If you managed to ignore all of the bellyaching and whining about the size of Macworld CP 2003 in New York last week you probably found yourself some interesting little gems, I know that I did.
If you managed to ignore all of the bellyaching and whining about the size of Macworld CP 2003 in New York last week you probably found yourself some interesting little gems, I know that I did.
First, many props have to go out to the Power Mac G5 (a.k.a. Cheese Grater). At first I hated the new enclosure and thought it looked unfinished and a little too industrial. After seeing it in person, I think that Apple has achieved their desired effect, it makes all of the previous enclosures look dated. And come on, 64-bit data paths and a 1GHz frontside bus? Awesome. My only complaint would be the lack of ability to add another drive bezel on the front. This is the first time I have wanted a desktop more than a laptop in a long time. $2-3k depending on options.
The next Best In Show goes to the RadioShark from Griffin Technology. On display in the Griffin booth was a prototype of the US$50 fin-shaped device that is essentially an AM/FM tuner with a USB connector. The genius is in the included software that allows you to record radio programming to your hard drive in either AIFF or AAC format. Think TiVo for radio – Schwing! I don’t listen to much commercial radio anymore since the death of competition, but recording Stern or NPR to my HDD or iPod would be really nice. Shipping end of summer.
Another Best In Show is definitely Crumpler Bags. The Aussies had a nice simple booth at Expo with everything was for sale – business was brisk. Their cool bags will get you noticed instantly with their excellent colors and cool designs. The messengers were spacious and rugged and their backpacks fit the PB17 (depending on model) and had a unique inside zipper. Tons of options and colors are available on the Crumpler Web site and prices range from US$50 for the small digibags and US$135 for the PB backpacks.
Harman Multimedia introduced the JBL Encounter 5.1 speaker system featuring five 50-watt satellites and a 200-watt subwoofer. The center channel has an interesting clip-on design for easy mounting on PowerBooks (think iSight.) Shipping in November 2003 for US$400. Best In Show for the Jetson-esque design and for thinking of PowerBook users.
Post your picks in the Comments below.
