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July 07, 2004
[WWDC] Shaving the edges
Apple definitely applied a regimen of slimming measures to WWDC, designed to cut their costs to throw the $1600/attendee conference and to even help generate profits. I've only been to last year's and this year's, but here are some of the things I noticed:
- Lower quality "swag": The backpack supplied this year was of noticably lower quality than the shoulder bag from last year (and, viewing some people carrying older bags, it looks this has been an ongoing trend). No notepad-in-binder this year. Last year attendees received free iSight cameras - this year we got an Apple Remote Desktop CD. Sure, it's a $500 retail value, but it's just a CD and license number for Apple. The iSight was tangible goods.
- Lighter catering: No Clif Bars at the mid-day snack tables, and a much smaller menu at the Apple Campus Bash.
- No movie: Normally there's a evening movie on Wednesday night. Last year, some attendees were grumbling over the selection of "Finding Nemo" (Steve, being CEO of Pixar, prolly didn't have to pay a fee to show it). This year - no movie.
- No video: Last year, all sessions were taped. The video was available online for attendees (to get the sessions you missed due to conflicts), and DVDs were delivered to all attendees a month or so later. This year, only a few sessions were taped, and no mention of DVDs. Hell, I doubt any will be online.
- No pre-release OSX updates: This is the biggie. Last year, all attendees received preview releases of 10.3, and updated builds were available for download right up until golden master. This year, while we received a very early preview release of 10.4, there will be no further builds available unless you buy an Apple Developer Connection membership ($400 for Select, $3000 for Premier).
Granted, I shouldn't complain much. Our Apple Rep made of gift of 3 WWDC registrations to UW this year, and I happened to be a recipient - all my work paid for was travel. Still, it's obvious that Apple's trying to minimize the expense of WWDC - when they really should continue to be sucking up to developers.
Posted by jim at July 7, 2004 12:11 PM