According to the media pundits, Tuesday’s MacWorld keynote address by Apple CEO Steve Jobs would have few significant announcements. (Some people like me, held high hopes that Jobs would finally announce a new cell phone/PDA.) Jobs is the type of speaker that even just saying "Hello" brings excitement to anyone within earshot of his words. There is always anticipation before he speaks.

Then there is the other side of Jobs that's a bit like Tony Soprano. He never forgets or forgives anyone for taking a bite out of Apple without retribution. You might not know when payback is coming, but you can be sure it will come.

I have been waiting for his response to the comments made by some Microsoft executives at Macworld New York 2002. In my July 19th 2002 column, I wrote about the folks at Microsoft who were not ecstatic about sales of their OS X release of Office. Microsoft felt that Apple was not supportive enough. Specifically, Microsoft was disappointed with Microsoft Office sales for OS X Jaguar and that while Microsoft was committed to an Office 2003 version of Office, there could be no telling what the future of the relationship would be past 2003.

Now at Macworld 2003, Jobs has chosen, like Luke Skywalker, to once again take up battle against Darth Vader, (Bill Gates) Dark Lord of the Sith, the scourge of the Jedi, a master of the darkside of the Force, and one of the Emperor's most trusted servants, to respond to the events of last July.

During Tuesday’s Keynote address Jobs announced Apple’s new Internet browser Safari, calling it a "turbo browser for Mac OS X." Here is what Apple says about the new browser. "Safari zips right by Microsoft’s Internet Explorer for the Macintosh. You’ll notice that right away when you launch the program — Safari is 40% quicker. And you’ll really appreciate that when it comes to downloading pages, since Safari loads them three times faster than Internet Explorer 5.2.2. Safari is no laggard when it comes to JavaScript either — it’s more than twice as fast as Internet Explorer."

Besides speed, Jobs said Apple wanted to create their own Web browser because they wanted to innovate.

There is only one reason for Apple to introduce this Mac only browser: To show Microsoft that when it comes to the Mac, no one has more muscle than Apple, not even Microsoft. Jobs even made sure that search engine giant Google was integrated into the Safari browser. The audience was loud and euphoric every time Jobs introduced anything that would provide Macintosh users an alternative to using a Microsoft product.

Then there was the introduction of Keynote, a new Mac only presentation program that Jobs described as a "presentation application for when your presentation really counts." Without saying a word about Microsoft, Jobs was doing another in your face at Microsoft and of course at their PowerPoint software. Jobs continued, "Once you use this, you'll never go back.” The introduction of Keynote was met with very positive ooohs and ahhhs until Jobs launched into his comments on software compatibility. The moment he mentioned that PowerPoint files are compatible with Keynote, the audience burst into such a loud round of applause that an Earthquake shook the ground in and around the city of Hollister, some sixty miles south of the MacWorld event.

Combine the announcement of today’s new products with previously announced iCalender, address book, email program and in a very short period of time Apple has delivered some very competitive products that will meet the needs of most Mac loyalists. No, these products do not give Microsoft and their Office for the Mac a run for the money in the business world, but that was never Jobs' point.

Jobs' point is to show Microsoft that Apple will survive, if need be, without Microsoft. The strong showing of the Mac faithful at this years show demonstrates that Apple is much healthier overall and that some of the financial analysts who have marked Apple shares a “sell” right now, do not understand the allure Apple Computer has with its customers.

Never Underestimate the Power of the Force

Here is just a small example of what happens when Apple decides to flex their muscle. After Jobs sounded his horn summoning the Macintosh faithful to embrace Safari, they acted swiftly. Within twenty-four hours of the Safari announcement, a new single day download record for Apple was set. Safari was downloaded 300,000 times. In addition, twenty percent of all Mac downloads from Apple.com that followed his keynote came from a Safari browser. Pretty damn impressive from a company Merrill Lynch analysts think should be on their sell list.

I must admit that after using Safari myself I fell under its magical spell. While the browser is wickedly fast the most impressive feature was purchasing my airline tickets at Orbitz.com and no longer being attacked by those horribly annoying pop up windows. One of my favorite sites used to be CBS Marketwatch. I stopped going to the site because I would be constantly mugged by annoying advertising campaigns and aggressive pop-up windows. But alas, with Safari I am back in control, and life is as it should be.

As always Apple designs everything to please and the Safari compass icon is without a doubt Award Winning. With the Internet Explorer icon perched next to my Safari compass, one cannot help but notice the contrasting images of the two. Just looking at the Safari compass conjures images of slipping behind the wheel of a brand new Silver Porsche Carrera, racing out onto the highway with the stereo cranked up high as Kid Rock is belting out Bawitdaba. The Internet Explorer icon brings all the excitement and inspiration of slipping behind the wheel of a 1998 Dodge Caravan minivan with it’s radio cranking out, All Out of Love by Air Supply. Good Bye Internet Explorer Hello Safari.

While most trade shows were down last year, the Apple mystique breaks the trend. MacWorld San Francisco 2003 will bring in close to 90,000 screaming devotees, very close to last year’s numbers. What’s most impressive about these numbers are that they are huge considering Apple’s market share is only around 5%. Never under estimate Jobs and his loyal and very happy band of Jedi Warriors.

Apple under the masterful leadership of Jobs has sent a clear message to Microsoft. You may be the 9,000-pound Gorilla but we are the little engine that could. Like Luke Skywalker versus Darth Vader, the battle for the Galaxy is back on and that is good news for everyone.