This is about dollars and cents, nothing more. I'm sure that over the past 10 years, there has been a noticeable increase in the percentage of geeks and fanboys in attendance vs. corporate decision makers and other buyers of interest to Apple. It is a very very expensive investment that a company the size of Apple has to make. If anyone has ever been and seen the size of their floor space, and the amount of people on the floor, you'd understand. Heck there was probably $100k worth of MacBook Airs on display at last year's show alone.

Remember that there used to be a MacWorld East that was held in the summer months, frequently in Boston but sometimes in New York that had a Jobs' Keynote. It was at MacWorld Boston in 1997 that the famous Microsoft Deal was announced. MacWorld East died in 2005. There is also an Apple Expo Paris that used to feature a Jobs Keynote. He hasn't spoken at that in a few years and that was held this year without an Apple booth. I believe that it has been a few years since Apple has had a booth at Apple Expo Paris. COMDEX, which was huge for the entire IT world also died a few years ago.

In addition, the thing that has intrigued me during the month of December this year is that the rumour mill has been surprisingly quiet. My guess is that there is nothing to show this year or that there is very little to show. Jobs is a bit of a perfectionist anyways and can be egotistical. Unless there is a major announcement to be made, why would he waste his time?

We'll continue to see product announcements made at the Apple Events where they can tightly control the invitees. And there will be Keynotes at WWDC (Apple's World Wide Developer's Conference, usually held in SF as well).

I do feel sorry for the small companies who try to make their mark at MacWorld. Without Apple, it will be difficult to get noticed as I'm sure that attendance will plummet.

It will be interesting to see what happens to MacWorld. I was there in 1997, and again this past January. I'm going this year but it might be my last. Too bad, it was a good way to get a bunch of things done in a short period of time. This year I'm attending a training session for Lightspeed on the Sunday and for Daylite on the Monday before the show starts. I'm in the Marketcircle booth for two mornings, and the rest of the time will be spent doing research on products that will help my customers. Yes you can do that on the web, but there is something about being able to see a product, and talk face to face with a representative. But the reality is that it is an investment that can be better spent elsewhere.