Just in from Apple: The computer company says this will be the last year it exhibits at Macworld Expo.

What’s Macworld without… Macs?

The explanation: It doesn’t need the show anymore. Says the press release:

Apple is reaching more people in more ways than ever before, so like many companies, trade shows have become a very minor part of how Apple reaches its customers. The increasing popularity of Apple’s Retail Stores, which more than 3.5 million people visit every week, and the Apple.com website enable Apple to directly reach more than a hundred million customers around the world in innovative new ways.

Does this mean the end of Macworld? If so, the last one starts January 5 in the usual spot, the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, is the 9 a.m. keynote speaker.

I guess it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. Apple says it’s been scaling back already and no longer does Macworld New York, Macworld Tokyo or the Apple Expo in Paris. More recently, as reported by AppleInsider, others are pulling out of the show too, including Adobe, Belkin and Seagate.

Update: People are broken up about this (thanks iGirl).

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