Apple announced today that it was ending its relationship with MacWorld. So many things going on here.
First, the events placed unfair pressure on Apple. The assumption was that Steve Jobs would show, present a keynote, and reveal some fantastic new product. When you think about this, it is unreasoanble. Some product upgrades can be predicted, but new products emerge when they are ready. The pressure to deliver something of the caliber Apple creates by a given date is pretty difficult and perhaps not even a good business decision. What if no great new products happen to exist? What if a product under development is not ready? Why should Apple the company operate according to the time table of trade shows?
Second, there are continued concerns about Job\’s health or at least his role within Apple. Everytime something unexpected happens, this concern reappears and the stock market reacts. At some point, someone else is going to have to emerge.
Third, the day of the tech conference may have passed. I attended an early MacWorld in Boston and it was spectacular. I doubt if I would be as impressed or be willing to spend the money today. The focus on cloud computing has changed many things. The power of the hardware and software you own matter less and you can preview products online. For me, this transition relates to a different convention (NECC). Early on, I would spend most of my time in the exhibit halls and ignore the sessions. Not so much anymore. When you have seen one whiteboard, video projector, security system, etc., you have pretty much seen them all. The things that change about technology for me have less to do with what I own or at least that exist in my house or office and more with the services or people I can access online.
I have thought Microsoft was becoming less relevant as the rest of the world took a new direction. I am starting to have similar thoughts about Apple. The company has great equipment and innovative software, but these things matter less now. Apple – time for an inexpensive (but cool) netbook.
