Macworld without Apple: The show will go on

When Apple announced last year that the 2009 Macworld conference would be its last, there were some rumblings as to whether the show could continue without Apple’s presence--and the big keynote speech that the company offered every year.

No one ever said the show would die--but you kind of have to wonder how long it can make it without the draw of Apple. Still, it appears that the show will go on. IDG World Expo, which runs the show, sent out a news release this morning to announce two full days of technical conference content related to the new Snow Leopard operating system. In the release, Paul Kent, Macworld general manager and vice president at IDG World Expo, said:

When Apple releases a new OS, Macworld is the first and best place to learn how to use and maximize its capabilities. Macworld provides the community with the education, hands-on training and support needed to get more than they ever thought possible out of these new tools. The Macworld 2010 sessions on Snow Leopard and Final Cut Pro 7 are just the beginning of our cutting-edge conference agenda.

For years, the draw of the show has been the anticipation of new product announcements by Apple. But, as times have changed, Apple has had little trouble luring tech press to its product announcement events. In fact, just today, Apple confirmed that it will host an event on September 9--though I’m still waiting for my invitation to land in my inbox. (Hint, hint, Apple PR)

Last year, the company said that it would no longer participate in the show. The final keynote speech, which was really sort of ho-hum and didn’t have any major earth-shattering news, was delivered by Marketing VP Phil Schiller, who was filling in for an ailing Steve Jobs.

Macworld 2010 is scheduled for February 9 to 13 at San Francisco’s Moscone Center.

This article is first published as a blog post on ZDNet.