I definitely think Steve is looking for a smooth exit strategy, which is why he’s handing the Keynote of the last Macworld to Schiller. It’s not that he’s sick; he’s ready to retire now, I think. And he gave us his reason two years ago at Macworld, when he introduced the iPhone.

He said a person would be extremely lucky to have been a part of one major product release that changed the world. He had been there for two already: the Mac and the iPod/iTunes. The iPhone, as he predicted, was the third. What more could a guy expect from his career?

So what will Apple do next? Well, eventually, they might change the game entirely with some new awesome product yet again, but not in the next year, two years, or even five years. Everything Apple does in that timeframe will simply be some derivative of the iPhone. Touch technology, the portability of OS X into other devices, the movement toward mobility and entertainment. We’re still in the early stages of this era, but the course has been pretty much set. The next REVOLUTION is years away, and Jobs isn’t going to wait around for that. Would you? How many billionaires do you know who work 80-hour weeks? Sure, he loves his company, but at some point you have to accept that you won the game ten times over, and it’s time to appreciate the finer things in life. Like your wife and kids. You also have to step aside and let some of the amazing management team at Apple have their day, or you will start to lose them, as Apple already has.

I’m sad about Macworld’s demise, because I liked the social aspects of it. Gathering in a giant room with thousands of like-minded geeks was a real treat. Last year, I sat through the conference sessions as well, and found many of them valuable. And I did manage to find a lot of really cool products over the years in the expo hall. But my guess is that the Mac community will find other ways to gather. Small companies will find other ways to get the word out on their products. The Cult of Apple will remain intact.

I’m just glad I was physically present at the last official Steve Jobs Macworld Keynote last year. Makes having waited in line from 3 a.m. even more worth it.