Few surprises likely at Tokyo Mac show

While some observers hold out hope that Jobs' presence at the world's biggest Mac show signals the imminent arrival of a new Mac -- especially Pismo, the code name for the much-anticipated successor to the company's Lombard pro laptop -- precedent suggests otherwise.

Even if Jobs doesn't introduce new hardware when he takes the stage Wednesday at Makuhari Messe in Tokyo suburb Chiba, the show could be the springboard for some important new Internet moves by the company.

Focus on the Net
Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) will certainly use the event to add momentum to its Internet push. Most Japanese Mac users know how vigorous the market has become, and many Japanese third parties will underscore that vigor with new products and special events at the show.

Apple Japan will make much of AirMac, the wireless networking technology known as AirPort in other markets. Local trademark issues compelled the company to rename the product in Japan, and AirMac is due to reach Japanese shelves in the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned for a splashy Expo demonstration of AirMac and the local Version 1.1.1 of its upgraded software.

Elsewhere in the exhibition hall, show organizer IDG Japan will open iMovie School, a hands-on showcase with 50 iMac DV models running iMovie, Apple's consumer-level video-production package. On Friday IDG Japan will host Mac Fan Night at Makuhari Messe's Competition Hall.

Microsoft Corp. will demonstrate its complete line of Mac products, including Internet Explore 5.0, Outlook Express 5.0. and IntelliMouse Explorer. Microsoft will host a workshop for its Word 98 iMac PowerUp package, and it will hand out MacTopia Special CD-ROM, a disc that includes Internet Explorer 4.51 and Outlook Express 5.01.

Special-interest zones
In the "World of Digital Video" special-interest zone, Focal Point's booth will present high-end digital video products, including Apple's Final Cut Pro, Truevision's Targa board and Aurora Design Inc.'s Igniter video-capture card, as well as plug-ins for Final Cut Pro.

The "Speed Bump Your Mac" zone will feature PowerLogix's dual-processor G4 upgrade cards announced at January's Macworld Expo in San Francisco, and Formac will show off its ProFormance3 video card. The "FireWire" zone will include a variety of wares, such as SANcube, MicroNet's FireWire-based storage-area network.

New gear at the "Colorful Peripherals" zone will include a battery-powered Universal Serial Bus (USB) scanner; TacoChooo, a low-cost, 0.35-million CCD digital camera; and Pocket Drive, a compact USB/FireWire hard drive.

Ratoc Systems will show off its REX-PCIFU1P PCI card, which allows users to connect both FireWire and USB peripherals to older Macs. The company will also demonstrate direct digital-video capture to the internal hard drive of a Power Mac G4 via its REX-PCI34P LVD Wide Ultra 2 SCSI PCI board and LLC's SoftRAID application. Lastly, RATOC will demo digital-video editing on a PowerBook G3 using its REX-CBFW2D FireWire adapter PC Card and the localized Japanese Version of EditDV Unplugged 1.6.1.

On Saturday, ASK Corp. and P.&A. will host a Quake III Arena competition.

Meanwhile, Japanese Mac organizations will host their own events at Expo. Popular local sites such as PowerBook Army and Mac Treasure Tracing Club will meet with users, and the iBook INFO site is asking users of Apple's consumer portable to bring their iBooks and favorite carrying cases to an event called "iBookers."

New hardware unlikely
But show goers hoping to see new Apple hardware such as Pismo are likely to be disappointed.

Last year, in his first-ever Macworld Tokyo keynote speech, Jobs essentially rehashed his San Francisco Expo presentation. The only new twists focused on Japanese localizations of Mac OS 9 and Apple's Internet wares. Indeed, Apple has never used a foreign event to debut a new Mac.

Furthermore, sources report that Pismo simply isn't ready for prime time.

Mac site Go2Mac.com reported that while Apple is ramping up manufacturing of the new systems, Pismo requires some application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) that the company hasn't yet completed. And under Jobs Apple has demonstrated it will not announce new products until it has 30 days' worth of inventory waiting in the channel -- the iMac being the only exception to the rule.

Another point: Pismo isn't a machine that will be embraced by the Japanese market. Essentially a speed-bumped Lombard with UMA and FireWire, Pismo is too large and heavy to represent an instant hit with Japanese subnotebook enthusiasts.

Look for Pismo later
Even if it were closer to completion, announcing Pismo in Japan would do little for Apple. The company would get much better PR and mind share by announcing it at a "special event" in Cupertino, Calif., as it did with the latest iMacs, or at May's Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, Calif.

Worst-case scenario: Apple waits for everything to be just perfect and announces Pismo at July's Macworld Expo in New York.

Macworld Expo/Tokyo 2000 runs Feb. 16-19.

Jason D. O'Grady is the founder and publisher of Go2Mac.com, a Mac-centric Internet portal. Yuji Tai publishes Japan Apple Watch, an English-language site that focuses on Macs and third-party products in Japan.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs will handle the keynote duties at this week's Macworld Expo in Tokyo, but don't count on a new PowerBook or other major product announcements from the company.

While some observers hold out hope that Jobs' presence at the world's biggest Mac show signals the imminent arrival of a new Mac -- especially Pismo, the code name for the much-anticipated successor to the company's Lombard pro laptop -- precedent suggests otherwise.

Even if Jobs doesn't introduce new hardware when he takes the stage Wednesday at Makuhari Messe in Tokyo suburb Chiba, the show could be the springboard for some important new Internet moves by the company.

Focus on the Net
Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) will certainly use the event to add momentum to its Internet push. Most Japanese Mac users know how vigorous the market has become, and many Japanese third parties will underscore that vigor with new products and special events at the show.

Apple Japan will make much of AirMac, the wireless networking technology known as AirPort in other markets. Local trademark issues compelled the company to rename the product in Japan, and AirMac is due to reach Japanese shelves in the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned for a splashy Expo demonstration of AirMac and the local Version 1.1.1 of its upgraded software.

Elsewhere in the exhibition hall, show organizer IDG Japan will open iMovie School, a hands-on showcase with 50 iMac DV models running iMovie, Apple's consumer-level video-production package. On Friday IDG Japan will host Mac Fan Night at Makuhari Messe's Competition Hall.

Microsoft Corp. will demonstrate its complete line of Mac products, including Internet Explore 5.0, Outlook Express 5.0. and IntelliMouse Explorer. Microsoft will host a workshop for its Word 98 iMac PowerUp package, and it will hand out MacTopia Special CD-ROM, a disc that includes Internet Explorer 4.51 and Outlook Express 5.01.

Special-interest zones
In the "World of Digital Video" special-interest zone, Focal Point's booth will present high-end digital video products, including Apple's Final Cut Pro, Truevision's Targa board and Aurora Design Inc.'s Igniter video-capture card, as well as plug-ins for Final Cut Pro.

The "Speed Bump Your Mac" zone will feature PowerLogix's dual-processor G4 upgrade cards announced at January's Macworld Expo in San Francisco, and Formac will show off its ProFormance3 video card. The "FireWire" zone will include a variety of wares, such as SANcube, MicroNet's FireWire-based storage-area network.

New gear at the "Colorful Peripherals" zone will include a battery-powered Universal Serial Bus (USB) scanner; TacoChooo, a low-cost, 0.35-million CCD digital camera; and Pocket Drive, a compact USB/FireWire hard drive.

Ratoc Systems will show off its REX-PCIFU1P PCI card, which allows users to connect both FireWire and USB peripherals to older Macs. The company will also demonstrate direct digital-video capture to the internal hard drive of a Power Mac G4 via its REX-PCI34P LVD Wide Ultra 2 SCSI PCI board and LLC's SoftRAID application. Lastly, RATOC will demo digital-video editing on a PowerBook G3 using its REX-CBFW2D FireWire adapter PC Card and the localized Japanese Version of EditDV Unplugged 1.6.1.

On Saturday, ASK Corp. and P.&A. will host a Quake III Arena competition.

Meanwhile, Japanese Mac organizations will host their own events at Expo. Popular local sites such as PowerBook Army and Mac Treasure Tracing Club will meet with users, and the iBook INFO site is asking users of Apple's consumer portable to bring their iBooks and favorite carrying cases to an event called "iBookers."

New hardware unlikely
But show goers hoping to see new Apple hardware such as Pismo are likely to be disappointed.

Last year, in his first-ever Macworld Tokyo keynote speech, Jobs essentially rehashed his San Francisco Expo presentation. The only new twists focused on Japanese localizations of Mac OS 9 and Apple's Internet wares. Indeed, Apple has never used a foreign event to debut a new Mac.

Furthermore, sources report that Pismo simply isn't ready for prime time.

Mac site Go2Mac.com reported that while Apple is ramping up manufacturing of the new systems, Pismo requires some application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) that the company hasn't yet completed. And under Jobs Apple has demonstrated it will not announce new products until it has 30 days' worth of inventory waiting in the channel -- the iMac being the only exception to the rule.

Another point: Pismo isn't a machine that will be embraced by the Japanese market. Essentially a speed-bumped Lombard with UMA and FireWire, Pismo is too large and heavy to represent an instant hit with Japanese subnotebook enthusiasts.

Look for Pismo later
Even if it were closer to completion, announcing Pismo in Japan would do little for Apple. The company would get much better PR and mind share by announcing it at a "special event" in Cupertino, Calif., as it did with the latest iMacs, or at May's Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, Calif.

Worst-case scenario: Apple waits for everything to be just perfect and announces Pismo at July's Macworld Expo in New York.

Macworld Expo/Tokyo 2000 runs Feb. 16-19.

Jason D. O'Grady is the founder and publisher of Go2Mac.com, a Mac-centric Internet portal. Yuji Tai publishes Japan Apple Watch, an English-language site that focuses on Macs and third-party products in Japan.