Geekshow

Funny Thing About MacWorld…

MacWorld was fun and crazy as always, but with the lack of Apple announcements and a slow economy, people were all about the free stuff. Pictures after the jump.

With hundreds of vendors and thousands of visitors, the expo hall was crowded. One major exception was Adobe, who late last year decided to pull out. A large empty space at the front of the south hall was noticeably vacant. The footprint was familiar and Adobe-shaped, but that didn’t stop people from doing crazy stuff to win prizes.

The most visible of the giveaways was Peachpit Press. The contestants just needed to be spotted wearing bunny ears. The catch was that prizes were given away every hour, so no rest for the wicked or the freebie whore, and among the included prizes were iPod Nanos and iPhones. The entire week was nothing but bunny ears, and even other vendors were wearing them. This type of giveaway was the most extreme, however most prizes were won by raffle. Easy enough. Walk by a booth (maybe more than once) and pick up a raffle ticket that cute young girls and guys were handing out as fast as they could. Show up later at a predetermined time, and (hopefully) if they call your number, claim your prize . Last year everybody was giving out prizes, but this year it was slim pickins.

The most popular raffle-style prize-givers were Speck (makers of iPod/iPhone cases), Elgato (EyeTV – DVR for the Mac), Microsoft and FileMaker Pro (Database software.) The last two allowed audience members to have a chance to win hourly after each product demonstration.

MacWorld was not just about new software and the latest iphone case; vendors often targeted the tired and weary user. From ‘Brain Tonic’ to a glorified back brace, users found everything they always knew they never wanted. It was all about getting bodies in the booth. That could was done by showing off intriguing devices, walking around the show floor advertising, or even having a Rock Band contest to win prizes.

For a description of the photos, check out the gallery bellow.