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What started out as a Seattle-meets-London day turned out very nice indeed weather-wise here in Austin and still at SXSW. Some other observations from today…

- Walking around the conference , you witness what can only be called “the badge staredown”; people want to know who you are from the badge which must hang around your neck at all times, but you also realize that they are most likely only caring about seeing the company you are affiliated with and not your real name, unless you resemble a celebrity or crush from their high school years.

- Apple laptops outnumber everything else at least 2:1. And the various PC manifestations of laptops look like really dopey lunchboxes compared to the one the German exchange student brings to the cafeteria everyday. Two Macbook Airs were spotted in captivity… beautiful, but the somewhat negative reviews of it taint the experience of finally seeing one. Plus it’ll be half as thin in six months

- There are a lot of random panels. “Designing websites with your mother in mind”…. actually not a bad concept! But let’s see a list of rejected panel ideas… “Computers? What’s the point”… “How to befriend your cyberstalker”…. “Quilting for dummies”

- Many smart & talented people appear on panels. Often times they speak of the conference they just returned from in Las Vegas or Bali. And the conference right before those conferences. When do you people do any actual work? (and is more time spent on your expense reports?)

- There is a large representation of people from foreign countries which is great, but what they are essentially saying is that it is cheaper to attend a panel here than in their own countries (just kidding… SXSW is a global phenomenon)