FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MACTECH CONFERENCE 2010 FIRST TO SHOW MAC-BASED PLANETARY ROVERS
– Autonomous Rovers based on Mac Mini controlled by iPod Touch
– First public display outside a university or research setting
– Special registration bundle/options expires Oct 25th
– Hotel room block close to sell out

October 19, 2010 — Westlake Village, CA — The MacTech Conference for IT Pros and Mac developers, November 3-5, 2010 in Los Angeles, announced today that it will have Mac-based planetary exploration rovers and boat controlled by iPod Touch’s on hand at the opening of the international conference. This is the first public display of these rovers outside a university or research setting. Keynote speaker Andy Ihnatko will open MacTech Conference: a three-day, information-packed event will have sessions and activities throughout the day and evening. This fully immersive conference is packed with sessions from world-class speakers and evening activities, including an exclusive trip to the world-renowned Griffith Observatory, and the MacTech Bowl party.

Professor Wolfgang Fink, who came to the University of Arizona from Caltech last year, will be demonstrating the units on the first day of the conference prior to the Conference’s keynote by Andy Ihnatko. The rovers, which can carry a payload of 40 pounds, and the boat are based on Mac Minis and controlled by iOS devices such as the iPod Touch over the Internet. Fink and his colleague Mark Tarbell will be available to answer questions and discuss University of Arizona research using smart robots to explore planets. Fink is scheduled to speak about the rovers, and vision technology during a session on the final day of the conference.

“Whether you are technical or not, these rovers are just too cool for words. They embody the imagination, and their reasoning behind using Apple technologies makes perfect sense,” said Neil Ticktin, Editor-in-Chief/Publisher, MacTech Magazine. “Our conference attendees are coming from the majority of states in the U.S. as well as countries as far away as Sweden, Egypt, Australia and Japan. Not only will they see enormous benefits from what they learn and who they meet, but the conference activities will spark their imagination, and show off the best there is.”

The MacTech Conference will have two separate tracks: one focused on IT, and one focused on programming/development. Sessions will focus on both desktop and mobile, with appropriate levels of attention paid to the Mac, iPhone, iPad and iPod. Check out the speaker and topic list (https://www.mactech.com/conference/sessions) for specific sessions and speakers.

MacTech Conference is priced economically and includes all meals, a MacTech Magazine subscription, a schedule packed full of sessions, exclusive entertainment, and more. We’ve been working with Apple Training & Certification to offer two very special options to choose from. First, for those who want to take any currently available Apple Certification exam, we’re offering a study session and exam on-site immediately following the conference – all included in your $899 conference registration (a $200 value). Don’t need to take an exam at this time? Get a $100 discount on the conference and register for just $799. You can see the link on http://training.apple.com or better yet, register directly at http://macte.ch/conf_options to register. Bundle offer expires October 25th and space is limited, so act now.

The Sheraton is a quality venue with rooms that typically run $229.00 or more per night, plus tax, and with Internet for an additional fee. Available on a first-come, first-served basis, MacTech Conference attendees get a special rate. Just $169 per night which includes Internet. Taxes and service charges are extra. Room quantity is limited, and some nights in the room block are approaching sell out.

Those interested in demonstrating their products at the conference and sponsoring the event have a variety of sponsorship possibilities (based on availability). See the details at .

About MacTech Magazine

Established in 1984, MacTech Magazine is the only monthly magazine focused on Apple at the technical level. Each month, MacTech and MacTech.com is read by 150,000 technical Macintosh users in over 175 countries … from network administrators to programmers, from solution providers to Enterprise, and in general anyone that’s interested in the Macintosh beyond the user level.

If you’re interested in getting under the hood of your Mac, if you want to know how to make things happen inside the box, you should be reading MacTech Magazine. Contact the magazine. Toll free: 877-MACTECH, International: 805-494-9797, custservice@www.mactech.com, https://www.mactech.com