An era has ended
2009
December had been an eventful month for Apple. Apple’s guru Steve Jobs said he wasn’t going to be speaking at Macworld. That shocked me. It was unbelievable. Why, how … the questions were endless. Rationally, I know why he’s doing it – trade shows are no longer the way to tell the world about your products, the Internet and well located retail shops have proved more effective.
Deep down I’ll miss his performance – yes, it’s a performance by a master showman – at the keynote speeches. I’m too sentimental, said my friends. I’m calmed and hopeful that he’ll show up somewhere to announce the Next Big Thing.
I leave San Francisco tomorrow, grateful to have had the opportunity to hear and see the iconic Jobs unveil so many cool and sexy gadgets. There was iPod but what really caught my eye was the iPod Mini which came in several colours like blue, green, gold and silver. Then there’s the iPhone and the iPhone 3G.
Jobs had a way of making the products so compelling, so attractive that you must have it. A master pitchman, he is.
What I’ll not miss is the whole rigmarole of secrecy. No one at Apple Singapore knows what’s going to be announced until a few days before. Even then, their lips are zipped so tightly, no sound can be heard. Anyone who dares let slip what new things will be announced during Macworld gets the sack.
The irony is I also admire how a multinational company can seal the lips of all 16000 employees. No matter how tough Jobs is and how he separates the development team so that no one knows the complete product, the fact remains that the company is disciplined enough not to let slip during gossip sessions with friends and family or pillow talk. Remarkable! Because of this secrecy, whatever he announces is even more impactful.
I don’t know if Macworld will last. The banners over the exhibition centre at Moscone says that it’ll be held Jan 4-8 2010. Given that Apple has withdrawn from the expo from next year, the show has lost its main attraction. But there’re still lots of Apple faithful who come to San Francisco every January as a pilgrimage to see what’s new in Mac land. Maybe they’ll be enough for Macworld to stay albeit as smaller show.
Apple people say that it’s the beginning of a new era. That’s marketing speak. Actually, Apple just wants to dictate where and when it wants to unveil its eye-grabbing gizmos and not only in January. Well, I’m hoping something will happen soon…. I’m still waiting for the candy bar iPhone to appear.
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