Sami Kafal is the son of Abdul Kafal, winner of the Our Grand Opening 1st prize of a free trip to MacWorld 2012, courtesy of MacWorld organizers IDGWorldExpo and Tech Superpowers. Sami, Abdul, and the entire Kafal family made the trek this January to San Francisco and got to experience the excitement of MacWorld/iWorld for the first time. In Sami's own words, here's what his journey to MacWorld - and San Francisco - meant to him:

I am 14 years old, and going to San Francisco for MacWorld/iWorld 2012 was probably one of the best experiences in my life so far. MacWorld presented a large array of new products and accessories for iPods, iPhones, iPads, and Mac computers. In my opinion, there were a few that were really outstanding. One of those is an iKeyboard; a keyboard for the iPad that you actually put on the iPad. Another is the FlyGrip, a device that you attach to the back of your iPhone, iPad or iPod; it’s a “one-handed smartphone solution which helps improve multitasking abilities” so you don’t drop your device. There were also many booths for applications and for application developers. Quickoffice was a very intriguing application which lets you create and edit Microsoft office documents from anywhere; you would only need an internet connection if you want to download a document from a server such as Dropbox.

The Tech Talks and MacIT conferences were very informational. The speakers would give information on what you can do with Mac computers, and what they are used for from business to solving crimes. At the MacIT conferences, speakers would talk about things like computer coding, what it means and how to read it. There were also some MacIT talks about using different features with Macs for business.

During a reception that served dinner to all-access pass holders and MacIT speakers/pass holders, my dad and I were joined by a man named Dan O’Donnell, IT Security Analyst for Rand Corporation, who was also one of the speakers. We started talking with him and he taught me so many features about Apple computers; he probably spent an hour to an hour and a half with me. For me, Dan O’Donnell teaching me and my dad about some features was such an educational and probably the most meaningful experiences that happened at MacWorld.

There were also very cool entertainment performances. One of those was a band called Atomic Tom; they were known for doing one of their songs on a subway using their iPhones, iPods and posting it to YouTube. Another very cool experience was that they filmed a show called Beckinfield using some of the MacWorld attendees. I got to meet and take pictures with both the band Atomic Tom and actor, Jonathan Frakes. Also a very fun, interesting and entertaining event was the iPhone film festival; people made short films using their iPhones, and they would come to the show to present their films. There were some pretty amazing ideas. For anyone who is fortunate to go to MacWorld/iWorld in the future, the iPhone film festival is definitely something to check out.

Having Apple not participate in the convention, in my opinion, was a disappointment. After all, it’s MacWorld. But, even though Apple not participating in this convention detracted from the experience somewhat, the people who ran this convention as well as the participants did an amazing job. Many of the remarkable events that took place at MacWorld definitely made up for Apple’s withdrawal.

Now, to the future and first-time attendees. Since I was a first-timer this year, I learned a lot about how the convention is laid out. One of the most important things to remember is that you should know what you are there for, and which events you would prefer to go to over another as there are so many events that happen simultaneously; you simply cannot see all of them. If you are interested mostly in getting apps, the exhibit floor is the best choice. Or, if you are just looking to buy accessories for any of your Apple devices, the exhibit floor is still your best idea. But, if you are mostly into learning what can be done and what is done using Macs or any Apple device the second floor which features Tech Talks is a great thing to check out. Finally, those that are interested in things like programming and the codes that run your computer, definitely look into going into the third floor, the MacIT conference floor. If you are interested in ALL of these, the all-access pass is definitely for you.

This was my first time going to a Tech Convention, and I was blown away by the experience. For anyone who simply likes technology whether it’s from buying items for personal use to programming, I would highly recommend this convention to you. Special thanks to Michael Oh of Tech Superpowers for making this all possible. I’m already starting to save for next year’s event!

-Sami Kafal
Student and fan of all Apple products