A Penguin in the Orchard

Apple takes a trade show pass

(Via Macworld.)

There’s something different about this April for me. You see, normally I’d be in Las Vegas attending the National Association of Broadcasters’ annual trade show—dodging 130,000 people as I moved from meeting to meeting across vast halls, spending my per diem on Sbarro pizza, and hitting the pai gow tables in the wee hours of the night (after my stories were filed for the day, of course).

But not this year—I’m sitting at my desk in San Francisco instead of wandering around the Las Vegas Convention Center. For the most part, this is because of Apple’s decision to forego a booth at this year’s NAB trade show. Unlike the 2007 event for video and audio professionals, which Apple used to launch Final Cut Studio 2, the company indicated it would have a scaled back presence this year. And it’s not the only company—Avid also took a pass on exhibiting at this year’s show. Certainly, there’s still product news a-plenty for Mac video pros, but the reduced presence of some major players at NAB means that I’m sticking close to home.