GigaOM

A very gaunt looking Steve Jobs, in his classic Levi’s-black turtle neck outfit walks on to the stage, with a purpose and a tentative smile. The hair is a little more gray, but it is still the same old Steve. A master salesman selling to the faithful. I shudder when he could do had he focused on religion instead of computers. He works the room with ease of a comedian on a good night.

There is no one in Silicon Valley who can match the intimacy Jobs has with the products he demos. He knows the intimate details, that little trick which is going to catch the fancy of the audience, prompting them to break into an involuntary applause. He cares… enough to make you buy his products. It is a masterful performance. Balanced, scripted perhaps, but nevertheless enjoyable.

Macworld, is more about Steve Jobs’ experience that the new products. We have known for weeks that the iWork is coming, a Mac Mini is around the corner. Or an iPod Shuffle! Let the others go nuts trying to post his every uttering - I was watching a performance, the best one act show this side of Broadway, you can watch.

On stage, Jobs displays emotions with the veracity of a Hollywood thespian. The smirk he reserves for iPod pretenders, the innocence of a man who finds out that the Apple stock is trading down a bit. Some machismo when he says - well there is more to come in the keynote. Perhaps that will lift the Apple stock. Like a young Bobby DeNiro, he mocks the desktop search by Google and Microsoft.

It is a Clint Eastwood moment when he points out that in one year they have doubled Apple’s share of the digital music player market. Take that punk! And he switches gears, and shows an emotional sensitive side ala Nic Cage, and thanks the Apple engineers, and loyalists. A big smile, a hesitant wave and then he is gone.