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"A poster at Apple Insider says he called the Atlanta Apple Store and they told him they would be showing the Keynote"

Interesting.

Perhaps Apple will be restricting webcasts to the Apple Stores in order to drive traffic there. Actually not a bad idea (for Apple).

I'm going to call my local Apple stores and ask. Bummer for me as I'm temporarily handicapped and it's a drag getting around in my wheelchair. Oh well, not the end of the world.

dv

QuickTime 7 anyone?

Well, we've had rumours about everything else haven't we?

john
We're being treated like Gateway customers.

Oh gosh, boo hoo.

The Indy store said that stores with theatres would have the satellite feed but when I called Cincinatti, they said they've not been given any information about whether they would have it or not.

notatotalsucker
(Basically, we got floor passes, b/c afaik, floor/keynote passes aren't available.)

Anyone been before who can shed some light on the goings on?

I went to the keynote last January. It cost several hundered dollars for my ticket which also included a day class. I got in line at 4am (yes I am a looney tooney koolaid drinkin mac nazi sosumi). Even getting there that early I was situated behind about two or three dozen people. By 5 am the line was over a hundered to one hundred fifty. It wasn't raining, but it's San Francisco in January which is not warm early in the morning. Was bundled up good, so I managed. There was a line on the opposite side of the street for "premium pass members" who got let in ahead of our line (they had to pay over 1000 for their tickets, or more likely their boss did).

The keynote was at 9am, but the doors to the center opened at 8am, when we all went inside to wait there. Just before 9am, maybe about 15 minutes til, they let our line into the auditorium. It was a mad free for all dash to the top of the stairs, may the best man win...

And when we got up there, the first 25-30 rows were all MEDIA FSCKHEADS!!! Grrrr.. bastards probably got handed Starbucks as they got out of their limos at 8:35 and walked right into the front rows!! Ended up seeing about as well from the monitors overhead than from the distant stage...



So moral of the story, save the $$$, watch from the comfort of your home even if it's not quite live: the seat is more comfy, better view, less money, no fighting with crowds or waiting in line, easy access to snacks, drinks, and bathroom.

Use the money you saved to buy a headless Mac!

perhaps Apple owns Think Secret, and it's all part of a masterminded strategy to generate free press and anticipation for Apple products. Man those guys at Apple know what they're doing!

If I paid big $$$ to go to one of these things, I'd like to have a little exclusivity with the keynote. Just my 2¢. But who knows what goes on at the fertile minds at 1 ? Loop.

We can probably pick up the announcement details at the rumor sites through one of thier shills in the audience.

1. I like ThinkSecret and have followed them for years.
2. I think the rumor sites keep the Mac faithful excited and talking. They are a positive thing for Apple to have.
3. I like watching the keynote. It is easier for me to talk to others about whatever is new. The demos are often valuable. The third party demos are also helpful. I hope it is available live.
4. Although I have occasionally lost the stream for a very short time, overall, the streams have worked for me in the past and I am unhappy when we don't have one.
5. Yes, I could wait until Apple posts it, but I do look forward to knowing what's new at the same time everyone else does. Otherwise, the surprise is gone!
6. Twilight Moon: What a bummer to find so many rows already assigned! Bad Apple.

I suppose it could be network concerns, Apple has alot of bandwidth, but maybe not enough to broadcast live to millions. I remember the Paris Apple Expo this last year, I hit they're site very shortly after the feed was available online (I don't think they made that live) and I could barely get a playable experience, it lagged out alot and I got disconnected several times, I don't think it was me. I suppose if this is the real reason no live feed will be broadcasted, that's fine. It's just really dissapointing for me.

Hg Wells
6. Twilight Moon: What a bummer to find so many rows already assigned! Bad Apple.

Well i was not happy. I paid to get in there, and the media probly got in for free with perks and didn't wait in line and they get front row. I say only a portion of certain sections reserved for the media, not to include the front middle rows, which are non-media VIP, and no more than 5 rows back for people who waited in line.

BTW, that's "twilightmoon" or "Twilightmoon" all one word, no capital "W." If in doubt, I spell it correctly at the top of each post.

Also, I should mention, if you paid to get into MWSF and you paid for the Keynote, you are not gauranteed a seat unlike said media and VIP persons. You have to wait in line, and hope for the best, get there pretty early or not much hope. It's first come first served and there are more people there than seats available, but I don't know how early you have to be there to get a seat at the very back, but if you're not there before about 5:30 or so you'd better have a good pair of binoculars to see the specs on the stage better.

Better yet, stay home and watch the event online.

my predictions

headless imac=screenless emac
iwork=appleworks replacment
flash ipod=flash ipod

plus look for a 18" display and 80gb ipod/ipod photo

Twilightmoon: Sorry about the misspelling! Does that mean we can't call you "Twilight" for short as others are occasionally called (i.e.: "Hg")?
I'll be "specific" (my magic word!) and get it right next time!

Thanks for the info and advice about the keynote seating!

Steve bragged about the streaming video from the last expo, why the change of heart?

p.s.
Iwant the phone!

I think they're worried about a Janet Jackson-like incident. Phil Schiller is, apparently, a bit of an exhibitionist.

they have had the iphone.org website for a while now so dont think of anything. also iphone .com is already taken with somebody in austraila.

and only some of the stores will broadcast keynote live. not all of them.

Well, actually there are going to be satellite connections with Steve Jobs keynote live, only they are hosted by Apple and are for invited guests only.

Why should Apple offer the keynote via live feed to others when they have 100 stores, all major markets, most equipped with “theaters”, that can provide this “service”, maybe.

If Apple offers the keynote exclusively in their stores they stand to gain from the large crowd of Mac fanatics buying any and all of the new products, in addition to everything else, in one giant feeding frenzied.

Thanks for the info Twilightmoon.

Kinda glad I didn't get the cheapest pass which was $195, if I still have to get up before the sun.

Ok, just read ALL of the comments. Thank you all for your info, esp. Twilightmoon. I had actually wondered if they had screens on the show floor etc. It does indeed seem better to see it online in the comfort of one's home if they don't.

I also listened to the Dec 16 broadcast from Mac Night Owl
http://www.macradio.com/thursday/nightowl/

(apologies to those of you who think I'm plugging, I'm not, it's just useful info. Seek to 51m25s in.)

On the show they discussed the hows and whys of why they've adopted this current approach.

They consider the Keynote a bonus to the other events they put on, which maybe why they consider media more important than the rest of us suckers. I guess it is just a huge advertisement for everyone involved.

http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/10/steve-jobs-keynote-live-from-macworld-2006/

http://www.macdailynews.com/macworld_sf_2006_keynote.html