TidBITS Events at Macworld SF 2011

As usual, a number of TidBITS and Take Control authors will be in attendance at the upcoming Macworld Expo, which takes place from Wednesday, 26 January 2011 through Saturday, 29 January 2011 (but note that the exhibit hall floor is open only on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of that week; Wednesday is for all-day pre-conference workshops).

Macworld Expo takes place only in the new Moscone West this year, presumably on multiple floors. If there are any changes or additions, or if we learn about more room numbers, we’ll update this article on our Web site, so check back there for the latest right before the show.

Here’s our current schedule, and please do come by and say hello!

Thursday, January 27th — Along with the expo floor opening, a number of TidBITS staffers have talks on Thursday.

• 10:30 AM: In the Users Conference track, Jeff Carlson runs through the entire iLife ’11 suite in “Livin’ the iLife, a Beginner’s Guide to the iLifestyle ,” demonstrating how to turn all the photos and videos we accumulate into projects you want to share, using iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand, iDVD, and iWeb. (Room 3003)

• 3:30 PM: Also in the Users Conference track, Glenn Fleishman will provide a detailed explanation of the many and sundry options for remote screen access and remote control from Mac OS X and iOS devices in “Remote Control Your Screens.” Glenn will be conducting the session from an undisclosed location (at the front of the room). (Room 3008)

• 3:30 PM: Adam will be joining a “Future of the Mac” panel discussion led by Macworld’s Jason Snell on the Macworld Live stage. Everyone load the Zippo lighter app on their iPhones so you can hold them up when we talk about how the future of the Mac from Apple’s perspective appears to be iOS.

• 6:00 PM: Many of us will be meeting in Moscone West under the escalators on the first floor, in preparation for the annual Netters’ Dinner. At 6:30, we’ll all parade to the Hunan at Sansome and Broadway, where the hot and spicy Chinese dinner (vegetarian dishes are available) costs $20. You must register in advance by Tuesday, January 25th, via Kagi; the link has all the details. Jon Pugh will once again be hosting, and it promises to be another great night of food and conversation.

Friday, January 28th — The second day of the show promises an influx of TidBITS and Take Control authors and editors sharing their expertise.

• 10:30 AM: You interact with the Finder every day on the Mac, but do you really know what it can do? Steve Sande, author of “Take Control of iWeb ’09,” will be ready to “Tell Me Something I Don’t Already Know about the Finder.” (Room 3007)

• 12:00 PM: Many kids today don’t know a world without the Internet, which is quite different from how their parents grew up. (Listen, it was difficult to deliver 8-inch floppy disks by horse-drawn carriage in six feet of snow!) Tonya Engst joins MacVoices host Chuck Joiner for a panel discussion titled “MacVoices: Parenting in the Age of the Internet” at the Macworld Live stage.

• 1:00 PM: With tens of millions of iOS devices in the wild, how much of an issue is data security? TidBITS Security Editor Rich Mogull digs into iOS security (but you don’t need to be a hacker to keep up) in “Truths, Lies, and Fictions in iOS Security: A Hands On Approach.” Bring your iOS device (and laptop it connects to, if possible) to walk through security settings as they’re being discussed. (Room 3004)

• 3:30 PM: Take Control editor and Macworld Senior Editor Dan Frakes joins fellow Macworld editors Jason Snell, Christopher Breen, and Dan Moren for a freewheeling “Ask the Editors” session. (Room 3007)

Saturday, January 29th — The date change and loss of Apple has freed IDG World Expo to extend Macworld to a Saturday, making it easy for San Francisco residents who can’t take time off during the work week to attend. We have a few sessions on Saturday too.

• 10:30 AM: Against his better judgement, Adam will be giving a Users Conference talk entitled “Looking Forward to Mac OS X Lion: What We Know and What We Don’t.” Hint, we don’t know a lot, but bring ideas for what you’d like to see in Lion. (Room 3008)

• 1:00 PM: Back in the Macworld NY days, a bunch of us, including Andy Ihnatko and Chris Breen, would gather at the Brooklyn home of Joe Holmes (then a well-known Mac writer as well) for dinner and post-Expo conversation. Since Joe’s brothers Tim (then an Apple Evangelist) and Chris (who worked at Dantz Development at the time) were also involved, the events were known as the Holmes Brothers dinners. Although there will be no food at “Holmes Brothers Live,” this 55-minute session on the Macworld Live stage will hopefully recreate some of the wonderful discussions we had.

• 1:00 PM: Even though Glenn has a face made for radio, he’s passionately interested in video chat—for other people. In a Users Conference session on “FaceTime and Other Video Chat,” Glenn looks over many options for connecting relatives, colleagues, and loved ones (which may or may not include relatives) through two-way video communication. (Room 3004)

• 1:00 PM: Dan Frakes spends an amazing amount of time finding exceptional Mac applications that others miss. His “Best of Mac Gems: Cool Mac Apps” session will introduce you to dozens of apps—many of them inexpensive—you can’t live without. (Room 3007)

Even More — Looking for more to do? IDG World Expo has plenty planned, so be sure to check out the Macworld Expo Web site for full details. Also be sure to download the free iMacworld app for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, to have session info, vendor locations, and nearby restaurants and points of interest at hand as you walk the show.