With the Macworld Conference and Expo 2010 scheduled to kick off at San Francisco’s Moscone Center on Tuesday, the event’s key component, Apple, will be missing this time round – for the first time in 25 years! Apple had announced in 2008 that it was pulling out of Macworld, citing increased retail presence, and saying that it did not need trade shows to connect with customers.

Apple’s absence will make the Macworld Conference essentially an Apple “fan fest” this year. It will not witness any Apple booth, and only third-party software and accessories will be showcased.

Since Apple CEO Steve Jobs will not mark his official ‘keynote’ presence at the show, Macworld 2010 will feature special appearances by filmmaker Kevin Smith; and Guy Kawasaki, who served as a Mac “evangelist” during the
1984-launch of the device.

While there will be no Apple product unveiling at the Macworld Conference this year, the show will still see as many as 250 vendors displaying Apple-linked products. In addition, some renowned Apple community members will deliver speeches and presentations.

Noting that nearly 30,000 Apple fans would likely attend the convention, Paul Kent, Macworld Expo 2010’s general manager of International Data Group, said: “The really important thing with Macworld is that it’s popular, and it’s one of the last bastions where just a regular old user can come, go shopping and go to conference sessions.”