Macworld/iWorld Goes on Hiatus, No 2015 Event Planned

[S.B.G]

That's disappointing to hear. Though I've never been to one, I know that they used to be highly anticipated and well-attended.

I always wondered why Apple pulled out of the event and it no doubt in my mind contributed to them shutting it down.

 

[576316]

With Apple no longer using it as a platform to announce new products, there really wasn't much left to keep it going. Inevitable I guess.

 

[G4er?]

Not a surprise… trade shows are dying in many industries… too expensive to attend, too expensive to exhibit, and shrinking attendee numbers.

I got my start on Macs due to being in the printing industry. For a time printing trade shows seemed like they were combined Printing/Mac trade shows. You couldn't do any desktop publishing or printing without a Mac back then.

 

[HenryDJP]

You never saw what MacWorld was really like then.

MacWorld never recovered after 2002. Many of the vendors stopped showing up and had "not at the show" specials.

Well MW SF 2003 was the introduction of the first 17"Powerbook and they also intro'd the 12" aluminum Powerbook, plus Safari and iLife. It was quite a great show. At that time that was when MW was on both sides of the street in SF and had a dedicated gaming area. There were tons of vendors there with show specials and you could actually buy stuff at that time. If 2002 was better than that then that's awesome but 2003 was when Apple was re-building themselves into the empire they are today.

 

[IJ Reilly]

IMHO I was convinced that MacWorld's days were numbered the very day Apple announced they would no longer participate. With certainty? Well, it was more like an eventuality.

A gross (theoretical) analogy would be like saying "Will NATO survive if the USA ever pulled out of NATO?" Well, maybe the other member-nations might still hold it together for a few more years, but eventually… it won't be NATO at all any more, and will likely disappear altogether with US support gone."

And don't get me confused with several of the Expo haters in this thread. I have a signed copy of my original Bondi Blue iMac poster… with the signature of comedian Sindbad when I saw him at MW Expo. I'm sure you realize that he was one of the old guard celebs that were frothingly pro-Apple in those days, and would make cameo appearances at Apple events. The only other "Apple signature" I have is that of CEO Gilbert Amelio. Shook my hands and signed autograph for me at MW Expo San Francisco, he did this mere months before he brought back Steve. Amelio was a nice guy, warm and personable. Not a jerk at all. He would mingle and shake hands and sign autographs with the common Mac fanboys in the expo exhibit halls. Jobs would never have done this (unless someone proves me wrong)

I loved MW Expo. But I knew it was going to die the moment Apple pulled out. Oh well.

I covered MWSF for years as a freelancer. Yes, I met Sinbad a few times, but I suspect everybody did (he sure wasn't shy). I was a lot more thrilled to find myself standing next to Jef Raskin one year. It seemed he was no less thrilled to be recognized. We talked for quite awhile and he later sent me a copy of his book. When he died not long after I wrote a tribute column to him. His widow found it online somehow and she sent a very nice email thanking me.

I have some really fine memories of MWSF. I'd like to think its end wasn't inevitable, especially considering how it ran so strongly during the bleakest years for Apple. It seems to me they could have found a way to keep it going in Apple's salad days.

 

[MacsRgr8]

Over here in Europe we haven't had any sort of Mac / Apple Expo for a long while.
Back in 2002 I had the privilege to attend Apple Expo 2002 in Paris when Steve had the stage. The "rest" of the expo was actually pretty boring. But the idea that Steve Jobs was there, made the event so cool.

After that I have attended a Mac Expo in London around 2003/4.
Fun, but nothing special.

Sad to see these Mac / Apple Expos all go. But, it is inevitable.

 

[Traverse]

I was always confused about Apple and Macworld, but now I understand. Apple used the Macworld event to unveil products, but now they host their own event. I thought Apple hosted Macworld as well.

 

[DesertNomad]

I started attending MacWorld SF in 1990 and have probably been more than a dozen times. Those were the proverbial "good 'ol days" with Radius, SuperMac, Global Village and other long-time Mac vendors showing off the latest things and everyone drooling over the Mac IIfx or Quadra 950.

I was an exhibitor in 2007 in a small kiosk right next to Apple when they released the iPhone and the show was wonderful for my small (wife and I) company. We exhibited again in 2008 but the mood was different and we have not been back since. With Apple pulling out a year later, it was the beginning of the end.

I'll miss the shows back in the very early 90s... the same way I miss getting a print edition of MacWEEK every week.

 

[MacGod]

Not really surprised by this. Without APPLE headlining the show, it was just a bunch of vendors.

Maybe a grass roots conference for Macintosh users will happen and closer to the mothership back in Cupertino/San Jose

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I was always confused about Apple and Macworld, but now I understand. Apple used the Macworld event to unveil products, but now they host their own event. I thought Apple hosted Macworld as well.

They did up until 2009 or so.
Bill

 

[4jasontv]

This is saturday morning cartoon / Nintendo Power sad.

 

[Solomani]

Not really surprised by this. Without APPLE headlining the show, it was just a bunch of vendors.

Maybe a grass roots conference for Macintosh users will happen and closer to the mothership back in Cupertino/San Jose

I'm going to quit my day job and start a career as a Pilgrimage Tour Guide once the Apple Mothership Campus is completed.

I plan to make millions. lol j/k

 

[AppleDroid]

Considering they fired most of the writing staff and hired a bunch of 20-something bloggers this doesn't come as a surprise.

The Macworld ship has been sinking for years.

 

[animcam]

The web killed it. It was plain to see it would by the late 90s. The million dollar (?) booths were beginning to desert the floor, it was money better spent on web sites.

Still I fondly remember being on the main floor watching the 20x40 foot video screen as Jobs introduced OSX and then a year later convincing users and developers it was best to switch to Intel processors. Quite an exciting time!

 

[Moof1904]

I miss the shows back in the very early 90s... the same way I miss getting a print edition of MacWEEK every week.

This.

It's sadly puzzling that Apple is bigger than ever, but the Apple industry of the late 80's and early 90's was able to sustain MacWorld, MacUser, MacWeek, inCider, and numerous other Mac publications yet they're all fading away now.

I worked for a major Apple software vendor in the early 90's and am very happy to have had the opportunity to witness the birth of this industry from a vantage point on the trade show floor.

 

[MOFS]

Sad to hear about Macworld dying - I go on their site regularly (I love the Macalope which is a fun read) and read the magazine for a few years when my family first got out Perfoma 5200 (fun computer).

On a sad note I am surprised to hear about this on Macrumors about a month after it was announced. I check this site every day but this is the first time I can remember it being mentioned. The death of Macworld as a print version is a big thing for those that grew up with the magazine before the internet tech sites took over.

 

[DesertNomad]

This.

It's sadly puzzling that Apple is bigger than ever, but the Apple industry of the late 80's and early 90's was able to sustain MacWorld, MacUser, MacWeek, inCider, and numerous other Mac publications yet they're all fading away now.

I worked for an Apple Dealer in the early 90s and getting MacWEEK each week was like Christmas. Even MacWorld back then was a huge magazine with many, in-depth stories. The web has changed all that... and not for the better in some cases.

 

[IJ Reilly]

I'll miss the shows back in the very early 90s... the same way I miss getting a print edition of MacWEEK every week.

Now that brings back some memories. Mention "Mac the Knife" and see who smiles. You'll know right away who's been around.

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The Macworld ship has been sinking for years.

MacWorld didn't run the expo. It's always been run by IDG, and they made the decision to turn out the lights.

 

[Brien]

This.

It's sadly puzzling that Apple is bigger than ever, but the Apple industry of the late 80's and early 90's was able to sustain MacWorld, MacUser, MacWeek, inCider, and numerous other Mac publications yet they're all fading away now.

I worked for a major Apple software vendor in the early 90's and am very happy to have had the opportunity to witness the birth of this industry from a vantage point on the trade show floor.

Yeah, I miss the good 'ol days as well. I haven't subscribed to any Mac print magazines for several years (ever since MacAddict rebranded).

My last MWSF was in 2003, and it was a blast. Going to the keynote, the conferences... those days aren't coming back. Was fun while it lasted.

 

[Richdmoore]

Seems fitting, especially since my Macworld subscription met an untimely end, too.

Have you heard anything about how they are going to refund/compensate those of us who still have active subscriptions? So far I haven't even received an email or letter letting me know about the shut down of the magazine.

I have had this happen before, they usually just switch the subscription to a similar type of magazine, or offer a choice of magazines.

 

[jmoore5196]

I've had a Macworld subscription ever since I bought my Performa 6200.

Unfortunately, the magazine has nosedived over the past couple of years, especially with respect to editorial content and diffused focus. If I wanted to read iOS World, I'd have subscribed to that instead.

With monumental egos like Serenity Caldwell brought in to prop up Chris Breen, I guess the hard copy lights out should have been expected.

Some of us archive our hard copies for reference. I'll keep my MacLife subscription and wait for another title to fill the vacancy ...

 

[sehix]

HUH? Macworld WAS in SF.

And in Boston and NYC a few years early on during its run.

Attendance for the east coast shows wasn't high enough to warrant doing them, so SF was it through 'til the end.

 

[HenryDJP]

And in Boston and NYC a few years early on during its run.

Attendance for the east coast shows wasn't high enough to warrant doing them, so SF was it through 'til the end.

Yeah it's too bad. Apple wasn't nearly as big back then as they are now but it sure was more fun back then to be an Apple user.

 

[ShawnKing]

And in Boston and NYC a few years early on during its run.

Everyone forgets about the Macworld Expo Tokyo shows.

 

[Solomani]

Yeah it's too bad. Apple wasn't nearly as big back then as they are now but it sure was more fun back then to be an Apple user.

Apple was still an underdog during those "good old days" (i.e. 1990s, before iPod/iPhone). That was the the time when MS still was the undisputed king and dominated the industry.

It's always more fun rooting for the underdog team. Just like in sports.

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Everyone forgets about the Macworld Expo Tokyo shows.

Macworld Expo Tokyo shows were gigantic. Attendance numbers were far far bigger than anything in the American expos in SF or NYC or Boston.

I think the record attendance was around 180,000-190,000 or so for a Macworld Tokyo. Apple-worship was big in Japan during those days. And of course the Japanese Apple fanboys went bonkers during the times when Steve Jobs made keynotes appearances at their Tokyo expos.

 

[Popeye206]

I got my start on Macs due to being in the printing industry. For a time printing trade shows seemed like they were combined Printing/Mac trade shows. You couldn't do any desktop publishing or printing without a Mac back then.

Same here and Macs are still very prominent at the one remaining national show - Graph Expo. But Graph Expo is the incredible shrinking show like the printing industry. Sad.