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

fleshman03 said:
How can you post a smiley next to that sentence?
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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:
 
ubercool said:
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:
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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.
 
fleshman03 said:
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.
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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. :eek:
 
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.
 
iOrlando said:
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..
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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.
 
kockgunner said:
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.
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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.
 
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.
 
ubercool said:
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:
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johnqh said:
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.
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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
 
LethalWolfe said:
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.
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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.
 
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.
 
and it will be Apple’s last keynote at the show
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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.
 
talkingfuture said:
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.
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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.
 
mac-er said:
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
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I agree, but I hope they at least keep doing the town halls events with videos posted afterwards.

winterspan said:
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???
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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?
 
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...
 
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...
 
History repeating itself

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?
 
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...
 
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).
 
robbyx said:
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?
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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?)
 
Sky Blue said:
because the announcements they have seem like they'll be pretty small.
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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! :(
 
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