“There’ll be no Steve Jobs keynote, no gigantic Apple booth, and only about half as many exhibitors — roughly 220 vs. nearly 500 last year, according to Ars Technica,” Philip Elmer-DeWitt reports for Fortune.

“But IDG World Expo has determined that the show must go on — at least for one more year — and so from Tuesday Feb. 9 to Saturday Feb. 13, San Franciso’s Moscone Center will host the software vendors, accessory makers, iPhone developers, fanmag publishers, celebrity bloggers, AAPL investors and Mac faithful that are the Apple community,” Elmer-DeWitt reports.

Elmer-DeWitt’s five highlights:
• David Pogue, Thursday 9 a.m. PT
• Kevin Smith, Thursday 2 p.m. PT
• Leo Laporte, Friday 2 p.m. PT
• John Gruber, Friday 4:30 p.m. PT
• iPad discussion: Saturday 1 p.m. PT

Full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Thrilling. Wake us when it’s over or when IDG World Expo comes to their senses, whichever comes first.

Macworld 2010 is now a vestigial event. IDG is dragging around the corpse just like they did in New York and Boston. How long until IDG buries the poor, decaying thing this time?

MacDailyNews Note: 7:55am PT: There seems to be some confusion as evidenced by some of the reader feedback below. To clarify: We’re not saying don’t go. We’re not saying don’t support the companies that show up this year. We’re simply saying that we find it to be far less interesting and we wouldn’t rush to book plane tickets and hotel rooms for next year.

MacDailyNews Note: 10:05am PT: More clarification: Nobody loved Macworld Conferences and Expos more than us. “Loved,” past tense, as in: When there were real Macworld Expos. We will miss them, but since we have had over a year now to get over it, and they are an anachronism, please forgive us for not being maudlin today.

We’d rather see it dead than lingering too long; a pitiful, poorly-attended shell of what it once was.

Apple conducts localized mini Macworld Conferences and Expos every day of the year in hundreds of locations worldwide. More info: here.

Related articles:
Macworld Expo exit opens new doors for Apple – January 08, 2009
Apple takes control by pulling out of Macworld Expo – January 02, 2009
Apple investors are better off without Macworld Expo – December 19, 2008
Apple Expo Paris cancelled for 2009 – December 17, 2008
CNBC: It’s Macworld Expo, not Steve Jobs, that’s on its last legs – December 16, 2008
Apple: This Macworld Expo will be our last; Schiller, not Jobs, to deliver last keynote – December 16, 2008
Apple confirms Apple Expo Paris pullout – June 03, 2008
Pseudo Macworld Expo Boston euthanized – September 16, 2005
Pseudo MacWorld Boston a snorefest – July 15, 2005
MacWorld Boston snoozefest: Apple, other major exhibitors won’t be there – June 12, 2004
Already wrecked pseudo Macworld backing out of Boston; wants to stay in NYC – August 08, 2003
Pseudo MacWorld NYC to be a snorefest – July 14, 2003
Baltimore Sun: no MacWorld NYC 2003; no Jobs keynote; 40% drop in exhibitors – April 03, 2003
MacWorld Tokyo cancelled – December 04, 2002
MacWorld Boston 2004 Fruitless – October 16, 2002