The fallout from Steve Jobs' no-show for Macworld 2009, and Apple's pull-out from all future Macworlds continues.

• First up, Arik Hesseldahl of BusinessWeek asks if Apple is ditching Macworld for CES. While many saner minds drafted up lengthy retorts, Daring Fireball nailed the one-punch-kill: "No."
• Daring Fireball also gives it's own perspective, that he not busy being born is busy dying: "Traditions are comforting. But comfort, I think, tends not to breed innovation. It can be hard to tell whether you’re staying the course because it’s the right direction, or because you’ve dug yourself into a deep rut."
• John Siracusa of Ars Technica suggests Apple's exit from Macworld is part of their "fearless" DNA: "Though painful and jarring in the short term, these kinds of moves are a big part of what makes Apple great. While other companies are paralyzed with indecision, or cling relentlessly to what has worked in the past, or are seduced by sentimentality, Apple is busy murdering its darlings. Though such dramatic moves often appear foolhardy to its more cautious competitors, Apple usually has the last laugh, working through the initial pain to find itself in a much better position down the road—a winning position."

• Andy Ihnatko, in the Chicago Sun-Times, thinks Apple may not have has anything with the iPhone or even MacBook Air Boom! factor ready: "The only products left were the Fredo Corleones of the family: the AppleTV and Mac Mini, which just sort of sit there on Apple's online store, unpromoted and unmourned."
• Daniel Eran Dilger of RoughlyDrafted thinks bigger picture, that tech trade shows are dead: "The problem for Apple is that the company doesn’t need to coordinate with IDG’s Macworld Expo in order to deliver [a Steve Jobs keynote.]"
• TidBITS' Tonya Engst focuses less on what's good for Apple, and more on what's good for the family, with a letter from mom: "Functional families have reunions and everyone comes if they possibly can. Your deciding not to come isn't okay, and you should reconsider. Aunt Lesa is in tears, Cousin Andy thinks that if you're not coming maybe he won't come either, and some of the more distant relatives are so fed up with your acting like a drama queen that they seem unlikely to support you the next time you hit hard times."
• In SFGate, David Bunnell, founder of the first Macworld, reminds us Steve Jobs wasn't there then either: "Later on, Sculley confided to me and to my partner, Bart Rhoades, that the first Macworld Expo had saved Apple. He complained that Jobs and his team were so burned out from getting the Mac out the door that they had accomplished virtually nothing since."
• Finally TUAW reports on Lesa Snider King's mad-at-Apple campaign: "If you're attending the Macworld Expo keynote on Tuesday, Jan. 6, you can send a message to Apple by remaining silent during the 2009 keynote. While Phil Schiller is on the stage, let there be no applause, no whistling... just utter and complete silence." Gruber one-punch-kills that one as well, via the Twitter.

So, are you mad at Apple and Steve Jobs? Do you understand where they're coming from? Do you understand and still glare in their general direction with a living hate?

The news is still fresh (and painful): No Steve-Note at this year's Macworld Expo an no Apple from next year on. Reaction over the intertubes has been fast and in some cases furious. Here's a quick sampling:

• Paul Kent of Macworld Expo responded with a non-response, which is probably all he really could do: "We look forward to many successful years of Macworld to come."
• Jason Snell of Macworld Magazine (same parent, different company) thinks it might be better for the show: "And yet every year, those same companies schlep out to San Francisco to announce their next big products—and find their announcements completely washed away by whatever Steve Jobs announced on Tuesday morning. Completely washed away."
• Jim Goldman of CNBC says the reasons are purely political, not health related: "Apple has been trying to separate itself from Macworld for some time, preferring instead to host its own "special events" a few times a year." (er... um, that sounds more strategic than political, but who are we to analyze people's headlines?)
• Jesus Diaz at Gizmodo says Apple has always wanted out of Macworld, but thinks no Steve-note is just one more step on Jobs' road to retirement: "The simplest explanation, following previous events, is that canceling MacWorld and having Phil Schiller to present it is just another part of His Plan. This doesn't mean that he is leaving the company tomorrow, however. it is just one more step towards that goal, as I explained back in October."

Read on for more, after the break!

• Harry McCracken of Technologizer points out that we now get the battle of the second stringers: Ballmer instead of Gates at CES vs. Schiller instead of Jobs at Apple.
• BusinessWeek’s Peter Burrows cries health and asks: "Here we have a company with $27 billion in the bank, that gets massive, global exposure from a talk that rarely lasts two hours. If Apple can’t see the ROI in Macworld, what company can justify the tradeshow bill?"
• Macalope drives mythical horns into his carcass and points out the stupid is beginning with: "Apple gets “massive, global exposure” when it sneezes. They’re the perfect example of a company that doesn’t need a trade show. Why go to all this trouble when all people have to do to learn more about your products is wander into one of your stores or open up a newspaper?"
• Owen Thomas at ValleyWag speculates that Jobs' ultimate control freakishness is out of control, and was brought to a head by BusinessWeek's speculation: "Amidst that kind of worry, why would Jobs take the stage again? He'd have the fit of his jeans and the flushness of his cheeks debated on blogs in the kind of minute detail that used to be reserved for a new Apple laptop. Showing up in the wrong condition might be as bad for Apple as not showing up at all."
• John Gruber at Daring Fireball brings back a post from the archives after Apple cancelled its participation in Macworld Boston/New York: "So, to sum it up, the twice-yearly Expos (1) cost Apple millions of dollars; (2) put a lot of pressure on the company to make major product announcements on the Expos’ schedule, not when the products are actually ready; (3) are not under Apple’s direct control."
• Our own editor-in-chief, Dieter Bohn, worries that it will hurt the Mac community. The lack of Apple's participation could end the show, which would end an important venue for face-to-face time for new developers, smaller vendors, and the new generation of starry-eyed Apple fans just getting into the ecosystem.
• TiPb couldn't help but notice Jobs and Apple bailed right after the DevTeam announced they'd soft-unlocked the iPhone 3G. Coincidence? Or "Apple announces that if you're not going to play nice with their iPhone Platform, they're going to take their conference and go home"
• Lastly, some dark humor, pointing out Apple's next big move: Canceling Christmas.

And lo, Steve Jobs opened the 7th seal, and there was silence at Macworld.

Apple just made it official folks, Phil Schiller will be presenting the Keynote, and after that, Apple will no longer be attending Macworld, leaving WWDC as possibly the only show big left for Apple and Steve Jobs.

Is this the end of an era, or the beginning of something new? Does no Steve-note mean no Macworld for anyone? What will this do to expectations? And will it make Apple's "special events" even more special?

In 2007 Steve Jobs strode up onto the Macworld stage, rehashed the Apple TV for a bit, then dropped the shot heard around the consumer electronic universe: iPhone.

In 2008, it was Time Capsule, an iPhone OS update, Apple TV Take 2, and the MacBook Air.

And in 2009?

Er... um... we're not even sure he's going to be there, according to Businessweek (via MacRumors):

Update: 2:30 PM EST: Now Paul Kent is clarifying his statement. Here it is verbatim: “We haven’t made an announcement yet. We hope to in the next two weeks.” Rather than clearing the picture up, it just got muddy again.

Previous years, there's been an announcement roughly a month before hand. We've blown that soft deadline this time around.

One concern is that Apple may have no big announcements to make. Mac Pro, MacBook Pro 17", Mac Mini, and Apple TV are all due refreshes, maybe even iMacs, but none of those are iPhone or MacBook Air type sexay. Apple could drop an iPhone Nano or an iTablet, but those are seen as longshots.

Mac OS X Snow Leopard is almost a certainty, but while it includes Grand Central and Open CL, for consumers, it's "no new features".

But is Jobs giving a less than 'verse denting keynote worse than him not showing up at all, generating more panic about his health and Apple's confidence in the market, especially with Adobe already having pulled out of their booth?

What do you think? Is there a Macworld without a Steve Jobs Keynote? And if so, who gives it in his place, and what do they announce? Phil Schiller on iPhone 2.3 might not be enough...