Did Apple pull the major announcement (the “one more thing”) from this year’s Macworld Expo keynote in anticipation of Steve Jobs’ health announcement? My reasoning goes like this: First, Apple had something really cool to announce at Macworld Expo 2009. Something that would have taken up the big empty space at their booth. We heard rumors that after the Expo, Apple was going to announce a new Mac mini as well as something so big that the rest of the news would pale beside it. A Mac netbook? Opening the iPhone to other carriers? We couldn’t find out.

So it’s no secret that Phil Schiller was going to be under the magnifying glass during this, Apple’s last Keynote for Macworld. Everyone was watching, and for the most part, he did a great “job.” Of course, Phil is not Steve Jobs, so there wasn’t that pesky reality distortion field, and there was quite a more »

We’re still two days away from Macworld Conference and Expo 2009, and three days away from Phil Schiller’s keynote speech (it just sounds weird, doesn’t it?), but the Appletell coverage is now in full swing. We’ve opened our Appletell @ Macworld news site, and it’s already filled with the latest news and rumors surrounding the show.

Jesus Diaz at Gizmodo, apparently not at all concerned about Apple’s stock price or its shareholders, ran an article yesterday in which a “source” that has been “100% correct before” suggested the real reason Steve Jobs is not speaking at the Macworld Conference and Expo keynote, and is pulling from Macworld Expo forever and ever and ever, is because Jobs’ health has been “rapidly declining.” Later that day, Jim Goldman at CNBC donned his tights and headed down to the ring for the big Mac Web cage match.

It seems yesterday’s announcement of Apple’s intent to stop exhibiting at Macworld was the culmination of years of desire to stop attending the event. They even reportedly almost quit going in 2002, but for some reason didn’t.

Gizmodo’s Jesus Diaz has this to share.

About two years ago I was sharing some wine with a friend from Apple and he told me: “We are going to phase out all trade shows”. “Even Macworld?,” I asked. “Yes,” he said, “Macworld will go too. I don’t know when, but it will.”

Apparently, these events (more than just Macworld) are not that important, at least not as much as they used to be.

It is no secret that Adobe will not exhibit at Macworld Expo at The Moscone Center in San Francisco next month. They and many others will either be absent altogether or simply put up a basic display this time around. Everyone knows the economy is hitting everyone hard, businesses included, so I do not think we will see a large showing of third party developers. It just too expensive for the small guy to be a part of the Expo. There are, however, about 500 companies that will make it this year. Attendance will be at least 40,000. That is big. Really big.

What I suggest is a completely different format; take the whole thing back to square one. I understand that the Macworld Expo is kind of a traditional Apple platform for certain things, but hear me out before you dismiss the idea. It can still be both and reach a lot more people much more quickly.

Why not offer a Pay-Per-View of the event?

Since the sweet days of Apple offering live streams of their keynotes are long gone, there is now an official, although not instant, alternative. Now, in iTunes, Apple is hosting a Podcast titled “Apple Keynotes.” Through the podcast, you can download and watch past keynotes—obviously, all for free. The only videos that have been uploaded more »

OK, let me explain. So, before any major Apple event, amid all the rumors and speculation of yet-to-be-announced products, there will (inevitably) be several links to so-called “leaked” keynotes. These are usually key pointers for Steve, so that he remembers what to say next. Every one of these leaked keynotes always proclaims that it is more »

Should you happen to land at Apple.com, you’ll find the same “There’s something in the air” banners that are currently hanging at the Moscone Center. Earlier last year, Apple used this same method at Macworld 2007 for launching the iPhone, so I’m guessing we could be seeing another product of equal brilliance. Another interesting point more »