If you've got the time, we've got the pixels. Relive the glory of Macworld 2008 even if you weren't there with our 132 pictures from the show, featuring:

• Pics from the Ars Technica/Gizmodo party
• Pics of the Modbook
• Lots of show-floor pics featuring tons of vendors
• A shot of team TUAW in our temporary HQ at the Marriott
• Images of Mac luminaries, possibly one of them slightly inebriated

Some are blurrier than an Engadget spy photo, and some are NSFW (where NSFW = Not Safe for Wallpaper). Enjoy!

I love playing with TextMate themes. I tend to get bored easily, and besides a proclivity for dark backgrounds that impair readability, I'm always up for variety. That's why I'm pleased to see TM Themes, developed by Garrett Bjerkhoel, hit the TextMate theme scene. The site is starting out with a small collection of themes, but features a simple interface with rollover and full previews, a rating system, comment option and theme uploader. Hopefully it will become a good source for coders to find means of expressing their individual creativity, a trait which many don't realize is innate to the coding species.

The TextMate wiki offers a large collection of user-contributed themes, and there are other collections as well. For the most part, though, the themes are found individually across the web. It's fun to see collections coming together and TextMate fans providing services like this for other users.

I didn't buy an iPhone, but I was lucky enough to run down a few features on one this weekend. Sadly my camera wasn't up to macro video on a backlit device (silly Casio), but I did manage to snag a few pics that give a little peek into the average operation of the iPhone.

A couple of things caught my attention while playing. Yes, it was designed by angels. But it was heavier than I thought it would be, given previous descriptions. That's glass and battery folks, make no mistake. As usual, Apple's engineers have balanced the thing so it doesn't feel awkward. Typing wasn't bad, and the mantra "trust the keyboard" is true. The balance and weight feels good in your hands as you type, unlike some smartphones I've used. However, you can't flip the keyboard while typing. That caught me completely unaware. I called up a new Safari page, and when it went to type in the URL, I had meant to try thumb-typing. But you have to back out of the keyboard first, which wasn't exactly intuitive. In fact, it reminds me of old frustrations with modal dialogs in pre-OS X days.

Another curiosity was bringing up the movie playback interface. Initially I had trouble activating stuff easily because I was using a light touch. The Apple fanboy in me was afraid to poke the glass too hard, I suppose. But once you realize this was designed to take the kind of abuse an old boxer like C.K. might dish out, you realize the thing is pretty tough. Clearly this is also to prevent accidental brushes from bringing up controls, but I had to be told how to bring up the playback stuff (you don't just touch the screen). One neat trick: playback of embedded QuickTime content goes fullscreen. That was a nice touch.

From what I was told, Notes don't sync with anything! Sure, the new page flip is cute and the trashing a note eye-candy is cool, but what's the use of this? I guess it's a compelling reason to upgrade to Leopard, since it'll most likely sync with Mail's new Notes feature. Plus, there appeared no To-Do mechanism. That, for me, is a big problem. I'm constantly setting timed reminders. Without that, a lot of my GTD functionality is broken on the iPhone.

Almost everything else really was butter. Tasty, salty butter. The Timer, for example, is a dream for parents. It is incredibly easy to set for variable time-outs, or those inevitable "just 5 more minutes!" But the killer app has to be Google Maps. It's no Garmin GPS thing that'll talk you through your next stop, but it does a great job of providing you with relevant, important information when you need it. And it does this so easily I found myself giggling at the novelty.

You can tell Apple was testing how tight they can get manufacturing with those nano's before they made this thing. The space around the SIM slot is minute. Sure, you can't use a lot of headphones with the thing, but if you look at the construction, there's not a lot to do about that right now. The owner of this unit had it in his pocket, with keys, most of the day. And not a scratch was to be seen. They're definitely using a better coating these days!

Aside from a few inadequacies, everything works like magic and is truly a revelation to use, much like the first Mac. Be sure to check out the gallery with more commentary on the apps I tried out (including the nifty Calculator). After only 20 minutes, I'm in love. The battery died, however, with timely reminders, so I ended my love affair until my current phone contract expires.

While Pourhardi is camped out an hour ahead of me in Chicago, and will inevitably get his iPhone first (Grr!), I'm sitting here with an Optimus Prime sized iPhone display sending out its reality distortion field from above my head. There are about 10 people in line so far, and I've been able to snap some photos of our band of merry geeks. I'll keep updating the gallery as the day goes on, so check back often to make sure you're up on all the excitement that goes on in a suburban mall.

If you're planning on stopping by this particular store, come up and say hi. I'll be podcasting off and on with various people, maybe even you! I'm first in line and wearing my Daring Fireball t-shirt.

It may not be the flagship New York city store anymore, but Apple Store Soho maintains a quiet elegance that cannot be overcome by any gigantic glass cube. TUAW reader 'ZoomZoom1' swung by the store last week to snap a few pictures of the iPhone presales displays, including an interesting t-shirt worn by a store staffer.



Thanks ZZ1

TUAW reader Andrew went into the 5th Avenue Apple Store late this evening and noticed a large, covered rectangular display. It was clearly an iPhone (because you can kind of see through the wrapping). Andrew chatted up a couple of employees, neither of which would admit what it was. And although someone eventually promised that the wrapper would be soon removed, he gave up waiting after about a half hour or so. Here are his exclusive pictures of the (still covered) display.

Andrew asked one of the employes how the iPhone sales would work at the store. She told him that they would not be activating the phones at the store itself. This is pretty much in line with what I heard when I called my local Apple store earlier this evening. My Apple sales person was refreshingly honest. Not only did she admit that no one at the store had a clue about how things would work regarding sales, initial stock numbers, restocking, and so forth, but also that she had no idea as to when they would receive their training. She did add that she (and others at the store) were under the impression that the phone would probably have to be taken over to an AT&T store for activation, but she also claimed that you'd need a two-year commitment, an item that I know is up in dispute and a fact that Apple employees are not yet clear on. If the no-activation-at-store bit proves true, then might it be possible to buy an iPhone at an Apple store and then just insert a SIM card and go?

All that aside, what do you think is under that wrapping?

Update: Check out this good quality photo that just popped up over at Flickr (Via MacRumors)

Lest you think that the iPhone has gotten lost in all the buzz about Leopard, Apple has posted two new sections to the iPhone website. First off is a gallery with some new pictures of everyone's favorite device they can't get their hands on. Also new is some more information about the technology that makes the iPhone so cool.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in.

We've been blogging Skitch, a new 'hybrid' photo editing and web services tool from plasq (makers of Comic Life), since Scott first met and fell in love with it at Macworld 07. Using the app through its development, it's clear that Skitch is going to knock people's socks off, with a well-executed blend of desktop editing and integration with web services like Plasq's new MySkitch and Flickr. For example: a major new feature in an upcoming public beta (that's right, I said 'public': join the mailing list for your chance to get a copy) includes iPhoto and Aperture integration:


Simply double-click an item from the library panel shown here to begin applying all manners of Skitch editing. Another feature that brings the 'hybrid' element to the table is Skitch's tight integration with web services. Skitch can send pics to FTP, .Mac and even Flickr accounts, but it also integrations with a new MySkitch service that will debut. MySkitch does a lot of interesting things, like giving you embed code for zoomable thumbnails (ideal for the likes of eBay and blogs with thin columns), a direct link for sending in email and even forum-friendly embed code. Skitch doesn't stop there though: you can also remove images from these web services directly from within Skitch, effectively making it a one-stop management shop for your images both local and otherwise.

That's enough blabbing about features for now though. The folks at plasq were kind enough to allow us to publish an exclusive Skitch screenshot gallery, and published we have. Check out more screenshots of Skitch's good side, and don't forget to hit up plasq's mailing list for a chance to snag your own copy when they release an upcoming public beta.

While I still need to drop $180 to get an AirPort Extreme Base Station for 'review' from Apple, Engadget just put theirs through its paces. Overall, they found that the obvious upsides were Apple's sleek design and easy-breezy setup thanks to the revamped AirPort Admin Utility 5.0. In the drawbacks category, however, were a bizarre lack - in fact a back-step for the AirPort base station - of gigabit ethernet, and less-than-optimal transfer rates, though Engadget concedes your mileage may vary, as it so often does with wireless hardware.

Engadget has also posted a hands-on gallery, which includes their own screenshots of the new Admin Utility. Strangely, they didn't say anything about some of this base station's new found abilities, such as the new AirPort Disk, one of the key features making me count my pennies in anticipation of affording one of these.

We've been combing the extensive Macworld Expo 2007 floor since Tuesday and have posted some more booth tour galleries for your viewing enjoyment. Almost everyone has a presence here of some sort (sadly, almost), so we're doing our best to hit as may of the booths we can. As of this post, we have a couple handfuls of booths up, including Belkin, Crumpler, iSkin, Marware and plenty more, with even more on the way. If you couldn't make it to Macworld, these booth tours and video coverage are your next best chance.

I was able to sneak back through the crowd and grab a few more pictures of the new iPhone, including detailed shots of the innovative interface. This is about as close as we're going to get to the device until launch.

Leander Kahney, author of the successful Cult of Mac book, has posted an interesting gallery of Apple fan art at Wired. While I think I recognize some of these images from browsing the Cult of Mac book at the local bookstore, this gallery is an interesting look into just how far Apple's loyal following are willing to go to show their love for the Mac.

While I'm glad to see posts like this, I have to wonder: where are the Cult of Windows books and art galleries?