What do Canon Digital SLRs and iPods have in common?

I want you to close your eyes. Okay, don’t, because then you couldn’t read this. Just imagine with your eyes open: you’re in a room, an extremely large room; in fact it’s actually a convention center. There’s a strange vibe surrounding you, but it takes you a moment to figure out what it is. You just keep thinking any minute you’re going to be trampled by a stampede of overweight, middle aged men wearing Star Trek t-shirts. It finally hits you what the vibe is, you are in the middle of what is quite possibly the largest gathering of geeks, nerds, and otherwise techno-dweebs this world has ever seen. Now, in your minds eye, look at the faces. Do you see me? I’m the guy in the jeans, diagonal-blue-striped white button down shirt, and black sports coat with the satchel bag slug over his back. Yep, that’s me, back in the corner playing with the new U2 Special Edition iPod. That little out of body experience you just went on took you to MacExpo 2004 at the Business Design Centre in Islington, London. And no, you were not imagining things; it really was me back in the corner. I got up around the crack of noon today and headed off on a 50 minute cross-town train [ride] in the London Underground. After an hour in line and a modest 10 pound fee, I was in. Surprisingly enough, it wasn’t as much a meeting of the dorks that you might think, Apple has been incredibly successful at carving out its niche in pop culture and that was evident today. I had a chance to play with the new operating system that’s due to be released in the “first half of 2005,” Final Cut Pro HD set up on a G5 with dual 23” screens, the new iMac G5, gorgeous, Bose’s sounddock for iPod… amazing, Canon’s new Digital SLRs… wow, up to 16.7 Mega pixels… that’s unbelievable, the new “The Incredibles” game, and finally, got to sit in the Colorworx Ferrari sitting out front. It was a good afternoon. I finished it up by swinging by Lillywhites and getting my second installment of Christmas shopping done, they were having a huge sale today and I found a number of things for 1 pound. I’m almost finished, and glad for it. Anyway, the first European Apple store opens tomorrow morning at 10am, I think I’m going to forgo that in lue of an essay over Joseph M. W. Turner. But, U2’s new album does come out Monday, and I’ll be in line at Virgin Megastore in Piccadilly Circus Sunday at midnight to be one of the first ones to own a copy. I’ll have listened to it a number of times before you can buy it in the states! Haha. Cheers mates.