Some of the Mac faithful were dismayed to discover that the wireless AirPort network set up by Apple inside the keynote hall of the Javits Center required a password, leaving both journalists and aspiring Web surfers disconnected.
Unable to access the real Internet, they set up computer-to-computer networks with names such as "10.2 disks are under your chair" (they weren't), "Apple to announce WorldCom merger" (it didn't), "Public AirPort Zone" (it wasn't; I tried), and "News Flash: Jobs to Wear Black" (he did).
It later became clear why Apple may have turned off the 802.11b wireless connection it helped popularize. A number of Apple's keynote demonstrations required the ability to trade instant messages and share files with those connected to a nearby wirelessly equipped Mac.
It's pronounced "$129"
While not everyone was thrilled that Apple plans to charge $129 for the new version of its Mac OS X operating system, a number of those who walked away from CEO Steve Jobs' keynote on Wednesday were also puzzled by Jobs' pronunciation of the new version of Mac OS X, code-named Jaguar. Jobs pronounces the new version of the OS "Jag-WHY-ur."
Asked about the diction question, Jobs quipped, "Because I'm weird. Everyone tells me I pronounce it wrong."
Those with glass staircases
Apple's new store in Manhattan's SoHo district is the first store to rise two stories--which provided a new challenge for the design-conscious company.
Apple and its architects had to figure out how to convince people to actually go upstairs. Their answer: a giant glass staircase below a giant skylight.
Karl Backus, an associate with Apple's architecture firm Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, said the glass staircase was an idea the firm had previously implemented with another client, but noted that the scale and intricacy of the one they built for Apple far exceeded their prior work.
Apple plans a similar approach with a soon-to-open store in Los Angeles.
News.com's Paul Festa contributed to this report.
