Macworld Conference & Expo
Encyclopedia
Produced by Boston
-based IDG World Expo, Macworld | iWorld is a trade-show with conference tracks dedicated to the Apple Macintosh
platform. It is held annually in the United States
, usually during the second week of January. Originally Macworld Expo and then Macworld Conference & Exposure, the gathering dates back to 1985.
Macworld
is the most widely read Macintosh magazine
in North America
and a trademark
of Mac Publishing
, a wholly owned subsidiary of International Data Group. IDG World Expo is also a subsidiary.
The conference tracks are taught by leaders in their fields and require large admission fees. They last for a few more days than the Expo, which runs generally three or four days. Attendees can visit the exhibits, set up by hardware manufacturers and software publishers that support the Macintosh platform.
On December 16, 2008, Apple announced that the 2009 Macworld Conference & Expo would be the last in which the company participates.
The first Macworld Expo occurred in 1985 in San Francisco
. The conference itself was created by Peggy Kilburn, who helped to grow the event in size and profitability during her tenure (1985–1999). Among the speakers recruited by Kilburn were David Pogue
, Steve Case
, Bob LeVitus
, as well as representatives from BMUG, LaserBoard, and other major user groups.
The San Francisco event has always been held at the Moscone Center
. The Expo was also held in Brooks Hall near the San Francisco Civic Center from 1985 until 1993, when the expansion of Moscone Center allowed the show to be consolidated in one location.
Until 2005, the U.S.
shows were held semiannually, with a January show in San Francisco and an additional summer show held in the Eastern US. The latter event was held initially in Boston at the Bayside Expo & Executive Conference Center, later expanding with a dual presence at the World Trade Center Boston
. From 1998 to 2003 it took place in New York City's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
. The 2004 and 2005 summer shows, retitled Macworld Conference & Expo took place in Boston, although without Apple's participation. Other companies followed Apple's lead, canceling or reducing the size of their own exhibits, which resulted in reduced attendance compared with previous Macworld conferences. On 16 September 2005, IDG announced that no further summertime shows would be held in NYC nor in Boston.
The show has also taken place in other cities:
Since 1997, the show has been known for its keynote presentations (sometimes called "Stevenote
s") by Apple CEO Steve Jobs
.
and the PowerBook G3
.
The New York event inaugurated a competition (produced by Double Exposure) called the National Macintosh Gaming Championship, which challenged attendees to play games for a number of premium prize packages. The event continued in 1999 in San Francisco, and was terminated after the New York show in 2000 to make way for the Apple Gaming Pavilion.
made an appearance during the keynote address, posing as Jobs in a reference to his role in the TV movie
Pirates of Silicon Valley
. Steve Jobs also introduced the iBook
, QuickTime TV, and AirPort
. Halo
was announced by Bungie Software, although Bungie was later purchased by Microsoft
and Halo became an Xbox
exclusive.
's Aqua user interface
and the New York keynote featured the introduction of the Power Mac G4 Cube
.
and the PowerBook G4
, Apple's first widescreen portable. The New York keynote included no major new product announcements, but did feature a technical presentation on the megahertz myth
.
.
In October 2002, IDG World Expo announced plans to move the 2004 edition of the East Coast show to Boston. The day of that announcement, Apple declared its intent not to participate in the Boston Macworld Expo.
web browser, AirPort Extreme, 17 and 12-inch PowerBooks.
In 2003, IDG World Expo renamed the New York trade show Macworld CreativePro Conference & Expo in an attempt to reach the creative market in the New York area.
. At the Paris Expo, Apple's VP of marketing Phil Schiller introduced the new updated iMac
featuring a PowerPC G5
processor and other various updates, notably, the integration of the logic board and optical drive with the display.
The San Francisco show was held January 10–14. The keynote introduced the Mac Mini
, iPod shuffle
, and iWork
.
During the show, IDG World Expos announced Macworld On Tour, a series of small conferences in various North American cities. An initial conference, in Kissimmee, Florida
, was later canceled. No future announcements for Macworld On Tour have been made. IDG announces Macworld East cancelled that there would be no Macworld East 2006.
In January 2006, Intel Core Duo-based iMacs were announced to be ready for purchase. The conference was held January 9–13 and the number of visitors increased 6.8% from the 2005 event, to 38,441. The number of paid conference delegates increased 20% to 4,188 and the total number of exhibiting companies increased 25% to 367
At Macworld 2007 (January 8–12), Steve Jobs
introduced the iPhone
mobile device, revealed the final name for the Apple TV (originally called by its code name iTV), and announced a change of name for the company from Apple Computer, Inc. to simply Apple Inc., reflecting its longtime focus on the user experience as opposed to the technology behind it.
IDG World Expo reported Macworld 2007 attendance as 45,572, a 19% increase over the previous year.
At Macworld 2008 (January 14–18), Steve Jobs introduced the MacBook Air
— touted as the world's thinnest notebook computer
; the Time Capsule
device for use with the Time Machine
application in Mac OS X v10.5
"Leopard", iPod Touch
updates including Mail, Stocks, Notes, Maps & Weather, iTunes Movie Rentals, the Apple TV Take 2 updates with an all new interface, the ability to download TV shows, music, podcasts and rent or download movies without the need for a PC
; and finally the iPhone
/iPod Touch
SDK
launching in late February.
IDG World Expo reported that Macworld 2008 attendance increased 10% over the previous year.
The San Francisco show went on January 5–9, 2009. On December 16, 2008, Apple announced that the 2009 conference will be the last in which the company would participate. The conference's keynote address was delivered by Apple's Senior Vice President of Product Marketing Philip Schiller, not Steve Jobs
, as has been the custom for the past ten years. Steve Jobs issued a press release stating that the reasons for his absence were health-related, specifically citing a hormone imbalance.
At Macworld 2009, Apple announced the release of iLife
'09, iWork
'09, and the new 17-inch unibody MacBook Pro
with built-in battery. Also, Apple announced that iTunes
would begin to sell all music DRM
-free, with a three tier pricing system per track: $0.69, $0.99, and $1.29 (or £0.59, £0.79, and £0.99 in the UK). This differs from Apple's previous model with only one price per track of $0.99 (£0.79 in the UK). Apple also announced that tracks can now be downloaded over cellular network
s on the iPhone
.
s and other premium favors. Apple's developer parties featured high-profile entertainers like James Brown and Smash Mouth
.
Several years after the start of the Expo, MacWEEK
had launched its weekly trade magazine and simultaneously initiated an exclusive party known as Mac the Knife
, named for its anonymous columnist that wrote the back page industry gossip and rumor section; after MacWEEK' s demise, the party was thrown by Ilene Hoffman, until Mac Publishing
, owners of the Mac the Knife trademark, forbade her from using the name. The party continued, with appearances by the Macworld All-Star Band, under a series of names that referenced the Knife.
Robert Hess
of MacWEEK was the original keeper of the Macworld Party List, which kept track of each leisure event after the show. Prior to his death in 1996, he reportedly requested Hoffman to maintain it; the list was subsequently renamed the Robert Hess Memorial Events List. The list shrunk gradually as events became more sparse, and did not publish for the show in New York 2003, but has been published for subsequent San Francisco shows.
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
-based IDG World Expo, Macworld | iWorld is a trade-show with conference tracks dedicated to the Apple Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
platform. It is held annually in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, usually during the second week of January. Originally Macworld Expo and then Macworld Conference & Exposure, the gathering dates back to 1985.
Macworld
Macworld
Macworld is a web site and monthly computer magazine dedicated to Apple Macintosh products. It is published by Mac Publishing, which is headquartered in San Francisco, California...
is the most widely read Macintosh magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and a trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
of Mac Publishing
Mac Publishing
Mac Publishing is a publishing company based in San Francisco, California, and is wholly owned by the International Data Group. It is the publisher of Macworld magazine and numerous web sites, including and .- History :...
, a wholly owned subsidiary of International Data Group. IDG World Expo is also a subsidiary.
The conference tracks are taught by leaders in their fields and require large admission fees. They last for a few more days than the Expo, which runs generally three or four days. Attendees can visit the exhibits, set up by hardware manufacturers and software publishers that support the Macintosh platform.
On December 16, 2008, Apple announced that the 2009 Macworld Conference & Expo would be the last in which the company participates.
History
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. The conference itself was created by Peggy Kilburn, who helped to grow the event in size and profitability during her tenure (1985–1999). Among the speakers recruited by Kilburn were David Pogue
David Pogue
David Welch Pogue is an American technology writer, technology columnist and commentator. He is a personal technology columnist for the New York Times, an Emmy-winning tech correspondent for CBS News Sunday Morning, weekly tech correspondent for CNBC, and a columnist for Scientific American...
, Steve Case
Steve Case
Stephen McConnell "Steve" Case is an American businessman best known as the co-founder and former chief executive officer and chairman of America Online . Since his retirement as chairman of AOL Time Warner in 2003, he has gone on to build a variety of new businesses through his investment...
, Bob LeVitus
Bob LeVitus
Bob LeVitus is an American author of more than 50 computer-related books, particularly on the Apple Macintosh, iPhone, and iPad for the book series ...For Dummies. He started his own Mac troubleshooting business, called Dr. Mac Consulting. He has been a columnist for the Houston Chronicle since...
, as well as representatives from BMUG, LaserBoard, and other major user groups.
The San Francisco event has always been held at the Moscone Center
Moscone Center
Moscone Center is the largest convention and exhibition complex in San Francisco, California. It comprises three main halls: Two underground halls underneath Yerba Buena Gardens, known as Moscone North and Moscone South, and a three-level Moscone West exhibition hall across 4th Street...
. The Expo was also held in Brooks Hall near the San Francisco Civic Center from 1985 until 1993, when the expansion of Moscone Center allowed the show to be consolidated in one location.
Until 2005, the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
shows were held semiannually, with a January show in San Francisco and an additional summer show held in the Eastern US. The latter event was held initially in Boston at the Bayside Expo & Executive Conference Center, later expanding with a dual presence at the World Trade Center Boston
Seaport Hotel and Seaport World Trade Center
The Seaport Boston Hotel and the neighboring Seaport World Trade Center is located on the Boston waterfront, also known as Commonwealth Pier, in South Boston, Massachusetts.The Seaport Boston Hotel opened in 1998....
. From 1998 to 2003 it took place in New York City's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
Jacob K. Javits Convention Center is a large convention center located on Eleventh Avenue, between 34th and 38th streets, on the West side of Manhattan in New York City. It was designed by architects I. M. Pei and partners. The revolutionary space frame structure was undertaken in 1979 and...
. The 2004 and 2005 summer shows, retitled Macworld Conference & Expo took place in Boston, although without Apple's participation. Other companies followed Apple's lead, canceling or reducing the size of their own exhibits, which resulted in reduced attendance compared with previous Macworld conferences. On 16 September 2005, IDG announced that no further summertime shows would be held in NYC nor in Boston.
The show has also taken place in other cities:
- A TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
show, produced by IDG World Expo Japan, was held at Makuhari MesseMakuhari Messeis a Japanese convention center outside Tokyo, located in the Mihama-ku ward of Chiba city, in the northwest corner of Chiba prefecture. Designed by Fumihiko Maki, it is easily accessible by Tokyo's commuter rail system. Makuhari is the name of the area, and Messe is a German word meaning "trade...
and moved to Tokyo Big SightTokyo Big Sightis the popular nickname for the , a Japanese convention center that opened in April 1996. Located in Odaiba, Tokyo Bay, the center is one of the largest convention venues within the city, and its most iconic representation is the visually distinctive Conference Tower.-Construction:Contracted by the...
in 2002. - Macworld Expo Summit, a version of the show targeted at U.S. government customers, was held at the Washington Convention CenterWashington Convention CenterThe Walter E. Washington Convention Center is a convention center located in Washington, D.C. owned and operated by the Washington Convention and Sports Authority . Designed by Atlanta-based architecture firm Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Associates, the convention center is located in a...
in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
as late as 1994. - In 2004, Macworld UK, part of the IDG UK division of IDG, created two Macworld Conference events on its own: one standalone conference, and one conference adjoining the MacExpoMacExpoMacExpo is a trade show dedicated to the Apple Macintosh and iPod held annually in London, United Kingdom at the Olympia exhibition centre. It's a major part of Apple's calender. In 2005, the show attracted 25,000 visitors and 185 exhibitors. Many large corporations attend the show including...
trade show in London.
Since 1997, the show has been known for its keynote presentations (sometimes called "Stevenote
Stevenote
"Stevenote" is a colloquial term for the keynote speeches given by former Apple CEO Steve Jobs at events such as the Worldwide Developers Conference and previously the Macworld and Apple Expos. Jobs' vibrant speaking style and manner of exciting the crowd was often referred to as inducing a...
s") by Apple CEO Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs
Steven Paul Jobs was an American businessman and inventor widely recognized as a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer revolution. He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc...
.
1998
In May, Jobs introduced the iMacIMac
The iMac is a range of all-in-one Macintosh desktop computers built by Apple. It has been the primary part of Apple's consumer desktop offerings since its introduction in 1998, and has evolved through five distinct forms....
and the PowerBook G3
PowerBook G3
The PowerBook G3 is a line of laptop Macintosh computers made by Apple Computer between 1997 and 2000. It was the first laptop to use the PowerPC G3 series of microprocessors...
.
The New York event inaugurated a competition (produced by Double Exposure) called the National Macintosh Gaming Championship, which challenged attendees to play games for a number of premium prize packages. The event continued in 1999 in San Francisco, and was terminated after the New York show in 2000 to make way for the Apple Gaming Pavilion.
1999
In New York, actor Noah WyleNoah Wyle
Noah Strausser Speer Wyle is an American film, television and theatre actor. He is best known for his role as Dr. John Truman Carter III in the Medical drama ER. He has also played Steve Jobs in the 1999 docudrama Pirates of Silicon Valley and Flynn Carsen in The Librarian franchise...
made an appearance during the keynote address, posing as Jobs in a reference to his role in the TV movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
Pirates of Silicon Valley
Pirates of Silicon Valley
Pirates of Silicon Valley is a 1999 made-for-television film directed by Martyn Burke and based on the book Fire in the Valley: The Making of The Personal Computer by Paul Freiberger and Michael Swaine. The film documents the impact on the development of the personal computer of the rivalry between...
. Steve Jobs also introduced the iBook
IBook
The iBook was a line of laptop computers sold by Apple Computer from 1999 to 2006. The line targeted the consumer and education markets, with lower specifications and prices than the PowerBook, Apple's higher-end line of laptop computers....
, QuickTime TV, and AirPort
AirPort
AirPort and AirPort Extreme are local area wireless networking products from Apple Inc. based on the IEEE 802.11 standard ....
. Halo
Halo (series)
Halo is a multi-million dollar science fiction video game franchise created by Bungie and now managed by 343 Industries and owned by Microsoft Studios. The series centers on an interstellar war between humanity and a theocratic alliance of aliens known as the Covenant...
was announced by Bungie Software, although Bungie was later purchased by Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
and Halo became an Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
exclusive.
2000
The San Francisco keynote revealed Mac OS XMac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
's Aqua user interface
User interface
The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
and the New York keynote featured the introduction of the Power Mac G4 Cube
Power Mac G4 Cube
The Power Mac G4 Cube was a small form factor Macintosh personal computer from Apple Inc. It was sold from 2000 to 2001. Its cube shape is reminiscent of the NeXTcube from NeXT, acquired by Apple in 1996. The machine was designed by Apple industrial designer Jonathan Ive...
.
2001
The San Francisco keynote introduced iTunesITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
and the PowerBook G4
PowerBook G4
The PowerBook G4 are a series of notebook computers that were manufactured, marketed, and sold by Apple, Inc. between 2001 and 2006 as part of its PowerBook line. It uses the PowerPC G4 processor, initially produced by Motorola and later by Freescale, after Motorola spun off its semiconductor...
, Apple's first widescreen portable. The New York keynote included no major new product announcements, but did feature a technical presentation on the megahertz myth
Megahertz Myth
The megahertz myth, or less commonly the gigahertz myth, refers to the misconception of only using clock rate to compare the performance of different microprocessors...
.
2002
The January keynote introduced the iMac G4IMac G4
The iMac G4 was a computer that was produced by Apple from the beginning of 2002 to mid 2004. It replaced the aging iMac G3. The computer had a new design compared to older Macs. It had a 15-inch LCD which was mounted on an adjustable arm above a hemisphere containing a full-size, tray-loading...
.
In October 2002, IDG World Expo announced plans to move the 2004 edition of the East Coast show to Boston. The day of that announcement, Apple declared its intent not to participate in the Boston Macworld Expo.
2003
The January keynote introduced the SafariSafari (web browser)
Safari is a web browser developed by Apple Inc. and included with the Mac OS X and iOS operating systems. First released as a public beta on January 7, 2003 on the company's Mac OS X operating system, it became Apple's default browser beginning with Mac OS X v10.3 "Panther". Safari is also the...
web browser, AirPort Extreme, 17 and 12-inch PowerBooks.
In 2003, IDG World Expo renamed the New York trade show Macworld CreativePro Conference & Expo in an attempt to reach the creative market in the New York area.
2004
Along with the usual show in San Francisco and the return to Boston, a Macworld Expo was held in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. At the Paris Expo, Apple's VP of marketing Phil Schiller introduced the new updated iMac
IMac
The iMac is a range of all-in-one Macintosh desktop computers built by Apple. It has been the primary part of Apple's consumer desktop offerings since its introduction in 1998, and has evolved through five distinct forms....
featuring a PowerPC G5
PowerPC 970
The PowerPC 970, PowerPC 970FX, PowerPC 970GX, and PowerPC 970MP, are 64-bit Power Architecture processors from IBM introduced in 2002. When used in Apple Inc. machines, they were dubbed the PowerPC G5....
processor and other various updates, notably, the integration of the logic board and optical drive with the display.
2005
Mac Mini
The Mac Mini is a small form factor desktop computer manufactured by Apple Inc. Like earlier mini-ITX PC designs, it is uncommonly small for a desktop computer: 7.7 inches square and 1.4 inches tall. It weighs 2.7 pounds...
, iPod shuffle
IPod shuffle
The iPod Shuffle is a digital audio player designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the smallest model in Apple's iPod family, and was the first to use flash memory...
, and iWork
IWork
iWork is an office suite of desktop applications created by Apple for the Mac OS X and iOS operating systems. The first version of iWork, iWork '05, was released in 2005. The suite originally bundled Keynote, a presentation program which had previously been sold as a standalone application, and...
.
During the show, IDG World Expos announced Macworld On Tour, a series of small conferences in various North American cities. An initial conference, in Kissimmee, Florida
Kissimmee, Florida
Kissimmee is a city in Osceola County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 59,682. It is the county seat of Osceola County...
, was later canceled. No future announcements for Macworld On Tour have been made. IDG announces Macworld East cancelled that there would be no Macworld East 2006.
2006
2007
Steve Jobs
Steven Paul Jobs was an American businessman and inventor widely recognized as a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer revolution. He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc...
introduced the iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
mobile device, revealed the final name for the Apple TV (originally called by its code name iTV), and announced a change of name for the company from Apple Computer, Inc. to simply Apple Inc., reflecting its longtime focus on the user experience as opposed to the technology behind it.
IDG World Expo reported Macworld 2007 attendance as 45,572, a 19% increase over the previous year.
2008
MacBook Air
The MacBook Air family is a line of Apple ultraportable Macintosh notebook computers.The first-generation MacBook Air was a 13.3"-only model, previously promoted as the World's Thinnest Notebook, introduced at the Macworld Conference & Expo on January 15, 2008. It featured a custom Intel Merom CPU...
— touted as the world's thinnest notebook computer
Laptop
A laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device and speakers into a single unit...
; the Time Capsule
Time Capsule (Apple)
The Time Capsule is a wireless network-attached storage device combined with a wireless residential gateway router made by Apple Inc. It is described as a "Backup Appliance", designed to work in tandem with the Time Machine backup utility, introduced in Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard".The device includes a...
device for use with the Time Machine
Time Machine (Apple software)
Time Machine is a backup utility developed by Apple. It is included with Mac OS X and was introduced with the 10.5 "Leopard" release of Mac OS X. The software is designed to work with the Time Capsule as well as other internal or external drives.-Overview:...
application in Mac OS X v10.5
Mac OS X v10.5
Mac OS X Leopard is the sixth major release of Mac OS X, Apple's desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. Leopard was released on 26 October 2007 as the successor of Tiger , and is available in two variants: a desktop version suitable for personal computers, and a...
"Leopard", iPod Touch
IPod Touch
The iPod Touch is a portable media player, personal digital assistant, handheld game console, and Wi-Fi mobile device designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The iPod Touch adds the multi-touch graphical user interface to the iPod line...
updates including Mail, Stocks, Notes, Maps & Weather, iTunes Movie Rentals, the Apple TV Take 2 updates with an all new interface, the ability to download TV shows, music, podcasts and rent or download movies without the need for a PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
; and finally the iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
/iPod Touch
IPod Touch
The iPod Touch is a portable media player, personal digital assistant, handheld game console, and Wi-Fi mobile device designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The iPod Touch adds the multi-touch graphical user interface to the iPod line...
SDK
Software development kit
A software development kit is typically a set of software development tools that allows for the creation of applications for a certain software package, software framework, hardware platform, computer system, video game console, operating system, or similar platform.It may be something as simple...
launching in late February.
IDG World Expo reported that Macworld 2008 attendance increased 10% over the previous year.
2009
Steve Jobs
Steven Paul Jobs was an American businessman and inventor widely recognized as a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer revolution. He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc...
, as has been the custom for the past ten years. Steve Jobs issued a press release stating that the reasons for his absence were health-related, specifically citing a hormone imbalance.
At Macworld 2009, Apple announced the release of iLife
ILife
iLife is a suite of software applications developed by Apple for organizing, editing, and publishing photos, movies, and music. The suite comprises five applications: iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, GarageBand, and iWeb, all of which run on the Mac OS X operating system....
'09, iWork
IWork
iWork is an office suite of desktop applications created by Apple for the Mac OS X and iOS operating systems. The first version of iWork, iWork '05, was released in 2005. The suite originally bundled Keynote, a presentation program which had previously been sold as a standalone application, and...
'09, and the new 17-inch unibody MacBook Pro
MacBook Pro
The MacBook Pro is a line of Macintosh portable computers introduced in January 2006 by Apple. It replaced the PowerBook G4 and was the second model, after the iMac, to be announced in the Apple–Intel transition...
with built-in battery. Also, Apple announced that iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
would begin to sell all music DRM
Digital rights management
Digital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...
-free, with a three tier pricing system per track: $0.69, $0.99, and $1.29 (or £0.59, £0.79, and £0.99 in the UK). This differs from Apple's previous model with only one price per track of $0.99 (£0.79 in the UK). Apple also announced that tracks can now be downloaded over cellular network
Cellular network
A cellular network is a radio network distributed over land areas called cells, each served by at least one fixed-location transceiver known as a cell site or base station. When joined together these cells provide radio coverage over a wide geographic area...
s on the iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
.
2010
On March 30, 2009, IDG World Expo announced that the conference would be moving from January (when it had taken place for 25 years) to February. They also said:2011
The 2011 Macworld was held from January 25–29, 2011.2012
Just before registration began for the 2012 conference, Macworld announced that they would be changing the name to Macworld | iWorld in addition to broadening the focus to all iOS devices.Culture
During the Expo's first two decades, it became legendary for the parties that coincided with it, frequently with open bars, lavish hors d'oeuvres, and requisite T-shirtT-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....
s and other premium favors. Apple's developer parties featured high-profile entertainers like James Brown and Smash Mouth
Smash Mouth
Smash Mouth is an American rock band from San Jose, California. The band was formed in 1994, and was originally composed of Steve Harwell, Greg Camp, Paul De Lisle and Kevin Coleman as lead vocals, guitar, bass and drums respectively...
.
Several years after the start of the Expo, MacWEEK
MacWEEK
MacWEEK was a controlled-circulation weekly Apple Macintosh trade journal based in San Francisco founded by Michael Tchong, John Anderson , Glenn Patch, Dick Govatski and Michael F. Billings. It featured a back-page rumor column penned by the pseudonymous Mac the Knife.Founded in 1987, it was...
had launched its weekly trade magazine and simultaneously initiated an exclusive party known as Mac the Knife
Mac the Knife
Mac the Knife was the pen name of an anonymous gossip columnist for the Apple Macintosh-focused trade publication MacWEEK. Mac the Knife was always written by a single writer, but the identity of that writer changed more than once over the long publishing history of MacWEEK...
, named for its anonymous columnist that wrote the back page industry gossip and rumor section; after MacWEEK
Mac Publishing
Mac Publishing is a publishing company based in San Francisco, California, and is wholly owned by the International Data Group. It is the publisher of Macworld magazine and numerous web sites, including and .- History :...
, owners of the Mac the Knife trademark, forbade her from using the name. The party continued, with appearances by the Macworld All-Star Band, under a series of names that referenced the Knife.
Robert Hess
Robert Hess (MacWEEK editor)
Robert Hess was an associate editor for the magazine MacWEEK and a notable Apple evangelist.He died on January 12, 1996 at age 29 from complications due to pneumonia....
of MacWEEK was the original keeper of the Macworld Party List, which kept track of each leisure event after the show. Prior to his death in 1996, he reportedly requested Hoffman to maintain it; the list was subsequently renamed the Robert Hess Memorial Events List. The list shrunk gradually as events became more sparse, and did not publish for the show in New York 2003, but has been published for subsequent San Francisco shows.