WWDC 09 Post Mortem
June 18th, 2009
WWDC 09 was my second WWDC, after first attending in 2008. I would have liked to do a more well-constructed breakdown of this year’s conference, but time has been scarce, and I didn’t want the information to get (more) stale. Instead, I give you a brain-dump of some of my experiences:
Keynote
- Cheaper, better laptops? Yes please.
- Snow Leopard for $29 is great.
- Boos at AT&T were funny (and warranted).
- “Find My Phone” was the surprise hit.
- Too much time in demos (a third of which didn’t work!).
- Scott Forstall seemed like a stronger presenter than Phil Schiller.
- My prediction the new iPhone’s video chat feature would be demoed by calling Steve Jobs was wrong.
Events and Parties
- sfMacIndie was worthwhile – bumped into some old friends and made some new ones.
- First Stump the Experts. Fun, but I don’t know if I’d do it again.
- Those WebKit guys and girls can throw a good party.
- The Big Nerd Ranch was, of course, a lot of fun.
- Beer Bash: Cake was good, but the food, not so much.
- “Don’t bring hot dogs to a sausage party.” – @themartorana
Travel & Lodging
- First Virgin American experience was positive, though the best part is their attitude, not the in-flight entertainment or wifi.
- The InterContinental was really convenient and pleasant. Internet will cost you though.
Food & Drink
- The food court in the Westfield Centre is good conference lunch alternative (but a little pricey).
- Blue Bottle coffee is great.
- Nick’s Crispy Tacos is a tasty, fun place to go for some Mexican if you can’t get to the Mission.
- The Chieftan is a great place to have a brew and bump into other Mac developers.
- The Thirsty Bear continues to serve great beer.
- The Butler & The Chef makes a good waffle.
- Lucky 13 felt like a Philly dive bar, despite it’s Castro location.
Whew. I think that’s all the non-NDA-encumbered information I have for now. Again, WWDC proved to be a good experience. If you develop Mac or iPhone software, and can afford it, it is definitely worth your time.
Finally, it was awesome to travel with so many local friends this time (even the smelly ones) and of course, make some new ones. That’s what WWDC is really all about, anyway.
Oh, and the few photos I took can be found here.
Now let’s just hope the videos come out more promptly this year. 