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Apple Cancels Apple Expo 2001
Ziploc writes: "Apple today announced the cancellation of Apple Expo 2001, which was scheduled to take place at Paris Expo, Porte de Versailles, from September 26th to 30th, 2001.
See the press release here."
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The expo starts on the 26th, 15 days after the attacks on the WTC. Apple has to move a lot of key personnel from Apple USA to Paris for the expo, personnel which are not always American citizens and some are quite likely "Arab looking".
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Am I the only one who thinks Microsoft is a misnomer? Perhaps Macrosoft would be a better fit?
On one hand, I sympathize with security concerns. This is a frightening time. On the other hand, is a congregation of nerds in Paris really much of a target? If the terrorists were going after intellectuals, they could have crashed into harvard or MIT (15 minutes into their flight from boston). If they want to damage the economy, damaging such a narrow (1 company+peripheral manufacturers) target wouldn't be nearly effective as hitting, for instance, the Stock exchange. It's like my school, where janitors were posted to make sure nobody bombed. Seems like a bit of paranoia to me, but on the other hand Apple didn't have much to say.
My Karma is so good, I'm the Dalai Lama...or something.
but as much as I'd like to see things continue like normal, it is probably wise to cancel events such as these for a short time. Air travel has suffered a horrific blow that has made many unsure of the safety of air travel. I hate to see the world shut down over this but some things should be put on hold for a little while.
Terrorists might view Apple as a target because of that.
The WTC didn't house many (if any) government offices, they were businesses.
Personally, I also think it's a little too reactionary; they should just beef up security and go on with the show.
There was a report on Marketplace on Friday about how many organizations within the US are cancelling their conventions because of the tragedy. The financial impact on the tourism industry of those cities is in the tens of millions of dollars. Think about it, if a convention has 30,000 people, and each person spends an average of $300 apiece on food, lodging, and such, then the loss of that one convention would mean the loss of $9 mil. in revenue.
As one of the Anonymous masses mentioned above, this is not merely an issue of fearing potential attack upon the expo itself. Each of these expos has 100+ exhibitors, all of whom need goods transported, on time, safely, and, worse, in this case, across international borders. This may be now, and for the next few weeks both more difficult, and probably more expensive.
Many companies nation, and even world-wide have issued directives stating that 'no one will be forced to fly'. Can you blame them for cancelling an event that may have been plagued by the resultant no-shows of the exhibitors? Business-wise it makes sense, and then, given that they are a prominent American corporation, the over-arching safety concern makes it a very sound decision indeed.