Say it ain't so, Steve!

That take-off on the old refrain dating to the Shoeless Joe Jackson and the Black Sox scandal was my first thought when reading today's business news (e.g. "Apple says 2009 Macworld Expo will be its last; Steve Jobs won't give keynote next month; stock falls after announcement").

It was only two years ago this coming January when the entire CES show in Las Vegas was thought to be down due to attention and attendees drawn off by San Francisco's concurrent MacWorld and Apple's initial iPhone announcement. But for those visiting crowded Apple stores recently, the idea that the company has other newer ways of reaching customers holds water. But the MacWorld show, and the keynote especially, is stuff of legends. I'll never forget, for example, being on the floor in the HP (NYSE HPQ) booth as the first Macintosh-compatible LaserJet printers were on display.

Best-headline award, so far anyway, goes to John Paczkowski at All Things D's Digital Daily, "Macworld Without Steve? That's Like 'Baywatch' Without Hasselhoff".

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