Macworld Expo organizers have moved the 2010 conference and trade show back one month, into a more sensible February. It’s a welcome change for those of us who’ve been attending to learn, shop and network at the old early-January show dates.

The fate of the Feb. 9-13 conference, which Apple abandoned after this year, is not certain even though IDG World Expo has already said the event will happen no matter how much participation they get. The Expo organizers report that 90 exhibitors signed letters of intent to buy show floor space already. The cost per square foot has dropped, too. Best of all, free passes to explore the expo floor are available now.

As for attendees, the marketing has already begun many months earlier to get us to show up in those expo aisles. The word “conference” has been added to the event’s name, but every class and seminar is now packed into Moscone West; they once spread over two halls. But there’s decent learning on the expo floor, too. It’s worthwhile to make a trip to Macworld at least once if your business is built upon Macs and Apple products. It remains to be seen how much iPod commerce will fill the show aisles, rather than the higher-grade exhibition of business solutions in software and hardware. Read the rest of this entry »