Apple: Steve Jobs Skipping Final Macworld Apple Keynote

News Type: Event — Seeded on Wed Dec 17, 2008 11:30 AM EST

Article Source: Gizmodo

technology, apple, computers, steve-jobs, macintosh, sad, 1984, end-of-era, pc-revolution

I'm not handling this well...

Steve Jobs is not going to deliver this year's Macworld keynote. We suspected this was coming. But there's more: Apple has confirmed that this is their last Macworld ever.

[...]

While we have confirmed this information with Apple, what this means for WWDC or town halls is unknown. We had predicted that Steve Jobs was preparing his farewell following his highly de-centered introduction of the new MacBooks. At the very, very best, this is another step in that direction, preparing the world for an Apple without Steve. We don't really want to think about the worst.

But we have to. This sudden, dramatic announcement says to some, loudly and unfortunately clearly, that Jobs' health has taken a significant dive since his appearance introducing the new MacBooks. One theory might be that Jobs had to step down one day, and while we noticed a transition towards other execs at Apple events, starting this fall, a true control freak would want to step down on his own terms before something like health required them to do it without any say in the matter. That's one theory. But there are far better ways to do this. The best way being Jobs finishing his long career of on stage presentations by giving the last and final Macworld Keynote presentation in person. There's not really any reason why they wouldn't have planned it this way. At least a brief, headlining appearance Jobs, followed by a team effort announcing new products—if for no other reason than to dispel the alarm that's already shaking the internet, but also to make the transition even smoother.

Published to:

Chris Boese's Column, All of Newsvine
Groups: none
Regions: none

Public Discussion (1)

What's this?

Who's leading the conversation?

This visualization below allows you to see the impact that each user has on the current conversation. The top row contains the group of users who have had the most impact, the 2nd row the group of users who have had the 2nd most impact (et cetera). Users with similar impact are grouped together, and the average score of the group is shown to the left of the group. The author of the article is also shown on the left, in their corresponding group. Each user's score is based on the number of comments the user has made plus the number of votes their comments have received. The scores are calculated relative one another, so while their absolute value is not particularly important, their relative difference does indicate a larger difference in impact on the conversation.

3.0

{"commentId":4462781,"authorDomain":"chrisboese"}

Chris Boese

The end of the article said it best:

The End of an Era
So maybe this is the real announcement at this year's Macworld, the one everyone knew would come one day, though it doesn't make any less shocking.

That's the hard part for me. It's not just my annual ritual of watching the black-turtlenecked one doing his "just one more thing" video streaming on the web.

(I did actually go to MacWorld once, in 1996, I think. The year Bill Gates was projected ironically and without irony as a massive "big brother" on the screen, unconsciously invoking the original Mac "1984" launch commercial at the Super Bowl. But that was just a showroom floor pass. I never got in to an actual keynote.).

For me, it all goes back to the 1984 Mac, and the classic that remains in my closet, as it will forever. Actually, it goes back to the Apple IIe in my parents' basement. Artifacts of the beginning of something extraordinary that took hold of me and gave me a career path I'd never dreamed of. Yeah Steve, I know you were a difficult manager and all that, but I still gotta put you down as one of the most influential visionaries of our age.

{"commentId":4462781,"threadId":"447080","contentId":"2222870","authorDomain":"chrisboese"}

2 votes

#1 - Wed Dec 17, 2008 11:41 AM EST

{"canLink":false,"threadId":"447080","isPrivate":false}

Ihnatko: Apple and Steve jobs had good reason to dump Macworld	Chicago Sun-Times	Thu Dec 18	2
Apple CEO Jobs absent from Macworld lineup	Associated Press	Tue Dec 16	1
Nobody wants to see Apple Jobs-less	Associated Press	Wed Dec 17	23
Apple Announces Its Last Year at Macworld	Apple	Tue Dec 16	7
Talking Apple in the land of foreclosures - CNET News	CNET.com	Thu Dec 18	1

CHRIS BOESE

Backyard

Apple: Steve Jobs Skipping Final Macworld Apple Keynote

Published to:

FUN STUFF:

COMPANY STUFF:

LEGAL STUFF: