Apple: Jobs Will Not Present at Apple's Final Macworld Keynote

[network23]

Wow! A suprise, but at the same time, it makes sense.

It has nothing to do with Steve's health or Apple having products to announce. MacWorld is not an Apple event. It's a show put on by a publishing company. MacWorld made sense when Apple had a much smaller market share and it was hard for them to get in the public/media eye.

That's all changed with the iPod/iPhone and the huge advances Apple has made over the past few years.

What other major company has their CEO announce new products at a trade show like this? None that I can think of. Are products announced like this by Sony, Microsoft, Adobe, Ford, Toyota, Whirlpool, etc? No.

Apple is just growing up. They're a big company now.

It's likely we'll still see Steve at the WWDC, but yes, this is the end of an era.

I've been to his keynotes many times. I haven't been able to make it out for the past couple. They are always amazing, and I am certainly going to miss having that opportunity again.

 

[tiiim]

Guys this is Apple re-inventing itself...

Steve has always been the centre stage, Apple need to show they are a company as a whole and not a "one man army". I think Apple are changing in the way they announce thing.. we are seeing a change. Sure Steve will be around in the future but slowly but surely Apple needs to take our eyes of Steve and focus on the company as a whole. Sure the shares are taken a kicking now but it has to happen sometime...

The days of the Stevenote are fading.. Welcome to Stevenote+friends... then one day it will be a mixture of people.

 

[fleshman03]

http://applecanceledchristmas.com/

http://digg.com/apple/Apple_Announces_Last_Year_of_Christmas

We all feel that way.

 

[econoline06]

****balls. Nobody wants to look at Phil Schiller's manboobs for 90 minutes.

Agreed. I think he looks like a greasy car salesman. Not much better than Ballmer...okay still better than Ballmer...

 

[Chaszmyr]

The end of an era

 

[elppa]

People, calm down. No one said Steve is leaving the company or anything is wrong with him.

The problem is, no one has said the opposite either. That is sufficient.

 

[Tallest Skil]

Agreed. I think he looks like a greasy car salesman. Not much better than Ballmer...okay still better than Ballmer...

iMacs, iMacs, iMacs, iMacs... Come on! Say it with me! iMacs, iMacs, iMacs, iMacs!

 

[DeaconGraves]

The absolute "sky is falling" panic that is happening is downright priceless.

Macworld was already slowly dying without this announcement as Belkin and Adobe were also not attending. Not to mention that Apple has clearly showcased that they don't need large expos to draw the huge press crowds. WWDC, plus the Ipod Events have proven this.

The one question mark for me is Phil giving the presentation instead of Steve. Hopefully this just means its going to be a keynote with not many big surprises. I'd expect a few hardware refreshes (iMac, Mac Mini, maybe MacPro) with maybe a iWork and iLife update as well. If that's the case, maybe its better to have Phil out there so expectations for big news are set low.

 

[MacTheSpoon]

Wow, this really, really, really sucks. This was a big part of Apple culture.

I don't think it means Steve is ill or retiring, though. When Steve thinks something has outlived its usefulness, he jettisons it, no matter what anyone else says; whether it's Macworld keynotes or Firewire ports.

 

[MIDI_EVIL]

Epic.

 

[the vj]

Jobs is sick

Jobs is sick and he is the Walt Disney. He looks thin and Apple takes too much energy.

 

[iZac]

Something is terribly wrong in the Apple campus. The only other time in recent memory that Steve did not attend a keynote, was the introduction of the G5 iMac, and he was recovering from his pancreatic cancer operation during that time. incidentally, Phil took the reigns at the event and did an awful job.

I will be wearing a black apple logo, to commiserate this devastating event.

Behind the sarcasm, im genuinely worried for our glorious leader right now.

 

[zap2]

Bummer, MacWorld is one of my earliest memories of being a Mac users(only from MWSF' 05)


It was quite fun, Mac Mini and iPod shuffle we cool new things to the line up. And the year Apple announced the iPhone,god was that a fun one!!

 

[clancemasterj]

In retrospect, these last few years apple has only announced 2 or 3 new products at this event. leaving most underwhelmed after the keynote.

 

[jackjason]

Wow, this really, really, really sucks. This was a big part of Apple culture.

I don't think it means Steve is ill or retiring, though. When Steve thinks something has outlived its usefulness, he jettisons it, no matter what anyone else says; whether it's Macworld keynotes or Firewire ports.

so does the POWER thinks of him..

 

[celavato]

wow, no Stevenote. Possibilities:

1. No new products worthy of his Steveness
2. Apple is shifting attention away from Steve in a succession effort.
3. Steve is sick and unable to make the keynote.

My bet is on a combination of 1 and 2.

There's a simpler explanation. Apple doesn't want to release its big bang products in January. So Phil will introduce a new Mac mini and a new iLife and a new iWork and call it a day. Jobs will unveil more important products at some later date and from this point forward Apple will schedule keynotes for WWDC and when it wants to schedule keynotes. Introducing major products right after Christmas never made sense anyway.

 

[IJ Reilly]

I sense a rift between Apple and IDG, which we got a glimpse of several years ago when Apple pulled out of the New York/Boston expo. The fact that this announcement came so close to the show itself, when IDG was telling us to expect Steve to be announced as the keynote speaker at any moment, suggests that something needed be resolved between the companies but wasn't.

 

[theMaccer]

Apple better introduce some really kickass products this time otherwise i will be really pissed.

 

[Mr. Giver '94]

If this is the case, I doubt Apple will be doing anything huge at this show considering that Jobs has made all of the announcements about new products and big upgrades as far as I can remember. I could be wrong, but I'm doubting a new Mac Mini and no netbook as rumored before will be released.

 

[mklos]

While I agree with claiming down, does Apple really spend that much on trade shows? Wouldn't they make money for the price of those tickets? I mean what does it take to have the show? Renting a space, putting SJ on a bus with a box of new products and maybe a ride from the bus station to the conference.

It costs others money to have the show...

Why would Apple get money off the expo tickets? The show is ran by IDG MacWorld (the Magazine), not Apple. Apple just CHOOSE to be the main display vendor there.

I would think it would cost Apple lots of money to be a vendor there. You have all of the displays it sets up. You have to set it up. You have to PAY for the vendor space which probably isn't cheap for the price IDG is renting a very large portion of convention center for. You have to get your products ready to be released, possibly working your people massive overtime to get everything ready. Getting the actual keynote address ready with the Keynote program (which I believe is started way in advance...like a month in advance). You may have to pay your Apple reps to be there, possibly feed them. So its a hell of a lot more than just show, deliver a keynote, have a display and leave. I'd be willing to bet it costs Apple hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions (if you count getting your products ready on time) to be the main vendor and deliver the opening keynote address at a MacWorld.

 

[t0mat0]

Mmm, WWDC going to be epic then?
Edit - though to be honest, if they refresh the Mac line up, esp the iMini, that'd be decent enough. If Apple can get media and a storm whipped up just for iPod nano's that were known beforehand, they'll be ok doing other events.
Check out techmeme.com - APple is getting press all the time, the drip feed system of spacing things out works. They only get some coverage from MWSF. You never know, they might just start putting video messages from JObs relayed via projector in Apple stores ala Simpsons

 

[EricNau]

Jobs is sick and he is the Walt Disney. He looks thin and Apple takes too much energy.

Something is terribly wrong in the Apple campus. The only other time in recent memory that Steve did not attend a keynote, was the introduction of the G5 iMac, and he was recovering from his pancreatic cancer operation during that time. incidentally, Phil took the reigns at the event and did an awful job.

There is no evidence to support the claims that Jobs is ill, nor is there any reason to relate these circumstances with the last time Schiller substituted for Jobs.

 

[Moriarty]

Perhaps it is time for change.... perhaps the Steve Jobs days are over.

Sure, they can't fit Firewire into the new Macbooks because of the design. But because of the design, there is no more firewire... no more matte screens... perhaps the Apple camp needs a new leader who can give us what we want.

Trade shows suck anyway. Apple will still hold keynote events for major product announcements, like iPods and the new Macbooks.

 

[rick3000]

This is even worse than the glossy screens.

Best Comment of the thread!

 

[El Carbonite]

It bugs me that everyone immediately thinks Steve is ill and not up to the job. Maybe he just feels that Macworld isn't as important to Apple anymore and smaller press events work better.

Chill out!