The MacGathering™
Macintosh Computer Expo for Southern California
Expo, Seminars, Classes, and Social Happenings

Exhibit Hall & Free features • Bootcamps! • Social Events.
All about the Macintosh computer and iPhone.
  Something for every Mac user ~•~ Special focuses for small business & developers

A full weekend event...
priced with today's tough economy in mind,
focused on helping you meet today's challenges

The MacGathering is an event with a personal touch, created by the Mac community, for the Mac community. We're not about big business or taking your money. We're about bringing great software and hardware to great people, and great people to great providers.

MacGathering™ Update

We'd found an excellent, top-class hotel right by LAX for our new location but unfortunately the economy and timing wasn't right. We simply didn't hear back from enough people that they'd be able to attend if we held it May 1.

Thank you to the folks who did our survey.
Thank you to the great vendors who got set to attend.
Thank you to those who would have sponsored if the timing had been right.

Want to sponsor or otherwise support and help build this unique event?
Please let us know! Send us an email!

 

A bit of what we'll have eventually...

Here's what we have for you — IF we KNOW people will travel to attend. We know that's tricky, given the economy. Event attendance is down everywhere and we understand. So all we can do is tell you what we can do for you, then ask you to tell us if you want it.

Exhibit Hall

We're the show with a personal touch, providing comfortable areas for you to sit and get to know our exhibitors, and for them to get to know you and your needs.

  • One feature will be a Small Business section. Exhibitors would include Xsilva's LightSpeed, beautiful POS software with QuickBooks integration and a web store interface as well and Rage Software's SEO tools to help your web presence.
  • We also want to help you create your own custom software so RealBasic would be there for you.
  • To help you avoid costly Mac maintenance, Prosoft Engineering would be there teaching their hard drive management, data recovery, and data backup software.
  • Because you should be able to try a mouse, not just see a box, and it's great to have the maker of a cable actually tell you about it, RadTech will be there. Of course they do more than cables and mice, but you get the idea. You get to learn or try, and know what it is you buy.
  • Tell us who you want/need to see (via that survey) and we'll let them know they are wanted.

Feature presentations open to all attendees.

  • Screenings of MacHEADS The Movie.
    The film made its world-wide debut at Macworld Expo.
    Now, by special arrangement, it comes to Los Angeles for you to see!
  • Computer and Gaming Hands-on "Museum"
    Our own unique space where you can not just have a look at the evolution of all this tech stuff, but also try it out.
    Do you remember some of it, or would it have been what your parents used? Either way, it'll be fun to see and try.
    We're inviting schools and groups to come learn the history or computing and/or gaming as well. If you work for a school and are interested, drop us a line.
  • FREE seminars on how to run Linux or Windows on your Mac so you can get the most out of your hardware purchase.
  • FREE seminars about some helpful everyday Mac software.

Bootcamps covering all sorts of topics. All-day intensive training to improve your skills.

  • Small Business Bootcamp(s) — retail sales, web sales, inventory, bookkeeping, marketing, and more
  • Web Bootcamp
  • Computer Basics Bootcamp
  • MacOS and iPhone Programming Bootcamps
  • And maybe...Other Bootcamps for Music, Video, Graphics...

MacMixer™ — Friday evening reception for all attendees where you can mingle with fellow Mac-users, some terrific instructors and vendors — right in the Exhibit Hall!

"The MacMixer™ was a great idea. Do that again, please. How cool to be talking to someone, think he seems familiar, then realize you're talking to Jerry "the beaver" Mathers! I spoke to Jeff Levy too. You never know who's going to pop up when Deb's involved."

Keynote
We'll get back to you on this one. The Mac is 25 years old this year, so our speaker will have to be over the age of 25. And that, is our starting critera. (Yea, right.)

Games— just for fun on Saturday night
Some of what we're planning — with our celebrity host, René Auberjonois.

  • Mac Jeopardy — do you think you know Mac?
  • The Mac Dating Game — can an iMac and a MacBook Pro really coexist?
    And is that at all a relevent question for our game? We'll see.
  • May some iPhone game challenges

René Auberjonois is our gameshow host at the MacGathering™

Want to be kept in the loop? Want to let companies know you're interested in being there?
Join our mailing list.
  Just email us with your full name, (and optionally your neighborhood or zip code)
Feel free to add a personal note to your email.

"Really enjoyed the MacGathering. Purchased several software programs. Found out how to attach my Nikon lens to my Cannon EOS (really cool!), picked up lots of great information and met a lot of nice people. Please do it again next year. Thanks for a great job." —Laurence

"I was embarrassed to not know how the iPod and iTunes worked, since everyone seems to just know this stuff. I'm glad the iProng.com guys were there. They showed me."

"...As if that wasn't enough, on Saturday I went to a few of the seminars on sound recording, music recording, and podcasting. I want to podcast my classes! This is going to be COOL! So now I know what the next steps are." —LP

"Just wanted to say thank you for organizing the macgathering.com workshops.
I'm sorry I could not make it both days, but the seminars the second day were very helpful." —Wendy

"The MacGathering happened just at the right time for me to start learning Flash. (Thankyou to Mke Browne.)"

"Wild. I read Andy Shalet's columns in magazines and then I come to this little show right in my own town and get to meet the guy and learn directly from him in person."

"I learned some great insider's Final Cut Pro from Steve Martin — the guy who made all the videos at the Apple website that made me and so many others know how great FCP was! I can't believe it. Steve was also selling his Ripple Training videos in the expo hall so I bought the whole set. But I'm still looking forward to the next time you can get Steve to teach!"
 












Want to let companies know you're interested in attending?
Take our interest survey now.

"I'm excited about MacGathering '09.
Keep me posted."
Joe Lyons
Inland Empire Business Journal

 

I know I'll pick up a lot of good info for my listeners there. Looking forward to it May '09.
Benjamin Rockwell
Digital Computer Talk - syndicated radio

 

"Thanks for the wonderful show. I'm looking forward to next year's MacGathering™ already!"
—Paul Hoppe,
Editor iOnMac
[May 2006]
~ iOnMac post show coverage

Submit trivia for Mac Jeopardy
We need the Answer,
Question
&
fact source.

"I am wired and INSPIRED!!!! after having spent all of Friday and Saturday at the Macgathering."

"I learned so much in the Exhibit Hall! Every vendor I visited had helpful staff that sat down with me, so I did really get to know what they had, how I might use or need it, and even how to use it. Great personal service!"

Watch our
unique
Sinbad Keynote
animation.

"It was just like Leo Laporte said it would be. Up close and personal."
—man at show

Mac Jeopardy
is made
possible by

"The audio classes were amazing. Jerry sure knows his stuff! And the guy from BIAS was so great."


We also produce another event in Los Angeles. It's called
MacDayLA
and you can learn about it at MacDayLA.com
MacDayLA is a smaller 1-day event. It's like MacGathering™ but without the show floor.

This page was last updated on Sunday, February 22, 2009 at 10:47 AM.
Site & logo design by Deborah Shadovitz, all content ©2005-2007 Deborah Shadovitz
Macintosh is a trademark of Apple Inc. This is an independent event; it has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc.