There Will Be a Steve at Macworld, After All

Yes, there will be a Steve at Macworld, just not the one people wanted and expected. While Apple announced in mid-December that this would be its last Macworld, and that Steve Jobs would not attend, on Wednesday Axiotron announced that the "other Steve," Wozniak, will "participate in the unveiling of Axiotron’s latest products and technologies" at Macworld.

Axiotron's press release said:

Mr. Wozniak will present his vision of how Axiotron’s approach may represent a bridge between past breakthroughs and future innovations.

“I look forward to Steve’s participation at Macworld,” said Mr. Haas. “His excitement about our Modbook has been both gratifying and inspiring. As fellow Newton MessagePad enthusiasts, Steve and I share the desire to bring back some of those powerful pen tablet features that have been dormant for so long, and I am delighted to present some of what we have been working on.”

Mr. Wozniak, a recipient of the National Medal of Technology, developed the much-admired Apple I and Apple II personal computers that propelled Apple Computer (now Apple Inc.) to a position of leadership in technology innovation and helped to launch an entire industry.

You'll recall that Axiotron shipped its ModBook tablet PC version of the MacBook, an aftermarket modification to a standard MacBook in January.

Axiotron integrates its own hardware and software with a state-of-the-art Wacom Penabled digitizer and an Apple MacBook computer. Buyers can either submit their own MacBook for "Modservice," or buy a complete solution built with a new MacBook.

Steve Wozniak is an active member of Axiotron's board of advisors.