The Warm Up Rally on the first day of Macworld consists of a panel of industry pundits who give a preview of things to come at this year's show. The panel consisted of a variety of Mac writers and luminaries, including Bob "Dr. Macintosh" LeVitus, Keith Hatounian from Apple's Digital Video Group, author Deborah Shadovitz, QuickTime expert Jim Bakerand and columnist and Mac personality Andy Ihnatko. The event was hosted by Macworld Conference and Expo chairperson Paul Kent.

While most of the Warm Up Rally was simply an overview of some things being offered at the User and Pro conference sessions, Bob LeVitus' presentation delivered some content relevant to Mac gamers. When LeVitus asked the audience who among them had purchased a game for their Macintosh in the past six month, about one-fourth of the small-but-enthusiastic crowd raised their hands. Surprised by the response, LeVitus responded by exclaiming "Why not?!" and proceeded to ask the audience if they liked "fragging."

Later, Bob LeVitus polled the crowd for an impromptu Users Choice Awards selection. With the help of the audience, he declared the best of all things Macintosh to be released in the past year. Highlights included the vote for Best Apple Product and Best Mac game. In the vote for the Best Apple Product, there was a tie between the Power Macintosh G4 and the AirPort wireless Ethernet system. There was no tie, however, in the selection of Best Mac Game. Unreal Tournament was overwhelmingly voted Game of the Year by the audience, easily beating out Quake 3 Arena, Rainbow 6, Madden 2000 and Myth II: Soulblighter.

Both the audience and the presenters were in good spirits and eager for the conference to get into high gear with Wednesday's Keynote Address by Apple CEO Steve Jobs. If the Warm Up Rally is any indication, this East Coast Macworld looks to be the best show in years.

Macworld Expo New York

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