The site has every party that I was going to list so instead of doing all of this work, I’m going to link to him and trust he’ll keep the list up to date but for the sake of keeping things clean for those of you that subscribe to my RSS feed, I’ve quoted his list below but it is subject to change so bookmark his site and share it with your WWDC friends!

Don’t link my site anywhere. Do your part and link THIS PAGE to everyone you know that’s going and leave a comment on his page saying that I sent you. You gotta share the love with these sort of things. [QUAZIE.NET]

[UPDATED] I have included two iCal files that make it super easy to add all of these events as a dedicated calendar on your iPhone / iPod Touch for next week. This calendars won’t auto-update but it has everything listed below.

1. DOWNLOAD LINK: Thanks MacNotes.De AND Maxdzellmer.de

2. DOWNLOAD LINK: Thanks Ben Hughes

Friday June 5th

• Events

• iPhone meetup @the Mansion – 6:30-Midnight @ The iPhone Mansion (map)
• Crypto-Zoo Chase Night – 8-10pm @ 3rd and Howard

Saturday, June 6th

• Events

• iPhone night @the Mansion #1 – 6:30-Midnight @ The iPhone Mansion (map)

Sunday, June 7th

• Events

• SF Mac Indie – 5:00 to 9:00 PM @ Jillian’s in the Metreon (map)
• iPhone night @the Mansion #2 – 6:30-Midnight @ The iPhone Mansion (map)

Monday, June 8th

• Parties

• iPorn after party – 5pm-2am @ Gold Club (map)
• ngmoco party – 6-8pm @ W’s XYZ bar (map)
• Loopt Mixer – 7-9pm @ 111 Minna Gallery (map)
• iPhone dev union party – 7-11pm @ Jillian’s in the Metreon (map)
• iPhone Intelligence Party – 7-11pm @ Harlot (map)
• CPCoder Night – 7-11pm @ Jillian’s in the Metreon (map)
• Group Logic/AFP548 party – 8-11pm @ Thirsty Bear Restaurant & Brewery (map)
• Push.io After party – 10pm @ Tempest (map)

• Events

• iPhone night @the Mansion #3 – 6:30-Midnight @ The iPhone Mansion (map)

Tuesday, June 9th

• All Day Events

• Three Wolf Tuesday – Wear this shirt to WWDC on tuesday and possibly get Delicous Library 2 for free – via twitter
• Pandav iBart Giveaway – First 5 to find @Pandav and get iBart live for free

• Parties

• MobClix party – 5-8pm @ Roe (map)
• Greystripe iPhone Developer Meetup – 5:00pm @ Jillian’s in the Metreon (map)
• Parallels Tweetup/Innovation Party – 6-9pm @ Jillian’s in the Metreon (map)
• Appcelerator Titanium Beta Launch Party – 6:30pm @ Jillian’s in the Metreon (map)
• CrunchGear meetup – 7:00pm @ SF Marriot (Map)

• Events

• Apple Design Awards – 7:30pm @ Moscone – Presidio
• Stump the Chumps – 9:00pm @ Moscone – Presidio

Wednesday, June 10th

• Parties

• WWDC Twitter Developer Meetup – 5:00 @ Twitter HQ (map)
• Macworld Party – 6-8pm @ Jillian’s in the Metreon (map)
• Sproutcore Meetup – 6:30 @ Tropisueño (map)
• Mac Ruby WWDC Meetup – 7pm @ Moscone lobby (1st floor)
• WWDC Tweetup – 7pm @ Thirsty Bear Restaurant & Brewery (map) @wwdc_tweetup
• OpenFeint Meetup – 7pm @ San Francisco Marriot (map)
• WebKit Open Source Party – 7:30pm @ Thirsty Bear Restaurant & Brewery (map)
• iPhone Launch Party -8-12pm @ Cartoon Art Museum (map)
• Anti-Launch Party – 8pm @ Eddie Rickenbacker’s (map)
• Cloudmade VIP party – 9:30pm @ Swig (map) @CloudMadeRSVP

• Events

• Developer Artist Meetup – 12:15 @ Yerba Buena Gardens
• Cocoaheads WWDC – 7pm @ Apple store near Moscone (map)

Thursday, June 11th

• Parties

• WWDC Party – 6:30-9:30 @ Yerba Buena Gardens (map)

Two major parties are tonight. One is hosted by YourMacLife & Shawn King. The party used to cost a pretty penny or you can get tickets from the sponsors of the party. I’ve never been to one of the YML parties but I’ve heard great things. The other option is Deb Shadovitz’s Mac Mingle. She’s been doing Macworld parties for a while now and I’ve been to the Mac Mingle in 2007 and 2008. They’re really good so I have faith that this party will be good as well. Arrive early because they usually have food and drink tickets. Enjoy yourself, unwind because tomorrow is Macworld’s last day for another year. *tear*

One other event that just popped up on my radar is MacRadio’s 2nd Annual Macworld Meetup. My friend Omaha is organizing it. She’s a very talented podcaster / gamer gal and this is going to be a lot of fun for fans of MacRadio. It’s a great place to meetup prior to the Mac Mingle.

where: Blue Bottle Cafe, 66 Mint Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
when: friday, january 16 at 8:30am (PST)
hosts: mark and tad

The party starts at 3PM and ends at 7PM. The bus will begin picking up Macworld attendees at 3PM and swing around the block every 20 minutes as attendees leave the convention center. At 4 O’ Clock, the bus will take us around San Francisco on a tour of the city. The tour won’t have a boring guy talking about historic landmarks. Instead, we have a DJ spinning dance music, open bar and flashing lights that will make this an unforgettable experience.

The downside? The bus can only hold around 50 people. It’s a small space and will fill up fast. The 3 hour tour begins promptly at 4PM after we’ve picked up the last bit of people. So you have 1 hour to get on the bus and then we’re off. When they drop us off at 7PM at Moscone, everyone will be going over to 4th Street Bar & Grill for my 6th Annual Macworld Closeout Meetup which has already had 64 RSVPs.

This is going to be an awesome way to wrapup the week. Music, booze, friends, touring the city on A FREAKING DOUBLE DECKER BUS! I’m excited. You should be too. Comment below if you’re going to be there. Tell your friends! Thanks so much to HearPlanet for hooking us up.

Macworld 2007 Pre-Keynote Meetup

Today is the keynote. I hope you took yesterday’s advice and got some rest because this is the biggest day at Macworld. Just after 9AM, Phil Schiller will take the stage at Moscone West and talk about the next enhancements to Apple’s strong product line. You want to see? Well don’t show up any later than 5AM cause you might not have a seat in the keynote hall. Actually, I encourage everyone to attend our 5th annual pre-keynote meetup. Last year we had 50 people show up. The beauty of the meet up is that you get your photo taken as a person or group so you can show all of your friends how crazy you are for lining up at 4AM, you first timers get help finding Moscone West and the keynote line, you get free coffee & donuts and you have 50 fellow MacHeads to chat with for the next 5 hours in line. Everyone should come by and don’t line up too late cause you won’t get in the keynote.

After the keynote it’s time to hit the exhibit hall. i won’t be doing that this time around. I’m doing the exhibit hall on Thurs/Friday. Tuesday will be spent in the press room doing interviews, catching up with old friends and enjoying the amazing Moscone lunch. Just kidding. Don’t eat food at Moscone. It’s horrible and overpriced. How you spend TuesDAY is up to you because there are great sessions, cool new products and San Francisco should be very pretty tomorrow (party cloudy with a high of 55 degrees).

Tuesday night is chock full of events and it’s the one night that I’m torn as to which party I should attend. Here are the parties tomorrow.

Screengrab from The Hess Memorial Macworld Expo Partylist – via Ilene’s Machine

Personally, I’d recommend the iSkin party but it’s invite only. I’ve been to iSkin’s parties since 2004 and every year they have THE BEST parties. Last year was hosted at the penthouse suite of the marriot with live DJs, open bar and really hot men and women dancing until late into the evening. There was also sushi catering which was a nice plus with epic views of the city. If you have tickets to the Mac Blast then you should go. Last year Devo played and the year before, Cheap Trick performed. It’ll be a great party for those who paid $40 for the tickets. The Macworld Finale bash is an “all ages” event so you guys that are under 21 can get in. Finally, I’d also recommend the iPhone Intelligence party hosted by Raven Zachary. Raven is a key member of the iPhone developer community and has brought together some great iPhone developers for this event. It’s at Harlot where I threw a Christmas party last month which is a very nice space.

My schedule? Well it’ll go something like this:

• VMWare Fusion Party from 5:30-6:30 (press and bloggers only)
• Macworld Finale Bash from 6:30-7:30 (open to all ages. Cash bar)
• iPhone Intelligence Party from 7:30-8:30 (21+. Great Venue)
• iSkin Party (8:30 – I pass out, the best parties)

That’s my list and afterward i’ll be going to sleep because I would have then been awake for over 36 hours. I hope you have a great Tuesday!

Sunday AM:

We meet at Sugar Cafe for “Mimosa Factory.” The event runs from 10AM-5PM but I’ll be ducking at 1PM for another event. $10 gets you unlimited mimosas and they have fantastic breakfast & lunch items plus some really speedy wi-fi. More details are on Upcoming. There is no limit to this event. The place can hold up to 100 people but only has about 45 power outlets.

Sunday PM:

My 5th annual Macworld city tour of San Francisco kicks off at 1PM and continues on through 8PM. We start at The Apple Store downtown, make our way through chinatown to Fisherman’s Wharf and the tour ends in SoMa near the moscone center. After the tour, nearly everyone stays together for dinner near Moscone. It’s a great event and you can get full details on Upcoming. OF NOTE: This Tour is currently completely full. I can only take 25 people. We have 5 people on “standby” All are welcome to show up and take their chances but I can’t lead a tour with more than 25 people. I’ve tried it.

My 5th Annual City Tour is at 1PM so I’ll be ducking out early but everyone is welcome to keep drinking until 5 and soak up that free Wi-Fi. Details are below.

Date: January 4th (Sunday)
Time: 10AM-1PM (Official Time)
Location: Sugar Cafe 679 Sutter Street
Price: $10 for unlimited Mimosas from 10AM-5PM

RSVP: on FACEBOOK and UPCOMING

Are you in town early for Macworld? Are you hungry? Well, we’re doing an impromptu dinner in San Francisco’s Mission district. Right now, only 5 people are on-board but you can come too.

We’re meeting at 5:30PM PST
Location: Pancho Villa at 16th & Mission in San Francisco
I’ll be wearing a Pandora hat. The place accepts major credit cards and is right by the BART station. Below is a map to get from Moscone Center to Pancho Villa.
View Larger Map

Ilene’s list is the Hess Memorial Macworld Expo 2009 Partylist and it has more than just parties but I like that she separated day and evening events very well.

Of course the two spots that I have events posted are on Upcoming and SocialCalendario but her list takes the cake for perfection and attention to detail.

I’ll be parked outside Moscone South in the parking lot on Monday the 5th at 10:00AM. I’ll be in a silver / gold Toyota Sienna Mini-van (for identification purposes) and wearing a black baseball cap with an Apple t-shirt. If you didn’t RSVP and you are not on the standby list, please don’t show up because I can’t accommodate more than 7 people.

if you’d like to be placed on a standby list and haven’t done so already, leave a comment on this entry and if someone cancels I’ll send you an email at the last minute to fill the spot. Anyone that is interested in a larger and possibly even more fun tour down to Apple HQ, Your Mac Life is doing their own trip to Cupertino as they have for the past few years. You can RSVP here.

This is a very long post, so I recorded an audio version of the episode, that you can download to your computer or iPod for an easier experience. Sam Downie has also done a audio version of the guide, which you can find on his Tech:Casts technology podcasts, for FREE.. click here!

What is Macworld?

Macworld is a once a year conference held in San Francisco since 1984. You can learn more about the history of Macworld on Wikipedia. This year’s Conference & Expo is being held January 14th – 18th at The Moscone Center in east central San Francisco just south of Market Street. Macworld’s most well known highlight is the annual keynote address by Apple’s CEO, Steve Jobs. The exhibit hall is home to over 400 companies this year and exhibit hall passes range from free to $45 dollars depending on who you know. There are dozens of conference sessions spread out over the course of the week (Monday – Friday) and have different pricing structures and skill levels with prices ranging in the low hundreds to nearly $1900 dollars. Last year’s conference had over 40 thousand Mac users in attendance over the course of the week. Macworld San Francisco is the event of the year for all things Macintosh.

Getting to San Francisco:

There are many Macworld attendees that have never been to San Francisco before. When booking your flight, you must choose between flying in to San Francisco International (SFO) or Oakland International (OAK). Don’t fly in to San Jose International because the drive to SF downtown is just too long. The driving time from SFO or OAK to downtown SF is very close so now it’s up to you to find the flight that suits you best. Never booked a flight before? Start with Kayak.com and from there, you can open up direct searches of the same flights with Expedia.com, Orbitz.com, and Travelocity.com. Kayak is a great central location to search for flights. If you’re looking for cheaper tickets, arrive on Sunday or Monday and leave the following Saturday. Wednesday – Friday flights tend to be more expensive. Luckily, Macworld is held in the off-season for traveling to SF so tickets are a little cheaper. I prefer early morning flights and leave Jacksonville Florida at 5AM arriving in SF by 10AM on Sunday so I’ll be spot on for my hotel checkin time. Then I’ll leave at 9AM on the following Saturday arriving back in Jacksonville at 9PM. The flights are extremely cheap and I get the most time in SF.

Once you’re in SF, how do you get to your hotel? There are a few options. Unless you’re made of money, don’t get a cab. It’s going to be a fairly large fare by the time you get downtown. There is The BART which will cost around $1.50 and you’ll arrive somewhere close to your hotel (probably about 1-3 blocks away) depending on your flight. You can head to http://511.org which is the bay area transportation info and planning site to get the info. There, you can put in SFO and then the address of your hotel and it will give you a printable page with your fare, travel time and any transfers you have to make. You won’t arrive at your hotel’s doorstep but it’s a money saving option. An alternative is a shared bus service. For around $14-$20 dollars, hop in a large van with 10 other people and they’ll drop you off right in front of your hotel and help you with your bags. After a 4-10 hour flight, it’s nice to just sit down, give them a hotel name and get bag service. This is my preferred way of transportation from the hotel. Macworld attendees get $2 dollars off with this coupon if they decide to use Super Shuttle instead of other transportation busses. If you’re using a limousine, I can’t help you.

Booking Your Hotel:

Booking a hotel can be easy or hard depending on how picky you are. I can assure you that there’s not a single cheap hotel that I would recommend that’s close to Moscone. Some Mac related blogs sometimes secure hotels for $129 or $149 so look around or call up hotels in town and ask for a Macworld room rate for that week. Macworld has some hotels that they’ve secured for you at discounted rates. If you’re on the hotel booking sites, look for places around Union Square. Avoid hotels in Civic Center and North Beach. These aren’t bad areas, they’re just too far away to walk and the cab fares will add up. I can say that of all of the hotels, the Serrano, Westin, Pickwick and Parc55 are the only hotels that I’ve stepped foot into and they’re very nice! I don’t have experience with service since I haven’t stayed in any of them.

The only place that I can personally vouch for is The Adelaide Hostel. As soon as people hear the word hostel, they think of curfews, a bunch of college students and no Internet connection. It’s the contrary at the Adelaide. I’ve been going there since 2005 and the past 3 years I’ve brought nearly 50 people with me as guests that took advantage of our discount. The Adelaide has 4 levels of rooms. The basement is home to 6-person shared dorms, there is another level of rooms that are private and 2 more floors that are 3-4 person shared rooms. If you’re young, cheap or know that you’ll only be sleeping at the hotel then the Adelaide is for you. Room rates start at $30 dollars and private rooms are only $60 for the night. You can use our code to get 10% off which after the nearly 20% San Francisco Hotel Tax, it doesn’t amount to much but you’ll get a fantastic deal even without our room rate. The hostel also includes free breakfast and wireless Internet in every room. There is a safe to store your valuables and dorms have a padlocked safe box to store belongings while you’re out. 3 person and private rooms require keys to enter so you have semi-privacy. If you’re staying with 2 other friends at Macworld then a 3 person room would be perfect! There’s three beds, a bathroom and you’ll each pay around $30 dollars a night. It’s better than paying $129 for a hotel that has only one bed. You can go to http://adelaidehostel.com and during the booking process, put “DailyTechTalk Macworld Room Rate” in the special instructions box to secure the deal. Your credit card isn’t charged until you checkout and you can pay with cash if you would like.

Registering for Macworld:

This is one of the easiest steps but I still get people asking me questions about registration and my opinion on the conference tracks. I’ve only been to a few conferences over the years simply because I’m too busy with other things. All I can say is to go to http://macworldexpo.com and review all of the conference tracks. Find a price range that works for you with a set of tracks that are appealing. Make sure you keep track of when the sessions are so you don’t miss something and then get ready to learn. Rock Norris of Pixelography.com posted downloadable iCal calendars so you can view all of the different sessions for each conference pass and it’s all in one clean schedule. It’s very helpful for finding the right pass and remembering when the next session is. These will sync to your iPhone and iPod as well and you can add reminders for any session that’s worth attending. If you registered by December 14th, then you were lucky enough to get early bird pricing. After December 14th through January 13th (on-site registration) you pay full price. If you haven’t received your conference badge in the mail, then simply go to The Moscone West Hall to pick this up. This is also the spot for on-site registration. This also goes for media passes and media registration.

Getting Around San Francisco:

I reviewed transportation from the airport to your hotel but let’s discuss other ways of getting around San Francisco. The world famous cable car route is very popular and you should certainly hop on at Powell Street and take a ride up to Fisherman’s Wharf for some clam chowder. It’s a fun way to spend an evening of your time. The cable car isn’t very practical as a primary means of getting around. Additionally, there’s the MUNI (municipal transportation) which includes busses and an underground subway system. The BART (bay area rapid transport) is a way to get all around the bay area very fast. Caltrain is a combination of underground and above ground transportation that will take you far out of San Francisco and good for those day trips down to San Jose. I recommend purchasing a 7 day MUNI pass for $25 dollars as soon as you arrive in the city. These passes cover all MUNI and cable car transportation for the week. You can buy these anywhere but I usually get mine at the airport and at the Powell Street cable car turnaround. There’s a booth there that sells most of the passes. Most of the time, you can walk. The hostel that I stay in is about 5 blocks from Moscone and I never walk more than 8 blocks to anywhere that I’ll need to go. Anywhere else, I’ll take the subway or cable cars to hit the tourist areas. For answers to all transportation questions, hit http://511.org. Finally, if you’re looking for a day trip to Napa valley or the Golden Gate Bridge scenic lookout, there’s many tours that cost about $50 to $150 dollars per person that can take you to all of the tourist spots. Ideally, just rent a car for the day and drive all over the city or to Napa.

Where to Eat:

There’s plenty of places to eat around the city but I’m going to cover a few of my favorites. If you’re looking for more, check out http://yelp.com which is a social website that has listings of every local place of dining and real person reviews of each establishment with photos. Also, check out http://sfstation.com which is a directory of venues, happenings and dining. Around The Moscone Center, there are a few places that I would recommend. First off, don’t eat the food at The Moscone. It’s crazy expensive and tastes dry. If your $1800 dollar conference pass includes free lunch at Moscone then try it but I’m sure that you’ll end up eating out after a couple of days. The Sony Metreon is right next to Moscone and has four restaurants that are food court style and they’re very affordable. The Thirsty Bear has great food and is just east of Moscone but it is a little expensive. There’s a few more local restaurants that are about 2 blocks south of Moscone South including some of the famous San Francisco Burritos that are so tasty! My opinion, search for nearby restaurants on Yelp.com and read the reviews. Plan out your lunches day by day so you’re not stuck with the available Moscone food. In my experience, I’ve met so many people while there that I end up joining someone else for lunch at least 3 of the 5 days so pair up with people so you’re not sitting alone at lunch.

Eating at night is a completely different story. It’s worth a cab ride to go to a place that really hits the spot after a long day at Macworld. There are a bunch of awesome Sushi places all over San Francisco. My favorite is a sushi joint just west of Union Square on Geary Street but I can’t find the name. If you’re just north of the Financial District, there’s an Italian Restaurant named “Michelangelo Cafe”, located on Columbus Avenue that has fantastic lasagna. There are plenty of dinner joints downtown but make sure you hit North Shore / Fisherman’s Wharf for the seafood. Many of the places have food that’s right off the boat. There’s no shortage of cafe’s and if you’re from a southern or central US state, then you’ll laugh when the rumor is true and you walk past a Starbucks on every corner. Similar to my earlier statement, many parties will have food or you’ll meet people that invite you to dinner so keep your options open.

When Not at Expo:

The great thing about being in San Francisco is the amount of activities to take part in while not at Macworld. There are tons of city tours to take part in and there’s day trips to Apple Headquarters, Napa Valley and also shopping to take part in(more on this later). I can’t say what I’m doing while not at expo because I don’t venture far from Macworld activities. However, do take one of the city tours that are usually on a bus or on foot for about $50 dollars. There’s some segway tours for about $70 a person which are a lot of fun I’ll be hosting the 4th annual San Francisco City Tour on Sunday afternoon (January 13th) just contact me for details. The Kabuki Springs spa in Japantown is very relaxing if you want to go for an afternoon and both men and women can go. As always, check out Upcoming.org or SFStation.com for information about what’s happening that day in the bay area. On Upcoming.org, you can organize the events by popularity and tags. Check out both sites a week before leaving for SF and save the links just in case you’re bored that night and there’s a free film festival in the park or a fishing tournament that might interest you. I’m just pulling things out of my bum but it is important to know your resources and the sites I’ve listed have hundreds of listings every day.

Shopping:

I receive numerous emails about where to shop and I only know from asking others so let’s try to help you and your American Express have a fun day at the boutiques and outlets. Union Square and the surrounding 2 blocks are where most of the shopping is in the downtown area. If you’re in Union Square, the shops you can see in staring distance are Victoria’s Secret, Levi’s, Louis Vuiton, Channel, Macy’s and Prada. Head east and there are more luxurious boutiques. Head south about two blocks and you’ll be at the San Francisco Mall which is a four story shopping center that was just remodeled and expanded this past year. The Macy’s is 4 stories and covers an entire city block. There is parking underneath Union Square so get your plastic and shop away!

Finding The Parties:

This can be easy or hard depending on how in touch you are with The Macintosh Community and blogs. Watch the Mac blogs as they will be posting a lot of information on parties as Macworld approaches. There’s at least five meetups, get-togethers or parties every night of the week starting on Monday that are geared toward Macworld attendees it’s just finding them that’s difficult. One party that you don’t want to miss is the Macworld Blast! Party. Tickets are $40 dollars and can be purchased during Macworld registration. Already registered? That’s not a problem. Just go back to registration, select the Blast! Party and checkout. These can be purchased at Moscone West during expo but they always sell out so get them early. The Macworld party is Tuesday night so don’t miss it! There’s the MacObserver party on Wednesday as well as the DailyTechTalk Macworld party on the same night. Thursday, the Mac Meet & Mingle takes place and The Your Mac Life Rocks Expo party is the same night.

Over the course of the week, there’s dozens of parties that are private or you just haven’t heard about them. Watch this blog for for party announcements. Also, head over to the Hess Macworld Events List. This Macworld party list has been going strong for 12 years and Ilene Hoffman does a fantastic job managing this. Importantly, if you’re hosting a party, send her the info so she can add your event to the list. Also check out the Macworld Section on Upcoming.org for some events that aren’t listed anywhere else. There was another party list last year but it’s unconfirmed if that site is doing listings again this time around. Here’s a sample of events that I’m sure that I’ll be attending that week. There will be more soon but this is the current list with only 29 days left until Macworld.

• Sunday: San Francisco City Tour and Mac User Drinkfest at Lefty’s Irish Pub
• Monday: Trip to Apple HQ, Macintosh User Group Wine and Cheese Event at the Westin and Xsilva’s Macworld Cocktail Party
• Tuesday: Pre-keynote meetup, Macworld Blast! Party and another unconfirmed private party.
• Wednesday: WordPress Meetup, Macradio Meetup, Elgato Private Party, Microsoft Office 2008 Release Party and finally I’ll be attending the DailyTechTalk Macworld Party at Swig.
• Thursday: Mac Meet and Mingle from 6:30PM to 12:00AM which includes a podcaster meetup and a kick ass party that’s free to all Macworld attendees at Jillians.
• Friday: The DailyTechTalk Macworld closeout meetup from 9:00PM to 3:00AM. I took part in this in 2006 and 2007 and it involved 30 mac users getting very intoxicated then grabbling an early breakfast at Lori’s diner. This was my favorite event of the entire week.

As you can see, there’s plenty going on that week and I’m very sure that there’s three times as many parties and meetups that week that I just won’t be able to attend. Look around, check the blogs and ask people. If you’re using Twitter then just follow the people that are at expo and I’m sure there will be a few impromptu parties during Macworld that will be formed over Twitter.

Saving Money:

This is important for everyone.

The more money that I can save, the better! I’ve outlined some tips earlier like staying at a hostel, or how to fly into San Francisco to save some money and how to book Macworld registration to save a little money. Find a hotel that has free breakfast and you’ll save plenty. I also make a point to buy a $25 dollar Starbucks card before I leave. This way, I can budget myself and once that card runs out, I can’t go to Starbucks anymore. For example, that card usually runs out by Wednesday and that’s all I was budgeted for. Buy the $25 dollar MUNI 7 day pass for unlimited rides on the subway, buses and cable car. Make sure you ask for a military, student, teacher or AARP discount wherever you go. These discounts are out there, just ask. Book your flight, hotel and Macworld pass early. The earlier you book, the better rate you’ll get.

If you’re really looking to cut costs then don’t drink alcohol. If you’re over 21, this is easier said than done. Many parties, at least the private ones, have an open bar or drink tickets but if you hit the bar every night and have two drinks, you’re looking at an additional $100 bucks for your budget. I generally spend about $300 dollars in alcohol over the course of the week. Remember, you don’t need alcohol to have a good time. What am I talking about? Forget that and budget for at least $100 dollars in alcohol that week because there is drinking everywhere. I’ve built some great long term friendships with companies and the Mac celebrities over a few drinks. It’s a great inhibitor so embrace it and have fun with it.

Wrap-up:

I managed to keep this year’s First Timer’s Guide under nine pages and thank goodness. Those that read the previous editions were very thankful for the post and those that didn’t always sent me emails stating that this was a freaking huge article and they didn’t want to waste the time. That’s fine with me but I’m glad you’ve made it to the end and I do hope that this helped your Macworld experience. As a six time veteran, I should have a little bit to contribute or at least I hope so. Let me know if you want to see something added and at any time during Macworld, send me an email to macworld@dailytechtalk.com for any questions that you have and I’ll try to answer them ASAP. This is a mailbox that’s not a part of my primary email account so I’ll be prioritizing emails sent to that mailbox during Macworld. Most of all, have fun at expo and enjoy yourself. MWSF only happens once a year and it’s a Mac user vacation that can be written off on your tax returns if you play your cards right. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you at expo!

The Mac Mingle happens at Jillians, the restaurant around the corner from Macworld Expo, at the corner of 4th and Howard Streets. The party runs from 7:00 PM to 11:45 PM on Thursday, January 8th, 2009, and all you need to get in is your badge from the show — all attendees and exhibitors are invited.

Personalities expected at the event include Adam Christianson (MacCast podcast), Ken Ray (MacOSKen.com), Scott Bourne (co-host of This Week in Photography and publisher of TWiPPhoto.com), Victor Cajiao (Typical Mac User Podcast), Dennis Sellers (Macsimumnews.com), Derrick Story (Book Author, O’Reilly) and Dave Hamilton (MacObserver.com).

Light hors d’oeuvres will be served. Jillian’s full menu and a no-host bar will also be available.

I don’t think there’s a required guestlist but there is a place to RSVP over at Upcoming.org.

When? Wednesday, January 7, 2009 – 7:00PM – 10:00PM
(Doors open 5:00PM for FCP Trade Show featuring over 20 vendors)

Why? Because you need to learn something and meet people who are smarter than you.

How Much? – $10.99 per person. $15.00 at the door. Ticket will include 2 raffle tickets.

Any raffle prizes? Of course. $2.00 per ticket or 3 for $5.00

Who should attend? - Digital Content Creators who work on a Mac and anyone and everyone who wants to learn something and meet people that are smarter than them.

Whats on the agenda? - It’s SuperSecret, but we can tell you this: There will be presentations by Apple, JVC, Blackmagic Design and much much more.

To register, go here.

1. 5th Annual City Tour
2. Macworld Conference & Expo
3. 5th Annual Pre-Keynote Meetup
4. 4th Annual Macworld Party
5. 6th Annual Closeout Meetup

These are just placeholders but I encourage everyone to RSVP if you’re able to attend these. There is a group on Upcoming called Macworld Expo (here) that will be always changing at more parties & events are added to Upcoming. I will be scouring the net for parties and adding them to this group.

Actually, you can subscribe to the group a few ways:

1. via iCal
2. via RSS
3. via Google Calendar
5. Manually on the group’s page

The easiest thing to do is let me do all of the work adding parties to the group and just subscribe via that iCal link and configure iCal to update every day so you’l always know what events are coming up. I really hope everyone can come out to every Macworld 2009 event. The feed is going contain everyone’s parties and I think you’ll really find it easy because the iCal and RSS links can sync right up with your iPhone or iPod Touch and Mac.

The highly anticipated release of the world’s first server virtualization solution for the Mac platform provides users with a powerful, cost-effective, full-featured server virtualization solution. 

To celebrate this historic event, Parallels is giving you the chance to win an Apple Time Capsule!
Learn how to virtualize your Mac Infrastructure
Parallels will be holding live product demonstrations of the new Parallels Server for Mac June 11th during the Apple Worldwide Developer’s Conference 2008.

Attendees will be entered to win an Apple Time Capsule. Demos will take place every hour on the hour from 10am to 6pm.

Visit us at the W hotel in the “Great Room 1&2″conference room.
181 3rd Street – San Francisco, California 94103
June 11, 2008 10am-6pm

The Time Capsule drawing will be held at 6PM. You need not be present to win.

Where: W Hotel San Francisco

The Thirsty Bear is known for their great beers, which will be flowing on a “no-host” basis ; )”

Where: Thirsty Bear

Be there or be square! Tell your friends! And be sure to show up a little early, the place only holds about 250-275 people!”

Where:Harlot

Where: Apple Store

Where: 111 Minna Gallery

Where: Jillian’s @ Metreon

Where: Thirsty Bear

For those of you who don’t like to read, here are the relevant details:
Date: January 14 (Monday)
Time: 8pm Pacific Time
Location: Harlot at 46 Minna St, San Francisco, CA
Map: Linky linky
Schwag: yes
Insanely smart and attractive company: yes
Steve Jobs fighting Godzilla: unconfirmed

Everyone needs to be at this party! There’s the Xsilva cocktail party (http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/395315/) at 8:30PM for those who don’t want to party like a rockstar and simply mingle. DailyTechTalk and MacworldBound will be hitting both events and streaming the entire thing live right here at MacworldBound!

 Wednesday, January 16, 2008 - Thursday, January 17, 20089:00 PM – 3:00 AMSWIG561 Geary StSan Francisco, California 94102CATEGORYSocialDESCRIPTION 

When: 9PM-ClosingWhere: Swig-Bar (http://swig-bar.com)Price: Free admission to all wearing a Macworld Conference badgeWho: EVERYONE!

On tonight’s episode of YourMacLife, Paul Kent of IDG was a guest and finally announced the band that will be performing at this year’s Macworld Blast! Party I’ve heard three occasions on radio shows where Paul has continued to tease us with anticipation. 

Devo? Maybe I’m just young but I wasn’t really a fan of Cheap Trick either. Cheap Trick was the talent at the Macworld Blast! 2007 party. I want a party to be a great time to socialize and sometimes the music is just too loud to do that. If you’re going to be at Macworld and don’t absolutely hate Devo then this party is still going to rock! We’ve already bought tickets so sign up today!’

http://www.macworldexpo.com/about_blast

I’ve been attending Macworld in San Francisco and Boston since 2004. Macworld 2008 in San Francisco marks my 6th expo. Since 2005, I’ve been writing a 1st timer’s guide to Macworld, try to cover everything and every year, I start from scratch and try to improve on it. Beware, this article was nine pages long when I typed it. Have fun Reading!

This is a very long post, so I recorded an audio version of the episode, that you can download to your computer or iPod for an easier experience. Sam Downie (who will be joining me at Macworld 2008) has also done a audio version of the guide, which you can find on his Tech:Casts technology podcasts, for FREE.. click here!

What is Macworld?

Macworld is a once a year conference held in San Francisco since 1984. You can learn more about the history of Macworld on Wikipedia. This year’s Conference & Expo is being held January 14th – 18th at The Moscone Center in east central San Francisco just south of Market Street. Macworld’s most well known highlight is the annual keynote address by Apple’s CEO, Steve Jobs. The exhibit hall is home to over 400 companies this year and exhibit hall passes range from free to $45 dollars depending on who you know. There are dozens of conference sessions spread out over the course of the week (Monday – Friday) and have different pricing structures and skill levels with prices ranging in the low hundreds to nearly $1900 dollars. Last year’s conference had over 40 thousand Mac users in attendance over the course of the week. Macworld San Francisco is the event of the year for all things Macintosh.

Getting to San Francisco:

There are many Macworld attendees that have never been to San Francisco before. When booking your flight, you must choose between flying in to San Francisco International (SFO) or Oakland International (OAK). Don’t fly in to San Jose International because the drive to SF downtown is just too long. The driving time from SFO or OAK to downtown SF is very close so now it’s up to you to find the flight that suits you best. Never booked a flight before? Start with Kayak.com and from there, you can open up direct searches of the same flights with Expedia.com, Orbitz.com, and Travelocity.com. Kayak is a great central location to search for flights. If you’re looking for cheaper tickets, arrive on Sunday or Monday and leave the following Saturday. Wednesday – Friday flights tend to be more expensive. Luckily, Macworld is held in the off-season for traveling to SF so tickets are a little cheaper. I prefer early morning flights and leave Jacksonville Florida at 5AM arriving in SF by 10AM on Sunday so I’ll be spot on for my hotel checkin time. Then I’ll leave at 9AM on the following Saturday arriving back in Jacksonville at 9PM. The flights are extremely cheap and I get the most time in SF.

Once you’re in SF, how do you get to your hotel? There are a few options. Unless you’re made of money, don’t get a cab. It’s going to be a fairly large fare by the time you get downtown. There is The BART which will cost around $1.50 and you’ll arrive somewhere close to your hotel (probably about 1-3 blocks away) depending on your flight. You can head to http://511.org which is the bay area transportation info and planning site to get the info. There, you can put in SFO and then the address of your hotel and it will give you a printable page with your fare, travel time and any transfers you have to make. You won’t arrive at your hotel’s doorstep but it’s a money saving option. An alternative is a shared bus service. For around $14-$20 dollars, hop in a large van with 10 other people and they’ll drop you off right in front of your hotel and help you with your bags. After a 4-10 hour flight, it’s nice to just sit down, give them a hotel name and get bag service. This is my preferred way of transportation from the hotel. Macworld attendees get $2 dollars off with this coupon if they decide to use Super Shuttle instead of other transportation busses. If you’re using a limousine, I can’t help you.

Booking Your Hotel:

Booking a hotel can be easy or hard depending on how picky you are. I can assure you that there’s not a single cheap hotel that I would recommend that’s close to Moscone. Some Mac related blogs sometimes secure hotels for $129 or $149 so look around or call up hotels in town and ask for a Macworld room rate for that week. Macworld has some hotels that they’ve secured for you at discounted rates. If you’re on the hotel booking sites, look for places around Union Square. Avoid hotels in Civic Center and North Beach. These aren’t bad areas, they’re just too far away to walk and the cab fares will add up. I can say that of all of the hotels, the Serrano, Westin, Pickwick and Parc55 are the only hotels that I’ve stepped foot into and they’re very nice! I don’t have experience with service since I haven’t stayed in any of them.

The only place that I can personally vouch for is The Adelaide Hostel. As soon as people hear the word hostel, they think of curfews, a bunch of college students and no Internet connection. It’s the contrary at the Adelaide. I’ve been going there since 2005 and the past 3 years I’ve brought nearly 50 people with me as guests that took advantage of our discount. The Adelaide has 4 levels of rooms. The basement is home to 6-person shared dorms, there is another level of rooms that are private and 2 more floors that are 3-4 person shared rooms. If you’re young, cheap or know that you’ll only be sleeping at the hotel then the Adelaide is for you. Room rates start at $30 dollars and private rooms are only $60 for the night. You can use our code to get 10% off which after the nearly 20% San Francisco Hotel Tax, it doesn’t amount to much but you’ll get a fantastic deal even without our room rate. The hostel also includes free breakfast and wireless Internet in every room. There is a safe to store your valuables and dorms have a padlocked safe box to store belongings while you’re out. 3 person and private rooms require keys to enter so you have semi-privacy. If you’re staying with 2 other friends at Macworld then a 3 person room would be perfect! There’s three beds, a bathroom and you’ll each pay around $30 dollars a night. It’s better than paying $129 for a hotel that has only one bed. You can go to http://adelaidehostel.com and during the booking process, put “DailyTechTalk Macworld Room Rate” in the special instructions box to secure the deal. Your credit card isn’t charged until you checkout and you can pay with cash if you would like.

Registering for Macworld:

This is one of the easiest steps but I still get people asking me questions about registration and my opinion on the conference tracks. I’ve only been to a few conferences over the years simply because I’m too busy with other things. All I can say is to go to http://macworldexpo.com and review all of the conference tracks. Find a price range that works for you with a set of tracks that are appealing. Make sure you keep track of when the sessions are so you don’t miss something and then get ready to learn. Rock Norris of Pixelography.com posted downloadable iCal calendars so you can view all of the different sessions for each conference pass and it’s all in one clean schedule. It’s very helpful for finding the right pass and remembering when the next session is. These will sync to your iPhone and iPod as well and you can add reminders for any session that’s worth attending. If you registered by December 14th, then you were lucky enough to get early bird pricing. After December 14th through January 13th (on-site registration) you pay full price. If you haven’t received your conference badge in the mail, then simply go to The Moscone West Hall to pick this up. This is also the spot for on-site registration. This also goes for media passes and media registration.

Getting Around San Francisco:

I reviewed transportation from the airport to your hotel but let’s discuss other ways of getting around San Francisco. The world famous cable car route is very popular and you should certainly hop on at Powell Street and take a ride up to Fisherman’s Wharf for some clam chowder. It’s a fun way to spend an evening of your time. The cable car isn’t very practical as a primary means of getting around. Additionally, there’s the MUNI (municipal transportation) which includes busses and an underground subway system. The BART (bay area rapid transport) is a way to get all around the bay area very fast. Caltrain is a combination of underground and above ground transportation that will take you far out of San Francisco and good for those day trips down to San Jose. I recommend purchasing a 7 day MUNI pass for $25 dollars as soon as you arrive in the city. These passes cover all MUNI and cable car transportation for the week. You can buy these anywhere but I usually get mine at the airport and at the Powell Street cable car turnaround. There’s a booth there that sells most of the passes. Most of the time, you can walk. The hostel that I stay in is about 5 blocks from Moscone and I never walk more than 8 blocks to anywhere that I’ll need to go. Anywhere else, I’ll take the subway or cable cars to hit the tourist areas. For answers to all transportation questions, hit http://511.org. Finally, if you’re looking for a day trip to Napa valley or the Golden Gate Bridge scenic lookout, there’s many tours that cost about $50 to $150 dollars per person that can take you to all of the tourist spots. Ideally, just rent a car for the day and drive all over the city or to Napa.

Where to Eat:

There’s plenty of places to eat around the city but I’m going to cover a few of my favorites. If you’re looking for more, check out http://yelp.com which is a social website that has listings of every local place of dining and real person reviews of each establishment with photos. Also, check out http://sfstation.com which is a directory of venues, happenings and dining. Around The Moscone Center, there are a few places that I would recommend. First off, don’t eat the food at The Moscone. It’s crazy expensive and tastes dry. If your $1800 dollar conference pass includes free lunch at Moscone then try it but I’m sure that you’ll end up eating out after a couple of days. The Sony Metreon is right next to Moscone and has four restaurants that are food court style and they’re very affordable. The Thirsty Bear has great food and is just east of Moscone but it is a little expensive. There’s a few more local restaurants that are about 2 blocks south of Moscone South including some of the famous San Francisco Burritos that are so tasty! My opinion, search for nearby restaurants on Yelp.com and read the reviews. Plan out your lunches day by day so you’re not stuck with the available Moscone food. In my experience, I’ve met so many people while there that I end up joining someone else for lunch at least 3 of the 5 days so pair up with people so you’re not sitting alone at lunch.

Eating at night is a completely different story. It’s worth a cab ride to go to a place that really hits the spot after a long day at Macworld. There are a bunch of awesome Sushi places all over San Francisco. My favorite is a sushi joint just west of Union Square on Geary Street but I can’t find the name. If you’re just north of the Financial District, there’s an Italian Restaurant named “Michelangelo Cafe”, located on Columbus Avenue that has fantastic lasagna. There are plenty of dinner joints downtown but make sure you hit North Shore / Fisherman’s Wharf for the seafood. Many of the places have food that’s right off the boat. There’s no shortage of cafe’s and if you’re from a southern or central US state, then you’ll laugh when the rumor is true and you walk past a Starbucks on every corner. Similar to my earlier statement, many parties will have food or you’ll meet people that invite you to dinner so keep your options open.

When Not at Expo:

The great thing about being in San Francisco is the amount of activities to take part in while not at Macworld. There are tons of city tours to take part in and there’s day trips to Apple Headquarters, Napa Valley and also shopping to take part in(more on this later). I can’t say what I’m doing while not at expo because I don’t venture far from Macworld activities. However, do take one of the city tours that are usually on a bus or on foot for about $50 dollars. There’s some segway tours for about $70 a person which are a lot of fun I’ll be hosting the 4th annual San Francisco City Tour on Sunday afternoon (January 13th) just contact me for details. The Kabuki Springs spa in Japantown is very relaxing if you want to go for an afternoon and both men and women can go. As always, check out Upcoming.org or SFStation.com for information about what’s happening that day in the bay area. On Upcoming.org, you can organize the events by popularity and tags. Check out both sites a week before leaving for SF and save the links just in case you’re bored that night and there’s a free film festival in the park or a fishing tournament that might interest you. I’m just pulling things out of my bum but it is important to know your resources and the sites I’ve listed have hundreds of listings every day.

Shopping:

I receive numerous emails about where to shop and I only know from asking others so let’s try to help you and your American Express have a fun day at the boutiques and outlets. Union Square and the surrounding 2 blocks are where most of the shopping is in the downtown area. If you’re in Union Square, the shops you can see in staring distance are Victoria’s Secret, Levi’s, Louis Vuiton, Channel, Macy’s and Prada. Head east and there are more luxurious boutiques. Head south about two blocks and you’ll be at the San Francisco Mall which is a four story shopping center that was just remodeled and expanded this past year. The Macy’s is 4 stories and covers an entire city block. There is parking underneath Union Square so get your plastic and shop away!

Finding The Parties:

This can be easy or hard depending on how in touch you are with The Macintosh Community and blogs. Watch the Mac blogs as they will be posting a lot of information on parties as Macworld approaches. There’s at least five meetups, get-togethers or parties every night of the week starting on Monday that are geared toward Macworld attendees it’s just finding them that’s difficult. One party that you don’t want to miss is the Macworld Blast! Party. Tickets are $40 dollars and can be purchased during Macworld registration. Already registered? That’s not a problem. Just go back to registration, select the Blast! Party and checkout. These can be purchased at Moscone West during expo but they always sell out so get them early. The Macworld party is Tuesday night so don’t miss it! There’s the MacObserver party on Wednesday as well as the DailyTechTalk Macworld party on the same night. Thursday, the Mac Meet & Mingle takes place and The Your Mac Life Rocks Expo party is the same night.

Over the course of the week, there’s dozens of parties that are private or you just haven’t heard about them. Watch this blog for for party announcements. Also, head over to the Hess Macworld Events List. This Macworld party list has been going strong for 12 years and Ilene Hoffman does a fantastic job managing this. Importantly, if you’re hosting a party, send her the info so she can add your event to the list. Also check out the Macworld Section on Upcoming.org for some events that aren’t listed anywhere else. There was another party list last year but it’s unconfirmed if that site is doing listings again this time around. Here’s a sample of events that I’m sure that I’ll be attending that week. There will be more soon but this is the current list with only 29 days left until Macworld.

• Sunday: San Francisco City Tour and Mac User Drinkfest at Lefty’s Irish Pub
• Monday: Trip to Apple HQ, Macintosh User Group Wine and Cheese Event at the Westin and Xsilva’s Macworld Cocktail Party
• Tuesday: Pre-keynote meetup, Macworld Blast! Party and another unconfirmed private party.
• Wednesday: WordPress Meetup, Macradio Meetup, Elgato Private Party, Microsoft Office 2008 Release Party and finally I’ll be attending the DailyTechTalk Macworld Party at Swig.
• Thursday: Mac Meet and Mingle from 6:30PM to 12:00AM which includes a podcaster meetup and a kick ass party that’s free to all Macworld attendees at Jillians.
• Friday: The DailyTechTalk Macworld closeout meetup from 9:00PM to 3:00AM. I took part in this in 2006 and 2007 and it involved 30 mac users getting very intoxicated then grabbling an early breakfast at Lori’s diner. This was my favorite event of the entire week.

As you can see, there’s plenty going on that week and I’m very sure that there’s three times as many parties and meetups that week that I just won’t be able to attend. Look around, check the blogs and ask people. If you’re using Twitter then just follow the people that are at expo and I’m sure there will be a few impromptu parties during Macworld that will be formed over Twitter.

Saving Money:

This is important for everyone.

The more money that I can save, the better! I’ve outlined some tips earlier like staying at a hostel, or how to fly into San Francisco to save some money and how to book Macworld registration to save a little money. Find a hotel that has free breakfast and you’ll save plenty. I also make a point to buy a $25 dollar Starbucks card before I leave. This way, I can budget myself and once that card runs out, I can’t go to Starbucks anymore. For example, that card usually runs out by Wednesday and that’s all I was budgeted for. Buy the $25 dollar MUNI 7 day pass for unlimited rides on the subway, buses and cable car. Make sure you ask for a military, student, teacher or AARP discount wherever you go. These discounts are out there, just ask. Book your flight, hotel and Macworld pass early. The earlier you book, the better rate you’ll get.

If you’re really looking to cut costs then don’t drink alcohol. If you’re over 21, this is easier said than done. Many parties, at least the private ones, have an open bar or drink tickets but if you hit the bar every night and have two drinks, you’re looking at an additional $100 bucks for your budget. I generally spend about $300 dollars in alcohol over the course of the week. Remember, you don’t need alcohol to have a good time. What am I talking about? Forget that and budget for at least $100 dollars in alcohol that week because there is drinking everywhere. I’ve built some great long term friendships with companies and the Mac celebrities over a few drinks. It’s a great inhibitor so embrace it and have fun with it.

Wrap-up:

I managed to keep this year’s First Timer’s Guide under nine pages and thank goodness. Those that read the previous editions were very thankful for the post and those that didn’t always sent me emails stating that this was a freaking huge article and they didn’t want to waste the time. That’s fine with me but I’m glad you’ve made it to the end and I do hope that this helped your Macworld experience. As a six time veteran, I should have a little bit to contribute or at least I hope so. Let me know if you want to see something added and at any time during Macworld, send me an email to macworld@dailytechtalk.com for any questions that you have and I’ll try to answer them ASAP. This is a mailbox that’s not a part of my primary email account so I’ll be prioritizing emails sent to that mailbox during Macworld. Most of all, have fun at expo and enjoy yourself. MWSF only happens once a year and it’s a Mac user vacation that can be written off on your tax returns if you play your cards right. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you at expo!

[UPDATE] Sorry, but after I posted this, I realized that a dedicated RSVP page is also available for the Mac Mingle. The previous RSVP is only for the Mac Podcaster Meetup which is at the same location. You can RSVP to the Mac Mingle here. Thanks to everyone that sent in this correction.

From 6:00PM-8:00PM join Adam Christianson as he hosts the 2nd annual mac podcaster meetup at Jillians located at 101 4th street. Immediately following the meetup, The Mac Mingle will also take place at Jillians. This event runs from 8:15PM to midnight. Last year’s events featured giveaways and hors d’oeuvres and this year will be no different. I can say, in advance, that there are going to be some terrific giveaways from the sponsors! Come early and stay late!

On a personal note, I’ve been attending Deb’s parties since 2004 and last year’s Mac Mingle was such a great time. I met a lot of individuals that I now call my friends and it was a lot of fun. It’s a great atmosphere with no blaring music, great drinks, giveaways and was conveniently located close to the Moscone Center. I’ve included links below to Jillian’s as well as links to Deb’s and Adam’s websites.

• Deb’s Website: http://shadovitz.com
• Adam’s Website: http://www.maccast.com/
• Mac Mingle 2008 Homepage: http://macmeetandmingle.com/
• Google Maps: Jillians: http://tinyurl.com/2gh5jz

Where? – Robertson Auditorium, Mission Bay Conference Center – UCSF
1675 Owens Street
San Francisco, CA 94158
Phone: 866.431.UCSF
http://www.ahl-missionbay.com/gallery/index.cfm

When? Wednesday, January 16, 2008 – 7:00PM – 10:00PM (Doors open 5:00PM)

Why? Because you need to learn more Final Cut Pro

How Much? – $10.00 per person. $15.00 at the door. Ticket will include 2 raffle tickets.

Any raffle prizes? Of course. $2.00 per ticket of 3 for $5.00

Who should attend? - Anyone and everyone who wants to learn something

Whats on the agenda? – Presentations from Apple, Adobe, Blackmagic Design, and Sony. Plus Show and Tells from Bay Area filmmakers and MUCH MORE!

Tickets on sale NOW! http://fcpugsupermeet.eventbrite.com/

Day:
Date:
Time Start
Time End
Place (where to meet?)
Particulars (Who its for) 

Get that information and send it to ileneh (at) comcast DOT net ASAP

“The Macworld Blast! attendee party debuted last year as a fun way for attendees to network and cut loose a little bit as they celebrate the fun experience that being at Macworld Conference & Expo represents. Last year, Cheap Trick made a surprise appearance at the party entertaining the 1100 attendees with their high energy show. Since last year was so well attended event, we’re moving to a bigger venue (look for an announcement soon) to accommodate the demand. Who will the band be? We’ll let the suspense build a little longer, but suffice it to see it will be someone cool and a good time will be had by all. Come to Blast and mingle with the speakers from the faculty, exhibitors, press, and fellow attendees from around the world – it’s a GREAT party!”

This party sells out every year. You have to register early to get a ticket. The price is $40.Click here to register. Here are the posted details on Macworld Expo’s registration page.
* Date: Tuesday, January 15th
* Time: 8:00PM
* Place: Mezzanine
444 Jessie St @ Mint
San Francisco, CA 94103
* Tickets: (Includes 2 drink tickets and entry into raffle for great Macworld Conference & Expo Prizes)

SEE YOU THERE!

Parties: I’ve been getting a few emails about parties and events. The low-down is that you can attend any of our events and they’re all free! I’ll be adding a sidebar to the site in the coming weeks with the complete party schedule. In addition to the normal DTT parties, I’m going to be pimping a mother load of additional meetups / events for other blogs and companies. I’ve been working with 4 other groups and am planning their parties for them some of which may not happen but we’ll see. I still have a few minutes in my day for another project so if you’re looking to throw a Macworld party, let me know and I can assist. If you’d like full details on DTT events, here’s a list of our events and you can RSVP to receive updates.

Coverage: I’m working out a deal to stream the entire week live on the internet and I won’t have a definite answer on that until Mid-December so stay tuned. We will, however, be providing daily photos from our iPhones and from DSLRs. There’s also the daily podcast / videocast and we’ll have the usual boring articles

Scheduled: The team is arriving on Sunday the 13th of January and leaving on Saturday the 19th. If you or your company want to grab lunch, pimp your warez or would like us to talk about your products just send us an email to macworld@dailytechtalk.com and it will be put in the schedule.

Macworld Updates:
I’m still planning on attending. There are a few minor details that decide my fate in the matter. The first thing is that since Macworld 2004, I’ve attended Macworld on someone else’s dollar. I’ve generally performed freelance work in the form of photography, podcasts and editorials while still posting content to this blog. Right now, I don’t have that kind of funding. I’m trying to rely solely on advertising for this year’s event frankly because I haven’t made any attempts to freelance for other weblogs or print media. As a reminder, we have sponsorships from $25 dollars and up and every bit counts. Here is my current budget for Macworld:
Flight: $325
Hostel: $60 x 6 nights
Macworld Pass: $200 (so I can offer keynote coverage)
Swig booking for our yearly Macworld party $275
Food and supplies: $30 a day times 6 days

This means my current total is $1,340 and that’s being frivolous. If I sell every ad on our site, that will cover all costs. Every bit counts and all ads are negotiable. I will be returning all funds to the purchasers of ads if I don’t sell enough to pay for my trip. As a reminder, this trip is for you all. If you were lucky enough to be with us for MWSF 04-07 coverage, you know that the amount of content paired with Steve Jobs’ live keynote transcript (which this year will be broadcasted live in video) is going to be huge and every dollar you spend helps that amount. To be frank, I’m 90% sure that I’m WILL NOT BE going to Macworld this year and that’s my official stance until I get at least $500 dollars in sponsorship.

Luckily, our own Sam Downie www.dsoundz.co.uk will be attending and picking up the slack but he has his own plans for Expo and will dedicate most of his Macworld time to doing coverage for us!

We will at least have a live keynote transcript from Sam, and Podcast, that I can guarantee. Click here for advertising pricing.

Macworld Reminders:
Don’t forget the special hotel rate at the Adelaide Hostel

Free MWSF08 Exhibit Hall Passes

Check out flight deals through ailytechtalk at Macworld 2008, find out our plans, coverage and where to stay in San Francisco
I wanted to post a quick bit to remind everyone that we are still talking and thinking about macworld here at DTT. There’s a few updates and some recaps of previous posts in case you are new to the site. We’ve been steadily gaining new readership and have doubled our readership from this time last year which is fantastic and I thank you all for continued support.

Let’s talk about MWSF08. I am not going to go with an official travel host for DailyTechTalk this year. Instead, we recommend using Macworld’s official airline which is United. Click here for that info.

I have great pricing for the Adelaide hostel! It’s official. Adelaide will be our official sponsor for this year’s Macworld. Gerard over at the Adelaide gave me special instructions which I’ll be posting in a new entry.

It also looks like Swig-bar will be our official spot for this year’s Macworld party. I tried to find new locations but all were out of my price range. Since I want to do this without sponsors each year, I have been paying for this myself and Swig keeps things affordable.