Time tracking blog

Early January is normally my favorite time of the year.  Not because the hustle and bustle of the holiday season is over, but because traditionally, Mr. Gates and Papa Jobs grace us with a preview of all the new goodies we should expect from Microsoft and Apple, respectively.

But if January 2009 is any indicator of the year ahead, man…I’m bored already.  The economy is on everyone’s mind, gadget sales have been flat and both Gates and Jobs are no-shows for the first time at the big trade shows that happen around this time o’ the year.  Both CES and Macworld are scrambling trying to remain as relevant as possible, as a number of companies are scaling back on travel, entertainment, and trade show costs.  And let’s face it; Macworld without Jobs is just kinda, well … world.

While we couldn’t see this one coming, Jobs launched a shock and awe attack in December, announcing that this years Macworld expo, produced by IDG World Expo, would be the last, and that he would not be in attendance.  For this years show, Jobs handed the reigns to Senior VP Phil Schiller.

“When the economy is down, the first thing to go is trade shows,” says Richard Doherty, an independent analyst for the Envisioneering Group. “Macworld cost Apple north of $25 million yearly. That’s a lot of Apple Store improvements it can do.”

Traditionally, Macworld has been Apple’s showcase and platform to present the world it’s latest and greatest.  Previous Macworld highlights include the announcement of the iPhone, MacBook Air, and the MacMini.

“If they were going to break new ground with something really hot, Steve would be there,” says Tim Bajarin, an independent analyst at Creative Strategies.

This move by Jobs has prompted a number of Mac bloggers to comment that a “shift in leadership is clearly underway”, not to mention the numerous comments of Jobs’ state of health.  A few weeks back Steve commented that his weight loss is nothing more than a ‘hormone imbalance’.

“The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple and straightforward, and I’ve already begun treatment,” he said in a statement.

While Apple isn’t making any official statements, a number of analysts are now closely eyeing Jobs’ logical replacement, chief operating officer, Tim Cook.

My other favorite expo ‘round this time of the year has always been the Consumer Electronics Show (CES).  According to CES, this year’s participation is down 10 percent from 3,000 to 2,700 exhibitors.  Still a staggering number in it’s own right, but again, a tarnished reminder of it’s once great glory.

Cisco Systems, a longtime exhibitor at CES has scaled back massively, and instead of an over the top exhibition, they’ve simply leased meeting room space this year.  Same goes for Sanyo, as both companies are now under the Panasonic banner, and it seems like they’d like to scale things back for a while.  Likewise, Adobe Systems, and all things USB supplier Belkin pulled the plug(s) on their MacWorld appearances.

Bill Gates is/was the traditional pull to CES, but as he’s now off saving the cheerleader world, the reigns lie with current CEO Steve Ballmer.  He’s expected to ‘get on your feet’ regarding Windows 7, which will be the first OS released in the post Gates area.  Granted, initial feedback on 7 seems a bit more positive than the Vista debacle, but let’s hope that Steve doesn’t launch into one of his famous speech modes.

Given the fact that sometimes a well placed blog article can launch and create more buzz than even the most elaborate trade show expo, I’m still a bit saddened to see the departure of Macworld, and the decline of CES.  There was/is a certain je ne sais pas about being in the same room with these industry giants that simply can’t be achieved with a press release.