Wow, Macworld San Francisco! Apple launches iPhone and AppleTV! But wait, you can see all that on the internet right? Well...... there was a lot more to see and the best part is getting to see the people you know and meeting new friends as well.

I confess for me there is nothing like being there. I completely enjoyed the hype and presentation by Apple of the new products. Watching the people crowded around the plexiglas enclosure housing a rotating iPhone was something to be experienced. It is fantastic that Apple can still generate that type of intensity around their version of a product that is already considered mature.

Walking around the show floor, I was struck with how commercial the show has become. It seemed that outside of Apple, there was little to see that was innovative. There were lots of people selling "stuff" like cases for ipods. But what was missing for me was the smaller creative software companies showing the exciting new features of their products. And is it surprising? Apple has made it harder to be a part of their experience. Once they invited us in, giving us free space and promotion. Now there is discussion that the iPhone will not be open and thus all the creative people who want to express themselves by creating programs for this device may not be able to do so.

But innovation does not lie down. Like many devices before this, it is the beginning of things to come. Now all the phone makers will wake up and try to copy the iPhone. And then the software innovators will be there to challange the idea of a closed system. And one of the companies you can count on to offer deployment tools for new platforms is Runtime.

We are pleased that Runtime could be present at the show. For those of you who had a chance to stop by booth# S1236 in the FileMaker Pavillion and speak Dave Simpson to about his extensive use of Runtime I know you enjoyed it. Thanks Dave for showing Runtime!. I hope we can find more opportunities to support our developers at shows in the future. It is critical for the community that Runtime be showcased whenever possible. If you have an upcoming event that can demonstrate your Runtime solutions please do not hesitate to contact us.

Speaking of meeting old friends and making new ones, we had a great Runtime dinner Tuesday night at McCormicks, the seafood restaurant at Ghirardelli Square. I got a chance to find out more about the developer community in what was for me the first chance I have had to meet with Runtime developers in the USA. Ray Harder discussed his ideas for penetrating the educational markets and how we can support him. This is a critical market for Runtime and any other developers who have their sights on that market in the USA should contact Lynn Fredricks. Dave Brooks and Mark Weider told me how much I missed at the last conference. I promised to come to the next one. Dave mentioned how much the training sessions meant for him last summer. I took note of this and we are going to soon ask the community what you want at the upcoming conference. If you have any thoughts on the upcoming conference please send them.

I hope we can plan more such dinners. If any of you coming to MacWorld Paris, drop me a note! If you would like to consider having more activities at that time such as training or a mini user conference, now is the time for us to start planning it. As one of the developers attending the dinner said to me, "the after hours parts of the conferences were some of the most rewarding." I want to create every opportunity possible for this to happen so please let us know what events would be a good excuse for getting together.