really bad decision.
And speaking of the iPod: remember when "MacWorld" meant just that? "MAC" world? Not so in 2005. The show could (and possibly should), be renamed "MacPodWorld" -- or maybe even, "PodMacWorld." I used to always enjoy going to MacWorld to see the latest and coolest software, peripherals, and accessories for the Macintosh, but in 2005, it seemed as though well over half the products being shown were accessories and peripherals for the iPod. Don't get me wrong, I like my iPod, but it's not my bread and butter. It doesn't pay my bills and I'm not using it for most of each day (well, to be fair, my Mac is no longer my daily computing platform either, but I still use it more than my iPod!). So anyway, with the momentum of the show seeming to be clearly in the iPod's court, I found myself reflecting on MacWorld's of Days Gone By; but then the show ended and I once again decided to put all that nostalgia behind me and get on with the future. Until the next event of the new year made me again reflect on the past....
Remember when the President-elect used to actually walk up Pennsylvania Avenue during the inauguration? As you would probably guess if you've read any of my political rants in this blog, I had no intention of watching Bush's second-term inauguration. However, this year the inauguration fell on a Thursday, which also happens to be the day that I bowl on the "Apple Lunch Bunch" bowling league (nope, they haven't laid me off of that yet!). So on inauguration Thursday, the bowling alley had every TV in the place tuned into the broadcast of the event. And the really strange part was that, although it was Bush's inauguration, every time I looked at one of the TV's, I never saw Bush. All I ever got to see was a black, Cadillac SUV, with blacked--out windows, and flashing lights and soggy flags on the front-end, rolling slowly through the rain down Pennsylvania Avenue. Even the commentators had nothing else to talk about, so they gave us the full skinny on this specially built SUV, equipped with better armor protection than the Humvees our troops drive in Iraq. What the hell is Bush so afraid of that he needs a rolling fortress to protect himself within his own nation's capitol? Perhaps he knew that Washington DC's security was greatly weakened when he raided the city's Homeland Security budget to fund his $40-million inauguration celebration? He shouldn't have worried though. After all, he won by almost the slimmest margin of any presidential candidate in U.S history. Oh yeah; he has a "mandate," "political capital," and the people just love him. And speaking of Bush loving....
Remember when journalists used to be devoted to impartiality? That seems to be a thing of the past in 2005. It seems like every journalist on the planet is no longer just interested in reporting the news, but also making sure that they report their often-biased opinion on it too. And for those who don't have an opinion, just slip them a few grand and they'll have whatever opinion you want. Want an article filled with glowing praise about your corrupt administration? No problem! It costs a mere ten grand. Softball questions loaded in your favor to help you hit your talking points during presidential press conferences are even cheaper! Buy two and get one free! And speaking of free....
Remember when our top government officials attended solemn state functions dressed for the part instead of wearing articles of clothing that appear to be free hand-outs from iPodWorld? Isn't it really embarrassing to have a Vice President who looks like he needs a queer-eye makeover? And the guy has the gall to call himself a capitalist? He didn't even have the marketing savvy to wear Haliburton logo'd clothing! What a rube!
Ah well. Enough of this nostalgia. It's time to get back to embracing the future. If anyone wants to drop a few grand on a custom-tailored opinion, I take PayPal.
Posted: Sun - January 30, 2005 at 12:50 PM
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