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Apple surprised the tech world this afternoon with the news that CEO Steve Jobs won't be delivering the upcoming Macworld Expo keynote, and that this will be the company's last year at the annual conference. Among other things, the move raises questions about the future of the conference, an annual gathering of the Apple faithful.
We spoke this afternoon with Seattle journalist Glenn Fleishman, an editor of the TidBITS Mac news blog and co-author of The Seattle Times' Practical Mac column, who reflected on the meaning of the conference to the Mac community.
"If Macworld Expo is cancelled, I feel like the heart will have been cut out of the Mac community to some extent," Fleishman said. "I know that sounds a little overdramatic, but it's kinda true. As a journalist who covers the field, this is where I see colleagues and friends every year -- people that live even in and around Seattle who for various reasons I wind up not seeing here.
"It's a real source of community," he said. "There's no such community in the Windows world. There are people who use Windows and there are communities of interest in the Windows world. Linux may be a little more similar to Mac in that sense, even though it's more of a technical nature. But you don't have the same feeling of affinity."
Fleishman, 40, has attended Macworld for nearly a decade. For the record, he's still planning to go this time.
Todd Bishop is co-founder and managing editor of TechFlash. He has covered Microsoft and the technology industry for more than five years, most recently as a daily newspaper reporter and blogger based in Seattle.
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WTIA 15th Annual Industry Achievement Awards
Held on March 4th at the Showbox SODO, this casual event celebrates and recognizes some of the best emerging and established companies in the Washington Tech Industry. The evening will feature a finalist company technology showcase and a variety of coffee, chocolate, and wine samples from local companies. More than 800 attendees are expected to be present at the celebration. Public online voting for Technology Leader of Tomorrow Scholarships will open February 3rd on the WTIA site.
We congratulate the 2010 finalists and look forward to unveiling the winners on March 4th. REGISTER NOW!
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