MacChat: The end of Macworld as we know it

Microsoft touts 'best version of Windows ever'
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer kicked off the 2009 International Consumer Electronics Show on Wednesday with an impassioned endorsement of PCs and a sneak peek at the company's future Windows 7 operating system.
Obama Asks Congress for DTV Delay
The day of the switchover to digital TV is rapidly approaching, and despite on-screen warnings and coupons there is still much concern over a possible fiasco. President-elect Barack Obama on Thursday urged Congress to postpone the Feb. 17 switch.
Obama Urges Delay In Digital TV Switch
The push to postpone the nation's switch to digital television next month got a boost yesterday when a top aide to President-elect Barack Obama sent a letter to key members of Congress urging a delay, saying there is "insufficient support" for the problems consumers will experience during the...
MacChat: The end of Macworld as we know it
IT was as if someone had called off Christmas. Twenty-five years, nearly to the day, since the first Mac went on sale, Apple will be making its last appearance at the annual Macworld Expo in San Francisco. And rather than the keynote being delivered by enigmatic CEO Steve Jobs, as is tradition, it will be fronted by Apple’s senior vice-president (worldwide product marketing) Phil Schiller. The announcement revived speculation over the health of Apple CEO Steve Jobs, a cancer survivor who caused concern when he appeared emaciated in a couple of public appearances this year. While Jobs himself discounted the concerns in a later appearance, this time an Apple spokesman has refused to directly address the matter of Jobs’ health, adding fuel to the fire. The renewed speculation caused Apple’s share price to dip about 4 per cent. There are few, if any, companies whose fortunes are tied so closely to their CEO as Apple’s are to Jobs. After returning in the late ‘90s to the company he co-founded, Jobs has engineered perhaps the most stunning turnaround in corporate history, taking Apple from the verge of collapse to one of the big three technology titans today (along with Microsoft and Google). Apple and Jobs virtually share the same DNA, as it’s Jobs’ aesthetic sensibility and rigorous design standards that flow through to Apple’s products. So any threat to Jobs is perceived as a threat to the company. Regardless of the state of Jobs’ health, questions have also been asked as to whether Apple has a leadership transition plan. Jobs has been increasingly sharing the stage with other Apple execs, notably including senior vice-president (iPhone software) Scott Forstall, who previously worked with Jobs at his NeXT company before his return to Apple. As for Apple’s withdrawal from Macworld Expo, the writing had been on the wall for a while. Trade shows in general have been struggling to attract exhibitors due to rising costs and the increasing effectiveness of the internet for communicating with potential customers. Just last week one of the biggest developers on the Mac platform, Adobe, announced it would not be attending Macworld. Withdrawing from the annual trade show also frees Apple to work to its own schedule on new products, and not feel pressured to have something “insanely great” with which to wow the crowds each January. Plus it can release major products before the holiday shopping season, not after. Apple caused the demise of the east coast Macworld a few years back when it withdrew from that show, ostensibly because organisers IDG wanted to move it from New York back to its original home of Boston. Without its star attraction the show folded quickly. Despite IDG vowing to forge ahead this time too, Macworld San Francisco could face the same fate. Apple still holds its Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco mid-year, and next year will likely take the opportunity to launch OS X Snow Leopard, the next optimised version of the Mac’s desktop operating system.