Macworld 2010 should have just as many attendees as the 2009 event, IDG has announced. The expo organizer says that over 30,000 people have pre-registered so far, along with over 300 companies. Potential visitors can still register, although only a few weeks remain before the February 9th beginning of the event. The expo will run at the Moscone Center in San Francisco through February 13th.
IDG World Expo has announced that Macworld 2010 programming has already been completed, with all of the speaker slots and content locked down five months prior to the actual event. IDG also states that over 28,000 attendees have pre-registered, roughly two-thirds of the number that normally comes to the expo. This year will be the first in some time that Apple has not officially attended a Macworld.
IDG World Expo has announced the Independent Developer Pavilion, a new floor area dedicated exclusively to independent Mac software developers. Available for Macworld 2010, the area is intended to attract attention from media, shoppers, industry and potential investors. When taking part in the Pavilion, developers are asked simply to bring a notebook and their product, as IDG will provide the remaining services and equipment.
Investors have no reason to panic over Apple's decision to substitute Phil Schiller for Steve Jobs at Macworld 2009, and abandon the expo entirely in 2010, say analysts with Needham & Co. and Kaufman Bros.. The former notes that the substitution is bound to raise questions over Jobs' health, given a gaunt appearance in recent months, and largely discredited rumors of cancer recurrence. Needham claims, however, that its sources suggest Jobs is cancer-free, and that the real reasons for its Macworld policies are strictly business-related.
