“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.
I would ask for an apology or plan to just stop reading your blog.
Journo,
That’s rather beside the point. The point is that MacWorld, like MDN, is an outlet for the Mac community.
So let me get this straight, mdn, it is bad thing to have a show highlighting mac products. It is bad that people are writing software for the mac and selling mac accessories.
We should make fun of folks supporting the mac.
We should be happy that one of the main venues for exposing people to new maccentric products might go away.
Mdn, does mdn stand for mac-using-dicknugget?
What kind of self defeating, self important piece of cock smegma expresses joy at such a thing?
Very simply, mdn you fucking suck and are the puckering asshole of the mac universe.
Change your take on this issue and prove me wrong, at least for today.
Why does MDN have to bash everything that’s not Apple? It’s still about the Mac platform you dumb, arrogant pricks!
You come off as extremely ignorant and your “takes” are just Apple propaganda.
Apple just increased the price of eBooks from 9.99 to closer to 15.00 why don’t you do a take on that from a consumer perspective?
When the media was full of “Apple Is Dead” articles, MacWorld was there to keep hope alive. It should continue forever as a celebration of The Best Platform Ever. Besides, it’s the opportunity for companies to show products that may never make it into an Apple Store. If I wasn’t dealing with family issues I’d be heading up on CalTrain right now. May try and go Saturday which is genius scheduling, so people in the education field can attend…both teachers & students.
Uh, actually this is a great consumer / user / Mac community show event.
It’s a great opportunity to meet developers and companies selling Mac products face to face! You learn so much.
Its’ good for the Mac community.
The DIFFERENCE between this show and the crappy old Boston and NYC shows etc, is that 1) we are IN CALIFORNIA, 2) near many developers in Silicon Valley, and 3) we don’t suffer from the old, right coast conservative mentality, atmosphere and climate, regarding tech and progress and new ideas. (I’m not referring to individuals, just regional vibe.)
You idiots are whining over MDN not supporting IDG World Expo, a company that exists to run trade shows.
IDG World Expo doesn’t give two shits about the Mac. They just want to sell overpriced tickets to events.
Morons.
Sorry. . . . Me too.
I would happily attend a Macworld as far away as100 miles. I think it’s vital for Apple to support the community. I thought that to be the real success of the iTunes Store.
I think Apple should support a traveling Macworld, so that us East Coast (and Middle America) people could have access to it.
I’m really tired of going into Bestbuy and Costco, and finding little or no support for Apple products.
It’s funny to read the comments from MacDailyNews’ old Macworld Boston and NYC articles. Some of the stupider ones bashing MDN look like they’ve been pasted above.
MDN is right, as usual.
Macworld Expo died last year. IDG just wants to sell one more round of high-priced passes.
I’d say you just proved yourself the Moron. We don’t care about IDG anymore than you do dumb fuck.
News Flash:
Every Trade Show exists to make money. This is news to you?
What we care about is a supposed supporter of the Mac platform openly bashes a Mac event solely because Apple is not attending.
And there’s more than just the show floor to Apple; there are classes and seminars on how to integrate Macs into the workplace (good for those switching from Windows), how to administer OS X networks, creating digital media, etc. The conferences are just as vital as the show floor; they offer the opportunity to stretch your Mac to the limits when you get home.
MDN = LAME
MDN is the only site that has this big of a witty sarcastic community of posters. Grant you, we’re all like a bunch of Junior High school aged nerds; but we’re fun loving.
“Fruitless pseudo Macworld snoozefest begins in San Francisco”
Fruitless in San Francisco?
Impossible.
I have to agree with the “chorus” on this one…
MDN: WTF were you thinking when you wrote this “take”? As a northern California resident I’ve been going to MacWorld Expo for years (20!). Yes, Apple’s withdrawal is a BIG disappointment and probably spells the death knell for this event. But MDN’s sourpuss take is totally antithetical to everything the Mac “culture” represents – putting power into the hands of computer users! Even without Apple the Expo gives Mac users/developers the opportunity to come together as a “community” in ways that internet communication can’t provide.
MDN, I would love to see a retraction to your take – it’s simply the right thing to do.
Wow
Philip Elmer-DeWitt and Leo Laporte
Apple supporters?
…excuse me if I don’t feel the love.
They (idg expos) should have let it die gracefully, now it is like an old boxer drug out into the ring one more time.
Sad really.
Thank you, MDN, for never pulling any punches and always telling it like it is (or at least the way you see it) without a drop of varnish.
Nobody is to blame except Macworld
The powers to be at Macworld decided to become the almighty what, when, how, where and how Apple and Jobs should conduct themselves.
Their continuous DISPARAGING criticism of the hand that feeds them came and bit them right back.
Their editorials became increasingly dictatorial in nature. Rather than offering constructive criticism, they became demanding. It wasn’t a suggestion, but a ‘change it’ or ‘else’.
Macworld appeared to support the ‘trollers’ and even the authors/management often belittled anybody with an opposing or positive ‘Apple’ view. A move that eventually caused the demise of what was once the most visited forum for the Mac. Today, getting more than a couple of handfuls of ‘replies’ at anytime is a miracle.
Then the editors decided to change their site. It obviously turned out downright ugly. It was like your neighbor tore down his house and replaced it with a Katrina Reject Trailer and surrounded it with used sandbags. It just stank and unfortunately it still does.
Imagine if every time you invited, even your best friend or boss to your home for dinner, and he continually berated your mother or wife, complained about the food, the menu and the dessert, harassed your kids, etc.…there is a point of no return.
And on that note, MDN could do themselves a favor and create a better feedback forum, e.g., much like Appleinsider, but hopefully one that is better moderated. One that centers out the trolls, strikethroughs erroneous statements, honors ‘freedom of speech’ with the proviso that you act ‘responsibly’.
If the internet is ever are going be respected, the concept that unilaterally trolling with lies and innuendos unchallenged, just doesn’t fly. Eventually lies like perceptions become realities. Even offering the best of fair, it is one dinner invitation that just gets turned down. Eventually, there is no one left to ask.
Geeze, MDN, you are starting to really turn me off of your site. Ever since you decided that you would be completely anti-democrat I have felt less and less compelled to come to this site. Now with this, you show just how snobby, and completely out of touch you have become.
Geez, MDN. It’s not like IDG moved the San Francisco Macworld Expo to a location against Apple’s wishes.
Apple likes to announce new products on its own now. That’s great. Macworld Expo is still a great opportunity to meet other vendors who DON’T have their own stores all over the place.
It will obviously be smaller, because a bunch of people who aren’t into being Mac professionals, aren’t Mac-using businesspeople, etc. won’t show up. However, it will still be great for all those who need Mac-related products IN ADDITION TO those made by Apple. I think Apple actually appreciates that, so don’t feel like you’re doing Apple a favor by dissing Macworld Expo.
Also, David Pogue is a great speaker – very entertaining. John Gruber knows his tech, likes Macs, and is generally an interesting person. The others . . . well, OK.
Put a fork in it..it’s DONE!!
MDN seems to hate Apple users. Yeah, Apple ain’t there, but the faithful must push on.
MDN, u suck.
I’ll be heading up to the city later this week for the show. I’m one of those nerdy guys that usually buys the $1,000 all week convention package but my company is cutting back so it’s just the show floor for me this year. Too bad this venue is winding down. I suppose we’re complicit in it’s demise, but serious technical information needed to support multiple Mac’s in the workplace is virtually impossible to find anywhere else. I can’t imagine struggling through the past migrations to Intel and OS-X/Unix without the Macworld convention. Talking to the other enterprise managers, consultants, and vendors allowed me to bring back real useful trick and tips which kept the Mac viable and the basher’s at bay for another year
MDN you just confirmed your elitism. I’m a huge Apple fanboy and MDN fanboy too but you just drank one shot too many of the Apple Kool-Aid.
MDN: You say: “We’re not saying don’t go”, but you go out of your way to call it a complete waste of time. Everybody knows that the show isn’t the same without Apple and Steve Jobs. But why go out of your way to slam the event?