Okay. So, as far as I can see, the news that SKYRIM has no attributes hasn't been confirmed in any way, and in fact is based solely on stat screens we have seen, showing the new user Inferface system. (Please correct me if I'm wrong on that.)
Now, I want you to think of the different possibilities to that:

1. They could still be developing the User Interface, and havent added Attributes to the menu yet.
2. It could be in a different part of the menu than skills.
3. It could be incorporated in that menu, we just didn't see it from that perticular screenshot (sort of how we didn't see all the skills in that screen either)

Okay, so those are three equally plausible possibilities, however they are only possibilities, and thus cannot be thought to show that ATTRIBUTES are in the game.
But, thinking logicially we can see:

1. Skyrim is a rpg. What's the last rpg you played that has no attribute system? Mass Effect dosen't count.
2. It's a BETHESDA game. They base your character, leveling, development, abilities etc so very much on your attributes that it seems unlikely for the system to be gone? What else would they do to determine how fast you run, how much damage you take from falling, your encumberance, weight, etc?
(2A). People have speculated that the atribute system will be replaced with a leveling system of choosing, upon level up, to buff your magic, health, or fatigue. While this might be a confirmed game mechanic, it most certainly dosen't show that attributes are gone. Magica, fatigue and health determining attributes are most probably incorporated differently this time around, such as Intelligence determining how well you can cast spells, your magica increase (If chosen) upon level up, etc.
3. How would elder scrolls work without attributes? Would your speed be determined by your race, and remain fixed for the entire game? Would your sneak skill be based on the level of your sneak skill only, or would it be accompanied by your agility?
4. What reason would they have to remove it? It's a system that works, whether it be Elder Scrolls, or even fallout (With S.P.E.C.I.A.L.)

Here's what I think. They are doing big things to attributes, really changing the impact they have on character. They will have real uses and concequences, some might even be removed. (Like Speed) But they most likely are being drasticially altered, and in fact might not be completely ready for a demonstration to the public.

We all hope attributes are back. But all we can do is wait...

well old attribute system is dead for sure.

sooooo

if they ARE going to add attributes then they will be like the ones in fallout 3 OR they will be less (like 3 or 4)

one of the most unbalancing and annoying things in OB and ME was the lame attribute system

Oh before I forget DEATH TO ATTRIBUTES

I think they are definitely hidden if not gone completely. I say hidden only because they still need a way to differentiate between races, especially as far as speed is concerned. Regardless, leveling up was well covered in GI and they said nothing about improving anything other than skills and your new base attributes of Health, Stamina and Magicka. Also the menu system was well covered as well and no attributes there either. Think you are going to have to deal with it like the rest of us.

I gotta agree with you on that, The Elder Scrolls series attribute systems are really flawed and not interesting at all, they have almost no impact in character development. Sometimes I look at those numbers and think that they are there just for the sakes of having some extra RPG feature.

They need to be reworked from scratch.

Hidden?
THat seems like an odd path to take. Very interesting. But why? Why would they hide it when they can just show you?
Still, a possibility.....

i agree with you. if speed/strength whatever is based on race..its just lame.. attributes are so important to define a character that i cant imagine theyve removed it. how much you can carry, how easy you fall down in combat, how fast you are, your luck(?), your willpower...it HAS TO BE IN!

Yea! All for the attributes. LONG LIVE COMPLICATED CHARACTER STATISTICS!!!
Seriously though, it really helps customise the way you play. I can't imagine how it would work without it.

I don't think that's a very good argument. Really, what you're saying is "I can't think of a way to achieve certain things without attributes. Therefore, they are in."

You don't think Bethesda could have come up with some different system to calculate things like encumbrance, magicka resistance, walking speed, default NPC disposition, etc.? Lots of people have offered all sorts of suggestions in many different threads.

Hidden because a.) they will not ever change and b.) it is merely a way to differentiate the races and doesn't require player involvement. For example, Kahjit can jump higher than an Ork. There would need to be some underlying stat to govern that, but it wouldn't necessarily need to be seen.

It's useless to have complicated character statistics if they don't work properly. Attributes needs to play a huge role this time, assuming they are in. In Oblivion they were incredibly dull!

You never know. It's possible that your "skills" page on the menu displays your attributes and other status effects, and then you get to the image we see on Game Informer by hitting a second button to reach the skills foldout.

Great point, there has to be a way to differentiate the races instead of looks. By the way it has been confirmed in GI that race are significantly different from one another and Skyrim will implement that in the gameplay. The way to do that is through attributes, some skill advantages/disadvantages, and strengths and weaknesses.

why would there be attributes in a first person shooter?

Attributes were almost simbolic in Oblivion, removing them entirelly seems like the logic next step. In morrowind weapons skills wherent used for damage, but changing this in Oblivion was what defeated the purpose of strength (except for carring things, something that could be a constant or something related to a perk) and agility. I suppose they decided to not give more inportance to other atribures and voila!! the atribute system was screwed.

im hoping they have big effects

Whether they are in or out, you know what I'm going to love about Skyrim? Not worrying about that [censored] +5.

Based on race? I dont know...there'll always be that one smart Orc and that dumb as rocks Elf. When generalized ofcorse some races would be better at one thing when compaired to another, but there will always be that one that doesn't fit the mold.

Although, I'd like to see atributes take up you get better as you use them. Not sure how that'd work with luck, but if gambling was thrown into the game we could at least work on using what hand we're given. I'd also like to see if you don't use it, you lose it. Though, I highly dought many people if anyone would be with me on the fact that if you choose 10 int and then do nothing but hack and slash your way through life that int would go down.

Differences within races could be handled by skills: the smart Orc is the one with higher magic skills, or higher speechcraft, for example. And that doesn't seem like such a bad way to go, because the role of intelligence in previous games was mainly how it governed magic.

As for your other idea: yes, this is pretty much the GCD system. It's pretty popular.

Yeah, but we are all Dragonbourne, so there is cause to assume a better than average representative of said species.

I'm thinking of it, and i think some attributes SHOULD be hidden, such as luck, agility, or SPEED.
Those should be race differences.
But the others? Intelligence? Strength? Endurance? Those need to be a part of character development, decided on by the character.

I fear the word attribute will soon mean nothing other than your health, magicka, and stamina bars. So sad...

Dragonborns are titles given to certain individuals, not races or anything in between.

Why is that? Because of the role they played in calculating magicka, hit points, stamina, encumbrance, melee weapon damage? Those could be calculated in some other way, from skills, perks, and magicka/health/stamina...

Not nessessarily. Being the Dragonborn doesn't add a sticker with fine print saying that you'r smart by default. The chosen one could be dumb as rocks, slow, not the best people person...they could be anyone. They could stumble from place to place, not meaning to do the things they do to save the world. The bottom of the barrel is usually where you find that dimond in the rough. Or should I say, that last fry at the bottom of the bag may not be any different than the others, but for some reason it tastes a lot better.

As for what srk said, I guess you got a point. Skills would pretty much handle that. Hmm...well, I can't really think of a reason to keep them in then. It would be a good way to make each race feel like its own.