With the big MacWorld Expo coming tomorrow, I have to say I've been really disappointed in Apple's behavior leading up to it. They've been doing things that have me scratching my head and wondering what they're thinking.
First, they've filed a lawsuit against the website Think Secret for publishing rumors about upcoming product(s). The Macintosh news and rumor sites are one of Apple's greatest assets when it comes to pre-expo hype. They do more to get people excited about potential new products than Apple ever has, do they really want to shut this down? File a few more lawsuits like this and the rumor sites will start disappearing, then who will get the hype machine running? Apple? Doubt it.
Next, not only are they not broadcasting Steve's keynote via webcast or satellite, they're barring any of the media from reporting on the keynote while it's happening. So Apple/Mac fans will not even be able to get text updates from any of the aforementioned Mac news sites. I guess, because we're unable (for whatever reason) to actually attend the expo, we're to be left in the dark until later that day. They've worked on killing hype leading up to the expo, now they're busy killing the hype during the expo. I guess the message is "Stop getting excited about our products."
Additionally, there was an incident outside the building where the expo is being held earlier today. Some contractors apparently inadvertently hung some banners near the entrance a little early, banners which featured one of the new, secret products. They were taken back down almost immediately, but not fast enough that some passers by outside the expo hall could snap a couple pictures. Apple elegantly sent out their gestapo and bullied them into erasing the photos from their cameras/phones. Great PR there guys.
This leads me to think this expo holds one of two scenarios. The first is that they've got a really huge, groundbreaking announcement/announcements and they don't want it/them blown. The second is that they've got absolutely nothing worthwhile for this expo, they know it, and they want to hide that fact to avoid killing the hype.
I guess we'll know what's up sometime tomorrow, and I hope they come through. If it ends up being more of the second option and less of the first, then this will probably be the last time I bother with any pre-expo hype. I've grown kinda tired of the secretive cycle of expo-based product launches, just give us a road map and product life cycle so we can make informed purchases.