Apple Flips IDG the Finger over Macworld

What an in-your-face insult! Apple announced today that its appearance at the next Macworld Expo  Jan. 5-9 in San Francisco  will be its last.

InformationWeek Staff, Contributor

December 16, 2008

2 Min Read
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What an in-your-face insult! Apple announced today that its appearance at the next Macworld Expo  Jan. 5-9 in San Francisco  will be its last.For many years, Apple and IDG (which owns and produces the independent Macworld event) have argued about the conference, and Apple always keeps IDG dangling about its appearances and Steve Jobs' popular keynote. Sorry, no Steve Jobs this year.

Here's what Apple just put out: CUPERTINO, CaliforniaDecember 16, 2008Apple today announced that this year is the last year the company will exhibit at Macworld Expo. Philip Schiller, Apples senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, will deliver the opening keynote for this years Macworld Conference & Expo, and it will be Apples last keynote at the show. The keynote address will be held at Moscone West on Tuesday, January 6, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. Macworld will be held at San Franciscos Moscone Center January 5-9, 2009. Apple is reaching more people in more ways than ever before, so like many companies, trade shows have become a very minor part of how Apple reaches its customers. The increasing popularity of Apples Retail Stores, which more than 3.5 million people visit every week, and the Apple.com website enable Apple to directly reach more than a hundred million customers around the world in innovative new ways. Apple has been steadily scaling back on trade shows in recent years, including NAB, Macworld New York, Macworld Tokyo and Apple Expo in Paris.

Talk about torpedoing your supporters: I'm sure that IDG, all the Mac hardware and software companies that sponsor Macworld, and all the loyal Mac users planning to attend in January, are just delighted about Apple's public dismissal of the value of the long-standing conference.

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