I have no question that such efforts will be diminished from here on out in the wake of . And what's ironic about that is that I have, for years, told vendors who ask not to make their announcement on that Tuesday, for fear of having their news drowned out by everyone else's. In fact, I think in some ways that a Macworld Expo without Apple will give vendors a better opportunity to get exposure for their products. Even if it means fewer "mainstream" news outlets will be paying attention--because those news outlets only ever paid attention to Apple, not to any of the other vendors exhibiting at Macworld Expo.

Apple certainly has a point when , and if you've paid attention to Steve Jobs' keynote addresses over the years, Apple's decision probably didn't come as a huge shock. He's mentioned repeatedly how many multiples of Macworld Expo attendees the Apple retail stores welcome.

But it's a world of difference to give mall shoppers a cursory, superficial introduction to the Macintosh platform, the iPhone and the iPod, and showing them a handful of accessories and software applications, compared to the Macworld Expo experience. To that end, Macworld Expo won't be easily replaced or duplicated by a trip to the Apple Store, no matter what Apple says.

At the risk of sounding selfish, I have to admit that I was a bit relieved when Apple on Tuesday announced that it was pulling up stakes at Macworld Expo. The show has taken years off of my life--Macworld Expo is not an easy event for a Mac news person to cover. It's a lot of long hours compressed into a very short week. My wife, who stays home with our kids, has lamented for years about the poor physical condition I return in after the show--I usually need to stay in bed for a day or two in order to recover.

Physical and mental exhaustion aside, though, Macworld Expo has always been a great place for me to renew old friendships, make new ones, and reenergize myself as a member of the Apple community. To that end, I hope Macworld Expo doesn't change. Because for me and thousands of other people who make the trek to San Francisco every year, that's what the Expo is all about.