But New York?

We all just got a tough call by Apple Computer, Inc. about missing Macworld Summer 2004.

Seriously! What was that sudden and capricious announcement by Apple anyway?

Was it really all about not wanting to go to Boston? Once they saw Boston was in and New York was out, did Apple decide to 'fuggeddaboutit?'

Most of their power users in publications and graphics are in New York, after all. That is where Macworld should be on the East Coast, not Boston.

Or perhaps Apple just got tired of IDG, the people who run Macworld, and their recent history of a callous customer gouging attitude, especially aimed toward publishers and writers.

Furthermore, since Apple brought it up, we need to ask the question, why does anyone need Macworld?

For big companies like MacroMedia, Adobe and others, Macworld is the best place for them to introduce their wares. Same goes for all the little companies doing business with Apple customers. Their alternatives are to email all the Macintosh owners they know, or seek advertising in mass media, which would cost a lot more than showing up at the show.

For smaller companies, neither of these are viable options. Without Macworld, all that is really left for them is advertising and announcing their products on the Internet.

So vendors need Macworld, but does Apple need Macworld?

No. They have their most excellent website, and an always open link to mass media anytime they want to trot out a new machine or a software upgrade. Macworld, for them is just topping on the cake, but likely completely unnecessary for doing business.

Apple has not relied on new product announcements at Macworld recently anyway, and their use of mass media for announcing new products seems to be working just fine.

After all, Steve Jobs might just be tired of doing all those keynotes.

Or Steve could just be looking for ways to gently cut Apple's expenses in this soft economy. Who knows?

If Macworld New York is not at all that necessary for Apple, what about San Francisco and/or Paris?

I think it is likely we will see the end of them as well, but not for any of the above reasons.

It is not the economy that people have on their minds right now, as much as it is things like war and terrorism. Big shows, with lots of people in attendance, are great targets for people who don't like freedom loving people like Americans, especially overseas.

It might be that Apple is not the only company right now that is seriously considering cutting back on these big media formats like Macworld. I have heard some people who inhabit Comdex are thinking it might also soon be cancelled, at least for the foreseeable future. There is that possibility, considering all that is going on in the world today with terrorism, threats, rogue snipers, and the very real possibility of war.

Does this sound bleak to you?

Yes! Macworld was also the place you and I could go and see all our online friends!

To me it was as much about that as it was seeing all the new toys in the show. If MW gets cancelled, I will miss seeing them that way. Where else could we all meet together like that?

The loss of even one Macworld is a sobering possibility, and one more brick out of the wall of my life as I used to know it before 9/11.

How does it make you feel to know you might lose a Macworld?