Last July's Macworld Expo in New York was, as I wrote back then, highly concentrated, with many fewer exhibitors and many fewer attendees. Apart from the raw numbers, though, the show went well, so I have no ill premonitions regarding the upcoming Macworld Expo in San Francisco. It's also nice to see, after the fuss regarding kids at Macworld Expo in New York, that IDG World Expo has reverted to their previous policy of requiring a registered adult to accompany children under 16, with kids under the age of 5 receiving free admission.

<http://www.macworldexpo.com/>
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/07279>
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/07288>
<http://www.macworldexpo.com/macworldexposf/V40/ index.cvn?ID=10148>

As has been true in recent years, there are almost no public events after the Macworld show floor closes each day, but the primary exception remains the long-running Netter's Dinner, scheduled for Thursday, January 8th and now in its 18th consecutive year. For those who like tradition, the Netter's Dinner is ideal, since it will once again be held at the Hunan at Sansome and Broadway, where the hot and spicy Chinese dinner (vegetarian dishes are available) costs $18. You must register by 06-Jan-04 via Kagi - use the link below. The booming voice and Hawaiian shirt of our fearless organizer, Jon Pugh, will again be absent, so I'll once more be moderating the boisterous raise-your-hands survey. Help me avoid sounding unprepared on stage by sending suggestions for questions ahead of time, and when you're shouting from the audience, yell loudly!

<http://www.seanet.com/~jonpugh/ nettersdinner.html>

As in previous years, meet at the top of the escalators on the south side of Moscone at 6:00 PM and be prepared for a brisk, sometimes damp, walk that snarls traffic throughout downtown San Francisco. We'll leave no later than 6:30 PM for the restaurant.

TidBITS Events -- Along with the Netter's Dinner on Thursday night, Jeff, Glenn, and I will be speaking at various times throughout the show, and for the first time in six years, Tonya will be able to attend several days as well. (For his fifth birthday, which we also hope will involve something relating to clipper ships, Tristan will be spending a few days with my sister, the cool aunt. He's looking forward to it so much that he told us we could just drop him off at the door and didn't even need to come in.)

• On Wednesday, January 7th, from 11:00 AM to 12:15 PM, Jeff Carlson will be giving a Macworld Users Conference talk entitled "Graduate from iMovie to Final Cut Express." Then, at 1:00 PM, Jeff will be at the Peachpit booth (#1917) to talk about iMovie, Palm organizers, and iChat AV, and signing copies of his books. Also at 1:00 PM, Glenn Fleishman and I will be answering your questions about wireless networking and signing copies of The Wireless Networking Starter Kit, Second Edition at the Aladdin booth (#1507). Lastly, from 3:30 to 4:45 PM, I'm giving a Macworld Users Conference talk about getting started with iPhoto.

<http://www.macworldexpo.com/macworldexposf/V40/ conference/session.cvn?eid=596>
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<http://www.macworldexpo.com/macworldexposf/V40/ conference/session.cvn?eID=618>

• On Thursday, January 8th, at noon, I'll be in the User Group Lounge (room 250/262 in the West Mezzanine in the South Hall of Moscone, one level above the show floor) to talk about Apple's show announcements, what's cool on the show floor, and our Take Control ebooks. At 2:00 PM, Joe Kissell (author of "Take Control of Upgrading to Panther") and Tonya and I will be back at the Aladdin booth (#1507) to take questions about upgrading to Panther and the Take Control series in general. Then, from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM, Glenn and I will be at the Peachpit booth (#1917) for a wireless networking demo and to answer your questions.

<http://www.mugcenter.com/macworld/mwsf2004/ ugl.html>
<http://www.tidbits.com/takecontrol/panther/ upgrading.html>

We're all looking forward to seeing you at the show!