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Apple announced two big shockers about the upcoming Macworld Expo 2009 in January: It'll be Apple's last appearance at Macworld, and Steve Jobs won't deliver the keynote speech.

Let's get the Steve question out of the way fast. Why is he putting the speech reins into Phil Schiller's capable, if less-anticipated, hands? We don't know. Expect lots of speculation about the CEO's health, and maybe another big stock price dip – but the truth is, it could be anything from health to schedule commitments to a personal feud with Macworld organizers to a grooming session for rising leader Phil to simply a lack of big announcements this time around. Who knows. 

The real news here is the announcement of Apple's last Macworld appearance – and thus the likely end of the Macworld show and conference itself. Macworld's demise was actually predicted long ago, by pundits tolling Apple's doom during its "dark days" of a decade or so past. So has their foresight come to pass?

Far from it. The pundits said Apple would become too small to sustain Macworld. In reality, Apple has outgrown the event. Steve's Macworld keynotes grab headlines around the world, but it's not the venue that transfixes the world; rather, it's the new products and directions that Apple introduces in those keynotes. And Apple now has its own focused media events, its own worldwide chain of stores, and of course its own heavily-trafficked web site, as venues for announcements – all without the tremendous cost, hassle, and scheduling straitjackets that are killing the trade show worldwide as a means of promotion.

Losing Macworld won't hurt Apple. Losing Steve Jobs as the keynote speaker at Macworld 2009 – or any future event from which he's absent – may take a little shine off the marketing buzz. But that's going to happen eventually, whether next year or whether (we hope) many decades later. There's no sense in fretting over it.

Let's face it: If there's any company that doesn't need a trade show or a big-name speaker to get attention, it's Apple. An Apple announcement read by a randomly-chosen janitor will still generate more "wow" than, say, a Dell announcement delivered by Queen Elizabeth, Brangelina, and the clone of Gandhi. Folks, don't fear for Apple!