Trade shows uses Apple's AirPort network

From...

by David Leishman

ANAHEIM, California (IDG) -- Walking into the lobby of the Anaheim Convention Center for the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Winter trade show, one of the first things you noticed were the iMacs -- 15 in all -- installed to enable free e-mail access for attendees. What wasn't so noticeable was that the show was running on Apple's AirPort wireless network technology.

"We used our summer show in Nashville as the testbed (for AirPort), and this is the roll-out," said Larry Hermann, NAMM's technology director. Organizers, he said, saved time and money by not bringing in T-1 lines and avoiding the need to tape down miles' worth of network cables. "And we're able to process accounting transactions and update our FileMaker Pro database in real-time, eliminating the need to re-key handwritten invoices and data sheets," he said. "We love (Airport) and we're going to build on this success for the July show."

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Just four years ago, NAMM's computer system was a laptop with a modem. Now, the organization's headquarters is set up for AirPort and every employee has a Mac on their desk. "The whole executive team uses PowerBooks," Hermann said. "When we have a meeting, everyone can refer to the same report, then jump to a Web site someone wants to discuss."

This edition of the biennial event, which showcases products for musicians, drew 52,000 pre-registrants, its highest crowd ever. Apple used a small booth to promote FireWire as an interface for high-quality digital audio. Representatives were showing the G4 Cube, a 15-inch Apple Studio Display and a Yamaha mLAN I/O interface, which can convert and carry eight channels of audio via the 1394 protocol.

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National Association of Music Merchants
Apple AirPort

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