Taking the Mac out of Macworld

TRAGEDY HAS befallen the Macworld Expo. His Holiness, St. Eve of Jobs has declared by papal edict that from 2009 onwards, the Cult of the Apple will no longer bear witness to the greatest ritual in its honour.

St.Eve won't be headlining the event in 2009, although marketing veep Phillip Schiller will, in the last appearance of Apple at Macworld. 

The statement reads something like this: "We're quitting on Macworld, we've enjoyed it while it lasted, but now is the time to look to other ways of getting our holy word out. We've got our stores, we've got our site... and by the way, have you heard of something called the Iphone?"

Apple has been scaling back on trade shows in recent years, including NAB, Macworld NY, Macworld Tokyo and Apple Expo Paris. The general idea is that Apple need not waste a bundle on a tradeshow, even if it is cash in the bank afterwards.

In fact, this being the last official Apple presence will either make next January the biggest attendance ever at a Macworld or an atomic wasteland, depending on whether Macaddicts converge on Moscone West.

Apple says it can do just as well without Macworld, as its shops attract a fair amount of consumers and its site is top notch. Quite true, Apple Chapters Stores have become a shiny beacon of the cult's prowess, spreading the word far and wide while passing on the goods. Recently, the company conjured up a new store in Munich, Germany and plans for another one in Paris, France are on schedule.

Macworld officials were nowhere to be seen (or spoken to), but yrganiser IDG must be a bit worried by now. The move might also signal that Apple won't be showing any new kit at the event - a marketing veep is no Steve Jobs.

As an alternative to trade shows, we'd suggest Steve start his own amateur TV show in a basement in Aurora, Illinois and pipe it directly to your Apple TV or Iphone. It's kitsch enough it might work. µ