Filed under: Macworld
Could the keynote turn ugly?
Leander Kahney is concerned for the safety of Macworld attendees; he posted his (hopefully somewhat tongue-in-cheek) prediction of a riot at the keynote over on the Cult of Mac Wired blog. With expectations for product announcements running so insanely high, the only outcome he can see is disappointment.
It's no secret that keynote crowds can turn ugly. If you watch the video above, from the infamous "Big Brother" 1997 keynote, you'll hear a sound at the 4:50 mark (when SJ introduces El Bill) that can only be described as "booplause." I was at that keynote, and it was just as uncomfortable as it sounds on the tape.
Are Apple fans really that prone to misbehavior when we don't get the fresh gear and shiny goodness we crave? I'm sure that everyone will be well-behaved this year -- except maybe for one guy in the back yelling "BINGO!" during the Photoshop CS3 demo.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
diulei said 12:57AM on 1-09-2007
Hm, I've never seen that video.
Tsk tsk fanboys, real mature.
This is why there are many out there who hate Mac zealots with their "holier than thou" attitude.
Apple makes great products, yes, but a little competition never hurt anybody, even from Microsoft.
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Jason Philo said 1:35AM on 1-09-2007
This is really quite good. Sure, the crowd was unhappy with the initial announcements, but the talent SJ has with public speaking turned all that around. That was one of the most well said "smack downs" that I've ever heard. It left me thinking, "was that a compliment or a smack?"
Getting Microsoft to invest in Apple was brilliant. Vested interest... sweet. My favorite part of it was defining "think different" and how important that is to people who use Apple products—and then turning it around to apply it to the partnership with Microsoft. Brilliant!
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Ben said 1:54AM on 1-09-2007
I think that this is testament to the fact that Apple (or at least Jobs) really know what they're doing in the long term, regardless of what the hardcore Apple fans want. Many of the things that are mentioned in that keynote turned out to be hugely beneficial. IE *was* the best browser on the Mac for a long time and I've heard rumblings before that the patents deal struck with Microsoft was a stroke of genius.
Let's be honest; Apple fans don't really know what they want most of the time, which is why Jobs is a master at developing/adapting new products/services/etc for the wider public. So I'm begging everyone - please keep this in mind when your fantasy iProduct doesn't get announced tomorrow...
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Alex said 1:39AM on 1-09-2007
Silly write up.
Has this Wired guy never covered one of these before?
There's ALWAYS unreasonably high expectations. And the only the only thing that ever happens is that the people who let themselves get worked up over nothing go and whine on Intertorn forums.
Apple can't deliver the moon in a box! Only silly people then expect to have the entire moon in a tiny, attractive box.
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Robert Smelser said 1:51AM on 1-09-2007
I remember the first time I watched that Keynote. I was amazed at how well The Steve held up under the intensely negative reaction. In fact, I made a blog post about it right here:
http://homepage.mac.com/crysnrob/page3/files/be2459ccdd613d3895cf41306a43d094-15.html
Whatever else you might say about Steve Jobs, he is one good public speaker.
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NKHK said 2:04AM on 1-09-2007
I've been a Mac user for 2 years now, and watching that was simply embarassing. You don't have to like Bill's software, but a bit of respect wouldn't go astray for the man who changed the face of personal computing - something that has affected all of us.
While I will never buy a PC or run windows on my home machines, if I sat across from Bill at dinner I certainly wouldn't boo the guy - I'd be in awe. Mac user or PC user, we could all learn a lot from someone like that.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and keep praying for a Mac PDA+phone.
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Kevin said 2:07AM on 1-09-2007
That's a GREAT video, and they covered it well in "Pirates of Silicon Valley" by showing how uncomfortably close it was to Bill Gates being the sort of giant-screened uber-figure in the 1984 Mac ads. Neat stuff.
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Scoo said 6:49AM on 1-09-2007
I was at that keynote! Booplause is a good way to describe it. A lot of folks were laughing when Gates' goofy mug showed up on the screen, not in a mean way, more like giddiness. There were scattered boos for Larry Ellison too.
Ah, the good old days, when showing up at 5 AM meant getting a spot in the tenth row!
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franko said 9:44AM on 1-09-2007
they'e not shouting "BOO" -- they're shouting "BOOuuurnnss!"
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JM said 11:46AM on 1-09-2007
I should probably bring up the announcement to the Intel switch where I don't remember any "booplause" there ... even fans could admit that PPC couldn't cut it.
That being said, Apple keynotes is an entertainment event. Some people go watch concerts or movies, and others go to Macworld. It has suspense, comedy, celbrity cameos, and climatic ending ("one more thing"), and usually musical content to end out the show.
I'd boo at a concert if it really sucked, so I guess others could boo at the keynote.
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