SXSW: An oasis in central Texas
Moo?
Hmm. Is there something wrong with this picture? Is this really where the foremost music and media extravaganza takes place? Yes, this was the view I was treated to as I cabbed away from the airport in Austin, and as the meter ticked up in a never-ending fashion, I thought surely I had made some grave error and booked a hotel 50 miles away from downtown instead of five. But no, the compact city of Austin rises rather like an oasis in the middle of flat and relatively empty Texan plains. I am a mere five miles away, and yet I could just as well be at some lonely highway outpost in the middle of nowhere America. You can see how this might at first have been a tad disconcerting to someone who comes from an area where the urban sprawl fans out dozens of miles in any direction. No matter. The city of Austin is most appropriately equipped for SXSW, with its central convention center and massive supply of live music venues (every bar has a stage, and 6th Street alone is lined with bar after bar). Indeed, it was chosen for the latter. Shortly, I'll be making my first foray into the convention center and bringing you coverage of the Ultimate Music Recommendation Smackdown. Also on the agenda today: The Truth About Mobile & The Future of Personal Devices (will they all be iPhones?). And be sure to tune in at 5:00 p.m. PST if you want all the details on the new music player I was hinting about.
For more than five years, Jasmine France has covered a variety of tech products for CNET--from scanners to keyboards to GPS devices--but she's happiest where she is now: sitting atop a pile of MP3 players, "testing" every music service known to man, and jamming a variety of earbuds in every shape and color into her absurdly small ears. E-mail Jasmine.
i visit a friend nearby every other year, it's gorgeous there;-)
- Where was this taken?!
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by wwpike
March 13, 2007 1:03 PM PDT
- Our airport is on an edge of the city limits that is pretty close to downtown, but we still have our ugly hotels, parking lots, strip joints, and depressed neighborhoods nearby like all other American airports. I wonder where this shot is taken b/c all I usually see on the way from the airport is The Landing STRIP and I'm not talking about a runway.
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- On the way from the airport...
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by Jasmineflower
March 13, 2007 3:52 PM PDT
- ...to a hotel five miles north of downtown, which is indeed part of its own ugly cluster of roadside convenience. :) And I think I noticed that other landing strip on the way in...
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(4 Comments)Don't get me wrong, I love Austin, and our city is streched more North, South, and West which provides us with the luxury of an Airport so close to Downtown!!
At any rate, I took an immediate shine to this city, firstly due to the magnificently balmy weather (yeah, it's thunderstorming...but it's still warm!), and, you know, then there's the ever-important BBQ factor. Plus, the downtown is pleasantly small and not claustrophobic like those of several other large cities I can think of.