Why investors are better off without Macworld

[Originally posted Dec. 18, 2008 on Fortune.com]

Apple (AAPL) may have dropped nearly 7% on the news that Steve Jobs is blowing off Macworld, but according to Bullish Cross' Andy Zaky, investors should be happy he did.

In an unpublished analysis of the company's last four major press events -- starting with Macworld 2008 and ending with October's Spotlight on Notebooks -- Zaky documents a pattern that's become increasingly self-destructive.

Behind Steve Jobs' Macworld exit

[Originally posted Dec. 17, 2008 on Fortune.com]

Truth is, nobody outside Steve Jobs' inner circle knows why Apple's CEO won't be giving his annual Macworld keynote this year.

The news broke Tuesday afternoon, and by dawn Wednesday just about every reporter who follows the company had filed a story. Techmeme's news aggregator listed 104. Google News had 779.

I haven't read them all, but I've read enough to know that nobody has talked to Jobs or been given the inside dope.

On its face, Apple's press release makes a plausible case for why Macworld 2009 will be its last. Apple (AAPL) has cheaper and more effective venues for reaching its audience -- on its own terms and its own schedule.

Video: Bart Simpson channels Steve Jobs

[Originally posted Dec. 1, 2008 on Fortune.com]

Get it while it's still available on YouTube: The Simpsons' clever send-up of "Mapple," "MyPods," "MyPhones" and "Steve Mobs," whose real slogan, Lisa Simpson learns, is not "think differently" but "no refunds."

Our favorite scene: When the black-shirted staff at the Mapple Store turns on Bart and prepares to flay him with their ear buds.

Below the fold: three clips from the Apple (AAPL) spoof.