The Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, or WWDC, is organized every year in California. It serves as a platform to showcase the emerging technologies that Apple has to offer. It is also a forum where computer developers and engineers from different web design schools and companies can access hands-on labs, and Apple employees can get feedback on their products and services.
Generally, the number of attendees for the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference amounts to about 4000. However, the success of the conference has helped to increase the headcount gradually. In the 2007 WWDC, the number of attendees from design schools and companies exceeded 5000. The last WWDC conference that was held in San Francisco in June, 2008 was also a resounding success.
The very first session of the WWDC was held in 1983 in Monterey, California. From 1993 to 2002, the conference was always held in the month of May. However, from 2003 onwards, the month of the conference was rescheduled to June. Interestingly, the opening of the conference has remained unchanged since 1998. At the outset, the conference is flagged off by a keynote presentation made by Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple. This event is also referred by many as the “Stevenotes“. The attendees of the conference also need to sign a non-disclosure agreement that covers all the sessions that are held during the conference. A number of materials are distributed to the attendees of the WWDC as well.
The Apple Worldwide Developers Conference brings together computer specialists from all over the world, as well as its own employees. Some of the major events that were held in the conferences from 1983 to 2008 include:
- The introduction of the quartz imaging model and Carbon, Apple’s new application programming interface, in 1998.
- The release of Quick Time 6 as well as the new version of the MacOS, the Mac OS X v.10.2, in 2002.
- Announcement of the Xserve, which is a rack mounted server, in 2002.
- Introduction of the Apple product iSight and the Power Mac G5 in 2003.
- Launch of a new version of Apple Cinema Displays in 2004.
- Announcement in 2005 that the next line of Mac OS would be compatible with Intel’s x86 processors. Earlier, Apple computers were installed with PowerPC microprocessors from IBM
- The release of the premium range computer Mac Pro as well as the X Serve server, which is based on Intel’s Xeon microprocessor, in the 2006 conference.
- The unveiling of the beta version of Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard in 2007, and the announcement that the Safari browser would be available for the Windows platform too. Support for the soon-to-be-launched Apple iPhone was also announced in the same conference.
The 2009 Worldwide Developers Conference is slated to be held from 8th to 12th of June. The venue for the conference is Moscone West, San Francisco. The conference will focus on popular Apple products such as the Mac OS X Server Snow Leopard, iPhone, Mac OS X Snow Leopard, and the Macbook. The tickets for the conference have already sold out, which goes to show the kind of success and popularity the WWDC has achieved over the years.