January is going to be boring! Man, I miss the days of wondering what's coming out then and the rumors.

Now it's whenever Apple wants to bring something out. Not that I blame them, but I sure do miss those days!

Well, there's still going to be a Macworld, just not the type we're used to. Of course, I'm not optimistic that Macworld will be around after this one coming up. I think they're going to find that there's just not enough interest - and that's just a shame.

I remember when Macworld (and to some extent, CES and Comdex) were THE place to find out about new hardware and software; a place to get a "hands-on" look at all the latest stuff.

Yep those where the days - h3ll I even used to subscribe to MW Magazines back then but now what for ?

I will admit that those (conventions) due stimulate the local economy , get drunk , party out - otherwise you can get that convention stuff online the day after

In my humble opinion, the brick and mortar Apple Store was the death of MacWorld. Before the stores, where else could one visit and see the latest and greatest Apple had to offer? MacWorld, of course.

That was a winning swap as far as I'm concerned. How many people visit brick and mortar Mac stores as compared with MacWorld numbers? I have several in my area I can visit when/if I want to. Never have been to a MacWorld show.

I also like getting surprises/announcements here, there and everywhere, anytime.

High speed internet access hasn't hurt much, either.

That's one of those lines that just begs for a few bad analogies. You know, like Christmas without Santa, etc.. Like having a car without an engine.

I don't doubt there will be some number of people that will show up this year, but they will quickly see how lame an event like this is without Apple. IDG will likely proudly broadcast the attendance numbers in an attempt to snub Apple. The numbers will be down this year for certain, the question is how much. However if there even is a Macworld the following year, the numbers will be anemic at best. I'm fairly confident that January 2011 will be the last Macword, assuming there even is a Macworld that year.

Ironically, Apple is probably in it's best financial shape ever and (relatively speaking) the cost of attending such a trade show is probably trivial as compared to earlier years.

I love going to Macworld conventions because of the other products you can get to make a mac worthy and fun to use. I also enjoyed all the freebies a lot of the vendors gave out. I have a box full of t-shirts, backpacks, cd covers, hats, laptop, keyboard & MM skins, mouse pads, keychains, etc.