WWDC 2016

After trying for seven years I've finally gotten into WWDC! I feel very lucky to have been randomly selected. I empathize with other developers that have been trying for the same amount of time and did not get in. I feel your frustration.

My re-introduction (I used a IIci in college) to Mac started in 2000 when I bought a MacBook Pro from a friend to do Java work. It had the aqua interface, Power PC chip and Sherlock. It also came with this strange music software called iTunes. It allowed me to rip my CDs and organize my music. It was stable and unlike my PCs. I spent more time using the MacBook Pro and less time fixing it.

The following year the iPod was released and I was really hooked. I stopped using my PCs and started using my MacBook Pro for everything, including development. At the time Project Builder was used with Interface Builder to create Mac apps. It used this strange language called Objective-C that looked like C but behaved very differently. My first Mac app used the built in voice synth. I basically followed a tutorial from Big Nerd Ranch. Objective-C was very different than Java or C#. It was refreshing.

Then at Macworld in 2007 Apple introduced the iPhone (and the Apple TV). In 2008 I went to an Apple conference in Chicago where they were preaching the uses of websites as apps. They were showing us how to change our CSS and HTML files so they would be mobile ready.

The following year the iPhone SDK was released. I was hooked. It looked like for future. I released my first iPhone app in September 2009 and tried to get into WWDC but the registration was closed.

Every year since I have tried to get in but have been too late or was not selected so I can understand the frustration of other developers.

I'm humbled by the opportunity to go to WWDC and will make the most of it.