Apple's Macworld Exit Due to Politics Not Health Issues?

[MacRumors]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com/2008/12/16/apples-macworld-exit-due-to-politics-not-health-issues/)

Apple announced today (http://www.macrumors.com/2008/12/16/apple-jobs-will-not-present-at-apples-final-macworld-keynote/) that this year would be Apple's last year participating in Macworld Expo and that Phil Schiller, not Steve Jobs, would deliver the final keynote address. Understandably, speculation has been directed towards health concerns about Steve Jobs as the reason for the withdrawal. Jobs underwent surgery (http://www.macrumors.com/2004/08/01/jobs-undergoes-cancer-surgery/) for pancreatic cancer but has been said to been cancer free (http://www.macrumors.com/2008/07/26/steve-jobs-discusses-health-with-reporter/) as recently as July.

CNBC reports (http://www.cnbc.com/id/28265938) that Steve Jobs' decision was one motivated "more by politics than his pancreas". Sources tell me that if Jobs for some reason was unable to perform any of his responsibilities as CEO because of health reasons, which would include the Macworld keynote, I should "rest assured that the board would let me know."Instead, the author believes that Apple has been trying to separate itself from Macworld for years with the use of "special events" to introduce new products a few times a year. This is said to give Apple complete control over its own message.

Meanwhile, Macworld Expo organizer IDG is putting on a strong face (http://www.macworld.com/article/137593/2008/12/kent_comment.html) saying that they are committed to Macworld 2010 and "look forward to many successful years of Macworld to come."

Article Link: Apple's Macworld Exit Due to Politics Not Health Issues? (http://www.macrumors.com/2008/12/16/apples-macworld-exit-due-to-politics-not-health-issues/)

[irmongoose]

Actually, I found it hard to believe that it was for any reason other than politics. Here's to hoping that Apple opens another slot for a yearly "special media event". Steve-notes aren't dead yet, folks!


irmongoose

[lazyrighteye]

The "control" angle makes a lot of sense.

[Eduardo1971]

I find it hard to believe Macworld going-on after 2010-especially with the majors pulling out of the trade show.

It is only a matter of time...

[SpaceMagic]

Let's not assume the worst! Perhaps he's just ready to retire or just distancing himself from Apple. It is kind of weird that the stock price reacts to news of his health, perhaps the board has told him to distance himself a little.

[iOrlando]

hopefully this thread will contain more rational thoughts than the previous ones where people are thinking steve is retiring tomorrow and macbooks wont be made anymore... seriously... come on people..

[winterspan]

God, can't the press get over the cancer thing? The most common form of pancreatic cancer is normally incredibly deadly, with a ~5% 5-year survival rate, but Jobs had a very rare type that, while not completely benign, is very easy to treat. Any health problems from that experience would most likely be from complications of the whipple surgery, not a re-occurrence of cancer.

On the other hand, even if Apple is distancing itself from MacWorld and transitioning to a system of ad-hoc special events, why would Jobs not want to give the last Macworld keynote???

[mac-er]

Steve or no Steve...the only negative is the loss of the 'magic' of the Keynotes because of the atmosphere. The press and attendees of the 'town halls' just don't produce the same 'zealotry' atmosphere of the keynotes

[Sky Blue]

I find this pretty believable.

[iOrlando]

God, can't the press get over the cancer thing? The most common form of pancreatic cancer is normally incredibly deadly, with a ~5% 5-year survival rate, but Jobs had a very rare type that, while not completely benign, is very easy to treat. Any health problems from that experience would most likely be from complications of the whipple surgery, not a re-occurrence of cancer.

On the other hand, even if Apple is distancing itself from MacWorld and transitioning to a system of ad-hoc special events, why would Jobs not want to give the last Macworld keynote???

what would steve talk about? genius playlists for another hour?

[Sky Blue]

why would Jobs not want to give the last Macworld keynote???

because the announcements they have seem like they'll be pretty small.

[DeaconGraves]

Steve or no Steve...the only negative is the loss of the 'magic' of the Keynotes because of the atmosphere. The press and attendees of the 'town halls' just don't produce the same 'zealotry' atmosphere of the keynotes

There's still WWDC, and the iPod events have been fairly large in the past.

Though I'm sure Apple sees your point, and I wouldn't doubt certain events becoming a bit more accessible to the public in the future. This is more of the issue that Apple doesn't want to be under the banner of Macworld anymore, not that they dislike the "zealotry atmosphere"

[alexbates]

If Jobs is cured from cancer by June, I hope he will decide to do the Keynote next January. Even though it's not going to be at Macworld, I'm sure Apple will find somewhere else to have it.

[zap2]

I agree this "want control" makes sense...why keep a nice laptop design back because MWSF is soon, but you wanna get it in before winter shopping season?


And if they have a nice new iPod being worked on,why not keep it a secret until its really ready to wow people?

Pulling out over Job's health doesn't make sense...i mean clearly they are doing it this year, with out him,sure they might have trouble meeting his standard, but they'll have to do it sometime

[rick3000]

This does seem to make sense, now Apple won't be pressed to release new products or updates on a fixed schedule every January, they can do it when they're ready. Maybe this will help them avoid future reliability issues like they've had recently with MobileMe and the first release of Leopard.

Apple should have just come out and said this, instead of leaving people guessing. Because obviously most people picked wrong, thinking he was dying or something. (Myself included.)

[jaw04005]

It is kind of weird that the stock price reacts to news of his health, perhaps the board has told him to distance himself a little.

The board?

This is not your traditional corporate board with seats from different segments of shareholders (union representatives, investment group representatives, etc).

This is a select group of carefully chosen individuals who have "real jobs" and serve as figureheads and advisers only.

They serve at the pleasure of Steve Jobs (and on paper—shareholders), and I highly doubt any of them would have the nerve to tell Jobs anything.

http://www.apple.com/pr/bios/bod.html

[likemyorbs]

Apple is like a controlling, abusive husband. But we stay with him cuz "we love him"

[dewser35]

The control thing absolutely makes sense! Why distract away from what Apple is trying to accomplish?

And in regards to his health... I think the perception that he has so much control over the success of Apple will absolutely be influenced by news of his health and the subsequent stock price fluctuations. It would be wise for the board to try to get more of a face for the company. Though the reality is that Steve IS Apple. All of these products are out of HIS brain. The vision he has in tandem with the attention to detail is extremely rare. There are leaders at many companies that make awful decisions which end up crippling their companies everyday and they will continue to do so until the end of time. Regardless of who else is put in place either now or after he steps down will never match his accomplishments.

[kjs862]

I can understand why they would stop going to macworld, but why wouldn't steve do the last keynote?

[jaw04005]

I can understand why they would stop going to macworld, but why wouldn't steve do the last keynote?

This quote from Apple Representative Steve Dowling to CNET may explain why.

"Phil is giving the keynote because this will be Apple's last year at the show," Dowling said. "It doesn't make sense for us to make a major investment in a trade show we will no longer be attending."

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10124713-37.html?tag=TOCmoreStories.0

It sure sounds like they're sending Schiller to sort of "finish it off."

[pytter]

This is clearly the start of a transition away from Steve as the main spokesperson for Apple product launches. My guess is that the board are clearly worried about the reliance on Steve as the only face of Apple - healthy or not. I think we are going to be seeing more of Ives, Schiller and others and less and less of Steve. Apple is just too big to rely on one person and the board knows it.

P

[Compile 'em all]

I can understand why they would stop going to macworld, but why wouldn't steve do the last keynote?

nothing major to announce.

[Chupa Chupa]

Sigh. The end of an era. Last person to leave Moscone Center on Jan 9 please turn off the lights. MacWorld is dead.

I think this is a penny-wise decision on Apple's part. Sure Apple can give a special event at any time and people will notice, but what about all the s/w and perif developers that supported the Mac. MW was their stage. I wonder if they'll go over to CES.

I can understand why they would stop going to macworld, but why wouldn't steve do the last keynote?

Probably because Apple doesn't have any tricks in its bags and the keynote is just going to be a Snow Leopard bake off and after 10 years, Steve is sick of doing them. Plus I'm sure it's meant to make everyone more comfortable with other execs at Apple besides Steve so when Steve does leave there won't be a major selloff in Apple stock.

[twoodcc]

well i sure hope that steve jobs is healthy, and that he doesn't plan on stepping down from apple anytime soon

[ubercool]

This quote from Apple Representative Steve Dowling to CNET may explain why.

"Phil is giving the keynote because this will be Apple's last year at the show," Dowling said. "It doesn't make sense for us to make a major investment in a trade show we will no longer be attending."

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10124713-37.html?tag=TOCmoreStories.0

It sure sounds like they're sending Schiller to sort of "finish it off."

No it doesn't. Macworld is one of the biggest computer exhibitions on earth. Apple cannot possibly buy "facetime" with 60,000-plus people cheaper than it can via this event. I'm sure that if they did a cost-per-conversion analysis, they would know that Macworld delivers sales in spades and then some.

My sense is that this is simply a bargaining chip to get IDG to cave on certain parameters. I cannot for the life of me imagine why you want to preclude demo time to that many people unless there's another reason that permeates this decision.

I may sound cruel, but it's high time that Jobs moves on. :eek:

[i.mac]

I can understand why they would stop going to macworld, but why wouldn't steve do the last keynote?

he is tired?

he wants to be with his family?

he is going to Disney in Orlando?

he has a date with his kids?

he is going to retire (I would in his case... a long time ago)?

he does not want to do what he had to do last time (nothing)?

he thinks that union guys at the expo are not worth his money?

he reached the last of his goals at Apple (iphone)?

he wants to visit the Loire valley in France (if you have not gone there, you should)?

he wants to go skying?

[Michael CM1]

This quote from Apple Representative Steve Dowling to CNET may explain why.

"Phil is giving the keynote because this will be Apple's last year at the show," Dowling said. "It doesn't make sense for us to make a major investment in a trade show we will no longer be attending."

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10124713-37.html?tag=TOCmoreStories.0

It sure sounds like they're sending Schiller to sort of "finish it off."

Kinda like Dick Cheney sending George W. Bush to Iraq? :) (I had to, I HAD to)

[Lesser Evets]

WEEKEND AT STEVE'S

They are propping up the body just so stocks won't plummet to 0.000.
Balmer and Gates are shuffling him around to avoid some kind of Monopoly war cry from the Feds.

[liptonlover]

I'm not going to attempt to explain why, I'm just sad that there won't be a stevenote... I've always looked forward to those. He could talk about their first foray into phonebooks and I'd watch it. What he talks about is great, but I just love seeing him on stage talking to an enraptured crowd. It's a beautiful thing. *sob*

[Le Big Mac]

I think this is a penny-wise decision on Apple's part. Sure Apple can give a special event at any time and people will notice, but what about all the s/w and perif developers that supported the Mac. MW was their stage. I wonder if they'll go over to CES.

I agree -- the timing seems pretty good anyway--right after christmas is a good time to generate excitement for the upcoming year. And even if they're not going to have a big event, isn't it worth supporting MacWorld for all of the vendors that help make Apple viable?

[Le Big Mac]

nothing major to announce.

Crap, so still no mini updates? Or iMac updates?

[Analog Kid]

They're in the early stages of setting up a Jobs succession plan and know that no one will match his charisma in public presentations. They need to eliminate those presentations as being a key factor in the companies marketing plan-- expect more produced video streams like Ive's talking about the unibody macbook.

[ubercool]

They are propping up the body just so stocks won't plummet to 0.000.

Haha, that reminds me of that old Charlton Heston movie, El Cid, in which they prop up his dead body to scare the bejeebus out of an encircling army. :D

[jaw04005]

No it doesn't. Macworld is one of the biggest computer exhibitions on earth. Apple cannot possibly buy "facetime" with 60,000-plus people cheaper than it can via this event. I'm sure that if they did a cost-per-conversion analysis, they would know that Macworld delivers sales in spades and then some.

They don't want the facetime. They're not looking to impress the 60,000+ loyalists that trample through Moscone each year, and they're sure not looking to meet IDG's deadline for new products each January.

Apple is all about growth, not pleasing their base.

Sales to who? People don't purchase Apple products at Macworld Expo, nor do they purchase Apple products because of a keynote at Macworld Expo (unless you're a Steve Jobs enthusiast).

Apple can generate the same kind of press by holding special events. Just look, the same news organizations (CNBC, CNET, Washington Post, New York Times) and bloggers (Engadget, Gizmodo) cover events such as the September iPod event the same no matter what.

The only real loss associated with Macworld is the young software developers that promote their products. However, many of them have bitched for years about the exorbitant costs of Macworld.

http://www.rogueamoeba.com/utm/posts/Article/MWSF-Costs-2007-01-16-09-00.html

[dwl017]

Crap, so still no mini updates? Or iMac updates?

That's right! no new Mac Mini at MacWorld ha ha :D

[winterspan]

I'm not going to attempt to explain why, I'm just sad that there won't be a stevenote... I've always looked forward to those. He could talk about their first foray into phonebooks and I'd watch it. What he talks about is great, but I just love seeing him on stage talking to an enraptured crowd. It's a beautiful thing. *sob*

This is just MacWorld.. Why would you think there won't be another Jobs keynote?

[dolphin842]

Honestly, I always thought the Apple-Macworld relationship was kind of weird. Or rather that Macworld's business model was rather weird, relying solely on the good graces of Apple to present Steve Jobs every year. I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did.

[Axemantitan]

First, they cancel Christmas (http://applecanceledchristmas.com/) and now this! ;)

[Rot'nApple]

that Steve Jobs' decision was one motivated "more by politics than his pancreas". Instead, the author believes that Apple has been trying to separate itself from Macworld for years with the use of "special events" to introduce new products a few times a year. This is said to give Apple complete control over its own message.

Apple controlling it's own message. That is fine but I hope things get better then the last Media Event they had. I believe it was for the iPod line up, Hmpf!

I have never been to a MacWorld Expo but I always looked forward to viewing the presentation on Apple's website, and while Apple may have more "venues" such as the Apple store or Special Press Announcements, but it's going to be a different class of people. If I recall correctly, the last Media Event held at the Apple campus was craptacular. Apple made all this hype over this event and after the event was over, people were left saying "that was it?" "that is what the fuss was about?" Of course the media was there, in body only, not in "Apple Spirit" or "a Think Different mind set". The whole event wasn't even worth taping and posting to Apple's website. It was 40 minutes I would have wanted back.

I just don't think Apple is going to accomplish what it had with thousands of attendees, programmers, developers, etc as compared to a group of members of the media. And Apple stores, sure has the traffic, although I haven't been to my local store in half a year, so if something "comes out", I probably wouldn't get a chance to be a part of it even if I could because there would be less build up than waiting for MacWorld to get here.

The things I will miss about MacWorld Expo is the anticipation of what might be. I remember when these rumor websites would all be guessing as to what Steve would be introducing and seeing which site had the "inside goods" and then there was the inevitable who got what specs correct, Monday Morning quarterbacking.

I'll miss the friendly banter that Steve would give MS at the beginning of the last few MacWorlds with the I'm a PC guy, or from the funny banners hanging in the hallway, etc.

I'll miss the throngs of Mac lovers, programmers, developers, customers, and employees sitting on the edge of their seats, the cheers, laughter, clapping, oooo's and aaaaawwww's.

And of course, the ever fashionable, "there's one more thing".

Heaven forbid, but what would these rumor sites have left other than reporting yesterdays news? Would be like reading the newspaper today of all the big stories you saw played over and over again on cable news yesterday.

So long MacWorld Expo. You were too good while it lasted.. :(



Meanwhile, Macworld Expo organizer IDG is putting on a strong face saying that they are committed to Macworld 2010 and "look forward to many successful years of Macworld to come."

MacWorld without a Steve keynote is like the SuperBowl without the stand out commercials! Good luck with the press coverage.

[rritterson]

I think it's a bunch of malarky BS. In reality, I think this is phase 1 of the end of Steve Jobs as CEO. They will slowly introduce us to more and more people at apple as Steve becomes less the public face and others take his stead. That way, at the moment Steve steps down (or passes on, god forbid), we don't all panic and feel the company is without a person at the helm.

Excuse me while I go put a limit order to sell the AAPL I own.

(Like it or not, Apple is the talent of tens of thousands of engineered focused through the lens that is Steve's vision. Without him, the lens is defocused, and the company becomes less at the forefront of technological design)

[law guy]

Apple not participating in Mac World - wow, seems like snub to vendors who benefit from Apple's presence as a large showcase event ... which generates a lot of press and presence and one would think that all of that is very good for Apple. Aside from the general point of not participating anymore, a Phil Schiller keynote... Phil seems a nice enough fellow and I'm sure he's a fine executive, but I don't really want to watch a Phil keynote. I'd rather just check later and see what was introduced ... along the lines of when Sony or any other electronics company introduces a new product.

[GeekLawyer]

It's weird to be part of a community that's gone ape-nuts bonkers.

Really weird.

[Roller]

For the past few years, I've wondered if Apple's need to sync their major product announcements with the January expos was more trouble than the attention they generated was worth. It'll make more sense for Apple to release products on their schedule. But it'll be interesting to see if Steve does a keynote at the next Apple-sponsored event. It wouldn't surprise me if he cuts down to one a year, or even none.

[Fast Shadow]

It's weird to be part of a community that's gone ape-nuts bonkers.

Really weird.

You must be the new guy!

[GeekLawyer]

You must be the new guy!

Comparatively speaking, yes, I suppose. ;)

[inkswamp]

Actually, the real reason is that Apple broke up with its long-time girlfriend like a month ago, but they were thinking of getting back together and so Apple confided that in MacWorld. And then MacWorld was seen taking her out... as if that were no big deal.

Way to go, MacWorld. Nice job stealing your best bud's girlfriend.

[tirerim]

Crap, so still no mini updates? Or iMac updates?

Those aren't major. The Mini is a nice product that does well for Apple, but it's not something big and flashy. The iMac is more important, but it's only going to see some upgrades, not an entirely new design.

What it really means is that we won't be seeing any completely new products, which we weren't really expecting anyway. Could be any number of updates to existing ones; check the Buyer's Guide for likely possibilities.

[maknik]

Can someone explain to me who is talking about who here:

Sources tell me that if Jobs for some reason was unable to perform any of his responsibilities as CEO because of health reasons, which would include the Macworld keynote, I should "rest assured that the board would let me know."

So this is the source saying that he would know if Jobs were unable to do stuff, because the board would have told him (the source, "me")? The syntax of the sentence around the quote makes it almost sound as if the board would let the journalist know, whereas the context makes it sounds like Jobs himself is speaking (ie, they would let Jobs know -- but that would mean it was him speaking, since it says "me").

All in all, a confusing denial, to my ears. "More about" politics than pancreas is not to say that it isn't about the pancreas -- and I don't think that's a too-close reading when it comes to these things. Also, this is still saying that he is presently able to perform his duties -- or rather, that a weak board hasn't decided that he has to be stopped against his will -- which is a far cry from saying they have full confidence in him for years to come. Again, that sounds like a fine distinction, but if it were true, there is no doubt they would say it.

(Incidentally, I don't give a damn about any of this -- apart from the disappearance of my beloved MacWorld -- but I enjoy doing close readings of gnomic texts and carefully leaked sources.)

[Peace]

This quote from Apple Representative Steve Dowling to CNET may explain why.

"Phil is giving the keynote because this will be Apple's last year at the show," Dowling said. "It doesn't make sense for us to make a major investment in a trade show we will no longer be attending."

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10124713-37.html?tag=TOCmoreStories.0

It sure sounds like they're sending Schiller to sort of "finish it off."

That Dowling quote is pure malarky. Apple has the biggest booths at this years Macworld. Had they decided to pull out before that presence wouldn't be there. Apple has already spent a lot of money on this years MW.

What. Does Steve Jobs get paid a lot of money for a keynote address ?.

I don't buy the PR being put out by Apple,Inc.

MWSF has been Steve's big show event for a long time and he wouldn't simply decide at the last minute that he wasn't going to do a keynote and send Schiller instead.

There's a lot more to this story than we know.

[neutrino23]

I find it hard to believe Macworld going-on after 2010-especially with the majors pulling out of the trade show.

It is only a matter of time...

No question it will be different. I don't know about the financials of these things. I'd still attend if they had a strong educational program. The exhibitions are fun but the real meat of the week for me is the course offerings.

[marlonux]

The next place of apple keynote is going to be in Walt Disney California by Steve Jobs.:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

[tom53092]

Yeah, sure. I'm sure the vendors will turn out in droves for that. Certainly not at Moscone. MacWorld 2010 at the Holiday Inn next to the Starving Artists sale? It would be like a big expensive flea market. Attending would be like seeing your favorite band from the 70s whose only original member is the drummer.

[juststranded]

"due to politics"

I knew it! Obama is going to appoint Steve Jobs to the economic team! I flippin' would. The iPhone is single-handedly keeping the cellphone market afloat, and Apple is gaining market share in almost every area they compete in WAY faster than anyone else.

[sgntscrawn]

They're in the early stages of setting up a Jobs succession plan and know that no one will match his charisma in public presentations. They need to eliminate those presentations as being a key factor in the companies marketing plan-- expect more produced video streams like Ive's talking about the unibody macbook.

Finally, someone being a little more reasonable in this thread.

All these mac fanboys (and I'm one to a certain extent :D) don't seem to realise that Steve won't be there all the time. And Apple as a company realises that he has a lot more charisma and show presence than any of their other higher execs.

And lets be honest, what other company has as many trade shows on their own as Apple? We don't have SonyWorld or PanasonicWorld (correct me if I'm wrong ;)). Most of the largest electronics companies, companies much larger than Apple, rely on industry trade shows such as CES etc. Its heaps cheaper, and they still get their products shown to the industry.

[El Carbonite]

That Dowling quote is pure malarky. Apple has the biggest booths at this years Macworld. Had they decided to pull out before that presence wouldn't be there. Apple has already spent a lot of money on this years MW.

What. Does Steve Jobs get paid a lot of money for a keynote address ?.

I don't buy the PR being put out by Apple,Inc.

MWSF has been Steve's big show event for a long time and he wouldn't simply decide at the last minute that he wasn't going to do a keynote and send Schiller instead.

There's a lot more to this story than we know.

If you knew anything, you'd know that Steve Jobs earns a $1/year salary. So no, he doesn't get paid, but tradeshows cost millions of dollars for companies. From banners and other marketing, to getting employees on the floor to help out.

[dolphin842]

If you knew anything, you'd know that Steve Jobs earns a $1/year salary. So no, he doesn't get paid, but tradeshows cost millions of dollars for companies. From banners and other marketing, to getting employees on the floor to help out.

I thought Steve ended the $1/year thing some time ago.

[abhimat.gautam]

Very surprising news, but I'm sure there's a strong reason behind all this madness. I'm personally thinking that we may get CEO Schiller at Macworld.

[bailorg]

Well this may be part of a grand new strategy, but it seems rather poorly implemented so far.

If all along Apple's plan has been to stop MacWorld Keynotes, then there would seem to be two logical, non-panic inducing alternatives to today's news.

1. Announce the withdrawal/demotion months ago before people's expectations started to build and/or people started putting down money for this thing. To further blunt the trauma of the announcement, announce a new product through a video podcast at the same time as the withdrawal announcement. The announcement of the new aluminum MacBooks would have been an ideal opportunity to do this.

2. Do the full Stevenote, then announce the next day that there will be no more Stevenotes. We still get the Stevenote and the new products, Apple still gets the full publicity from the press that ONLY comes with a Stevenote, and we gently transition to the new era.


On a slightly related note of annoyance, if this really does mean a planned new era where new products and/or upgrades are held back until January, why the heck are potential Mini/iMac/Mac Pro buyers been made to wait this long for upgrades and/or overhauls?

[YoYoMa]

There is something else going on. Apple doesn't just pull out of Macworld for political reasons anymore than Microsoft would pull out of E3. Also, if this is just politics, why wouldn't Steve give the last and final keynote at Macworld? This is bad news for Apple. Hopefully the company can keep things going without Steve.

[rockdog]

I always got the impression that Steve liked to be the great showman for his company. Now he's passing on the limelight of the show?

This is one of those 'things that make you go, hmmmmm...?'

[GeekLawyer]

I always got the impression that Steve liked to be the great showman for his company. Now he's passing on the limelight of the show?

This is one of those 'things that make you go, hmmmmm...?'

I just don't think there's anything to show this year. The new unibody MacBooks hit in October. What's he supposed to get up there and say? "Wow, look at this updated iMac. It looks the same as the old one; just a spec-bump." "Bam! Here's a new MacPro; but it's just a spec-bump." "Isn't this neat? It's an iPhone 3G! Now with 32GB of storage." Or... "Oh, yeah, there's One More Thing: check out Snow Leopard. Yeah, it looks exactly the same as Leopard, but the underlying code is tighter."

Steve's a showman. This year's keynote was never going to be much of a show.

[carlgo]

I just think Jobs likes to work the health thing. He enjoys the speculation, consternation and financial gyrations. In this way he can say it is nobodies business but his own and still get the attention. This is all a lot more fun and fulfilling for him than having to sing and dance to get noticed.

All he has to do is make a public appearance and tell people honestly what is going on. That would end all this, but he doesn't want that to happen.

[gugy]

Macworld is dead.
Pretty sure IDG will pull the plus no later than 2010.

The future will be special events at Apple's will. Just like the article states.
It's over boys.
Move on.

[OrangeCrush]

Macworld will go on in 2010? Without Apple, Belkin, Adobe...

Who do they plan to invite? Symantec to hock their new Mac virus solution?:p

[rockdog]

Macworld will go on in 2010? Without Apple, Belkin, Adobe...

Who do they plan to invite? Symantec to hock their new Mac virus solution?:p

Them, and a guy with a 3 card monte booth...Steve Balmer maybe?
Winner gets a copy of Windows Vista, Doh! No. Mojave!!!

[137489]

I knew it! Obama is going to appoint Steve Jobs to the economic team! I flippin' would. The iPhone is single-handedly keeping the cellphone market afloat, and Apple is gaining market share in almost every area they compete in WAY faster than anyone else.

:D <- me laughing. I am not an Obama fan, but something like that might just make me one. that is exactly what we need. After all Steve took a company in bankruptcy (on the verge of closing its doors), got the enemy to invest heavily to bail them out (Miscrosoft) , and then turn around and start out-selling them in product. Exactly what this country needs..

But seriously, that other thread is still trolling on with pescimism (and yes I may have posted one myself - after all I spend $3500 to convert my entire platform over and have been proding my employer to convert to macs. My wife just shook her head at this news (like you dummy, spent all that money).

But I also wonder something. Steve introduce Ballmer last year at the keynote and talked about adding full exchange support. I wonder with Gates being gone, MS said oneday they would stop making OS's, MS put a lot of money to back Novell Linux (oops, gee sorry about that not working out :rolleyes:).

I wonder if Steve does take a lesser role, could this mean less of a rivalry between MS and Apple and them working together on creating a really awesome platform that is even more revolutionary.

Think about it.

Snow Leapord - Focus on Stability, no new features.

Windows 7 -still alot of waivering back and forth on being a stabilazation build or a totally newly designed OS.

MS - was talk about adopting an end to end stragegy and working with "select hardware Vendors"
ever ongoing issue with hackintosh's and clones.

Adobe - Does not make Premier Elements for MAC anymore due to the dominance of ilife, instead maker there new Premier Elements more like imovie 08 (which totally stink,cause they two limited the timeline editing features)

Just think. apple designs the best hardware and OS. Microsoft teams up with Apple to make really good applications. Other software manufactures no longer have to worry about writing for 2 platforms, can not focus on one platform and dedicate resources to improving the app even more.

this would be like computer utopia - but get ready for either higher prices due to no competition, or lower prices because the share volume makes up for it.

Imagine corporations no longer spending millions of dollars and wasting time pickering over what platform to implement. Instead they buy the product and build on it from there.

Computer Utopia - yes
A lot of Computer Consultants and I/T folks losing their jobs - already happening
Companies can focus on their product and get back to customer service to earn our business - one can only hope.

Maybe some good things can come out of this recession. Everyone stop thinking they are better than everyone else and get back to serving the good of one another.

[TurboSC]

Apple needs Steve. He's such an iconic moving character behind the brand. It's like you know if Steve has touched it, it'll do wonders.

[dolphin842]

Also, for those who are worried about losing the large-scale keynotes, Apple has rented Moscone West on occasion for their own announcements (one of the music events, I think?), so stadium-style stevenotes aren't out of the question.

Physical tech conferences are looking more and more silly as time goes on. At least WWDC has a point (developer training and networking); lots of companies this year figure it's much cheaper to advertise on the web than have a booth.

[GeekLawyer]

Apple needs Steve. He's such an iconic moving character behind the brand. It's like you know if Steve has touched it, it'll do wonders.

My :apple:TV wants to believe.

But I'm not convinced.

[dolphin842]

Apple needs Steve. He's such an iconic moving character behind the brand. It's like you know if Steve has touched it, it'll do wonders.

My :apple:TV wants to believe.

But I'm not convinced.

Actually, a hacked AppleTV looks to be a pretty cool setup (haven't gotten around to actually getting one yet, though).

I agree though that Steve, for better or worse, is what makes Apple, well, Apple. I do wonder how the company will fare post-Steve whenever that happens.

[faroukabad]

The may regret this if the economy keeps on tanking the way it is, they might find themselves having to close some of those retail stores. It would be cheaper to do the trade shows.

[ubercool]

They don't want the facetime. They're not looking to impress the 60,000+ loyalists that trample through Moscone each year, and they're sure not looking to meet IDG's deadline for new products each January.

Apple is all about growth, not pleasing their base.

Sales to who? People don't purchase Apple products at Macworld Expo, nor do they purchase Apple products because of a keynote at Macworld Expo (unless you're a Steve Jobs enthusiast).

I'm sorry but that does not jive with one of Steve Jobs' comments in the mid-90s when he said that if he ran Apple again he would "milk the installed base." Best place to do that is at Macworld. :)

[Rot'nApple]

Macworld will go on in 2010? Without Apple, Belkin, Adobe...

Who do they plan to invite? Symantec to hock their new Mac virus solution?:p

Invite Psystar... :rolleyes: :D

[kepardue]

Nah, Apple doesn't need Steve necessarily. The guy has had such a strong influence there for so long, does anyone really think that there were no plans for succession? He's probably written a big, giant iBook called What Would Steve Do for the board after his departure.

Apple will probably be very relevant for the next decade or so, with or without Steve. Then, something better will come along and we'll all start using holograph technology or something.

If Apple stops making good products, somebody else will start. Not to sound like one of those Year-Of-Linux nutjobs, but the open source movement has been building toward a critical mass for years now; eventually the communities will get the usability thing right and we'll find ourselves in a new age of participatory computing. Or everyone will indefinitely use their Macbooks until they break.

[fleshman03]

This quote from Apple Representative Steve Dowling to CNET may explain why.

"Phil is giving the keynote because this will be Apple's last year at the show," Dowling said. "It doesn't make sense for us to make a major investment in a trade show we will no longer be attending."

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10124713-37.html?tag=TOCmoreStories.0

It sure sounds like they're sending Schiller to sort of "finish it off."

Puts the nail in anything really awesome being released?

[/dev/toaster]

Puts the nail in anything really awesome being released?

Pretty much

[dolphin842]

Puts the nail in anything really awesome being released?

Pretty much

Didn't Schiller unveil the iMac G5, an entirely new form factor? (though that was because Steve actually did have to be absent for health reasons)

I wouldn't be surprised to see a new Mini, an AppleTV spec bump, or something similarly low-key.

[/dev/toaster]

Didn't Schiller unveil the iMac G5, an entirely new form factor? (though that was because Steve actually did have to be absent for health reasons)

I wouldn't be surprised to see a new Mini, an AppleTV spec bump, or something similarly low-key.

I am pretty sure they will announce something ... but I don't expect it to be anything special.

Maybe the new Mac Pro and a 32GB iPhone, which isn't all that exciting.

[fleshman03]

I am pretty sure they will announce something ... but I don't expect it to be anything special.

Maybe the new Mac Pro and a 32GB iPhone, which isn't all that exciting.

I'd take spec updates on the:
Mac Mini
iMac
Mac Pro

Add in a 32 gb iPhone + talk about Snow Leopard.

I think that's all we'll see. I just don't think a tablet or anything else cool is realistic now.

Is he responsible for anything besides marketing at Apple? Besides this keynote now.

[tsd]

This has the ring of monumentally bad news about it. I don't like what this evidences in Apple's philosophy. Guys, the Apple of yesterday is officially dead. The enclave/cult following/customer first Apple brand is gone, and replaced by a money making machine. Customer support over the next ten years will slowly but surely become abysmal compared to what it is now. Market share will increase and eventually be equal to Microsoft's, but much like WalMart's days under Sam Walton, Apple has built it's brand with Steve Jobs. Once Jobs is gone, much like WalMart, Apple will make more money but lose it's "soul".

[dolphin842]

This has the ring of monumentally bad news about it. I don't like what this evidences in Apple's philosophy. Guys, the Apple of yesterday is officially dead. The enclave/cult following/customer first Apple brand is gone, and replaced by a money making machine.

I really think this is just a cost-cutting/message-control move. I don't think Steve is going anywhere.

As for whether Apple is just a money-maker and doesn't care about customers, at least wait until Snow Leopard to see if Apple can keep the OS X experience on par with expectations. If they can tighten everything up, keep the bugs at bay, and put stability back on par with, say 10.3, I'm confident in saying they still care about customers.

[jaw04005]

I'm sorry but that does not jive with one of Steve Jobs' comments in the mid-90s when he said that if he ran Apple again he would "milk the installed base." Best place to do that is at Macworld. :)

Look, I love Macworld too. But a lot has changed since the mid-90's. If you can't see that Apple has expanded away from the core group that helped it survive during the 1990's — you're delusional.

The "core fans" no longer solely make Apple. It's moved past us to encompass a whole new generation of customers with iPod, iPhone and Mac of which we are included.

Why spend $5 million per year on a user conference that reaches 60,000 people when you can hold three or four "special events" each year that cost the company very little. Not to mention, such events can then be broadcast live to Apple's 230 retail stores and streamed on-demand to millions globally?

[Alan-in-NC]

I agree... for whatever reason they have for bailing, why wait (almost) days before making an announcement like this?! They're making it a real downer for some folks that expected an Apple / Jobs presence at MacWorld.

Would it have killed them to do the show, then maybe in a month, announced they weren't doing any future shows?! This is like your prom date calling at the last minute telling you she can't make it.

To me, a poorly timed decision by Apple. Of course, on the many books I've read about Apple Corps and Jobs, this is typical behavior. Sure, Apple's a business, but their customers deserve better than a last minute no-show.


Well this may be part of a grand new strategy, but it seems rather poorly implemented so far.

If all along Apple's plan has been to stop MacWorld Keynotes, then there would seem to be two logical, non-panic inducing alternatives to today's news.

1. Announce the withdrawal/demotion months ago before people's expectations started to build and/or people started putting down money for this thing. To further blunt the trauma of the announcement, announce a new product through a video podcast at the same time as the withdrawal announcement. The announcement of the new aluminum MacBooks would have been an ideal opportunity to do this.

2. Do the full Stevenote, then announce the next day that there will be no more Stevenotes. We still get the Stevenote and the new products, Apple still gets the full publicity from the press that ONLY comes with a Stevenote, and we gently transition to the new era.


On a slightly related note of annoyance, if this really does mean a planned new era where new products and/or upgrades are held back until January, why the heck are potential Mini/iMac/Mac Pro buyers been made to wait this long for upgrades and/or overhauls?

[GQB]

If anything, its sites like this that made this kind of move inevitable.
Steve as much as sneezes and rumor sites act like a bunch of 13-year-old Brittany fans, obsessing about his every move.
I applaud his removing himself from the idiotic furor.
Macworld has been a dinosaur for 15 years and the way the stock as lived and died according to Steve's Keynotes, this is the perfect way for Apple to regain control of its release and PR cycle.

[137489]

I am pretty sure they will announce something ... but I don't expect it to be anything special.

Maybe the new Mac Pro and a 32GB iPhone, which isn't all that exciting.

So Schiller is giving the keynote. I wonder if Schiller will say "and there is one more thing" and Steve will take the stage with a new product and then end it all with a little speech about himself and the expected direction of Apple.

I guess we could have seen this coming when they removed computer from the name.

It would put a nice closure to all the speculation of Steve's health, future, and future of Apple.

I guess now there is really going to be no more reason for me to check out macrumors everyday. Just check out the apple website, drop by the store a few times to try out the product, then decide to buy when/if I am ready.

[TheMadCow]

What no one is actually getting is that MacWorld was a chance to party, to meet fellow Macusers... to revel in all things Mac. My connection was not just with "Apple" it was a connection with the Macintosh community. Watching a crappy webcast doesn't do squat to address that.

It's a chance to let your hair down and party a little with fellow Macheads.

[johnqh]

How many of you run a business? Any kind of business?

A trade show is the best chance for a small company to get noticed, by the press or distributor. It is where the business cards are exchanged and deals are made.

Apple does not need MacWorld, but independent software and hardware developers do. MacWorld won't survive without Apple attending, and guess what happens to the ISV's?

Second, why would SJ not giving the last keynote? SJ SHOULD give the last keynote BECAUSE it is the last MW Apple attends. Think about all the fans who already got the tickets and have travel plans. If Apple came out 3 months ago and say "Sj won't do keynote", that's fine. However, just releasing this info now? Does it make sense to you?

And why did Adobe pull out of MW? Did Adobe know something we didn't?

And cost-cutting? How much more would it cost to have SJ do the keynote instead of Phil? ZERO?

Don't get me wrong - I don't think SJ=Apple. Apple will do fine with or without Steve Jobs, but I don't believe the explanation about the MW is that simple.

[e-coli]

This is a good move. Apple needs to turn down the hype machine for a while. It's starting to work against them.

This should also give them time to fully develop their products before releasing them.

But I don't buy this "politics" spin for a second. Since when has there EVER been politics at Apple? What Jobs says goes. End of discussion.

[johnqh]

Why spend $5 million per year on a user conference that reaches 60,000 people when you can hold three or four "special events" each year that cost the company very little. Not to mention, such events can then be broadcast live to Apple's 230 retail stores and streamed on-demand to millions globally?

You get the press for the whole industry in one spot, not just paying attention to Apple, but also to the software and hardware third party developers. You get hundreds (if not thousands) of articles written about Apple community (not just Apple) during the whole month because of it.

And those 60,000 people write blogs, defend Apple online(when was the last time you see anyone furiously defending Dell, on any news site or blog?), help Apple's marketing at a grass root level.

That $5M would be the best marketing dollar Apple spend, in good days and bad.

[DMann]

he wants to go skying?

Skiing, I might have suspected, but I was certainly unaware of Steve's admiration of sky diving.

[mdriftmeyer]

Perhaps Apple wants to make a splash the Consumer Electronics Expo and later NAB, then on to SIGGRAPH, to other Expos that target specific market segments that ultimately get squashed by the All-in-One MACWORLD.

[macFanDave]

The may regret this if the economy keeps on tanking the way it is, they might find themselves having to close some of those retail stores. It would be cheaper to do the trade shows.

That makes no sense! They don't move any product at trade shows! The Apple retail stores are a boon to any shopping center or mall that has them. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't aggressively renegotiate their leases in centers where business is slowing. In any case, the Apple retail stores sell a tremendous amount per square foot compared to other mall tenants.

I have another "reason" that Steve Jobs won't speak at the Keynote: he spoke disparagingly about the possibility of a Mac netbook. Maybe Apple is coming out with one and he doesn't want to face questions about why he called something junk while Apple was obviously developing it. Maybe there's a special "bag of hurt" version that has a BlueRay DVD drive as the optical drive! ;)

[DMann]

... MacWorld won't survive without Apple attending,,,

And this is precisely why the deal fell through. Apple had terms to be met, and IDG was unwilling to meet them. SJ would not have pulled out of the East Coast MacWorld in '04 had IDG remained in NYC at Steve's request. Whatever the dispute, IDG needed to again realize that MacWorld will not survive without Apple.

[GQB]

You get the press for the whole industry in one spot, not just paying attention to Apple, but also to the software and hardware third party developers. You get hundreds (if not thousands) of articles written about Apple community (not just Apple) during the whole month because of it.

And those 60,000 people write blogs, defend Apple online(when was the last time you see anyone furiously defending Dell, on any news site or blog?), help Apple's marketing at a grass root level.

That $5M would be the best marketing dollar Apple spend, in good days and bad.

And every time (except for the year of the iPhone announcement) stock has tanked after Macworld.
Apple has figured out that Steve=Apple is not the formula for a long future.
Cold turkey, dudes. Deal with it.

[Hrududu]

So it appears this will be my first and last MacWorld. Crazy.

[MagnusVonMagnum]

...the author believes that Apple has been trying to separate itself from Macworld for years with the use of "special events" to introduce new products a few times a year. This is said to give Apple complete control over its own message.


I think the emphasis of the message truly is on "complete control" as that seems to be the direction Apple has been heading for years now. I wouldn't be surprised if Snow Leopard requires all Mac software to be sold through iTunes and for Apple to get a 30% cut otherwise, they won't let the software run. Crazy? It's their model for the iPhone, why not the rest of the line as well? It'd generate billions and billions of free money. It'd be the new and improved Apple Tax. Don't like it? Go buy Windows or use Linux.

[fleshman03]

So it appears this will be my first and last MacWorld. Crazy.

I'm so sorry for your loss. You will only know the joys of waiting up all night for those last second leaks, endless predictions weeks in advance, the aura of a keynote (although this one will not be as great) only once.

I've followed them since 2006 and I love them. I think we all are deeply saddened by this move by Apple.

[ubercool]

So Schiller is giving the keynote. I wonder if Schiller will say "and there is one more thing" and Steve will take the stage with a new product and then end it all with a little speech about himself and the expected direction of Apple.

With one minor difference, Jobs will be in a video from his hospital bed. :D

[jaw04005]

You get the press for the whole industry in one spot, not just paying attention to Apple, but also to the software and hardware third party developers. You get hundreds (if not thousands) of articles written about Apple community (not just Apple) during the whole month because of it.

And those 60,000 people write blogs, defend Apple online(when was the last time you see anyone furiously defending Dell, on any news site or blog?), help Apple's marketing at a grass root level.

That $5M would be the best marketing dollar Apple spend, in good days and bad.

And you can't get the same excitement by holding YOUR OWN special event? Do you not check Macrumors when Apple holds the iPod event in September? Or the MacBook event that recently happened? Or WWDC?

As far as the mainstream media (CNBC, CBS/CNET, Wall Street Journal, New York Times) and online blogs (Engadget, Gizmodo) are concerned, they'll still cover each and every event.

Not to mention, the various "Applerati" (Leo Laporte, Kevin Rose, Cali Lewis, Veronica Belmont, Ryan Block, Robert Scoble, etc).

[fleshman03]

With one minor difference, Jobs will be in a video from his hospital bed. :D

How can you post a smiley next to that sentence?

[ubercool]

How can you post a smiley next to that sentence?

Because I have personally dealt with the man, and while I respect his sales acumen, he is basically a very horrible person to his employees. This is well-documented. I have personally been blown off by him, even though I published a weekly publication that served his Next start up. :rolleyes:

[fleshman03]

Because I have personally dealt with the man, and while I respect his sales acumen, he is basically a very horrible person to his employees. This is well-documented. I have personally been blown off by him, even though I published a weekly publication that served his Next start up. :rolleyes:

I didn't mean to support him on a personal level. I've heard such stories and they make me cringe each and every time. I only meant it on a human level. There a plenty of people I dislike, but none I'd want to see in a hospital bed.

I meant no reflection upon you either, just wanted to say something.

[ubercool]

I didn't mean to support him on a personal level. I've heard such stories and they make me cringe each and every time. I only meant it on a human level. There a plenty of people I dislike, but none I'd want to see in a hospital bed.

I meant no reflection upon you either, just wanted to say something.

I understand and, like you, I see a lot of posts on MacRumors that make my skin cringe. I guess that after a while we all acquire a very thick skin. :o

[juststranded]

Go away Phil Schiller! I want to see Scott Forstall!

If we got to vote for the keynote deliverer, I'd vote for Scott Forstall a thousand times. I think he's awesome. And a bit like Steve, in a good way, yet he definitely has his own style. Heck I think he'd be a good successor to Steve.

He's got my vote! (too bad I don't own a bajillion shares, so I can't actually vote)

P.S. I like Phil just fine. I was just going for theatrics.

[kockgunner]

hopefully this thread will contain more rational thoughts than the previous ones where people are thinking steve is retiring tomorrow and macbooks wont be made anymore... seriously... come on people..

Yeah, even though the rumours are unbelievable, it gets you all paranoid all the same.

Even if Apple still gives press release and events, it won't have the good old cult-like following and cheering of Macworld :( I found it awkward when SJ announced the Unibody notebooks and no one cheered or clapped. If it were Macworld, I bet the whole crowd would have gone crazy.

[Trip.Tucker]

Apple is like a controlling, abusive husband. But we stay with him cuz "we love him"

Why not a she? Apple could be a she.

[Beric]

Why not a she? Apple could be a she.

I think you just missed the point of his post entirely. And a most accurate post at that, I must say.

[DMann]

Even if Apple still gives press release and events, it won't have the good old cult-like following and cheering of Macworld :( I found it awkward when SJ announced the Unibody notebooks and no one cheered or clapped. If it were Macworld, I bet the whole crowd would have gone crazy.

Week two of January had always turned out to be more exciting than the combination of Christmas/New Years, as the build up was truly exhilarating, especially with the rumors flying around on this site. Catching the live blogs, with photos, on the morning of the Keynote was amazing, while everything culminated with the Quicktime stream later that day. The presentation, the excitement, the emotion, the Livecharts price of AAPL bouncing up and down to the rhythm of every announcement, the celebration of innovation, creativity, and leadership in implementing technology, all made for a wonderful start of the year. This 'rock concert' impact of show will be dearly missed - hopefully, WWDC will live on.

[Doctor Q]

Without timing its releases to Macworld, Apple will have more flexibility to pick its announcement and release dates based on product development instead of Macworld's schedule. Perhaps that's better, since as consumers we wouldn't want Apple to release a product before it's actually ready, or to hold a product release after its ready.

But it will dilute some of the excitement that builds annually as Macworld approaches, instead spreading it across the whole year. And part of the fun of Macworld is that so many Mac fans gather in a single location, something that won't happen with press events every few months.

[MrCrowbar]

Why not a she? Apple could be a she.

Remember Roz Ho? :p

http://www.flickr.com/photos/feastoffools/85155986/

[DMann]

Remember Roz Ho? :p

http://www.flickr.com/photos/feastoffools/85155986/

Roz Ho? GM of Mactopia? Now, there's a bad-ass apple!

[LethalWolfe]

No it doesn't. Macworld is one of the biggest computer exhibitions on earth. Apple cannot possibly buy "facetime" with 60,000-plus people cheaper than it can via this event. I'm sure that if they did a cost-per-conversion analysis, they would know that Macworld delivers sales in spades and then some.

My sense is that this is simply a bargaining chip to get IDG to cave on certain parameters. I cannot for the life of me imagine why you want to preclude demo time to that many people unless there's another reason that permeates this decision.

I may sound cruel, but it's high time that Jobs moves on. :eek:

You get the press for the whole industry in one spot, not just paying attention to Apple, but also to the software and hardware third party developers. You get hundreds (if not thousands) of articles written about Apple community (not just Apple) during the whole month because of it.

And those 60,000 people write blogs, defend Apple online(when was the last time you see anyone furiously defending Dell, on any news site or blog?), help Apple's marketing at a grass root level.

That $5M would be the best marketing dollar Apple spend, in good days and bad.
Trade shows are dying. They are cost prohibitive especially in the economy we've had the past few years. Apple and Avid, two of the biggest names at NAB (*the* TV industry trade show to be at) both pulled out from the '08 show. They instead held smaller, 'roadshow' type presentations. Apple did a multi-city tour showing off FCS and I'll bet dollars to doughnuts they got a better ROI than they did competing for peoples' attention at the crowded, circus-type environment that exhibit halls quickly become. E3 used to be the ultimate gathering for the video game industry and now it basically limps along from year to year and no one would be surprised to hear if it gets cancelled. IIRC, Nintendo skipped TGS (Tokyo Game Show) and game publishers are instead having their own "gamer days" to announce/show off new titles during the year. CES this is year is offering cut rate deals on hotel rooms to try and get people to attend.

Why do companies like Apple need to get all their ducks in a row for presentations to 60k people at a MacWorld when they can just issue a press release, or release a demo video, or hold their own event and in a matter of hours word would spread across the internet to almost their entire user base *and* the mainstream media will pick it up as well? The need for a large event to show-off new things to your customer base is waning because of how easy it is to access info on the internet. 15 years ago researching a product or purchase meant lots of time driving from store to store comparing models, taking notes and trusting that the sales staff knew what they were talking about. These days all the 'leg work' is done online where one can read numerous reviews, ask detailed questions on forums, and there is usually only one trip to the store to make a final decision and purchase.


Lethal

[DMann]

Trade shows are dying. They are cost prohibitive especially in the economy we've had the past few years. Apple and Avid, two of the biggest names at NAB (*the* TV industry trade show to be at) both pulled out from the '08 show. They instead held smaller, 'roadshow' type presentations. Apple did a multi-city tour showing off FCS and I'll bet dollars to doughnuts they got a better ROI than they did competing for peoples' attention at the crowded, circus-type environment that exhibit halls quickly become. E3 used to be the ultimate gathering for the video game industry and now it basically limps along from year to year and no one would be surprised to hear if it gets cancelled. IIRC, Nintendo skipped TGS (Tokyo Game Show) and game publishers are instead having their own "gamer days" to announce/show off new titles during the year. CES this is year is offering cut rate deals on hotel rooms to try and get people to attend.

Why do companies like Apple need to get all their ducks in a row for presentations to 60k people at a MacWorld when they can just issue a press release, or release a demo video, or hold their own event and in a matter of hours word would spread across the internet to almost their entire user base *and* the mainstream media will pick it up as well? The need for a large event to show-off new things to your customer base is waning because of how easy it is to access info on the internet. 15 years ago researching a product or purchase meant lots of time driving from store to store comparing models, taking notes and trusting that the sales staff knew what they were talking about. These days all the 'leg work' is done online where one can read numerous reviews, ask detailed questions on forums, and there is usually only one trip to the store to make a final decision and purchase.

Circus, no joke. Trade shows are a phenomenon of the tech world 80's to late '00s, before the www became as deeply established as it is today. The days of pushing business cards are dwindling, in tandem with the pressures of overall cost cutting - Adobe and Belkin pulling out speaks volumes. Steve's Keynote amidst all the Apple fans is what we'll miss most of all.

[talkingfuture]

You've got to admit that spending all that money to do a big show seems a little pointless when they can generate as much coverage from a silent update on the website. Out of the blue updates and special events probably don't make the huge dent in the share price that you get with the expectations surrounding Macworld too. At the end of the day Jobs' has to think about the share price.

[ogee]

and it will be Apple’s last keynote at the show

Note the press release said "at the show", not last keynote ever. Perhapos we will get keynote addresses via video from time to time, rather than at live events.

[DMann]

Out of the blue updates and special events probably don't make the huge dent in the share price that you get with the expectations surrounding Macworld too. At the end of the day Jobs' has to think about the share price. This is true. Invariably, shares would plummet after a MacWorld Keynote, due to hyped up expectations. This, at the very least, will make things a bit less volatile.

[MacFly123]

Steve or no Steve...the only negative is the loss of the 'magic' of the Keynotes because of the atmosphere. The press and attendees of the 'town halls' just don't produce the same 'zealotry' atmosphere of the keynotes

I agree, but I hope they at least keep doing the town halls events with videos posted afterwards.

God, can't the press get over the cancer thing? The most common form of pancreatic cancer is normally incredibly deadly, with a ~5% 5-year survival rate, but Jobs had a very rare type that, while not completely benign, is very easy to treat. Any health problems from that experience would most likely be from complications of the whipple surgery, not a re-occurrence of cancer.

On the other hand, even if Apple is distancing itself from MacWorld and transitioning to a system of ad-hoc special events, why would Jobs not want to give the last Macworld keynote???

I totally predicted yesterday when the story was posted about some guy saying Apple hasn't confirmed the keynote yet that it would turn into all this crap about Steve's health again. Lots of money to be made from fooling with AAPL :rolleyes:

It is odd that Steve wouldn't give this LAST one though. Maybe Apple figures since they are already disappointing, why not get both out in the air since Steve has to stop sometime.

I hope I am wrong and that Steve will give Stevenotes at many more events, but he will probably retire within a few years or so I think.

So will WWDC be ok? Probably right, because it is actually done BY Apple for the developers right?

[HyperZboy]

I think i'm going to disagree with many people here. The 1-2 week delay and speculation/rumors about whether Steve Jobs would give a keynote, then the back and forth on this seems to suggest to me that this IS health related and that Steve Jobs is not certain he'd be able to appear at MacWorld.

But, I'm still hoping he'll make a surprise video-feed appearance from his iPhone that now shoots live video, but I'm not gonna hold my breath.

The ONLY OTHER explanation would be basically Apple has nothing really big Mac-related to announce in 2009.

EITHER SCENARIO IS SERIOUSLY BAD FOR APPLE.

Ultimately though, in a bad economy, MacWorld Expo is an easy culprit to cut unnecessary spending as far as bang for the buck but the very late decision on this seems to suggest it is some other reason as Apple, unlike many other companies, has TONS of money in the bank. So there really would be no reason to tank the stock price unnecessarily just to kill MacWorld Expo.

I think there's LOTS MORE to this story yet to come... Stay tuned...

[cheesymogul]

I think the simple reason Jobs is not doing the keynote is because Apple has nothing significant to present!

Their netbook is probably not ready yet. And the rumored Mini update will certainly be a major disappointment for many, because it will no longer have firewire ports. That dreadful new proprietary Display Port could also turn into a major problem for Mini users, because of its incompatibility issues with many popular third party display models.

After the unibody Macbook debacle, they are realizing they might just have produced another turkey. But unfortunately it was too late to fix the Mini development, because now they need that lowend Mac line more than ever before.

Therefore Jobs is just trying to stay outside the line of fire...

[robbyx]

This is nothing new. Jobs has always hated (other companies') trade shows. Anyone remember NeXTWORLD? When he pulled NeXT out of that show, both the show and magazine died. He then started his own show, NEXTSTEP Expo. Anyone want to bet that an Apple Expo, controlled by the mothership, is in the works?

[cv01]

Seems like the US expo is losing importance here, news events will be available online whenever Apple has products ready. No need for a forced January event anymore. Let's see what comes next...

[aljawad]

Its about time Apple distances itself from the image of its charismatic leader: while it is true that Steve Jobs has been instrumental in the revival of the company and its evolution into something larger than a computer maker, the allegiance of Apples customers to a single person has become something of an annoyance resembling the attachments a zealot has to a religious figure. The fanatical Apple users who adore Steve must realize that Apple is greater than his image.

At best, the participation of Apple in this years MW Expo is a token one. For it is MacWorld and it happens to be 2009, the 25th anniversary of the Macintosh. However, today Apple is more than a computer maker: the company has delved into the the worlds of entertainment and telecommunications, and it is successful in all of these endeavors. So, why should Apple adhere to introducing and/or announcing new products according to a timeline imposed by a trade show? Apple has been avoiding such events for years now. Example: what about Apples presence at CeBIT? Even after the success of the iPhone; did that entice Apple participate in telecom trade shows? Even the various Macworld venues have been abandoned with the exception of the SF event in January. Yes, they did introduce some of their professional applications during events like NAB, and they will probably continue to do so for the intended audience of products like Final Cut, Logic, Aperture, ... etc.

Clearly, the relevance of trade show participation is declining in parallel with the relevance of trade publications: nowadays how many of us actually rely on the printed pages of Macworld for information, tips, reviews, ... etc? How significant is an event like MW - the timing of which is beyond Apples control - in introducing new products, when the company can invite 200 influential bloggers and members of the press to its campus whenever they need to deliver a major announcement? Lets face it: in todays world of instantaneous access of information, this happens to be a far more reasonable and efficient channel for evangelizing the products of the company and the talents of its staff rather than abiding by the rather dated practices of trade show events.

BTW, this is not unique to Apple, other companies are distancing themselves from trade shows (Example: CES).

[johnmcboston]

This is nothing new. Jobs has always hated (other companies') trade shows. Anyone remember NeXTWORLD? When he pulled NeXT out of that show, both the show and magazine died. He then started his own show, NEXTSTEP Expo. Anyone want to bet that an Apple Expo, controlled by the mothership, is in the works?

That's a scary thought. McWorld has changed over the years - as the internet became the place to be, MacWorld became less the 'place to be'. It used to be a place to see new products and get sales prices and indeed be the place to hang out. That slowly faded away, in that the last few years of the east coast show you could buzz through the floor in a half day, and see only a fraction of the vendors you used to be able to see. Actually, the last east show was the most fun, as it had more 'uncommon' vendors than previous shows. (although half the vendors did little more than sell ipod accessories...) And we didn't miss Apple not being there. 99% of the peple at the show had apples, and really had no need for all that floorspace just to play with a mac.

Now will Apple stores everywhere, most folks can play any time they want. Magazines and web announcements bring us new products on a regular basis. And the great sale prices vendors used to being to the show are long gone.

As for Jobs, I do agree how they may want to start separating the man from the company. And if there is no killer product, Jobs would get ripped for giving a keynote with no product announcement. (Whatever happened to just good speeches?)

[olternaut]

because the announcements they have seem like they'll be pretty small.

Thats it man! They have NOTHING worth announcing in January. No mac mini, no tablet.......nothing.

What......they're gonna announce snow leapard and an updated pro? Gawd, its over! :(

[i.mac]

This is nothing new... Anyone want to bet that an Apple Expo, controlled by the mothership, is in the works?

Agree.

This happens alrready with the variuos Apple events.

[airamerica]

On the health issue, has anyone seen Steve recently - I mean in the last month?

To the best of my knowledge no reports or sightings have surfaced to indicate that anything is wrong and we all know how quickly these things hit the media, if it's bad news, take 'Patrick Swayze' for example! So, until I hear or see anything that proves there's a problem, (like Steve being wheeled around in a chair or getting into an ambulance) I'm going to believe he's in good health, relatively. Therefore, I think we must assume that not to doing a keynote is a business decision and nothing else.

Unless anyone has firm evidence to the contrary???

[mklos]

The control thing absolutely makes sense! Why distract away from what Apple is trying to accomplish?

And in regards to his health... I think the perception that he has so much control over the success of Apple will absolutely be influenced by news of his health and the subsequent stock price fluctuations. It would be wise for the board to try to get more of a face for the company. Though the reality is that Steve IS Apple. All of these products are out of HIS brain. The vision he has in tandem with the attention to detail is extremely rare. There are leaders at many companies that make awful decisions which end up crippling their companies everyday and they will continue to do so until the end of time. Regardless of who else is put in place either now or after he steps down will never match his accomplishments.

Actually its the other way around. Very little of the products are of Steve's creation. The idea of the iMac was NOT of Steve's creation. The original iMac was already in the works before Steve came back to Apple in 1997. The iMac G4 creation was of Steve's making and didn't really sell that well. The iPod was an idea of a 3rd party and that person came to Steve Jobs who put the idea into play when nobody else would, but the iPod itself was NOT of Steve's making. iTunes was not of Steve Job's creation. It was formally known as SoundJam. Many (thats not all!) of the ideas actually come from people internally, not from Steve Jobs.

Apple can more than survive without Steve Jobs. Thats not to say that Steve Jobs doesn't do anything for the company. He is a master as getting companies to partner with Apple and work together. For example, it was Apple who got all of the record companies to agree to an online music solution (iTunes Music Store). No other company was able to get all of the 5 major recording studios to agree on a specific buying model, but Apple was. This is what Steve Jobs brings to the table. Yes, it will be hard to get another person who can do those things, but its not impossible.

Apple has a very strong foundation and Steve has put some very good people in the right places. This is why Apple can more than survive without Steve Jobs. Yes, Phil Schiller doesn't provide the pop in keynote presentations, but it shouldn't be who presents it, it should be what are they presenting. You could go up and release a killer product for all I care. If its a cool product I'm gonna buy it. I'm not going to not buy it just because Steve Jobs didn't announce it, and Phil Schiller did. Thats just silly thinking. I actually think Scott Forestall (Spelling?) does a great job of doing presentations when he's asked to come up on stage. He presents himself very well, gives what he's presenting a little pop, and can get by well when mistakes happen. Jony Ive is a great person to design Apple products who does the majority of the designs of Apple products. He's awesome at what he does, but he's not the best person to lead Apple IMO. Tim Cook sounds like a cut and dry person, but is very good on the business end and has put Apple where it is today financially. So you can see the strong foundation of Apple today. If Apple can keep these people in place, it will have a great future, even without Steve Jobs.

[mklos]

And you can't get the same excitement by holding YOUR OWN special event? Do you not check Macrumors when Apple holds the iPod event in September? Or the MacBook event that recently happened? Or WWDC?

As far as the mainstream media (CNBC, CBS/CNET, Wall Street Journal, New York Times) and online blogs (Engadget, Gizmodo) are concerned, they'll still cover each and every event.

Not to mention, the various "Applerati" (Leo Laporte, Kevin Rose, Cali Lewis, Veronica Belmont, Ryan Block, Robert Scoble, etc).

Absolutely correct! Apple can do what not many companies can do and that is pull the media in when ever they feel like it. If Apple wants to be in the spotlight, they can do that anytime they want.

They don't need to spend hundreds of thousands if not millions to get their products across for a 5 day conference. They can do it in a simple 1-2hr media event when their products are ready for release. I think too many times Apple is forced to release products in Janurary when they aren't ready. So you either have a delay in shipment, or the product is shipped working half-@ss with a bunch of firmware updates the day its shipped.

[rscott4563]

The board?

They serve at the pleasure of Steve Jobs (and on paper—shareholders), and I highly doubt any of them would have the nerve to tell Jobs anything.

http://www.apple.com/pr/bios/bod.html

mmmm let me think about that....Albert Gore Jr. - Former Vice President of the United States
Yeah I'm sure he'd be terrified to tell Job's something!

[BornAgainMac]

If they want it to be political then why don't they have George Bush and Barack Obama give the keynote for Apple.

Come on, it is the last one. Have the man do the keynote.

[BenRoethig]

This is nothing new. Jobs has always hated (other companies') trade shows. Anyone remember NeXTWORLD? When he pulled NeXT out of that show, both the show and magazine died. He then started his own show, NEXTSTEP Expo. Anyone want to bet that an Apple Expo, controlled by the mothership, is in the works?

Didn't NeXT sink pretty quickly afterwards?

[Jaymes]

I have not read every post in this read, so someone may have already hinted to this, but I think in the end this might help Apple by reducing the Steve == Apple mantra that many folks seem to abide by.

If Steve takes a lesser PR role in the coming years, and as such is less the public face of Apple, when he decides to exit his role as CEO, it will hopefully lessen the blow a bit. Right now, no one could imagine Apple without Steve, partly (obviously) because he is one of the founders, but partly too because he has been the face of Apple for so many years. If they can reduce the Steve == Apple mentality, it might even help reduce the media frenzy over his health.

At some point, the cord needs to be cut if Apple is to continue to thrive post-Steve, and I personally think this is just the first of many steps to come in that direction.

[Stately]

Apple is Steve's baby. Do you really think, that even after retirement, he would have entirely nothing to do with the creativeness of Apple? Certain people would probably be honored to have him get them out of ruts that come about. He probably just wouldn't want certain responsibilities any longer. :cool::apple:

[chatin]

Machiavellian times call for Steve to put on his Prince face. Anguard Macworld! :rolleyes:

.

[mathcolo]

Unfortunately I cannot help but feel lucky I got to see the last full Stevenote at MWSF 2008.

Is this... the end?

[guzhogi]

Let's not assume the worst! Perhaps he's just ready to retire or just distancing himself from Apple. It is kind of weird that the stock price reacts to news of his health, perhaps the board has told him to distance himself a little.

In a way, Steve Jobs IS Apple. He's made himself so much of an icon, when he leaves, I have serious doubts how well Apple will do. I just have a bad feeling that Apple will fall into obscurity after Steve leaves.

[Blue Velvet]

Come on, it is the last one. Have the man do the keynote.

Meh. I've got a sneaking hunch that this could be just a publicity stunt and downplaying of expectations.

Imagine... Phil Schiller wraps up... oh, and there's one last thing. Steve Jobs comes on with new Apple product that revolutionises life as we know it. Bonsai money tree, perpetual motion machine etc.

[kcmac]

Meh. I've got a sneaking hunch that this could be just a publicity stunt and downplaying of expectations.

Imagine... Phil Schiller wraps up... oh, and there's one last thing. Steve Jobs comes on with new Apple product that revolutionises life as we know it. Bonsai money tree, perpetual motion machine etc.
That would be the coolest One Last Thing ever. :D

[137489]

Meh. I've got a sneaking hunch that this could be just a publicity stunt and downplaying of expectations.

Imagine... Phil Schiller wraps up... oh, and there's one last thing. Steve Jobs comes on with new Apple product that revolutionises life as we know it. Bonsai money tree, perpetual motion machine etc.

Oh come on people.. I posted this almost exact statement on this, the prior and the page 2 threads yesterday. :rolleyes:

Anyway, as some has predicted.... this, the iphone overseas suspension announcments, and yet another post about Steve's health sent stocks tumbling this morning. been hovering around $80-$88 so far.

http://finance.google.com/finance?client=ob&q=NASDAQ:AAPL

if you scroll through the sidebar on the right, it pretty much has been all bad news since Monday/Yesterday.

[PCFan]

Apple, the company that invented the Mac is withdrawing from Macworld. :p

[hoits2000]

I still think Steve has cancer, he looks unhealthy thin to me.

[slackpacker]

Its called - Overcharging

MacWorld and all these shows have raped the vendors for years and its finally catching up. the internet can do a better job of getting the word out and shows like this are going to all go away sooner or later. The Unions tight grip on prices is hurting everyone.

[kornyboy]

Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5G77 Safari/525.20)

I'm sad to hear that Apple will no longer be participating in MacWorld. I can understand some of the reasons behind trying to separate from events like this and start using it's own special events for product releases.

[salvatorereda]

apple wants to release things when they want to not by some convention and there rules and dates

its the new way

[Apple Corps]

With one minor difference, Jobs will be in a video from his hospital bed. :D

That post says a lot about you as a person - and it is not favorable.

[yellow]

They should bring Ballmer in to energize the crowd. That'll give Macworld some new life.

[Stebus]

As for Macworld, it will be sad to see the annual event disappear, but I'm hoping Apple has a plan for something else rather than just their mundane media announcements. Jonathan Ives certainly has the charisma and popularity to be a step-in Steve, although being a designer he might get caught up in telling everybody how good the product looks rather than it's features, like the Unibody Macbooks haha. We'll see how Phil does.

[kingtj]

Remember Comdex, anyone? That was the "end all, be all" of computer expos. And today? Zilch.

Times are changing, and Apple probably realizes that they could leverage all of their retail stores as places to go see a "special Apple announcement/launch event", vs. doing things based on the MacWorld expo schedule. (Think about it... A new product is unveiled live, in front of everyone who goes to their nearest Apple store - and then they can BUY it at the end of the televised keynote speech, given direct from Apple HQ, and take it home with them!)

Sure, you don't get tens of thousands of Mac users together under one big roof at the same time anymore -- but you do get the *local* Mac fans together with each other, and nobody has to buy a costly plane ticket and possibly an expo ticket for the privilege.

I'm as bummed out as anyone else about MacWorld dying off. But I'm also realistic about things. Only reason I wanted to attend was for the "entertainment value". It's a good excuse for a vacation trip, and to have fun meeting all the people involved with producing the latest Mac products. The fact that "it would be fun to attend" doesn't mean it makes financial or overall good business sense for Apple, though.


No it doesn't. Macworld is one of the biggest computer exhibitions on earth. Apple cannot possibly buy "facetime" with 60,000-plus people cheaper than it can via this event. I'm sure that if they did a cost-per-conversion analysis, they would know that Macworld delivers sales in spades and then some.

My sense is that this is simply a bargaining chip to get IDG to cave on certain parameters. I cannot for the life of me imagine why you want to preclude demo time to that many people unless there's another reason that permeates this decision.

I may sound cruel, but it's high time that Jobs moves on. :eek:

[Gravity]

Maybe Steve doesn't want to give the keynote because he's embarrassed by the Simpsons lampooning him with lines like "He's like a god who knows what we want!!!" and images of him on a giant wall screen like the big brother in the 1984 Macintosh commercial. Maybe he's finally realizing that he's coming off in a way contrary to his hippy/rebel roots and is in philosophical crisis. LOL

[dmelgar]

Just a thought...
In the past, Steve Jobs has given keynotes and had other people on stage to help him. The other people, Phil included, did not getting billing as a keynote speaker.

Is it possible.... that Steve Jobs WILL be at the keynote, but will not be the major speaker? That Phil will take the lead and use Steve for some portion of it?

Just a thought

[jlamb0]

Plus I'm sure it's meant to make everyone more comfortable with other execs at Apple besides Steve so when Steve does leave there won't be a major selloff in Apple stock.

Yeah but schiller is such a dweeb. He is a horrible public speaker--I end up fast forwarding through all of his keynote-segments.

[rstansby]

Apple must be pretty mad at the Mac World Expo. Why else would the announce that this is their last year right before the convention. They could have waited until next fall. The only reason I see to announce it now it to sabotage the event.

[Kwill]

Macworld without Steve Jobs is like a comic book convention without superheros.

[Djcyder]

I worked a similar convention for the past 7 years. What many of you don't know is that the unions have single handedly killed the expo industry. Last year my company had to pay a dock fee called Drayage of about $1100 just to land a crate on the dock of the expo. To make matters worse the load in was on a Sunday which means time and one half for the people to unload it from the truck and move it to our display. Also carpet was mandatory in every booth so we had to pay the carpet layers union time and a half to install the carpet and also the electricians union a connect fee. Don't try to bring anything in yourself over 20 lbs you'll be paying for that too, also you may incur some union grievances as well. Also you get to meet Vinny the life long union man he's about 300 lbs carries a bat and you basically pay him or else.

I don't blame Apple at all for pulling out of the show. We are also pulling our trade show stuff this year in light of tough economic times. We can't see spending the money anymore for what in our industry is basically a glorified garage sale.

[FlyParrotHead]

I was very surprised and didn't believe it when I heard this yesterday. I didn't believe it until I read it on both Fox News and CNN.

[erzeszut]

Apple must be pretty mad at the Mac World Expo. Why else would the announce that this is their last year right before the convention. They could have waited until next fall. The only reason I see to announce it now it to sabotage the event.

Are you kidding? If anything, this will increase attendance. People may want to go to the last MWSF with Apple's participation, or quite possibly the last MWSF *ever*.

Now, if Steve were doing the keynote himself, registration would be through the roof!! But even without, I think there may be some renewed, nostalgic interest in the show for some people.

MWSF is dead after 2009, though. If they do manage to put on a 2010 show, I'm certain that will be the last one.

Understandable as a business decision by Apple. But it still makes me said. Guess it's just WWDC and CES for me from now on.

I do wonder, if CES manages to survive, will Apple have a small presence there? A good way to reach consumers, and Apple wouldn't have to have the HUGE presence they had at MacWorld. So it could be a relatively cheap way for them to still have a tradeshow presence.

[MacTraveller]

The end of an era.

[IJ Reilly]

Apple must be pretty mad at the Mac World Expo. Why else would the announce that this is their last year right before the convention. They could have waited until next fall. The only reason I see to announce it now it to sabotage the event.

In a word, yes. If Apple and IDG had a good working relationship, no way Apple would have ended their association this way.

As for those who are suggesting that this might be phase one in a transition in leadership at Apple, that may well be true. But that should be seen as a good thing. Not that most of us are hoping that Steve leaves any time soon, but one of the weakness in the way Apple is run is that it appears to be a cult of personality with no obvious plan of succession in place. Apple has been criticized for this -- possibly they are listening, finally. If Phil the Schiller is Steve's heir apparent, then so be it -- and he needs to get more face time.

[137489]

What no one is actually getting is that MacWorld was a chance to party, to meet fellow Macusers... to revel in all things Mac. My connection was not just with "Apple" it was a connection with the Macintosh community. Watching a crappy webcast doesn't do squat to address that.

It's a chance to let your hair down and party a little with fellow Macheads.


Well, we could always do what we did in 1984-1990. Remember the old commodore user groups (well, we had several where I grew up). A bunch of geek wanna bees getting togther to talk about the latest developments, sharing software (usually something cool written by a local kid, and then eventually posted on a BBS for download). what if we kept things going by local groups.

I mean look at churches. started small, then they started forming mega churches, people felt it lost it individual touch, so now small churches are starting up again with the average congragation of 100 or less. Could we be seeing the same cycle with Apple? starts out small, then massive shows, then moving to a bunch a little groups getting together.

While sad, this could have potential. think: a bunch of techno-geeks with no voice getting their heads together locally and putting together a few great things.

Could see:

gaming take off
More apps for the iphone/ipod touch
more utilities that people wish they had

Just - one bad thing would be control and how to keep a bad seed from releasing viruses.

I mean Mac OS X is Unix, comes with Java, Python, C++, and all the usual languages a linux distrubution gives us, that you usually have to find or pay for to install on a Windows platform.

I know once I get more time, there were some apps I wrote in VB/MS Access for churches that used to appear on my old website. thinking about putting those out there and writing a MAC a Linux/Mac version, and also incorporating the older Access apps into Bento. Or maybe even filemaker.

that is one of my goals for 2009 - and also, as long as I still have a "normal" job, that pays my bills, they will continue to be free.

bring back he local user groups...

But truthfully, I think the whole computer industry (PC, Linux, Apple -accessories, software, hardware) are in for some major shake ups and changes in 2009. these will be due to:

1. Lower priced netbooks being popular in bad economy.
2. Companies consolidating and closing in a bad economy.
3. Due to the bad economy, people / companies looking toward more open source and multi-platform solutions.
4. Due to the bad economy, could see a swing in more in-house solutions instead of outsourcing and contractors. this could go either way: pay someone $60,000 a year plus benefits. Or Pay someone $100 / hour for a few weeks contract. Depends on the company and how long the project will last, need maintenance , etc.
5. Contractors usually have to move around - that gets expensive fast.


by, the way glanced at the ticker - still hovering around $88.00 I think Steve should come out with a statement today, and stop all the speculation.

[dmelgar]

I was very surprised and didn't believe it when I heard this yesterday. I didn't believe it until I read it on both Fox News and CNN.
Hearing it on Fox makes it credible???

[jaw04005]

mmmm let me think about that....Albert Gore Jr. - Former Vice President of the United States
Yeah I'm sure he'd be terrified to tell Job's something!

And? Al Gore doesn't even attend most of the board meetings. If you think Al Gore is going to tell Steve Jobs how to run "his" company you're crazy.

Gore is there just like Elision was there —*as a figurehead only. Apple's board is notorious for being a board stacked with Jobs' friends.

In 2002, Business Week listed it on their "Worst Boards" list, and this was before the recent appointment of more figureheads like Gore and Schmidt.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/02_40/b3802004.htm

For better or worse, Jobs controls Apple (oddly enough with owning just 1 share of stock) and once he's gone Apple is going to have to do some significant restructuring starting at the top.

For example, the next CEO is likely not going to be picking the music for their iPod commercials.

[IJ Reilly]

And? Al Gore doesn't even attend most of the board meetings. If you think Al Gore is going to tell Steve Jobs how to run "his" company you're crazy.

Gore is there just like Elision was there —*as a figurehead only. Apple's board is notorious for being a board stacked with Jobs' friends.

In 2002, Business Week listed it on their "Worst Boards" list, and this was before the recent appointment of more figureheads like Gore and Schmidt.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/02_40/b3802004.htm

For better or worse, Jobs controls Apple (oddly enough with owning just 1 share of stock) and once he's gone Apple is going to have to do some significant restructuring starting at the top.

For example, the next CEO is likely not going to be picking the music for their iPod commercials.

If you'd read the article you linked, you'd know that Jobs has been awarded tens of millions in stock options (which were the subject of that SEC investigation, btw), and also that the critique of Apple's board was addressed by the new appointments.

[137489]

Times are changing, and Apple probably realizes that they could leverage all of their retail stores as places to go see a "special Apple announcement/launch event", vs. doing things based on the MacWorld expo schedule. (Think about it... A new product is unveiled live, in front of everyone who goes to their nearest Apple store - and then they can BUY it at the end of the televised keynote speech, given direct from Apple HQ, and take it home with them!)

Sure, you don't get tens of thousands of Mac users together under one big roof at the same time anymore -- but you do get the *local* Mac fans together with each other, and nobody has to buy a costly plane ticket and possibly an expo ticket for the privilege.


Your post reminds me of the Simpsons MAPPLE where Steve Mobs makes an appearance from Apple headquarters, deep below the sea.

on another note - More like they better setup a huge screen and section of part of the parking lot. I was dumb enough to go to my local apple store during the iphone launch weekend this past summer (and I was not there for an iphone). there were 2 lines.

1. iphone stretched all the way around the entire strip, people waiting in line (one guy said for 4 hrs).

2. Non-iphone. I waited in line for an hour just to find out they were out of stock of what I wanted.

They were only letting about 20 people in the store at a time. many people complained about the wait, and the fact the store usually has 40-50 people in it at any given time during a non-event. Could you imagine what you are talking about? Mass chaos. and you think Apple employee tempers where flaring the weekend of the iphone release (I watched one woman tell off a customer who was upset about not being allowed in to exchange a defective power supply on a last model iphone, and she was getting on a plane to Rome in 2 hrs; for a two-week business trip). the customer's biggest complaint was "I am only here to exchange a defective part. My plane leaves in 2 hrs. I have already been standing here for over an hour, and you let other people in around me who are in this same line"

[rolandf]

The switch to Intel eroded Apple completely.

Short term gains vs. long time loss.

[ObaMaciden]

So long MacWorld Expo. You were too good while it lasted.. :(

MacWorld without a Steve keynote is like the SuperBowl without the stand out commercials! Good luck with the press coverage.

Sad but true, I share you sentiment.:cool:

Wonder what Apple's gonna be like post-Steve?

[theheadguy]

For what it's worth, aside from the announcement, I found MacWorld to be pretty boring. Sure, a booth or two are great, but the hype that surrounds this event is wayyyyy overblown. If you live too far away to go, you are not missing a thing, especially in light of the recent news.

The switch to Intel eroded Apple completely.
Short term gains vs. long time loss.
Care to elaborate? I'm interested.

[MacTraveller]

It's all obvious now.

Steve Jobs is sick of Macs and Apple.

"It's due to politics."

President-elect Obama called on Steve Jobs to consider an appointment as "Industry Revival Czar of the American Auto Industry". Obama wants Jobs to do CPR on the dying US auto industry. There is only one man in the USA who can revive the dying auto industry. His name is Steve Jobs.

[brad.c]

I wonder how much effect the rumour mill has had on this move. True, ROI on expo expenditures may be diminishing, and it's also possible that there isn't enough upcoming product to warrant an SJ appearance. Not to mention Apple-vs-IDC power plays.

But consider: in the weeks leading to an event, there is heightened attention paid to every shipping box, accessory case mold, and any box opened in an elevator. Maybe Apple is tired of having the wind stripped from their promotional sails, and wants to have tighter control on WHEN announcements are made.

[BenRoethig]

It's all obvious now.

Steve Jobs is sick of Macs...

That part might actually be true. He has a tendency to get bored with things and let them lay fallow until something new and exciting can be thought up.

[MacTraveller]

I wonder how much effect the rumour mill has had on this move. True, ROI on expo expenditures may be diminishing, and it's also possible that there isn't enough upcoming product to warrant an SJ appearance. Not to mention Apple-vs-IDC power plays.

But consider: in the weeks leading to an event, there is heightened attention paid to every shipping box, accessory case mold, and any box opened in an elevator. Maybe Apple is tired of having the wind stripped from their promotional sails, and wants to have tighter control on WHEN announcements are made.

Or maybe Steve is just sick and tired of every Macworld Expo being a microscope that is once again going to scrutinize his personal health?

Hey, it's time for Macworld Expo again? Steve Jobs, how's your health this month? The whole world is watching.

Hey, it's time for Macworld Expo again? Steve Jobs, did your MD certify you as cancer free this week? The whole world is watching.

He's sick of and tired of all that garbage. Can you blame him?

[BergerFan]

Whether Steve retires or whatever, as long as there's a succession strategy in place, with people who've been taught/share the same vision and operate to the same standards(Tim Cook, I'm looking at you), to take over the helm, then things will continue to be good.
It's a phasing in and out process, so that when the switch comes, it will be next to seamless.

When Enzo Ferrari passed away in 1988, many thought that it would signal the end of Ferrari, both as a marque and a successful F1 racing team.
The Commendatore had a strategy in place for his succession, long before he passed, and guess what? Ferrari is still here, and as big as ever. :cool:

[flottenheimer]

The switch to Intel eroded Apple completely.

Short term gains vs. long time loss.
If Apple hadn't switched to Intel, their laptops would still be running on slow G4 PPC chips. That would have killed their laptop line completely.

As far as I know a mobile version of the G5 still isn't possible. The PPC architecture simply can't compete with Intels in the "Power Per Watt"-race.

On top of that Apples switch to Intel has delivered hordes of new customers since Apple users are now able to run Windows as well.

The switch to Intel certainly hasn't "eroded Apple completely" as you put it. Stuck on PPC, Apple would no longer be making computers.

[brad.c]

Or maybe Steve is just sick and tired of every Macworld Expo being a microscope that is once again going to scrutinize his personal health?

Hey, it's time for Macworld Expo again? Steve Jobs, how's your health this month? The whole world is watching.

Hey, it's time for Macworld Expo again? Steve Jobs, did your MD certify you as cancer free this week? The whole world is watching.

He's sick of and tired of all that garbage. Can you blame him?

I was looking at Apple's plans for 2010+, rather than Phil being put front-and-centre, as the larger picture. The reasons for Jobs to personally withdraw are as plentiful as his closet of black turtlenecks.

[Riemann Zeta]

I think the largest factor in Jobs dropping out is the real possibility that he wants to retire sometime in the near future. I don't think that he is being forced to retire because he is 'near death,' as the media would have us believe, I think he just wants to retire. Perhaps he wants to have some personal time to enjoy his millions of dollars, as well as go out as a legend. Hell, Bill Gates officially retired earlier this year and he is the same age as Jobs...the legends of the industry are getting old and they may want to pass the torch and enjoy life with their fat stacks of coldhard.

[schneb]

what would steve talk about? genius playlists for another hour?
I would have to go in for immediate surgery for complete boredom.

[Unspeaked]

I don't think anyone's posted this (http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/article/147605/Time-for-Apple-Fans-to-Freak-Out) already, but I think it sums things up about as well as I've seen anyone do so far:


Time for Apple Fans to Freak Out

Posted Dec 17, 2008 10:36am EST by Henry Blodget

From Silicon Alley Insider:

Apple bull Gene Munster says he was "shocked" to hear that Steve Jobs won't be giving the Macworld keynote in three weeks. He wasn't the only one.

Let's walk through some possible reasons for this decision:

• Apple is just phasing out trade shows. This is a statement of fact, but it is almost certainly not the reason Steve won't be giving the keynote. If this is Apple's last Macworld, which it appears to be, why on earth wouldn't Steve give the final speech? It's called the "Stevenote," for goodness sake. And Apple has known for a while that it is moving away from tradeshows: It didn't have to wait until the last minute.

• Apple wants to let other executives share the limelight. A good idea, but not this way. If some bonehead at Apple insisted that Steve begin sharing the limelight by suddenly announcing three weeks before Macworld that he won't be giving a speech his fans wait all year for, then they should have announced this months ago.

• Steve just wants to pop out of a cake or something and stun his adoring fans. Possible. Also unlikely. This decision just seems too dumb to have been made by Apple. Apple obviously knows that this news will trigger a storm of speculation that Apple will likely spend the next several weeks dealing with. Would the company do that to itself just for a moment of surprise?

• Apple, Steve, and Macworld are having some sort of business dispute. This is possible. It's also the only business reason that makes sense. Given the damage Steve's non-appearance will do to the conference's reputation, Apple and Steve would have had to have been angry at — or in negotiation with — the conference organizers to withhold the announcement so long (thus the "dispute"). But we imagine that Macworld would do absolutely anything to keep Steve as the keynote speaker, so this explanation seems unlikely.

• Apple expected to have an exciting product or two to announce, but it has now realized that they won't be ready. This one makes sense. It explains the late cancellation. It also explains why Steve might drop out: Why would he want his last Macworld keynote to be a dud?

• Steve is sick. At this late date, given Steve's history, we regret to say that this also seems plausible.

[BenRoethig]

Or a combination of reasons that Blodget lists above.

[robbyx]

Didn't NeXT sink pretty quickly afterwards?

NeXT was always in trouble. It had nothing to do with NeXTWORLD. Actually, after the demise of NeXTWORLD, NeXT transitioned to Intel, SPARC, and PA-RISC, and, ultimately, sold to Apple for an undisclosed sum (estimated at over 500 million, considering Apple bailed out their 200+ million long-term debt to Canon, for starters). I wouldn't call that sinking! :)

[robbyx]

In a way, Steve Jobs IS Apple. He's made himself so much of an icon, when he leaves, I have serious doubts how well Apple will do. I just have a bad feeling that Apple will fall into obscurity after Steve leaves.

Ridiculous!

They own the portable music player market. Mac sales are on the rise and have been for several years. The iPhone is a phenomenon. They have well-established retail stores from coast to coast. And they are one of the most recognized and respected brands in the world. To suggest that, without Steve, they will fall into obscurity is just absurd.

Of course, if anything happens to him, the stock will take a huge hit and people will be nervous for a little while. But nothing changes the fact that Apple offers a superior product. They will offer it the day before Steve leaves, dies, whatever, and they will offer it the day after. Nothing changes.

[IJ Reilly]

• Apple, Steve, and Macworld are having some sort of business dispute. This is possible. It's also the only business reason that makes sense. Given the damage Steve's non-appearance will do to the conference's reputation, Apple and Steve would have had to have been angry at — or in negotiation with — the conference organizers to withhold the announcement so long (thus the "dispute"). But we imagine that Macworld would do absolutely anything to keep Steve as the keynote speaker, so this explanation seems unlikely.

I was totally within this one until the last sentence (I'd better be, since this has been my main theory all along). No company can do "absolutely anything" for anyone. IDG was unable to do what it needed to keep Apple at the East Coast expo, so whatever Apple was demanding then, it wasn't possible for them to accommodate. Publicly, this was keeping the show in New York, but I suspect other areas of dispute not made public. I also suspect that the relationship between IDG and Apple can't have been great after that very public falling-out, one that had to hurt IDG far more than it hurt Apple.

[robbyx]

Its called - Overcharging

MacWorld and all these shows have raped the vendors for years and its finally catching up. the internet can do a better job of getting the word out and shows like this are going to all go away sooner or later. The Unions tight grip on prices is hurting everyone.

Very good point! I remember when I had a small booth at NeXTWORLD and we couldn't do ANYTHING without the blessing (or, in most cases, assistance) of the union employees. It was absurd.

[robbyx]

But it still makes me said. Guess it's just WWDC and CES for me from now on.

Have we all forgotten about MacWorld Boston/NYC? Anyone remember that show? Apple bailed, the show finally died...and Apple launched WWDC (on their own terms) in its place. This is no different.

[robbyx]

The switch to Intel eroded Apple completely.

Short term gains vs. long time loss.

Yeah, sure, faster processors, dramatically increased performance, lower R&D costs, and better hardware "eroded" Apple. Um, what are you smoking?

[hiimamac]

One has to wonder - being a long time person in tech, I was one of the few stating Apple would switch chips, every lifer, fan boz, said I was nuts.

Now we are seeing flat sales while there is continued growth, on another hand, you have a Macbook that many complained about, lack of firewire, and we have to ask, or ponder if Apple will release a different version that contains FIREWIRE as well as a mini that also has firewire and so what if the PRO can use it (the intent was to keep PROS to buying MBPro's only) and with the slip of sales on desktops (PRETTY SIGNIFICANT THIS QUARTER, it fell sharply), with the PRO being left in the dark while Apple went after consumers with iPods, iMacs, iPhones, if apple finally gets it and releases more competitive machines.

I will go on record that if MSFT starts making headway with new Windows OS, if Apple will start releasing the OS for certain manufactures with limited tech support.

Ironically, it wouldn't hurt sales that much as people who would buy the OS are the die hard PC users who want to dabble in Mac OS and wouldn't buy a mac anyway, in MHO, I think Apple would do real well to do this.

I also think if you look at the last key note, Steve was indeed paranoid in that he though people were going to steal the UNIBODY and have never seen him like that. I wish him well and while some of us get frustrated when he does things like take FIREWIRE out of a machine that could otherwise be a great backup, not to mention thousands upon thousands of musicians, no one would want to see him sick and I pray and hope he gets well soon.

If this is what the problem is.

Get well Steve, get well.:apple:

[airamerica]

Here's a thought - Apple have committed to a Keynote and are contractually obliged to fulfill this agreement. However, the speaker could be anyone from Apple, including the Janitor from Infinite Loop!

Schiller steps in and keeps the lawyers from making a fuss... He goes through an unspectacular Keynote, giving nothing away and just introduces a few insignificant updates and a review of the past year, maybe some new software.

Then, 24hrs later invites are sent out to an Apple 'event' 10 days later:

1. This puts Steve back in the spotlight.

2. Significant new product/s are launched - Netbook, new iPhone Nano etc.

3. Apple take the spotlight away from Macworld and this format of product launching.

4. Apple keep to their traditional New Year launch schedule and adopt a quarterly 'event' style update from then on.

As a long term PR planner, I'd be advising my clients to take this course of action. In-fact, we've adopted this strategy in the UK with some customers.

It's easy to look for the negatives but if you consider Apple's and Steve's history, this is just the kind of stunt they could carry out.

[DMann]

Its called - Overcharging

MacWorld and all these shows have raped the vendors for years and its finally catching up. the internet can do a better job of getting the word out and shows like this are going to all go away sooner or later. The Unions tight grip on prices is hurting everyone.

All of this resonates with Steve pulling out of their East coast show in '04. IDG claims they need to cover expenses, and doesn't give Steve, the main attraction of the event, the concessions he asks for. A stalemate ensues, and continues until finally Steve says, "Who needs 'em anyway?" Since it was too late to cancel without forfeiting the down payment, Steve withdrew himself, knowing that this would make his dissatisfaction clear. IDG needed to realize who was doing who a favor here, and perhaps they realize this a little bit better now.

[IJ Reilly]

All of this resonates with Steve pulling out of their East coast show in '04. IDG claims they need to cover expenses, and doesn't give Steve, the main attraction of the event, the concessions he asks for. A stalemate ensues, and continues until finally Steve says, "Who needs 'em anyway?" Since it was too late to cancel without forfeiting the down payment, Steve withdrew himself, knowing that this would make his dissatisfaction clear. IDG needed to realize who was doing who a favor here, and perhaps they realize this a little bit better now.

IDG rents the hall from the City of San Francisco. Presumably IDG then determines how much they have to charge the exhibitors for their floor space to make a profit from running the show.

[fleshman03]

Here's a thought - Apple have committed to a Keynote and are contractually obliged to fulfill this agreement. However, the speaker could be anyone from Apple, including the Janitor from Infinite Loop!

Schiller steps in and keeps the lawyers from making a fuss... He goes through an unspectacular Keynote, giving nothing away and just introduces a few insignificant updates and a review of the past year, maybe some new software.

Then, 24hrs later invites are sent out to an Apple 'event' 10 days later:

1. This puts Steve back in the spotlight.

2. Significant new product/s are launched - Netbook, new iPhone Nano etc.

3. Apple take the spotlight away from Macworld and this format of product launching.

4. Apple keep to their traditional New Year launch schedule and adopt a quarterly 'event' style update from then on.

As a long term PR planner, I'd be advising my clients to take this course of action. In-fact, we've adopted this strategy in the UK with some customers.

It's easy to look for the negatives but if you consider Apple's and Steve's history, this is just the kind of stunt they could carry out.

I wish this is the case. I just have my reservations. I really hope your right though.

[DMann]

Here's a thought - Apple have committed to a Keynote and are contractually obliged to fulfill this agreement. However, the speaker could be anyone from Apple, including the Janitor from Infinite Loop!

Schiller steps in and keeps the lawyers from making a fuss... He goes through an unspectacular Keynote, giving nothing away and just introduces a few insignificant updates and a review of the past year, maybe some new software.

Then, 24hrs later invites are sent out to an Apple 'event' 10 days later:

1. This puts Steve back in the spotlight.

2. Significant new product/s are launched - Netbook, new iPhone Nano etc.

3. Apple take the spotlight away from Macworld and this format of product launching.

4. Apple keep to their traditional New Year launch schedule and adopt a quarterly 'event' style update from then on.

As a long term PR planner, I'd be advising my clients to take this course of action. In-fact, we've adopted this strategy in the UK with some customers.

It's easy to look for the negatives but if you consider Apple's and Steve's history, this is just the kind of stunt they could carry out.

Not an unlikely scenario, coming from Apple.

[saltyzoo]

I for one have never found Jobs to be that interesting of a person, so I don't really care if he does another keynote or not.

If he is responsible for the direction of the last year, I hope he retires in good health soon and spends the rest of a long life relaxing on the beach with his family and friends.

If he is not responsible for the direction of Apple in the last year, I hope he turns the ship again to point it in the right direction so we can not only get products with bling, but also products that actually do something useful once again. The recent trend of putting out "fancy toys" at the expense of real useful tools has me very disappointed in Apple.

[robbyx]

The recent trend of putting out "fancy toys" at the expense of real useful tools has me very disappointed in Apple.

No offense, but are you nuts? What on earth are you talking about? The useless iPhone? The even more worthless iPod Touch? The absolutely wretched MacBook line? Seriously, what kind of products did Apple make in the past that were SOOOOOO awesome as opposed to what's found in their current product line? Perhaps you miss the days of the Pippin and late night Apple infomercials? ;)

Color me baffled.

[markintosh]

:apple:Jobs/Ive 2012:apple: for President! :)

[saltyzoo]

No offense, but are you nuts? What on earth are you talking about? The useless iPhone? The even more worthless iPod Touch? The absolutely wretched MacBook line? Seriously, what kind of products did Apple make in the past that were SOOOOOO awesome as opposed to what's found in their current product line? Perhaps you miss the days of the Pippin and late night Apple infomercials? ;)

Color me baffled.

I am a new convert to Apple computers. But ever since I converted, most of the reasons I converted have been slowly dwindling away.

The iPhone is pretty cool. But if you think there aren't other offerings out there that compete you are deluding yourself. I own one and I'm not giving it up. But, until it has the ability to copy and paste it remains largely a "toy" and "bling". I'd love to be able to use it as a real computer, but when I have a 10 character password of random characters that I can't save or in any way view when I switch to my terminal program or browser, then I need a pad and paper to use my iPhone. That makes it a toy. Sorry. And all for want of such a simple thing too.

And the new macBooks? Name one new feature that isn't bling. The multi-touch pad is a nice toy. It's missing several solid, real, useful options the old one had. Ports of various flavor, a real DVI connector, an actual optical drive or wired network port. They have no major standards upgrades (like BluRay support or example). Glossy only screen option (Sorry, I will never own another one). Aluminum block case? Bling. 1 billionth of an inch thick? Bling.

I am not happy about these things. I have nothing against toys or bling. I love the iPhone for it's "toy" features. No doubt about it. But I'm also not deluding myself into ignoring the direction things are going.

[Unspeaked]

Here's a thought - Apple have committed to a Keynote and are contractually obliged to fulfill this agreement. However, the speaker could be anyone from Apple, including the Janitor from Infinite Loop!

Schiller steps in and keeps the lawyers from making a fuss... He goes through an unspectacular Keynote, giving nothing away and just introduces a few insignificant updates and a review of the past year, maybe some new software.

Then, 24hrs later invites are sent out to an Apple 'event' 10 days later:

1. This puts Steve back in the spotlight.

2. Significant new product/s are launched - Netbook, new iPhone Nano etc.

3. Apple take the spotlight away from Macworld and this format of product launching.

4. Apple keep to their traditional New Year launch schedule and adopt a quarterly 'event' style update from then on.

As a long term PR planner, I'd be advising my clients to take this course of action. In-fact, we've adopted this strategy in the UK with some customers.

It's easy to look for the negatives but if you consider Apple's and Steve's history, this is just the kind of stunt they could carry out.

You're almost describing what Apple did when they introduced the PowerMac G5s and totally screwed over IDG.

[IJ Reilly]

You're almost describing what Apple did when they introduced the PowerMac G5s and totally screwed over IDG.

I can't feel too sorry for IDG. They built a huge expo event around one company. They had to know that once the one company decides that the show no longer serves their interests, that the show is history. I think they have to count themselves as lucky for being able to run it for so many years with Apple's blessings and participation.

[BenRoethig]

:apple:Jobs/Ive 2012:apple: for President! :)

Ive's British.

[MacTraveller]

Ive's British.

Maybe they will run for the Presidency of the United Empire of America and Lesser Britain.

[robbyx]

I am a new convert to Apple computers. But ever since I converted, most of the reasons I converted have been slowly dwindling away.

Out of curiosity, why did you convert? What reasons are "dwindling" away?

The iPhone is pretty cool. But if you think there aren't other offerings out there that compete you are deluding yourself. I own one and I'm not giving it up. But, until it has the ability to copy and paste it remains largely a "toy" and "bling". I'd love to be able to use it as a real computer, but when I have a 10 character password of random characters that I can't save or in any way view when I switch to my terminal program or browser, then I need a pad and paper to use my iPhone. That makes it a toy. Sorry. And all for want of such a simple thing too.

I don't think anything competes with iPhone in terms of overall EXPERIENCE. Sure, there are many great products out there, but how many integrate with one's computer (well, certainly one's Mac) as well as the iPhone? How many are as downright simple and easy to learn and use? I use my iPhone all day long. It's an awesome communication device. It does exactly what I want and doesn't bother me with a bunch of "features" I care nothing for in the first place. The App Store is fantastic. I love the simple and effortless process of buying and updating apps. Again, nothing compares.

Yes, copy and paste would be nice. Sure. But is it a deal breaker? Not by a mile, in my book. I don't want to use my iPhone as a full-fledged laptop replacement (although it's certainly possible). In my mind, the iPhone is all about communication, be it text, voice, email, etc. I have no interest in editing Word files on that tiny screen, for example, but composing a quick email? Absolutely! And for such tasks, I think the iPhone excels.

As an aside, you may want to check out the excellent 1Password application. It's a better Keychain and features an iPhone client that can autofill your login and password info on the phone. It syncs with the desktop 1Password program too. Very nice!

And the new macBooks? Name one new feature that isn't bling. The multi-touch pad is a nice toy. It's missing several solid, real, useful options the old one had. Ports of various flavor, a real DVI connector, an actual optical drive or wired network port. They have no major standards upgrades (like BluRay support or example). Glossy only screen option (Sorry, I will never own another one). Aluminum block case? Bling. 1 billionth of an inch thick? Bling.

Faster chips, better video hardware, (apparent) hardware acceleration for H.264 video, a very nice, new, elegant form factor. Etc.

Ok, so they dropped FireWire from the MacBook. Get over it. FireWire is dead, sorry to say. If you absolutely NEED FireWire, get a MacBook Pro. Last time I checked, every computer in the MacBook line, save the Air, still offered an optical drive and wired network connection. Of course they dropped these features from the Air. That's the whole point of the computer!

The multitouch trackpad is also very nice. Spend some time with it. Gestures are a welcome UI improvement. Don't simply dismiss it as "bling" because you don't get it.

The screen...well, that's a matter of preference. I personally like the glossy screen. Others don't. I get that. Unfortunately, when you buy Apple, sometimes you simply must accept the choices made by the mothership - and move on.

As for BlueRay, well, there are third party drives available. Apple doesn't want to support it (yet) for some reason. Jobs repeatedly points to BlueRay licensing issues as the problem. Sony is notorious for being an impossible, controlling nightmare. You think Apple is bad? Ha. They have NOTHING on Sony. Personally, I don't give a crap about BlueRay. I refuse to buy a player and I couldn't care less if Apple adds it or not. I'm perfectly satisfied with the picture quality of regular DVDs on my HD TV. BlueRay looks awesome, sure. But I'll never invest in any proprietary technology from Sony.

Furthermore, I think Apple is right about the future of media distribution. Physical media is a pain. It's cumbersome, easily lost or damaged, and contributes more garbage to our landfills, never mind all the manufacturing-related carbon emissions. I'd much rather rent or buy my media online. The AppleTV box is a great little "hobby" as Jobs calls it. I have no doubt that it will mature into a very full-featured device that easily takes the place of a DVD player. Is it there yet? No. But I don't care. I'm not a media freak. I enjoy a good movie every now and then, but I'm not wasting my cash on buying DVDs that I might watch once or twice when I can just click the "Rent HD" button on my AppleTV and start watching.

In my mind, BlueRay is too little, too late. In 3 years, when we're consuming all of our media via the web, no one will care. People thought Jobs was crazy when he axed floppy drives. They thought he was crazy when he included the first erasable optical drive as standard equipment (long before most computers even had CD-ROM capability). And they think he's crazy now. But none of that changes the fact that he's right.

I am not happy about these things. I have nothing against toys or bling. I love the iPhone for it's "toy" features. No doubt about it. But I'm also not deluding myself into ignoring the direction things are going.

And what direction is that, exactly? All I hear are very general complaints with no real substance to any of them.

As for "toy" features, I don't think we have the same phone. I use mine every day. I own rental property and use it to manage my to-dos and respond to questions from tenants. I also do some freelance database work and use my iPhone every day in the management of my projects. My productivity has increased dramatically since I got my iPhone and, to be fair, OmniFocus.

When I'm not working, I enjoy the slick FaceBook integration. I'm a big skier and recently downloaded the SnoLocator app. I can check resort conditions for all of the resorts around Lake Tahoe (when I live), get weather info, see which chairs are turning, etc. I can even view GPS-enabled trail maps. I also do a lot of shopping on Amazon (since shopping in Tahoe leaves a lot to be desired!). The Amazon app is awesome. Simple, effective, and effortless. I could go on and on. The iPhone is anything but a toy. It's a lifestyle device. It makes my life easier and I love it for that.

[BRLawyer]

Why not a she? Apple could be a she.

I hope you're not thinking of the "wonderfully competent" Carly Fiorina... :rolleyes:

Ridiculous!

They own the portable music player market. Mac sales are on the rise and have been for several years. The iPhone is a phenomenon. They have well-established retail stores from coast to coast. And they are one of the most recognized and respected brands in the world. To suggest that, without Steve, they will fall into obscurity is just absurd.

Of course, if anything happens to him, the stock will take a huge hit and people will be nervous for a little while. But nothing changes the fact that Apple offers a superior product. They will offer it the day before Steve leaves, dies, whatever, and they will offer it the day after. Nothing changes.

Just don't hire Sculley or Spindler again, please...:rolleyes:

[voicegy]

Steve or no Steve...the only negative is the loss of the 'magic' of the Keynotes because of the atmosphere. The press and attendees of the 'town halls' just don't produce the same 'zealotry' atmosphere of the keynotes

I couldn't agree more. Sure am glad I went to several of these over the years to see the Wizard in the Great Hall and feel the anticipation and atmosphere - the RDF was always set on "stun" and, along with the pre-"show" music and darkened arena lent a, dare I say, nearly religious, or at least rock-concert-like, pall over the Keynote events. I remember my first one years ago very fondly - even after attending 5 of them over the years, they never lost their excitement.

Afterwards the black wraps would come off on all the "goodies" in the main convention hall and we'd rush to touch the latest products from The Minds of Apple. Then visit all the Apple friendly vendors and pick up goodies, both free and purchased.

Sure, the convention will probably still go on for a few more years, vendors will be there, and seminars and learning opportunities and net working will continue. But with no Stevenote and not even Apple, well....I'll just take a trip down memory lane when early January comes around each year and recall some wonderful times. *sigh*

[saltyzoo]

Out of curiosity, why did you convert? What reasons are "dwindling" away? The mac offered a powerful operating system with excellent hardware and a good GUI on top. Removing feature sets and limiting choices begins to lower the value to the point of linux. Because of the limitations in feature sets the weaknesses of linux (The GUI and device compatibility) are quickly beginning to be less important than this weakness in Mac. It would be a very difficult choice for me now if my current system breaks and I have to decide what to do. The new machines simply do not have the features that I want in a computer and Apple apparently has no plans to change that. In fact, they seem to be making it clear they will be reducing my choices in the future - making it even more risky to choose them now.

I don't think anything competes with iPhone in terms of overall EXPERIENCE. I'd agree with that in general.

Sure, there are many great products out there, but how many integrate with one's computer (well, certainly one's Mac) as well as the iPhone? How many are as downright simple and easy to learn and use? I use my iPhone all day long. It's an awesome communication device. It does exactly what I want and doesn't bother me with a bunch of "features" I care nothing for in the first place. The App Store is fantastic. I love the simple and effortless process of buying and updating apps. Again, nothing compares. The apple store is limited by the over-controlling "mother-ship" as you call it. Other products will not have this problem and therefore have the potential to quickly out-do the iPhone.

Yes, copy and paste would be nice. Sure. But is it a deal breaker? Yes, if you intend to use it for more than a chatbox.

Not by a mile, in my book. I don't want to use my iPhone as a full-fledged laptop replacement (although it's certainly possible). In my mind, the iPhone is all about communication, be it text, voice, email, etc. I have no interest in editing Word files on that tiny screen, for example, but composing a quick email? Absolutely! And for such tasks, I think the iPhone excels. For it's price it is a crime that you cannot use it as a laptop replacement. It should be possible to hook a full-size keyboard and monitor up to it. There is NO reason why this should not be available except for the direction that Apple is going. That is my comlaint.

As an aside, you may want to check out the excellent 1Password application. It's a better Keychain and features an iPhone client that can autofill your login and password info on the phone. It syncs with the desktop 1Password program too. Very nice! I've owned it for a year. It does not work with half the sites I use because it doesn't integrate with safari. Another inexcusable problem with the iPhone. It also does not work with anything other than a website. It won't help me with a ssh password for example in one of those "amazing" app store apps rendering it nearly useless.

Faster chips, better video hardware, (apparent) hardware acceleration for H.264 video, a very nice, new, elegant form factor. Etc. Not one of these is a new feature.

Ok, so they dropped FireWire from the MacBook. Get over it. FireWire is dead, sorry to say. If you absolutely NEED FireWire, get a MacBook Pro. Last time I checked, every computer in the MacBook line, save the Air, still offered an optical drive and wired network connection. Of course they dropped these features from the Air. That's the whole point of the computer! The point is that they are removing features and not adding any. They are making their computers less flexible.

The multitouch trackpad is also very nice. Spend some time with it. Gestures are a welcome UI improvement. Don't simply dismiss it as "bling" because you don't get it. Who said I didn't get it? I get it. But it doesn't add anything to the computer that I couldn't do before, it just makes it more pleasant or "fun".

The screen...well, that's a matter of preference. I personally like the glossy screen. Others don't. I get that. Unfortunately, when you buy Apple, sometimes you simply must accept the choices made by the mothership - and move on. LOL Yeah, that describes the situation exactly. Ignore the fact that other computer makers are adding cutting edge features every day. eSata, BluRay, etc, etc, etc. Just accept the motherships directives. My point exactly. I do not like this trend of not adding new features, and simplifying the options to the point of reducing the usefulness of the computer. It isn't that bad yet, but I don't like the trend - it makes it harder to commit to Apple for the future.

As for BlueRay, well, there are third party drives available. Apple doesn't want to support it (yet) for some reason. Jobs repeatedly points to BlueRay licensing issues as the problem. Sony is notorious for being an impossible, controlling nightmare. You think Apple is bad? Ha. They have NOTHING on Sony. Personally, I don't give a crap about BlueRay. I refuse to buy a player and I couldn't care less if Apple adds it or not. I'm perfectly satisfied with the picture quality of regular DVDs on my HD TV. BlueRay looks awesome, sure. But I'll never invest in any proprietary technology from Sony. Embrace the lack of options. Truly the "Apple" way these days. :(

Furthermore, I think Apple is right about the future of media distribution. Physical media is a pain. It's cumbersome, easily lost or damaged, and contributes more garbage to our landfills, never mind all the manufacturing-related carbon emissions. I'd much rather rent or buy my media online. The AppleTV box is a great little "hobby" as Jobs calls it. I have no doubt that it will mature into a very full-featured device that easily takes the place of a DVD player. Is it there yet? No. But I don't care. I'm not a media freak. I enjoy a good movie every now and then, but I'm not wasting my cash on buying DVDs that I might watch once or twice when I can just click the "Rent HD" button on my AppleTV and start watching.
Of course, having a choice is always a bad thing. Who needs the hassle?

In my mind, BlueRay is too little, too late. In 3 years, when we're consuming all of our media via the web, no one will care. People thought Jobs was crazy when he axed floppy drives. They thought he was crazy when he included the first erasable optical drive as standard equipment (long before most computers even had CD-ROM capability). And they think he's crazy now. But none of that changes the fact that he's right.Again, choices are bad. Become one with the mothership.

[olternaut]

Here's a thought - Apple have committed to a Keynote and are contractually obliged to fulfill this agreement. However, the speaker could be anyone from Apple, including the Janitor from Infinite Loop!

Schiller steps in and keeps the lawyers from making a fuss... He goes through an unspectacular Keynote, giving nothing away and just introduces a few insignificant updates and a review of the past year, maybe some new software.

Then, 24hrs later invites are sent out to an Apple 'event' 10 days later:

1. This puts Steve back in the spotlight.

2. Significant new product/s are launched - Netbook, new iPhone Nano etc.

3. Apple take the spotlight away from Macworld and this format of product launching.

4. Apple keep to their traditional New Year launch schedule and adopt a quarterly 'event' style update from then on.

As a long term PR planner, I'd be advising my clients to take this course of action. In-fact, we've adopted this strategy in the UK with some customers.

It's easy to look for the negatives but if you consider Apple's and Steve's history, this is just the kind of stunt they could carry out.

Maybe. At least I hope that is what will happen. Do you think though that they might instead just rely on the WWDC?

[AidenShaw]

As for BlueRay, well, there are third party drives available. ... BlueRay ... BlueRay ... BlueRay ...

Please, it's BD - Blu-ray Disc.

http://www.blu-raydisc.info/images/bda_logo.gif


Keep it simple - CD, DVD, BD.

Please.

[MagnusVonMagnum]

Keep it simple - CD, DVD, BD.

Please.

You mean like HD-DVD? Oh wait. They lost. Do you think they could hand their name over to the Blu-ray folks so we can have a name that isn't so stupid sounding and is more logical to follow DVD? :D

[AidenShaw]

You mean like HD-DVD? Oh wait. They lost. Do you think they could hand their name over to the Blu-ray folks so we can have a name that isn't so stupid sounding and is more logical to follow DVD? :D

"BD" is a lot easier to say than "HD-DVD", and less confusing. ("BD" doesn't have the name of one of the other formats in its own name)

[MagnusVonMagnum]

"BD" is a lot easier to say than "HD-DVD", and less confusing. ("BD" doesn't have the name of one of the other formats in its own name)

You seem to forget the entire world already knows "HD" means high definition and "DVD" means digital video (versatile) disc and so the combination thereof is a no-brainer to understand what it means. But who the heck knows what "BD" means??? You are the first person I've EVER seen use it. Are you trying to start the recognition trend because it utterly lacks it right now. Why not "BR" for Blu-Ray instead, for example.