Comments on: Jobs to skip Macworld keynote as Apple backs out

CEO Steve Jobs planning to skip his annual January keynote address, and the Mac maker is ending its relationship with IDG's Macworld Expo.

[andrew.mager]

Oh man this sucks

[ferretboy88]

If every person in the world switched to apple computers then we would all look like clones. We would all live in our parents basement forever and read the comics with black turtlenecks on. I like to thing different and be different.

[Ilgaz]

For Apple, it is really easy to burn bridges these days. They seem to trust to pathetic "fanboy" community and the spamvertised Web 2.0 things to get the message out to public.

It is amazing that Apple doesn't get importance of IDG to begin with. They keep babbling about enterprise and yet make IDG, the number 1 enterprise trusted source mad.

Perhaps there is no interesting product to deserve a high profile keynote?

[dragonfly421]

They should use a hologram of Steve to give the keynote. That would be brilliant. Then he's there, but not!

Traci
http://allofapeace.blogspot.com

[pierce200]

Macworld's demise would appear to be more symptomatic of the economy's health rather than Steve Jobs' rumored well being or Apple outgrowing the event. If the global market was in moderate condition I would imagine Macworld proceeds as scheduled, Steve speaks, and Apple continues to grow. The timing of the economic crash couldn't be worse for Apple. The company was poised to break out in a big way. Still can, but momentum has hit a proverbial brick wall. The fact that the company will weather the downturn better than others is what's left of the momentum. There may be a silver lining here nonetheless.
I've recently wondered if Jobs was concerned about having created a monster; the backlash during the summer with the MobileMe and 3G release fiasco inciting a barrage of anger he had probably never conceived. More computers, more complaints. Even yesterday's OS update seems to have messed with Safari. My computers aren't that happy. Perhaps Apple can catch up with their products and retool like everyone else.
So maybe part of Steve will

[Vegaman_Dan]

Ouch. MacWorld is seriously screwed by this announcement. This event is dead now. No vendor will bother going to the event now that the flagship company has abandoned it. That's a seriously harsh situation.

Apple needs to do something to make it up to their fans. MacWorld has been traditionally the glitz and glamour pep rally for the fans and consumer products. The summer event is for developers and not very publically oriented. What does this do to the trust and loyalty that Apple has built up with its fanbase?

Is this a giant middle finger to all Apple fans, customers, and vendors?

Does this mean that Apple doesn't have any new products to get excited about to announce?

Is Steve Jobs really in a condition to no longer do keynotes or be the iconic representative for the company?

What does this do to the company's stock? To the investor's confidence?

I can't help but think they should have waited to announce this until *AFTER* MacWorld 2008. Doing it now is just very very VERY bad timing and rather insulting to their customers and fan base.

Just... wow. It's just so disappointing in every possible way.

[AppleSuxLeo]

Jobs is "a bag of hurt".

[AppleSuxLeo]

Put a fork in him...he`s done !

[ldtiry]

This is definitely an upset. Tradeshows in consumer electronics like Macworld aren't so much about getting a name out, they're about showing off the new and exciting things. In this sense, they are more about the fans then the company. No one needs to know Microsoft still exists and they continue to go to such events. And if this isn't about Jobs health, why wouldn't he give "the last show" at the event, he owes it to the people that keep him in the money. Above all I think that this is just Apples way of rubbing peoples noses in the ground. I think they think that they are better than everyone else. Granted I can't stand Apple, their products, or the mindset that comes from the inexperienced that purchase those products. I spent 20 mins. on the phone the other day with a woman trying to explain to her that her airport router wasn't giving her computer an IP address. She then explained to me that it couldn't be the airport because "its an Apple". I really think this hurts Apple in the end because they are no longer giving back to the consumers. Many of us look to these types of events for an outlook on the future of tech. Without Apple, there is no longer a look into Apples future. All we'll know is what Apple tells us......which is nothing until a launch. Apple I despise you, but come back and give the people who made you what you are what they deserve.

[someguynamedbob]

apple has probably ran out of ideas (and what they did make didnt work) and now there slumped and waiting to see what the competition makes so they can mock, insult, then make there own ***** version and say its better.

[AppleSuxLeo]

People are waking up and realizing they were paying way too much for a Chinese made PC. Mac sales are WAY DOWN the news says. AAPL dropped over 7 percent today and will really drop when they get sued by the DOJ over the iTunes monopoly. So long Steve. So long Apple.

[DrtyDogg]

It makes sense that SJ would not deliver the keynote for once. Apple gets slammed after every one of their press events about being to dependent on him, so why not let some other people handle the shows. It is very obvious that wall street sees Apple and Steve Jobs as one and the same(see the false heart attack report). It is best for the company to distance themselves from this view, and show that they will continue to do well without him

[AppleSuxLeo]

Apple gave us "aluminum and glass" but what we really wanted was an express card slot , a media card reader , replaceable batteries , a three-button scroll-wheel mouse...you get the idea.

[AppleSuxLeo]

A Monday update to Apple's Leopard operating system is causing a host of problems for users, ranging from broken Bluetooth connections and no sound to large popping noises during boot-up and dead USB ports.
Say it aint so , Steve !

[robertorosco]

I'm going to go cry in a corner. :(

[medezark]

Are you sure you guys weren't using Vista instead of Mac OS 10.5? Or do the apple ads have them backwards?

[Robert G K]

I can't believe some of the Mac Fanboys and how sick they are? I mean you have people acting like Steve Jobs is a God and thinking up Apple products is harder than thinking up anything else. It seems to be an Apple fan you have to be mental, it seems the same with Sony. I haven't seen anything this bad ever, I mean most fans of products are just that, they like a company or product, they don't put it so high on a pedestal no one can reach it. I guess I just like products and I'm not a fanboy of anything. I know MS makes some good things and Apple makes some good things and Sony makes some good things. I have my favorite products from certain companies, but I don't think one specific company is perfect.

Apple has come up with some good products and sure Steve Jobs probably thinks of some of them but I don't think he thinks of all of them. He's their marketing guy, he thinks of ways to spin stuff just like Bill Gates was to Microsoft. Both of them have 1 thing in common, they're good at marketing. As you saw when Steve Jobs wasn't with Apple it went down and Since Bill Gates hasn't been doing as much with MS hasn't been on the same road map as it has been in the past...some of that is good some is bad. Apple makes good products but their not perfect ones. The Iphone has its problems, Apple computers and laptops have their problems, it just seems the most crazed fanboy is willing to look past them in denial with a blind eye. People who just like Apple and have some Apple products can see the flaws just like every company has flaws.

I just think Steve Jobs doesn't want to do keynote speeches anymore. Maybe hes sick of all the fanboys putting him on a pedestal.

As many large companies have discovered, big industry trade shows don't have an appropriate return, given the significant time and expense it takes to put on a presence at the event. Given these belt tightening time, I'm not surprised. Macworld without Apple is a disappointment, but not a disaster.

[METAUSTIN]

Just as well. Jobs has become like Elton John - he is famous and well loved but he never smiles anymore and that is a MAJOR drag! That, along with being a MAJOR crab, is unacceptable! Besides, Apple followers are tired of waiting for new technology on their PowerBooks like Blu-ray and a low price! Apple has had many opportunities to be the best in the personal computer market but Apple's greed has prevented that from happening.

Adieu, Steve, Adieu!

[rbert16000]

This is a disappointment. I have come to associate the keynote with the Apple Community and the MacWorld as a whole. It is one of the reasons the Mac community is special.. Too bad...