Nevermind the companies, who were the people getting the most buzz here in Palm Desert?
It's hard to say which had the higher profile at Demo this week: Kingmaking Wall Street Journal Technology columnist Walt Mossberg or his new MacBook Air, a machine which only started shipping to the hoi polloi this week, after being announced during Apple CEO Steve Jobs's annual MacWorld keynote speech two weeks ago. Both man and machine caused stares throughout the show.
Other sightings: John Oates, of 80s supergroup Hall and Oates, who came onstage for the demo from learn to play music site iVideotunes.
Microsoft's Don Dodge shared a story about another Demo celebrity sighting. At last fall's Demo conference, Dodge checked out a media discovery company called Matchmine. Standing at the booth was New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft, who was an investor in the company. Dodge, a Massachusetts resident, recognized Kraft and started up a conversation. Stemming from that initial meeting, Dodge and Kraft kept in touch. Now Dodge says Kraft has invited him to Phoenix watch the Patriots at this Sunday's Super Bowl. Who said Demo wasn't worth the entry fee?
