Jul 14, 2005 09:39 AM
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A continuation of Episode I in which Will is lured into the back seat of a Lexus.
Among the Believers with Will Leitch
I am greeted by a 2003 Lexus in the middle of the display floor. It belongs to Michael Oh, the CEO of Tech SuperPowers, and the backseat is fitted with all kinds of digital editing equipment. The sign above the car screams proudly, GEEK MY RIDE! A Tech SuperPowers assistant named John DeYoung, who looks like he s a little annoyed that he couldn t make a career of going to String Cheese Incident shows, explains that this is Oh s actual car, rigged up specifically for this convention. DeYoung says, if one so desired, they could edit an entire film from the backseat.
I make a joke. Man, I thought the only thing you could do in a backseat involved a girl and a deserted road in the Midwest. DeYoung s jaw loosens for a millisecond as he stares blankly at me, and then he gets back on message. Well, yeah, it took us a few months to set this thing up, but if you really focused, you could probably do it in a couple of hours, he says. He offers me a seat in the backseat, but I decline.
When I told friends I was going to this convention, they all asked me to pick up some free crap for them, maybe an iPod or something. But nothing at the MacWorld convention is free. One exhibit, Delapod by Delarew Designs, sells designer iPod handbags, with a publicity photo of a woman modeling the merchandise. Apparently they don t use PhotoShop much at Delarew Designs world headquarters; the model has frighteningly large, protruding nipples desperately trying to escape her shirt. Another booth sells iPod holders, including iGuy, a squat Gumby-type thing with little deformed-baby flipper arms. It retails at $16.99, a discount special for this convention.
I notice a crowd at the MacDirectory Magazine booth up ahead. I drift over and see that the magazine has two display tables. One is manned by a chubby man named Huntley Fields; no one s at his table. The other, however, has a long line of balding, paunched men waiting to hear all about this thrilling publication. A buxom, tight-shirted, GoDaddy-esque woman named Vanessa Carlisle explains how the magazine works and offers to sell official MacDirectory Magazine trinkets and garb. A man in the back of the line stands on his tiptoes and even hops a little.
The Final Chapter Cometh
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