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Macworld Expo Boston Canceled

There is more to the Apple World than just the USA.

Paris is needed to serve the Europe community - what could be better is rotating across several countries, UK/Germany/France/UK/Germany/France/etc

And Japan should be reinstated - I think the problem was the location. It was well out of Tokyo and Apple didn't like this fact. They wanted to move it to Tokyo (Tokyo International Forum) but the organizers had a deal with Makuhari Messe and thus the Chiba location. In fact, it was funny because there were signs at the train station as you left saying 'Apple will see you next year at Makuhari Messe' and then Apple pulled out thus the event was cancelled (no reason, not location not cost nothing explained)

I live in central Tokyo, and I was not happy to travel just under 2 hours to attend the TOKYO event.

Apple did have a presence at some of the subsequenrt PC Expos, but nothing major (I didn't even go)

Keep MWSF, keep WWDC, keep MW Europe and reinstate MW Tokyo
 
Bear said:
Paris is quite needed for European Mac users. Not everyone can afford to fly across the ocean to see things.
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It's too many shows to come up with new stuff though. MWSF + WWDC = one show every six months. You need at least 6 months to come up with something cool.
 
schatten said:
Hey, wouldn't it be cool if there was some sort of subversive underground expo, attended by die-hard Mac fans?
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There does need to be low budget fairs where independent developers can go to show off their stuff, trouble is if Apple doesn't go no one shows up.
 
broken_keyboard said:
It's too many shows to come up with new stuff though. MWSF + WWDC = one show every six months. You need at least 6 months to come up with something cool.
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This really depends - Apple seems to go through spurts where we get something amazing every few months. It really depends on where we are in the lifecycle of major products.

Next year will definitely see more major product announcements sprinkled throughout the year thanks to the Intel changeover. And if Apple continues to expand into consumer electronics (videoPod, iPhone, whatever) these products would be best served by a Stevenote at a major Expo.
 
broken_keyboard said:
There does need to be low budget fairs where independent developers can go to show off their stuff, trouble is if Apple doesn't go no one shows up.
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That is certainly well said. At least I got to see Steve live and fairly up close at MWNT in 2002. When it was in Boston the first time didn't pay the extra to attend the Keynote. So I shall cherish that experience.
 
I think its time we move the East coast MacExpo the Farm Show Arena in Harrisburg, PA.

stearweb.jpg


Awwww yeah
 
Why Trade Shows aren't what they used to be...

I've gone to trade shows for years. The MacWorld Shows were big, once upon a time, because that was the only place to go to get info on what was available for Macs. They were the only place to see most everything that was available to you.

Now, anything you need to know can be found on the web (including rumors of upcoming hardware - another show favorite from the past).

Apple pulling out was the last nail in the coffin of the MacWorld show in Boston. But the fact of the matter is, the internet has made these shows not so critical.

So blame the internet!

P.S. The only thing I miss were the big parties thrown by Ingram Micro, etc. Those were great. I also miss picking up the cute sales reps!
 
broken_keyboard said:
It's too many shows to come up with new stuff though. MWSF + WWDC = one show every six months. You need at least 6 months to come up with something cool.
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Apple doesn't need something cool at every show. They just need to be present and maybe announce upgrades of current products at some of the shows.

With several products that each get updated once or twice a year, Apple can have one or two of the updates fall around a given show.

I think you're looking at this with the wrong perspective. Computer Shows like MacWorld and AppleExpo are for marketing products, both current and updated/new ones. WWDC is not something that everyone goes to.

I think an East coast (US) show is probably needed as well, but maybe not too near to when WWDC is.
 
While the Mac expos were doubtlessly a good thing, especially in their day, I get the sense that Apple isn't so crazy about events that further draw the line in the sand between the worlds of Macs and PCs. When you think about it, how Macs can live and work just fine in a PC world nowadays, there's very little reason to draw such a distinction or imply that it exists with Mac-only events. Even Apple has blurred the line by releasing iPod/iTunes for Windows, doing their switch campaign, eliminating the hardware that didn't interoperate with the PC world, making Macs far more Windows-friendly, and most recently, jumping to Intel. Despite all that, it's surprising to me how many people still think Macs won't work with Windows, are all proprietary hardware and software, etc.

Too many Mac-only events only further reinforce an image that Apple has clearly been working to eliminate.
 
Don't know if anyone has suggested this, but what about having "shows" at the larger Apple stores themselves? Like NYC, SF, LA, Chicago.. they own the space, just canopy the outside and you have a good venue with a ridiculous amout of hype. Block off a street for a day (I know, big ass streets, but still), and let fly. Why bother with the MacWorld organizers and their mob kickbacks.
 
reyesmac said:
Once Apple is using Intel chips it will become the darling of the big PC Expos.
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i don't think any macintosh will ever be the "darling" of any PC expo. they dislike our computers as much as we dislike theirs. 😛
 
840quadra said:
I am rooting for Steve to push Macworld for Minneapolis or Chicago for a new Macworld. Honestly I can't ever think of a time when I go to any local coffee shop or Library in the Minneapolis area and NOT see an iBook or Powerbook 🙂 .

Gotta mean local sales are good, and I am sure apple is aware of this 😉
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One of the many reasons to love the TC. 😀
 
Apple didn't kill MacWorld Expo. It was Mitch Hall Ass. and friends. They charged way, way too much for booth space. With so many shows to exhibit at vendors, myself included, had to pick and choose. It cost a minimum of $50,000 for us to exhibit all costs included and a signficant portion of that was simply the booth space. We (http://flashmag.com and http://blacklightning.com) exhibited since the early 90's. Even back then, during the hay day of the Boston MacWorld Expo there were way too many empty booths and it just got worse during the late 90's. To make matters worse, the show organizers split the show up between two different halls that were widely separated across the city. This wasn't necessary at all because even the single hall was bigger than they needed. The organizers have been killing this show for over a decade.
 
I think this is good thing in the sense that people can look forward to "real" Apple events where they are actually present. I feel that MW Boston had turned into more of a consumer and user-only event, which is not a bad thing, but people were pretty much seeing only the same products and once in a while minor updates, when what everyone expects is something new.

In respect to Apple Expo Paris, I think the problem is that Apple can't make an event showing off a new product and then traveling around the world to present the very same product. Everybody already knows about it by then. This is probably what's happening at this years AEP. There probably isn't much to announce.
 
schatten said:
Hey, wouldn't it be cool if there was some sort of subversive underground expo, attended by die-hard Mac fans? They could kidnap vendors from other Mac-related expos & force them to make speeches & show off product...

Alright, that's a crazy idea, what can I say? too much caffeine.
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Don't think it's crazy. IDG isn't the only company running shows. Wouldn't mind seeing a big 'sale' show with products and sale items. 🙂
 
jjhny said:
I've gone to trade shows for years. The MacWorld Shows were big, once upon a time, because that was the only place to go to get info on what was available for Macs. They were the only place to see most everything that was available to you.

Now, anything you need to know can be found on the web (including rumors of upcoming hardware - another show favorite from the past).

Apple pulling out was the last nail in the coffin of the MacWorld show in Boston. But the fact of the matter is, the internet has made these shows not so critical.
Click to expand...

Exactly right. Back in the day these shows were one of the few opportunities for showing off your products. Now with the internet they are needed less and less.

Makes sense though to have one show for North America, Europe and Asia. So bring back the Japan show and keep the Paris Expo relevant!
 
Some_Big_Spoon said:
Don't know if anyone has suggested this, but what about having "shows" at the larger Apple stores themselves? Like NYC, SF, LA, Chicago.. they own the space, just canopy the outside and you have a good venue with a ridiculous amout of hype. Block off a street for a day (I know, big ass streets, but still), and let fly. Why bother with the MacWorld organizers and their mob kickbacks.
Click to expand...
The stores aren't large enough to support more than the current traffic they get. The NYC SoHo store is always crowded with lines at the registers.

As for blocking off the streets, some cities may have an issue with that. And actually the streets wouldn't add enough extra space. And actually the street that the NYC SoHo store is on is rather small and has a fair bit of foot traffic so blocking it off would be a bad idea.
 
I'm dissapointed, but can't say I'm surprised. For me at least, the Boston expo was much more convenient (not only because I live an hour away), but trying to navigate NYC in July is not fun.

edit: Too bad Apple pulled out when they moved to Boston. Probably just another case of Jobs throwing a hissy-fit for not getting his way.
 
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