The MacWorld Expo trade show, held last week in San Francisco, wasn't what it used to be. But if you're an Apple junkie, it still had a lot of appeal.
It was pretty much all Apple, with a little PC thrown in here and there.The show featured an endless number of innovative features for your Mac or iOS device, along with things involving cooking, cleaning and singing.A company named Daiya has nothing to do with the electronics world, but since I spent more time there then any other display, I thought it's worth mentioning.A representative said they were displaying their dairy-free cheese-alternative products at the show because they want to share the product with people who like innovative products.The company's slogan is "deliciously dairy free" and after sampling more than my share of pizza and grilled cheese sandwiches, I was certain that if you didn't know what the product was, you'd think it was made with 100 percent natural cheese.The ingredients are all plant-based, making it vegetarian-, lactose intolerance-, kosher- and cholesterol-friendly.www.daiyafoods.comMake, share musicJam for iPhone is the iOS Instagram for Music, according to company representatives. It turns anyone, including those like me who are musically challenged, into rock stars by turning their singing into musical masterpieces.Your lyrics are recorded and then the app turns it all into a song based on the melody, scale and chords supported in it, and it can add musical instruments such as trumpets and guitars.After you're done, your song can be saved to social media or made into an MP3.The app is free; extra features can be added for 99 cents each.www.dreamwalk.com.auMoving right alongThe super-thin Garmin Nuvi 3597 does everything needed to get you where you need to be with directions that include specific points of interest such as recognizable landmarks, stop signs and traffic lights.It's built with an incredibly thin body, just 1/2-inch thick, and has a 5-inch diagonal touch-screen LCD.Features include a new powered magnetic mount, which has pass-through charging.It directs you in friendly tones, telling (and showing) you what lane to be in, landmarks to look for before turning and when a street light is approaching.Right out of the box, it's loaded with detailed maps of North America and includes free lifetime updates.www.Garmin.com, $379.99Double dutyFor $2,000 you can put your iPad in the driver's seat with the Double from Double Robotics.It looks like a Segway, except there is no human on top just your iPad, which is controlled remotely from anywhere in the world with WiFi via an app.Described as "the simplest, most elegant way to be somewhere else in the world without flying there," you can use it to watch your sick kids at home while you're at work, roam around an office or directly face anyone speaking in a conference call.The controls let it go backward, forward, up and down. It runs on a rechargeable battery.www.doublerobotics.comHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
