The Macworld Expo opened today at the Moscone Center, and while there will be no official Apple presence at the event for the second year in a row, organizers are optimistic, according to The Chronicle.
Macworld used to be Apple's platform to announce its latest and greatest product, but pulled out of the Expo in 2008. Apple found it didn't need a specific date or event to pitch the newest gadget. The Expo was hit hard, dropping from 44,000 attendees in 2007 to only 21,000 in 2010.
But Macworld gneral manager Paul Kent is expecting a bit of a rise this year - around 25,000.
"The show has changed in a healthy way," said Kent, who has been with Macworld since the beginning. "Before, it might have answered the question: What's Apple's newest thing? Now it answers the question: What do I do after I've bought my Apple thing? When you walk out of an Apple store, how you find cool things to add on to it. You learn to use it better."
One more thing.
Instead of Steve Jobs doing the keynote speech as he has in the past, this year's headliner is comedian Sinbad.
The Macworld Expo runs January 26-29.
