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WWDC 2003: Wrap-Up
by Jeff Szuhay
<jeff@szuhay.org>
Sunday, June 29, 2003
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Quick table of contents |
A Day in the City
This is the day to finally relax and do a bit of sight-seeing around the city. In the past, typically, Saturday was just a "recovery day" for me but for some reason I don't feel as exhausted as before. I had a leisurely morning and then met a colleage who lives in San Francisco who showed me some of the sights I'd never seen before.
We took a quick tour around the Civic Center, where it appeared that a big party was just beginning to wind up. This, it turns out, is the Annual Gay Pride celebration and parade; oh, well.
We then picked up a trolly -- not the cable car -- which has been resurrected from another city in America and put into daily use here. This we rode to Fisherman's Wharf and had a great meal at Tarantino's. Great view and quite good food. I found it better than some other, more famous places I'd been.
With an early plane to catch, that was about all I could fit in; and so, headed back to my hotel to pack and make ready for my 7:00 am flight.
It's All About Face Time
Okay, so people have kept asking me: "what are the highpoints of this event?" I would definitely say that there are three highpoints. One, the keynote; two, the beer bash; and three, seeing everyone.
The keynote announcements are by now history. Really the largest, most important aspect of this event is "face time." Meeting and talking with people whose email you may have been reading for months; meeting and talking with people who you've met before; meeting and talking with Apple people; and meeting and talking with people you never expected to meet -- who you may never see again. (Do you see a pattern here?)
The other two highlights provide the splash and sizzle of the conference. And, sure, the technical sessions are worth attending, especially if you have questions about what's presented. But the real value of this, and any, conference is getting to talk face-to-face with other like-minded folk.
And for Macintosh developers, WWDC is the best place to do it. Well, okay, there's MacHack (or whatever they now call it), but MacHack is brief and very intense, whereas WWDC gives you more time and exposure to more people.
Corrections
I've made a number of errors over the past week, particularly with names. I've requested that the original pages be changed, but in case they haven't I'd like to apologize to those whose names I've gotten wrong. Here are the corrections I know about:
- Godfey DiGiorgi (not DiGiorgio). Keep making great tools, Godfrey.
- James Dempsey (not John). The Bard Extraordinaire.
- Ted Thibodeau (not Thibodeaux). Ted asks that I also give their "not quite obvious URL" which is <www.openlinksw.com>. Apparently, they have a competitor with a very similar name.
- Newton 2100 (not 2001). Yes, it's inanimate, but a lot of people who have them still love them
<shameless plug>
Yes, I am "self employed" and "open to all opportunities" at the moment.
My most recent resume can be found there.
</shameless plug>
Otherwise, let's move on.
Just One Point of View
At this year's conference, as in prior years, I went looking for things I wanted: developer tools, graphics and game technologies, some QuickTime stuff, some AppleScript stuff, and programming techniques. I complete ignored: Java, Enterprise computing (new this year), pro apps, hardware, and WebObjects (for exactly the same reasons I ignore Java and Enterprise computing). But this year missed I out on: the feedback forums, a couple of luncheons, and probably a lot of behind the scenes stuff I've never been aware of.
As you can see, there is a lot of stuff here; certainly not everything is for everyone. I have no interest in Java. I don't know why -- I just don't like the language. And it hasn't really fulfilled its promise of "write once, run everywhere." Indeed, the industry feeling I get is "Java is for the server. Period." That sentiment only slightly yet persistently surfaced at Apple when new XCode features where shown. Developers asked "is that going to be available for Java?" And the Apple guys overwhelmingly just shrugged their shoulders not having an answer. I got the impression that their unspoken response really was "Why? Who's doing Java client applications?" Does that upset you? If so, then get a grip because only know of a scant few client Java apps; the vast majority of Java work _is_ on the server.
In fact, I'm getting tired of statically typed languages that attempt not to be. This includes C++ with its hacked-on STL and Java. (.Net falls into the same category, actually). On the other hand, I like C because it has a simple approach which is enduring, even if a bit ugly in spots. But then, C fits in well with powerful scripting tools like Python, PHP, and even AppleScript. Hmm... there might be a pattern emerging here, but that's another discussion.
Anyway, so what if I don't like Java. It's there in full glory in OS X and WebObjects. I suppose this group might have quite a different set of expectations or experiences than I.
As for Enterprise Computing, I just don't know what to say. I've long given up on that area. In this environment, you have to play by Microsoft's rules; and Microsoft changes them all the time. OLE, then ActiveX, then J++, then .Net and C#, and soon F#. No thanks.
This is not to say that Apple can make inroads in the enterprise (i.e. corporate computing), but given the "machine" of consultants, tech support, trainers, authors, etc. wedded to the inadequacies of Windows, I'd more like expect a one-page federal income tax form -- eliminating work for tens of thousands of accountants -- than I would expect the Windows "professional periphery" to give up their habit. No matter how good Apple's stuff gets, these people will still be able to make a lot of money on helping people forget how difficult it is using their existing stuff. So, that's a area of computing I'm just not interested in.
All that being said, I still believe Apple needs to woo Windows developers -- not just with RealBasic and dazzling developer tools they can't use anywhere else. The need to devise a Switch campaign for developers - a kind of a roadmap for them to migrate or integrate their code with OS X. For example, if a developer relies on ActiveX, what are the paths they should consider moving that code to OS X? Or, if they rely on DirectX, what paths are open to them (I know of a couple)? And, finally, if they rely on MFC, what are the strategies they need to employ to move to a more platform neutral position? For the Visual Basic programmers, there might be more examples of how to move VB to RealBasic (but then there's the COM and ActiveX issues raising their ugly heads again).
Comparing Conference to the Past
This conference was pretty good. In fact, I'd say it was the best one I've been to. Mind you, it's only my 4th one, but the best one for me, nonetheless. WWDC has a long tradition so after asking some of the guys I know who've been to many more than I, the general feeling is about average -- good but neither the best nor the worst.
One of the biggest differences (or one that was a bit more apparent to me this year) was that this really was three conferences in one: Mac application developers, QuickTime developers and content providers, and server/administrator technologies. I think the diversity is great, especially when your job doesn't always fit neatly into one of those categories and you might want to see other stuff. On the other hand, it makes schedule pretty jammed.
Finally, there's the whole venue change. WWDC has always been in San Jose. I actually like it at Moscone. I just hope the event services guys get their act together a bit more. There were a number of signs that showed they were a bit wet behind the ears. Certainly, improvements were made before the show's end. Hopefully, there were lessons learned from this event and they'll carry forward to the future.
What I'd Like to See Next Year
There were a number of little things I missed that I wish would return
- Version Control. Not just for my software but for deploying across the versions of OS X (10.1, 10.2, 10.3, etc.) This will be a fact of computing for the foreseable future. I'd like to see a session for managing this.
- Meet the VPs Feedback Forum. This didn't happen this year and I missed it.
- Jamba Juice. It was there but not prominently and they ran out.
- Expresso stations. All over the place. More caffeine.
- Saratoga water: lime, lemon, whatever. In fact more water all over the place
But those are just nits, really. Oh, yeah, I'd love to see the return of the "product launch" party. As OS X quickly matures, I'm hopeful we'll see some really big apps debuting at WWDC.
Now What?
Go forth and make "kick ass" apps for OS X. That's what.
Really. Operating Systems are big, complicated beasts nowadays. OS X has come a really long way in the last 3 years. So, now its time to get down to the business of making "kick ass" OS X apps. Not Carbon versions of apps; Cocoa version which take full advantage of what Mach, BSD/Unix, and OS X have to offer. I have a feeling -- based on what little I've seen so far -- that Panther is going to be a huge step forward for OS X. Kind of like the New Beetle from Volkswagon. Yeah, yeah, I know we've been hearing that for years now, but Panther is starting to feel like a complete OS, one that brings forth the best of the Macintosh experience and industrial strength computing.
Stuff that really "kicks ass."
Next year, not only do I hope to be at WWDC, but I hope to be presenting something (or at least be on stage demoing something). We'll see.
And I hope to see you there.
Have a question or comment? I appreciate your feedback
Published by Doug B. Landry and contributing staff. Trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., and others reserved. ©2003 Delta Design. Publishing headquarters is located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Index version 1.1.2
