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" Apple fans love to prognosticate about what launches are in store for MacWorld each January, while each year Apple officially stays silent. So what should iFans make of Apple&amp;#039;s cryptic, out-of-the-blue announcement late yesterday (just after Wall Street&amp;#039;s closing bell, by the way) that this coming MacWorld would be its last? More surprising is that Steve Jobs will not be delivering the keynote, and Phillip Schiller would be taking his place. The official Apple explanation for the change is that &amp;quot;Apple is reaching more people in more ways than ever before, so like many companies, trade shows have become a very minor part of how Apple reaches its customers.&amp;quot; But while it&amp;#039;s true that Apple&amp;#039;s own marketing muscle outpaces the trade show that bears the name of its signature computers, that vague explanation for the MacWorld withdrawal may hint at something deeply troubling for the company. Ever since it was revealed that Jobs was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, the speculation surrounding Apple has been as much about its CEO&amp;#039;s health as its products. Switching the traditional role of keynote speaker from Jobs to Schiller (who lacks Jobs&amp;#039; megawatt starpower in the tech world) less than a month before a trade show dedicated to the brand is likely to fuel the worst fears about just how bad Jobs&amp;#039; health has become. And there are few companies where the health of the CEO is so intrinsically tied to the health of the company. We&amp;#039;ve already got our tickets booked, and we&amp;#039;ll be covering the event live, but unlike the shows of past, this coming MacWorld may well prove to be more poignant than exciting. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/a3790/4296113/>