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Cool fun Macworld with free hugs

• Maggie Shiels
• 7 Jan 09, 10:25 GMT

There is no doubt that last keynote at Macworld was a big let down so to get over it I decided to take a wander around the hallowed halls of the expo itself. And even there, Apple dominated the space with a massive array of demos and products.

The company's Phil Schiller had said in his keynote that he wanted to talk about the Mac and that it was appropriate given that's what the show is all about. He revealed that last year Apple sold 9.7 million Macs and that sales grew twice as fast as the rest of the industry.

The one piece of hardware that he announced was the 17" MacBook Pro, which many people were expecting last year. Apple have produced a TV advert to boast about its thinness, lightness, eight hour battery and its greenness.

One Apple floorwalker, who was not allowed to tell me her name but was allowed to show me what she looked like, told me the computer was a big draw at the demo booth. And with just four of them on show, there were plenty of people crowding around to get a look at the machine that will hit stores at the end of the month for $2799 (Β£1930).

There was plenty around the hall to make me smile.

Candy Shell

Like a magpie I was drawn to the bright colours on display at where Bill Linn was hovering around like a later day medicine man pulling out all sorts of swag from a bag laden with goodies.

He showed me a number of computer cases that you can use to cover and protect your laptop with and also a skin for your desk top in all sort of fab colours. But the company's new product was something called candy shell for the iPhone. An iPod Touch version is in the works. Bill told me the name is because "it's hard on the outside and soft on the inside and comes in four delicious colours." Just like, you guessed it, candy.

Bill's assistant Edith Yang showed off the colours which are called lemon drop liquorice, key lime jawbreaker, cranberry white truffle and watermelon gumball. Full marks for inventiveness and to hell with plain old green, yellow, red and orange.

Smule

One person clearly having too good a time doing his job was Turner Kirk, decked out in a white suit, a white hat and sunglasses.

He was demonstrating sound. Or rather a "sound" app called that can be downloaded for the iPhone or the iPod Touch and works by blowing into the microphone, tilting the device and covering holes with your fingers to make music.

co-founder Ge Wang told me they make "interactive sonic media" that centres around three key aspects.

He said: "[W]e love sound especially when combined with the iPhone. We believe people are expressive and we want to bring that out. And we have the social component where people can record and share their music and follow it on a world map."

Ocarina was the number one app for three weeks running in November and sells for 99 cents.

Ge said: "Turner embodies what we are all about. He makes music, is expressive and convivial." I want to know his secret for keeping his suit white.

Hangman

Forget all notions about the game you might have played as a kid, this is a simple device from a company called that lets you listen to your music hands free but without worrying about losing it.

All you do is clip the hangman into the bottom of the iPod or iPhone where you would normally put the charger and then clip it onto your belt loop or bag or whatever and you are good to go.

Nicollette Ernst said they showed the product at Macworld last year but this year, as is the fashion, it now comes in a bunch of cool colours like pink, yellow, purple and blue.

Manga Studio

Lincy Chan was working her magic with a newly released product from called Manga Studio 4 for the Mac.

It's aimed at professional artists like her who create manga - Japanese comics - and Western style comic artists, the best known being Dave Gibbons who is an illustrator for the .

The software lets artists produce ready-to-publish comics. But , who is the author of the Rhysmyth series of graphic novels, said it saves her a lot of time.

"It's helped me a lot because if I created my drawings in the traditional way on paper, it would take me about three days to do one page. With this software it takes one to one and a half days."

Brain Toniq

Need a pick me up? Perhaps Scott Ohlgreen can help you out. He used to be a writer and found that he was drinking way too much caffeine. He invented .

"I was just looking for something that would tweak brain chemistry. Kinda act like caffeine without the caffeine. I also wanted it to be something that was natural and good for you."

Scott said he had just finalised an order for 250,000 cans for a supplier in Scotland.

Now as a Scot myself I think it might give our other national drink, not whisky, a run for its money. How effective a hangover cure it will be requires some committed research!

While the can says "the clean and intelligent think drink," Scott makes no claims that it will make you smarter.

Brian Sorem from Radixd did the taste test for me and declared it "refreshing, not too sweet and very natural tasting."

He also claimed he "felt a little smarter." Yeah!

Nada-Chair

I have to confess all that walking about with two bags, two laptops, recording device, and camera was really taking a toll on my back. That's when I stumbled upon and Kreig Gaughenbaugh persuaded me give it a try.

It involves a couple of straps that loop around your knees and are connected to a back support that sits at the base of your back as you sit down. It's made of one piece of material and helps with posture and stability.

I sat with it on for about 15 minutes and while not quite ready to tackle the trapeze, I really felt it take the strain out of my lower back.

Inventor Victor Ross said he initially made it to help with sitting yoga positions but found that it works for any of the 80% of the population who suffer from some sort of back ailment.

He's been coming to Macworld for 20 years and said his biggest customer base is the computer worker tied to their desk.

"Our product might look geeky but it does the job and helps with all that back stress," said Victor.

And yes it comes in other zingy colours besides black.

Pastafarian

The great thing about Macworld is getting the chance to mingle with the community. Raines Cohen has been coming to the expo for 24 years. He is a diehard Mac man and started a Mac users group in Berkeley.

Okay so he might not sound that different from a lot of the Mac faithful, but let me ask you how many of them dress up as a pirate?

Gotcha. Well Raines' reasons are environmentally driven. He told me he noticed "with the increase in temperatures there is a decrease in the number of pirates. So if there are more pirates out there, that should reduce global warming."

He wasn't able to explain the pirate skirt as opposed to breeches.

Anyway it's proof that one should not take life too seriously at all.

Free hugs and kisses

The best booth at the whole of Macworld was that manned by three teenagers.

Melissa Benzo, Kate Vasconcellos and Alex Little set out on a mission to spread some sunshine and happiness to the folks of Macworld. They had obviously heard about the keynote!

Alas it seemed the Mac faithful didn't want to be cheered up because they had only raised $3 by giving out kisses and attempts to give away free hugs were not whole heartedly embraced.

"We want to brighten everyone's day," declared an exuberant Alex.

"The world is so serious. Everyone at Macworld is so serious. We just want to make people happy."

Kate and Melissa agreed and said "we are having fun and it's all about the hugs."

We don't know if Phil Schiller paid them a visit.