WWDC Sold Out with Over 5,000 Attendees

[AppleInsider]

Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference, scheduled for June 9-11, has sold out for the first time ever. Attendance at the event has rapidly grown as interest in the Mac platform has snowballed in proportion to rapid new sales of Macs.

Build It and They Will Come

This year however, WWDC is expanding to address the new iPhone mobile WiFi platform, an new expansion Apple illustrated in WWDC marketing with a photoshopped doubling of San Francisco's landmark Golden Gate Bridge.

At last year's event, which focused on the then yet unreleased Mac OS X Leopard, Apple unveiled a preliminary web-based development program for the iPhone, which resulted in some howls of protest from developers who wanted to tap into the full features of the device rather than just offer server side custom web applications.

Since then, Apple released the iPod touch and then promised a full Software Development Kit for both devices based on the same Cocoa development tools as Mac OS X. Interest in developing applications for the iPhone and iPod touch kicked into overdrive in February as Apple outlined plans to securely host developer's signed applications in the iTunes Store and offer direct wireless downloads from the devices via a new App Store icon.

The prospect of a piracy and malware resistant development program has seen enthusiastic interest from everyone from games developers including EA and Sega to custom corporate Intranet development and major software vendors from Microsoft to IBM to Salesforce.com. Adobe and Sun have also been feverishly working out how to port their Flash and Java ME platforms to the iPhone, apparently without much help from Apple.



Bulging at the Seams

WWDC has grown dramatically in recent years, prompting Apple to move the event from the original underground Moscone Center into the modern new Moscone West building. Last year, Apple set a new record for WWDC attendance with 5,000 developers from around the world.

Apple hasn't said how many have registered for this event this year, but had to cap further ticket sales due to space limitations. On its developer web site, under the notice that WWDC 2008 has sold out, Apple says, "You can still get all the great content from WWDC 2008. Session videos will be available to purchase on iTunes shortly after the conference. More details will be available soon."

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[hmurchison]

Mac Power!!

[desarc]

this may not be landmark, but it's been FOUR YEARS since the cinema display design was released.

i put googly eyes on mine so i can look it in the eyes.
[the only way to know where you stand with someone is to look them in the eyes]
i put googly eyes on all of my keys on my keyboard, too.

[tdhockeyfan424]

i have a question.

what is the differance between macworld and wwdc

[SpamSandwich]

Heap strong medicine!

[hmurchison]

Originally Posted by tdhockeyfan424

i have a question.

what is the differance between macworld and wwdc

MacWorld= Consumer focus
WWDC= Developer focus.

MacWorld= Nerdy like
WWDC= Full Tilt Nerdom

MacWorld= Deep pockets
WWDC= Pocket Protectors

[webfrasse]

Originally Posted by tdhockeyfan424

i have a question.

what is the differance between macworld and wwdc

Consumer / Developer

/Mikael

[ascii]

Tickets aren't cheap either. With 5000+ attendees it must be a nice little earner.

[thomasvincent]

The original event was in San Jose at the San Jose Convention center for many years. Not the big Moscone Center which has no problem handling conventions up to or beyond 100K people like MacWorld.

Originally Posted by
WWDC has grown dramatically in recent years, prompting Apple to move the event from the original underground Moscone Center into the modern new Moscone West building. Last year, Apple set a new record for WWDC attendance with 5,000 developers from around the world.

Apple hasn't said how many have registered for this event this year, but had to cap further ticket sales due to space limitations. On its developer web site, under the notice that WWDC 2008 has sold out, Apple says, "You can still get all the great content from WWDC 2008. Session videos will be available to purchase on iTunes shortly after the conference. More details will be available soon."

[c

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ][/c]

[Feynman]

...is that they switched venues from the San Jose Convention Center to Moscone because Moscone was much larger and could accommodate more people. Now the Moscone Center is filling up...

Go Apple Go!

[SpamSandwich]

Originally Posted by Feynman

...is that they switched venues from the San Jose Convention Center to Moscone because Moscone was much larger and could accommodate more people. Now the Moscone Center is filling up...

Go Apple Go!

This should set the pulses of our famed analysts racing.

[calguy]

Originally Posted by hmurchison

MacWorld= Consumer focus
WWDC= Developer focus.

MacWorld= Nerdy like
WWDC= Full Tilt Nerdom

MacWorld= Deep pockets
WWDC= Pocket Protectors

perfection

[solipsism]

I wonder how much of this growth is from Mac growth and how much is from the iPhone. I know previously non-Mac owners and Mac user who only code from Windows that are now moving to OS X because of the iPhone SDK.

Originally Posted by hmurchison

MacWorld= Consumer focus
WWDC= Developer focus.

MacWorld= Nerdy like
WWDC= Full Tilt Nerdom

MacWorld= Deep pockets
WWDC= Pocket Protectors

[solipsism]

<deleted>

[NOFEER]

why why why....developers see a new platform that will be huge and a method to feed them that is unique and fruitfull they want to be part of this and not miss out....it's huge

[mdriftmeyer]

Originally Posted by hmurchison

MacWorld= Consumer focus
WWDC= Developer focus.

MacWorld= Nerdy like
WWDC= Full Tilt Nerdom

MacWorld= Deep pockets
WWDC= Pocket Protectors

WWDC has far deeper pockets, especially the after hours parties by VIP only. You get to get smashed with the elites in the Industry and discussions of tens to hundreds of millions of dollar contracts are discussed.

[Obi-Wan Kubrick]

New Cinema displays would be nice. An option for an isight in the display would make a lot of sense.

[melgross]

Originally Posted by hmurchison

MacWorld= Consumer focus
WWDC= Developer focus.

MacWorld= Nerdy like
WWDC= Full Tilt Nerdom

MacWorld= Deep pockets
WWDC= Pocket Protectors

Very good Murch!

[melgross]

Originally Posted by Obi-Wan Kubrick

New Cinema displays would be nice. An option for an isight in the display would make a lot of sense.

I was expecting to see new displays at NAB in April, but Apple was a no show, and so were the displays. I believe the last time they came out with new ones, they showed first at NAB.

[Bergermeister]

I hope they make a new display based on the MacBook Air design frame: ultra thin. Sony released a super thin TV in Japan (3mm) that is amazing to see (although it is a little short on real-estate).

Something 1cm thick would be awesome.... more so if it has an iSight built in (but the aiming of the iSight might be a pain on large monitors - return of the separate iSight?).

[melgross]

Originally Posted by Bergermeister

I hope they make a new display based on the MacBook Air design frame: ultra thin. Sony released a super thin TV in Japan (3mm) that is amazing to see (although it is a little short on real-estate).

Something 1cm thick would be awesome.... more so if it has an iSight built in (but the aiming of the iSight might be a pain on large monitors - return of the separate iSight?).

I really don't care if a display is all that thin or not. What advantages does it have?

Illumination evenness is more important.

[silentstorm]

Originally Posted by thomasvincent

Not the big Moscone Center which has no problem handling conventions up to or beyond 100K people like MacWorld.

MacWorld (which has ~50k attendees) doesn't have most to all 50k attendees going to sessions throughout the conference every single day. Most of them prolly only hang out in the exhibit halls for a few hours at most. However, WWDC does have a lot of attendees going to sessions every day for a week.

There is no sane way you could get 50k people into moscone west (macworld this year was moscone south and west). Last year was over 5000 at WWDC and I still thought it was crowded..lunch lines and the (really slow) wifi and some of the very popular sessions, not to mention the huge crowd at the bash thursday night..ughhhhhh!

[JLL]

Moscone West has been crowded in the last few WWDCs.

[Bergermeister]

Originally Posted by melgross

I really don't care if a display is all that thin or not. What advantages does it have?

Illumination evenness is more important.

Just is sexier.

Less volume. Less weight. Less obstruction.

[rhowarth]

Originally Posted by tdhockeyfan424

i have a question.

what is the differance between macworld and wwdc

MacWorld is like going to the shops, WWDC is like going to school. (Big lecture halls with developers watching technical presentations on how to use the latest APIs.)

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by Bergermeister

Just is sexier.

Less volume. Less weight. Less obstruction.

Right now, that means a trade-off for lower quality too. Those trade-offs are necessary for notebooks because of portability needs. The thin displays have uneven backlighting, display dithering and lower gamut. The weight and volume really don't seem to be bothersome, you're not going to get much tangible improvement. You're talking about something that's not going to be moved much, and a couple centimeters smaller bezel means little. If space actually means that much, you'd probably have a notebook computer anyway.

The display you mentioned isn't really ready for mass market, and it's hardly sexy when you consider the clunky base it's been saddled with. Even if it's an actual product available for purchase, it's more of a technology demo.

[Bergermeister]

No harm done in dreaming.

The Sony TV is on sale at stores across Japan.

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by Bergermeister

No harm done in dreaming.

The Sony TV is on sale at stores across Japan.

Isn't it $2000 for an 11" screen with a severely limited half-life compared to LCD? I personally don't know why they are selling it. It was a great proof-of-concept, but seems like a completely pointless sale item. Though it is promising what will be coming out soon.

[palter]

Originally Posted by thomasvincent

The original event was in San Jose at the San Jose Convention center for many years. Not the big Moscone Center which has no problem handling conventions up to or beyond 100K people like MacWorld.

WWDC first used the San Jose Convention Center in 1989. Before that, it was held entirely in the Fairmont San Jose Hotel. At least, that's what I was told when I first went to WWDC in 1989. (I attended every year from 1989 to 1996. Now, my company is sending me again this year as they did last year.)

Ahh, the good old days ... Real sit down lunches with waiters and real food. (Baked Alaska salmon, anyone?)

[melgross]

Originally Posted by Bergermeister

Just is sexier.

Less volume. Less weight. Less obstruction.

I don't know about the sexier, but the volume isn't important. There's almost no volume anyway. We're talking the difference between 1 cm and maybe 4 cm. not much of a difference.

The weight has to remain the same. All they do is to weight down the stand, usually by adding a thick plate of steel to the bottom. Too light, and it will tip over at the slightest touch.

[melgross]

Originally Posted by solipsism

Isn't it $2000 for an 11" screen with a severely limited half-life compared to LCD? I personally don't know why they are selling it. It was a great proof-of-concept, but seems like a completely pointless sale item. Though it is promising what will be coming out soon.

If my wife would let me, I'd buy one just because it's the FIRST. A historical piece of equipment.

It sells here in the USA as well, and I've seen it. The image is way better than what I've seen on anything else, including $20,000 production monitors.

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by melgross

If my wife would let me, I'd buy one just because it's the FIRST. A historical piece of equipment.

It sells here in the USA as well, and I've seen it. The image is way better than what I've seen on anything else, including $20,000 production monitors.

Since you just bought her the flagship iMac you should have some leverage here.

PS: I set up a new 2.4GHz iMac for my mother this past weekend and I'm getting some oddities. A freeze of the entire system when using Cover Flow in iTunes and Mail frequently 'Not Responding'. Plus, moving from XP was a major chore. If I wasn't well versed in both systemsit would have been a nightmare. Apple really needs to have Windows software that can grab contacts from Outlook, and convert all the locally saved mail to load in Mail. As well as search for audio, video, docs, etc. for a network transfer. I've never been so stressed using a Mac before; I feel for those who have persistent issues.

[melgross]

Originally Posted by solipsism

Since you just bought her the flagship iMac you should have some leverage here.

PS: I set up a new 2.4GHz iMac for my mother this past weekend and I'm getting some oddities. A freeze of the entire system when using Cover Flow in iTunes and Mail frequently 'Not Responding'. Plus, moving from XP was a major chore. If I wasn't well versed in both systemsit would have been a nightmare. Apple really needs to have Windows software that can grab contacts from Outlook, and convert all the locally saved mail to load in Mail. As well as search for audio, video, docs, etc. for a network transfer. I've never been so stressed using a Mac before; I feel for those who have persistent issues.

My two iMacs came in yesterday.

By the way, they came in FedEx Ground. Now, when somwthing comes in FedEx Air, they will always leave my packages, because I signed a form for that many years ago. Same for UPS.

But, Ground has had no such form, and they wouldn't leave packages for me.

When I ordered these from Apple, it was noted that a sig would be required. There was a way to pre-sign, but I didn't do it.

When the doorbell rang, I came downstairs, expecting the packages would be there and I'd have to sign.

The packages were there, but the driver was already driving off!

That surprised me.

Anyway. I installed both machines without a hitch.

When I first removed them from the boxes, I set them up on a table, side by side, in a darkened room, to check the monitors.

When first turned on, both monitors exhibited a slightly darker band running horizontally across the screen, in the center, about one third the height.

This disappeared after about two or three minutes, as expected.

After that, one monitor was perfect. No difference anywhere on the screen visible.

The other screen was not perfect, but was what I'd call well within normal parameters for an LCD.

At any rate, no visible problems with any actual program, or Photoshop images. I'd say that both were, in actual use, perfect.

This has been my experience with the 24" units, and pretty much the 20" ones as well, though I can't say that any 20" models have been perfect with the grey screen test.

I tend to think that most of the complaints are exaggerating the problem. I haven't seen any series of monitors where all of them have been perfect, except for Sony and Panasonic's new production units, that cost ten times as much as my new computers.

Both units properly uploaded all the stuff on the start-up drives, including passwords, iTunes, etc. The only little glitches is that some icons on the dock had to be redone, and that my daughters many start-up programs have to be told to start-up upon turning the computer on.

After they were finished, one needed to download and install a whopping 13 updates from Apple, and the other, 16!

After that, I removed the RAM, and installed the 4 GB's each, bought from OWC. OWC gives 60 days to return Apple's RAM to them when they will give a rebate, though I don't know how much.

All in all, so far, so good.

[SpamSandwich]

Originally Posted by melgross

My two iMacs came in yesterday.

...

All in all, so far, so good.

No unboxing pics? I seriously want to get my hands on that new 24" iMac...

[melgross]

Originally Posted by SpamSandwich

No unboxing pics? I seriously want to get my hands on that new 24" iMac...

You know, I was actually thinking of doing that!

But, then I came back to my senses.

The machines are really fast. given that they have two cores, which, with most software, is about all you're going to use, these are about as fast as required.

I did a 200 MB file in PS CS3 on my daughters machne, and it is fast. anyone who says this isn't a good PS machine is out of their mind.

Tonight I will calibrate both monitors with my X-Rite i1 Photo UV.

[SpamSandwich]

Originally Posted by melgross

You know, I was actually thinking of doing that!

But, then I came back to my senses.

The machines are really fast. given that they have two cores, which, with most software, is about all you're going to use, these are about as fast as required.

I did a 200 MB file in PS CS3 on my daughters machne, and it is fast. anyone who says this isn't a good PS machine is out of their mind.

Tonight I will calibrate both monitors with my X-Rite i1 Photo UV.

If you're familiar with Alex Lindsay (at PixelCorps) he recently mentioned that his office is replacing many of their computers with iMacs. They can do the workload of the previous gen computers and the cost is a huge factor.

[melgross]

Originally Posted by SpamSandwich

No unboxing pics? I seriously want to get my hands on that new 24" iMac...

I just took these quick snaps, so no comments on the quality please!

I think you can tell which one is my wife's, and which one's my daughter's.

The old computers are still connected. I'm waiting a few days, in case anything happens to the new ones.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/24380667@N03/?saved=1

[melgross]

Originally Posted by SpamSandwich

If you're familiar with Alex Lindsay (at PixelCorps) he recently mentioned that his office is replacing many of their computers with iMacs. They can do the workload of the previous gen computers and the cost is a huge factor.

Agreed.

[SpamSandwich]

Originally Posted by melgross

I just took these quick snaps, so no comments on the quality please!

I think you can tell which one is my wife's, and which one's my daughter's.

The old computers are still connected. I'm waiting a few days, in case anything happens to the new ones.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/24380667@N03/?saved=1

Those 24"s look great. Man....

[melgross]

Originally Posted by SpamSandwich

Those 24"s look great. Man....

They really are. The saturation is very good, and the color of the screens out of the box is much better than I expected.

My wife's old monitor, bought mid last year is a 22", and my daughter's, bought about 2 years ago, is a 19". The difference is startling.

As I write this, I'm installing the latest Canon software on my daughter's machine.

The one thing I'm not fond of is the screw used for the memory slot cover. I think it's a poor choice for a Phillips head. It's not a size most people will have.