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Re: OT: WWDC
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Re: OT: WWDC


  • Subject: Re: OT: WWDC
  • From: publiclook <email@hidden>
  • Date: Sat, 17 May 2003 00:40:52 -0400

On Friday, May 16, 2003, at 05:52 PM, Douglas Davidson wrote:

On Friday, May 16, 2003, at 1:42 PM, Stiphane Sudre wrote:

The issue when you have attended one or more WWDCs is that some sessions are just repeating what had been said the previous year.

If an interested party may be permitted a comment (and a plug), I would like to say that one important function of WWDC is to disseminate information about new APIs, for which formal documentation may be somewhat scant. This year there is much that is new, e.g. sessions 404 et seq. In my own session, 421, I can say that although the title and description sound rather like last year's, the talk will be almost entirely new--both because I will be discussing new APIs, and because I will be covering different aspects of the Cocoa text system.

Apple puts us developers in an awkward dilemma. Apple does not provide information about technology directions or long term strategy and yet Apple plans to present new APIs at WWDC. How are we to know if any _new_ API's that we will care about will be presented before we decide to attend ? For all we can tell, this year's sessions are just a repeat of last year's except now you tell us yours isn't. Never-mind that the last five years have had mostly the same content and/or sessions for technology that was dropped before the next conference.

On the flip side, Apple's past statements of direction have been unbelievably deceptive and damaging to developers. Over four years: Cross platform yellow box will be free. It will still be free, It will cost a little money, we don't know of any business case for cross platform. I know developers who would rather not have been told Apple's direction. Those developers could have saved a lot of money chasing Apple and waiting for Apple to screw them. It is better that Apple doesn't tell us, but then why attend the conference ?

If there is some new Apple technology that you would like to learn about, or even one that is simply new to you, then WWDC is an opportunity to hear it explicated by its developers. Different people have different styles of learning, however, and it is always open to you to use written materials, the WWDC DVDs, mailing lists, etc. instead.

Well said.

Ultimately, if Apple wants us to use an API, Apple must document it. Many developers are uncomfortable using APIs that have no documentation except WWDC session notes.

I have attended several WWCDs and I don't regret it. If nothing else, trying a variety of restaurants in San Jose (now San Francisco) is fun. The evening events like the Cocoa/Openstep BOF are indeed fun but hard to justify as the reason for attending the conference.

Here is how I see it:
There are several common _business_ reasons to attend a conference:
a) Find out about products you may want to buy or offerings from competitors. (WWDC has a negligible vendor presence and Apple's product list is readily available)
b) Exchange really cutting edge information and/or present technical papers. (Apple has a monopoly on presentations at WWDC and they seldom say anything really cutting edge. Apple likes trade secrets and software patents.)
c) Get information before your competitors. (It is doubtful that WWDC will present anything that won't be in some other forum within a few weeks. How much lead do you need to justify the conference ?)
d) Get business information from the horses mouth instead of from reporters. (Frankly, the reporters are more reputable in this area. Apple routinely misleads its developers about business information.)
e) Make contacts and find a new job. (Some employers don't let their employees attend for that reason. The Apple Market is generally not hiring anyway.)
f) Get one on one time with experts. (There is no guarantee at WWDC and it is cheaper to buy technical incidents.)
g) Get training. (WWDC is not a training conference and I am sure a week at the Big Nerd Ranch would have better results.)
h) Allow yourself to be marketed to. (Apple will find a way to market to you through a venue that doesn't cost you money. It is in their interest.)
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  • Follow-Ups:
    • Re: OT: WWDC
      • From: Deirdre Saoirse Moen <email@hidden>
References: 
 >Re: OT: WWDC (From: Douglas Davidson <email@hidden>)

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