MacWorld 2004

It's the 20th Anniversary of the Macintosh and the infamous 1984 Apple Computer SuperBowl spot directed by Ridley Scott. Tomorrow Steve Jobs takes the stage at Moscone Center and addresses the faithful who have made the pilgrimage
to Macintosh Mecca. This is only the second time in 18 years I will miss the show and Jobs' classic keynote. I hope the local Apple store in Fashion Island will serve up his show via satellite.

The Mac rumor sites are crammed with speculation. Even The Wall Street Journal chimed in with analysts predictions. Over the years Apple has had operated under heavy pressure to deliver something outrageously great, new and innovative at the annual event. This pressure can cause unrealistic expectations. Failure to meet expectations can send mixed messages to media, Wall Street and its customers.

Fortunately, Jobs has slowly been weaning Apple watchers off of annual product announcements. The latest edition of the iPod was announced in May along with the iTunes Music Store. New PowerBooks, 20″ iMacs and iTunes for Windows were all announced this year at independent events.

But the pressure is still on. And I will report here from The Digital Tavern live from the Apple Store. So tune in and refresh your page often as I will be updating the same post every 5 minutes or so.