Macworld/iWorld[1] (originallyMacworld[2]) was aninformation technology trade show with conference tracks dedicated toApple'sMac platform. It was held annually in the United States during January. OriginallyMacworld Expo and thenMacworld Conference & Exposition, the gathering dates back to 1985.[3] The conference was organized byInternational Data Group (IDG), co-publisher ofMacworld magazine.
On December 18, 2008, Apple announced that the 2009 Macworld Conference & Expo would be the last in which the company participates.[4][5][6][7] On October 14, 2014, IDG suspended Macworld/iWorld indefinitely.[8]
The first Macworld Expo occurred in 1985 inSan Francisco. The conference itself was created by Peggy Kilburn,[9] who helped to increase the size and profit of the event during her tenure (1985–1999). Among the speakers recruited by Kilburn wereDavid Pogue,Steve Case,Bob LeVitus, as well as representatives fromBMUG,LaserBoard, and other major user groups. Participation byApple was usually the central event of a Macworld Expo, and from 1997 through 2008, the show was known for its keynote presentations (sometimes called "Stevenotes") delivered by AppleCEOSteve Jobs.
The San Francisco event has always been held at theMoscone 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, theU.S. shows were held semiannually, with a January show in San Francisco and an additional summer show held in the Eastern US. The later event was held initially inBoston at the Bayside Expo & Executive Conference Center, later expanding with a dual presence at theWorld Trade Center Boston. From 1998 to 2003 it took place in New York City'sJacob K. Javits Convention Center. The 2004 and 2005 summer shows, retitledMacworld 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 or in Boston.[10]
The show has also taken place in other cities:
The 1987 Boston Macworld Expo was held on August 11–13. The most significant product introduction at the show wasBill Atkinson'sHyperCard. More than 3,000 copies of the software were handed out.MultiFinder,Apple File Exchange, theImageWriter LQ,EtherTalk,AppleShare PC and the AppleFax Modem were among Apple's product announcements. Promoters estimated 40,000 people attended the show.MacUser's review of the show concluded positively, saying that it was "revealing, exhilarating, and disappointing. While the Mac is clearly becoming the business machine of choice through much of corporate America, the show didn't have the sterile atmosphere that pure business trade shows have. Most of the time it was plain outright exciting. And the promise of the future that was always in the air was wholly positive."[11]
The San Francisco Macworld was attended by 45,000 people and had 400 exhibits; Apple's primary announcement for this show was a new family ofLaserWriter printers.[12]
Outbound Computers demonstrated the first Macintosh-compatible portable computers at the Boston show,[13] preceding Apple's own introduction of thePowerBook by a couple of months.
Macworld Expo took place in three locations: San Francisco (January 4–7), Washington DC (April 26–28), and Boston (August 8–11).[14] Apple introduced the "Power Surge" line ofPower Macintosh computers at the Boston show, consisting of thePower Macintosh 8500,7500 and7200.[15]
During Macworld in San Francisco, a focus in CEOGil Amelio's keynote was Apple's recently-announced purchase ofNeXT, which would include the return of company co-founder Steve Jobs in an advisory role, and the adaptation of itsNeXTSTEP operating system into a future release of Mac OS codenamed "Rhapsody".[16] The signature hardware announcement of the show was theTwentieth Anniversary Macintosh, a limited edition model designed to mark the 20th anniversary of the founding of Apple Computer.[17]
That August, Macworld in Boston featured Steve Jobs' first appearance at the exhibition as interim CEO,[18] and came on the heels of the release ofMac OS 8. During his keynote, Jobs notably announced that Apple had reached several agreements withMicrosoft to ensure the company's stability, which included an agreement to settle patent disputes with Microsoft over itsWindows operating system (includingpatent cross-licensing agreements), a $150 million stock investment in the company by Microsoft, a commitment for Microsoft to develop versions ofOffice for Macintosh for the next five years (beginning with the upcomingOffice 98), and an agreement to shipInternet Explorer as the default web browser on future releases of Mac OS (withNetscape still available as an option alongside it). Microsoft co-founderBill Gates made a remote appearance to acknowledge the partnerships, which was infamously met with a shower ofboos from the audience.[19][20][21]
Jobs argued that he wanted to abandon the notion of Microsoft and Apple needing to be rivals, explaining that "we have to embrace a notion that for Apple to win, Apple has to do a really good job. And if others are going to help us that's great, because we need all the help we can get, and if we screw up and we don't do a good job, it's not somebody else's fault, it's our fault.".[19][20]
During Macworld in San Francisco, Jobs discussed Apple's recent release of thePower Macintosh G3 andPowerBook G3, an agreement withCompUSA to establish "store-within-a-store" concepts devoted to its products, and the upcomingMac OS 8.1 update (which introduced the newHFS+file system, and support forUDF disks) andQuickTime 3.0. Jobs revealed that the company was on track to achieve a profit of $45 million by the end of the quarter, buoyed by theG3 Macs and the recent launch of theApple online store. Microsoft also presented Internet Explorer 4.0 for Mac.[22][23]
At Macworld in New York in July, Jobs addressed Apple's return to growth and profitability (using a theme of the "Apple Hierarchy of Skepticism", inspired byMaslow's hierarchy of needs), and also showcased a number ofgames being supported on Mac. He discussed aspects of the recently-announcediMac andPowerBook G3 Series (including newUSB accessories for the computers), and announced that the iMac would be released August 15, 1998 release, and include a56K modem at launch rather than the previously-announced 33K unit. Jobs also revealed a roadmap for upcoming Mac OS releases, including the upcomingMac OS 8.5, a future update to Mac OS codenamed "Sonata" to be released in 1999, and that "Rhapsody" would be released asMac OS X Server 1.0 in 1999.[24]
During Macworld in San Francisco, Jobs announced that the company had reached its fifth consecutive quarter of profitability. He unveiled the new"Blue and White" Power Macintosh G3, and a revision to the iMac with updated specifications and new color options. Part of the keynote also focused on the release of Mac OS X Server, featuring a demonstration of theNetBoot feature, andQuickTime Streaming Server by presenting a large wall of 50 diskless iMacs all streaming videos from the same Power Mac G3.Connectix presented itsVirtual Game Station software for emulating thePlayStation on PowerPC Macs, and Microsoft demonstrated Internet Explorer 4.5 Macintosh Edition.[25][26][27]
During Macworld in New York City, Jobs unveiled Apple's new consumer laptop, theiBook, as well asAirPort, awireless gateway andnetwork card for wireless networking implementing the802.11 specification.[28] Jobs also announced a release date forMac OS 9.[29]
Macworld 2000 in San Francisco featured the unveiling of the new "Aqua" user interface and "Quartz" graphics engine ofMac OS X, and Jobs' announcement that itsfirst version would be released in January 2001 after afinal preview release.[30][31] Jobs also announced that he had been promoted to full-time CEO of Apple.[32]
During Macworld in New York City, Apple unveiled a new iMac revision with upgraded specifications and a new suite of color options, updatedPower Mac G4 models, the new opticalApple Pro Mouse (replacing the"hockey puck" mouse introduced with the iMac), and thePower Mac G4 Cube. It was also announced that theMac OS X Public Beta had been delayed to September.[33]
At the San Francisco show, Apple introducediTunes, andiDVD, an upgradedPower Mac G4 and thePowerBook G4, their first widescreen portable.[34]
The New York show took place at theJacob K. Javits Convention Center. Apart from an upgradedPower Mac G4 and the announcement ofMac OS X 10.1, there were no major announcements from Apple, but the keynote presentation did feature a segment on themegahertz myth, presented byJon Rubenstein.[35] Attendance was 64,000, a record for the event.[36]
The Summer 2002 show took place in New York City with a keynote on Wednesday, July 17. The keynote speech introduced the 17-inch version of theiMac G4.
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.
The January keynote introduced theSafari web browser, AirPort Extreme, 12- and 17-inch PowerBooks. This show also saw the launch of the world's first interactive video CD-ROM, NightWatch.
In 2003, IDG World Expo renamed the New York trade showMacworld CreativePro Conference & Expo in an attempt to reach the creative market in the New York area.
Steve Jobs was absent from the Macworld keynote held in New York in July, which was instead delivered by Vice President of Product Marketing Greg "Joz" Joswiak.[37]
Along with the usual show in San Francisco and the return to Boston, a Macworld Expo was held inParis. At the Paris Expo, Apple's VP of marketingPhil Schiller introduced the new updatediMac featuring aPowerPC 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.[38] The keynote introduced theMac Mini,iPod shuffle, andiWork.
During the show, IDG World Expos announcedMacworld On Tour, a series of small conferences in various North American cities. An initial conference, inKissimmee, Florida, was later canceled. No future announcements forMacworld On Tour have been made. IDG announces Macworld East cancelled that there would be no Macworld East 2006.
In January 2006, IntelCore Duo-basediMacs were announced to be ready for purchase. The conference was held January 9–13 and the number of visitors increased by 6.8% over the 2005 event, to 38,441. The number of paid conference delegates increased by 20% to 4,188, and the total number of exhibiting companies increased by 25% to 367.[39]
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At Macworld 2007 (January 8–12),Steve Jobs introduced theiPhone mobile device, revealed the final name for theApple 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.[40]
At Macworld 2008 (January 14–18), Steve Jobs introduced theMacBook Air — touted as the world's thinnestnotebook computer; theTime Capsule device for use with theTime Machine application inMac OS X 10.5 "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 aPC; and finally theiPhone/iPod TouchSDK launching in late February.
IDG World Expo reported that Macworld 2008 attendance increased 10% over the previous year.[41]
The San Francisco show went on January 5–9, 2009.[41] 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 MarketingPhil Schiller, notSteve Jobs, as has been the custom for the past ten years.[42] Steve Jobs issued a press release stating that the reasons for his absence were health related, specifically citing a hormone imbalance.[43]
At Macworld 2009, Apple announced the release ofiLife '09,iWork '09, and the new 17-inch unibodyMacBook Pro with built-in battery. Also, Apple announced thatiTunes would begin to sell all musicDRM-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 theUK). 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 overcellular networks on theiPhone.
On March 30, 2009, IDG World Expo announced that the conference would be moving from January (during which it had taken place for 25 years) to February. They also said:[44]
Macworld 2010 will further break from tradition by shifting the expo portion of the event to include a Saturday. The Expo now is scheduled to take place Thursday, February 11, through Saturday, February 13. This shift will provide all attendees, including full-time professionals, with more flexible times and convenient weekend access to the show floor. The Macworld conference sessions will take place Tuesday, February 9, through Saturday, February 13.
— IDG World Expo[44]
The 2011 Macworld was held January 25–29, 2011.[45]
The 2012 Macworld/iWorld was held January 26–28. Just before registration opened 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.[1][2]
The 2013 Macworld/iWorld was held from January 31 to February 2, 2013.[citation needed]
The 2014 Macworld/iWorld was held from March 27 to March 29, 2014.
The 2015 Macworld/iWorld was scheduled to be held from March 12 to March 14, 2015,[46] but was cancelled by IDG. Any further Apple keynotes would now be hosted under the name Apple Event.
During the Expo's first two decades, it became legendary for the parties that coincided with it, frequently with open bars, lavishhors d'oeuvres, and requisiteT-shirts and other premium favors. Apple's developer parties featured high-profile entertainers likeJames Brown andSmash Mouth.
Several years after the start of the Expo,MacWEEK had launched its weekly trade magazine and simultaneously initiated an exclusive party known asMac the Knife, named for its anonymous columnist that wrote the back page industry gossip and rumor section; afterMacWEEK's demise, the party was thrown byIlene Hoffman, untilMac Publishing, owners of the Mac the Knife trademark, forbade her from using the name. The party continued, with appearances by theMacworld All-Star Band, under a series of names that referenced the Knife.
Robert Hess ofMacWEEK 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 shrank 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.
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