Discounted registration fee for Macworld?

December 5, 2005 12:06 PM

I'm thinking of attending Macworld 2006 but I'm puzzled by the array of available discount codes to use when registering online. Any tips to share about that or about things to do while at Macworld?
posted by runningdogofcapitalism to technology (12 comments total)

I use it as an excuse to be in San Francisco for a while. :)
posted by symphonik at 12:13 PM on December 5, 2005

how does one get tickets to the stevenote?
posted by bonaldi at 12:20 PM on December 5, 2005

Are you trying to go to the sessions, or just the exhibits?
posted by smackfu at 12:35 PM on December 5, 2005

The general exhibit floor is free if you register before a certain date (December 9th, I believe) - after that, it's only about $25.
If you Google around, you can very easily find free promo passes/online coupons for free admittance from companies like Other World Computing or Smalldog Electronics.

Chances are, you're getting confused with the array of classes & lectures that are offered at the event. If you just want to go to the exhibit hall, it won't cost you more than a song.

As for the "Stevenote" - tickets can be had, for a price. I believe that tickets for that are included with the most expensive of the Macworld Expo Conference packages.
posted by drstein at 12:35 PM on December 5, 2005

In years past, the "Stevenote" has been open to all comers after the press and those with conference passes have been seated. They also have had at least one "overflow" room where you can watch it on video.
posted by kindall at 3:52 PM on December 5, 2005

I'd like to take in the exhibits, the keynote with his Steveness as well as one symposium. As I understand it, that's going to set me back a little over $200USD (after factoring in at least one of the promo codes I've found). But there are so many of these discount codes floating around...I'm confused. Plus I'd be willing to cut out the symposium if there was a way to just do the exhibits plus keynote. But I don't think they let you do that.

Fellow me-fi-ers....anyone a former Macworld attendee who can cast light on this?

Thanks everyone for the comments so far. This is my first crack at posting on askMefi.
posted by runningdogofcapitalism at 4:09 PM on December 5, 2005

For $215, you get:
USERS CONFERENCE

* Users Conference (1/11 - 1/12)
* Keynote (1/10)
* Feature Presentations (1/11 - 1/13)
* 4 Day Exhibit Hall (1/10 - 1/13)
* Register TODAY!

---
That's the cheapest thing that gets you into the keynote, if you register before December 9th. You may find a coupon online somewhere, but there's really no guarantee. $215 really isn't that bad of a price, considering that it gets you into the Users Conference, which usually has some very informative sessions.
I found this information on the Macworld Expo website. I can't link directly to the pricing page, unfortunately. Visit the main site. Click "Register." Click "San Francisco Attendee Information." Click "Packages, Pricing & Deadlines." There you go.

Also note that if you're a student, you get a 20% discount. "Students and educators are eligible to receive 20% off the conference registration prices. (Exhibit Hall package excluded)."
posted by drstein at 9:40 PM on December 5, 2005

the Moscone center will have two discrete exhibit halls: the south one, with huge flashy Adobe, Macromedia, Alias, ATI and Nvidia etc setups, and a north hall (separated by a short indoor walk) with the countless smaller indie Mac developers. make sure you spend time in both areas, they're both a lot of fun. if you plan on staying a few hours, bring a backpack with drinks and food -- the sandwich place in Moscone and the food vendors are all typical exhibition ripoffs. a backpack is also important for shoving all of the free stuff you're likely to pick up (demo DVDs, flyers, newsletters, maybe some t-shirts if you're lucky). if you plan on using your laptop, make sure it has plenty of juice, as you might be barred from using the outlets.

there will likely be free workshops held by Adobe and Macromedia (and maybe Alias) held in the south hall. usually they'll have an array of expensive powermacs set up, and you add your name to a list then come back at the appropriate time to do the workshop. sometimes they're boring, other times you get a cool expert running the thing and it might actually learn something. either way, you'll probably get to play with expensive software on even more expensive computers. Adobe also makes a tradition of giving out a free software title to a randomly chosen winner and some other stuff at the end of workshops. also, there are going to be lots of panels from various software/hardware vendors. both reps and actual developers do these, and they're often pretty cool.

as a testament to the state of Mac gaming, the games area will have 80% of the same games it had last year. there will probably be Unreal Tournament 2k4 competitions, among other games. it's amazing, if for no other reason than it's the only place on earth where you will see all Macs (all of which are probably G5s with 23" displays) set up to play games on a LAN. the rest of the north hall (the gaming area is pretty small) is completely different each year, and though it's not as flashy, there's just as much stuff to check out. i always find some cool software that i hadn't stumbled upon yet.

if you want to get into the keynote for free, come EARLY.

the users conferences and feature presentations are fun, depending on who is doing what event. different each year, so you'll just have to scope it out if you want to see them. also, there's no way you'll want to spend four days in the exhibit hall. most likely just one, maybe two. make it during the first two days, when the exhibitors aren't dead tired yet.

fun thing to do: before you get into the exhibit hall (or whichever event you go to first), there will be a huge number of iMacs/iBooks set up for signing in. you type in your info and then a pass is printed at a booth a few yards away, where a person takes the printout of the info you just filled in and puts it in a thing to wear around your neck. the people working at the booth call out your name and the company you filled it for you to come pick up. i usually put something ridiculous in the company field, and i recommend you do the same.

if you come with a friend (or even alone) and you're itching to do something after you leave the exhibition hall at night, the Sony Metreon is just down the street. a nice place to get drinks and have an (expensive) dinner if you never have before.
posted by tumult at 11:23 PM on December 5, 2005

i also forgot to add that nvidia's and ati's own gaming setups get larger each year, and they're typically even more flashy and sometimes have games that haven't been released yet.
posted by tumult at 11:27 PM on December 5, 2005

oh, and apple's exhibit will be in the south hall. duh.
posted by tumult at 11:28 PM on December 5, 2005

This is excellent advice...many thanks, tumult!
posted by runningdogofcapitalism at 8:26 AM on December 6, 2005

Don't forget that the San Francisco Apple Store is just up the street. When the iPod Shuffle was released, people MOBBED that store and were buying Shuffles by the armful. (Literally. I watched it happen.)

There's usually a lot to do at Macworld. it's a pretty big trade show. Just walk around and talk to the vendors, talk to gamers, look at product demos, etc. You can pick up a guide when you enter the conference.
I don't know how set you were on the keynote, but it has become *very* difficult to get in. Aside from the package that I mentioned earlier, getting in isn't easy. I don't believe that they let people in for free anymore because they're generally able to sell plenty of the User Conference packages. The SFPD is usually on hand to boot out the gate crashers, too.
posted by drstein at 12:18 PM on December 6, 2005