No Jobs at Macworld?
Check out the Macworld Expo page on feature presentations. Macworld starts three weeks from Tuesday and Steve Jobs isn't yet listed as giving the annual keynote.
Now, this announcement comes traditionally late but I always remember seeing a Keynote listed on this page with no speaker listed until Jobs announces he will be there. Is there no Apple keynote at Macworld? I assumed Jobs would have to speak to quell investor fears about his health but Jobs hates for Apple to be at a dying show. As marquee exhibitors drop out of MacWorld, might Apple scale back their plans as well?
I remember instances on each side of this argument. There was a Macworld in New York where they were just going to stream Jobs delivering the keynote from California. I think his wife was expecting a child and he was not going to be there in person. The press line was tiny. An hour before the keynote there were eight of us in the press line. Jobs showed up and delivered a powerful keynote in person.
Then there was the Boston show the last year of the east coast Macw orld. The show floor was empty. I walked around with my family and my youngest was clearly underwhelmed. She couldn't believe that this was the show I look forward to.
So now on the features page they list presentations on Wednesday by David Pogue and on Thursday by Leo Laporte in addition to the Macworld Magazine's Best of Show Awards on Wednesday. No keynote. Nothing is listed for Tuesday.
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I am attending Macworld Expo for the very first time. I'm flying my family out to San Francisco and will be bringing my son to the Expo. He's nearly jumping out of his skin with excitement.
Given that this is the 25th year for Macworld, it seems it would be a strange moment for Steve not to show. I'm betting on Apple letting the anxiety and rumors to start to run rampant (they clearly will) only to have Steve come flying in on his dark horse to the rescue.
Note that on the macworldexpo.com page the presentations are numbered FP2, FP3 and FP4. There is no FP1 on the list.
Really odd. I don't think they've ever waited till this late to announce that Steve will give the keynote. At this point it is not clear that there will be a keynote. Yes, some package descriptions mention the keynote but it is not listed in the schedule anywhere. In fact, this year they will open the exhibition hall an hour early, at 10:00AM, only for conference attendees and those who purchase the Expo Plus package. I don't think they've ever let people into the exhibition hall before Steve finished talking.
It had to end someday, but I was thinking to go to just one more of Steve's keynotes. Hard to imagine that they would pass up the opportunity to garner so much free publicity. Maybe Apple is moving away from the Mac and becoming a consumer electronics company rather than a computer company? They did drop computer from the name.
Still, it is unimaginable that there would not be a keynote. The rumor mill would run wild. On the other hand, maybe they feel this is the time to make the break. The economy is in the tank, some vendors have pulled out of the exhibition, there might be enough cover for Steve to end the tradition. Maybe it's time to make the head of Apple less visible as part of the transition to future management.
If the keynotes are no more that is really sad. It is rare to get such unfiltered, direct, public information from a major corporation in today's world. Love it or hate it, if you heard it from Steve at the keynote that was that regarding Apple.
Hmm -- they usually do wait until the last minute, but it looks like last year, it was announced 12/3 for the 1/15 keynote -- we're much closer than that now to the 2009 keynote. Maybe Adobe knew there'd be no SteveNote, and that's the real reason they pulled their booth! Conspiracies, ignite! :)
http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/03/steve-jobs-to-deliver-opening-keynote-at-macworld-2008/
I'm not fretting -- but I'm not booking my trip either. Whether or not there is a keynote is different from whether or not Apple or Steve Jobs is involved. As Bob notes, this is not an Apple event.
I may be tempesting in a teapot -- but I don't remember the announcement coming so late before. We're less than a month away.
I've covered every Steve Jobs keynote (MW and WWDC) for O'Reilly since Jobs returned to Apple ... I'm just wondering what's up here.
Indeed, if there was no keynote then there would be some mighty backlash because most of the packages still list that as a main selling point.
Nothing to worry about I'm sure.
Along these lines though, wouldn't it be great if Apple started putting on their own conference each year. (Like WWDC but for consumers.)
The keynote is still listed under the applicable registration packages -- I wouldn't fret yet!
If there'd be no keynote address I'd be disappointed, also if there was a keynote but it wasn't given by Jobs. I'm going to Macworld Expo for the first time so I want to experience everything :-)