Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, will deliver the opening keynote for this year’s Macworld Conference & Expo. And Apple's last such keynote.

I feel sorry for Schiller. From the chances I've had to talk with him, he's knowledgeable, charming and knows Apple inside and out. He'll do a good job with the keynote, but he's facing an uphill battle.


If everyone had known for weeks that Schiller, not Steve Jobs, would be doing the keynote, the pressure would be off (well, at least not as great). But Apple's dropping this bombshell at the (relative) last minute is putting the VP at a disadvantage. Everyone was already hoping for Jobs and his famous "one more thing" gig.

Of course, that doesn't mean that Schiller won't be unveiling some nifty new products, or at least upgrades. And who says he can't also do the "one more thing" routine? But I wouldn't want to be in his shoes.

Also, let the new guesses and rumors about Jobs' ill health commence.

I hope Jobs is fine. I hope Schiller does a bang-up job at the Macworld keynote. 

But I'm bummed, there's no way around it.