wwdc-2011
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Official WWDC app available now
Apple has released an official WWDC app for next week's developer conference, now available for both iPhone and iPad. The app includes a full schedule of events and the ability to make up your own custom schedule, detailed floor maps to see where everything is, and even up-to-date conference news and photos straight from the event (once it starts). There's also a reservation system built into the app, so developers in attendance can reserve time in any of the conference's labs. The universal app is a free download, though it looks very different on the smaller screen than the bigger one. WWDC starts next week, everybody! Are you excited?
TUAW TV Live: The forecast is iCloudy with a chance of syncing
What better way to spend a late spring afternoon than to sit inside in front of your favorite computer watching TUAW TV Live? I mean, warm weather, clear skies and singing birds are no match for the excitement of me and the chat room mixing it up on Ustream. This afternoon is no exception -- starting in about five minutes, you'll be able to use the chat tool and video feed on the next page to watch the show instead of getting a highly-overated and dangerous tan. After all, pale is the new tan... The topic today? Speculation on what's going to be said at the WWDC keynote next Monday. We know that iOS 5, Mac OS X 10.7 Lion and iCloud are topics, but what might we hear about from his Steveness as "one more thing?" From your Mac or PC, go to the next page by clicking the Read More link at the bottom of this post, and you'll find a livestream viewer and a chat tool. The chat tool allows you to participate by asking questions or making comments. If you're driving somewhere and would like to watch TUAW TV Live while you're stuck in traffic, please don't -- keep your eyes on the road! However, if someone else is doing the driving, you can watch the show on your iPhone and join the chat by downloading the free Ustream Viewing Application. If you're on an iPad, you should be able to use the Skyfire Browser to watch the stream, although you will not be able to participate in the chat. We'll start at about 5 PM ET, so if you're seeing a prerecorded show, be sure to refresh your browser until you see the live stream. For those of you who are not able to join us for the live edition, you'll be able to view it later this evening on our TUAW Video YouTube channel and as part of the new TUAW TV Live podcast viewable in iTunes or on any of your Apple devices.
iCloud offerings might be free to those who upgrade to Lion
When Steve Jobs kicks off Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) next Monday, AppleInsider suggests the iconic CEO may reveal an aggressive price-point for some of the Cupertino company's upcoming cloud services -- free. On Tuesday, Apple announced plans to unveil iCloud, a suite of cloud services expected to replace MobileMe, and Lion, the eighth significant upgrade to Mac OS X, at WWDC next week. According to the post, people familiar with Apple's plans expect the computer maker to offer some of iCloud's services gratis to Mac users who upgrade to Lion. But AppleInsider notes that some components of iCloud are not likely to be free for any customer. Apple recently negotiated new licensing deals with (at least) Sony, EMI, and Warner Music, and is expected to announce its own music streaming services on June 6. Much like MobileMe today and competing music offerings from Google and Amazon, Apple's upcoming music services will likely include a complimentary trial period, but customers should ultimately expect to pay a subscription fee to host content on the company's servers.
Apple files for iCloud trademark in Europe
All the pieces are falling into place for Apple's iCloud service. On Tuesday, Apple confirmed the name and told us all it will be introduced at WWDC; Apple's trademark application hit the European Trademark Office later that day. The trademark covers everything from telecommunications and electronic storage to photographic services and digital devices/computers. We still don't know what cloud services Apple has in store for its iOS and Mac users. Speculation points to a new streaming media service and a digital locker to store files online. MobileMe may also get a facelift, and some of its personal information syncing or email services may be available for free. These are likely just the tip of the iceberg and Apple will wow us with much more next week. Anyone excited?
Steve Jobs will introduce iCloud, Lion, iOS5 at WWDC keynote June 6
It's official (for real, this time) -- Steve Jobs will introduce iCloud, "Apple's upcoming cloud services offering," iOS 5 and Mac OS X 10.7 Lion during the WWDC keynote on June 6. Note that iCloud is named specifically and referred to as "cloud services," suggesting that it's more than music. There has been much speculation about iCloud as a music locker, streaming service and MobileMe successor. Also, developers and customers alike have been eager to see iOS 5, and we were recently led to believe that Mac OS X Lion is getting close to a releasable state. It's going to be an exciting keynote, and we'll have full coverage. See you on the 6th! Show full PR text CUPERTINO, California-May 31, 2011-Apple® CEO Steve Jobs and a team of Apple executives will kick off the company's annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with a keynote address on Monday, June 6 at 10:00 a.m. At the keynote, Apple will unveil its next generation software - Lion, the eighth major release of Mac OS® X; iOS 5, the next version of Apple's advanced mobile operating system which powers the iPad®, iPhone® and iPod touch®; and iCloud®, Apple's upcoming cloud services offering. WWDC will feature more than 100 technical sessions presented by Apple engineers. Mac® developers will see and learn how to develop world-class Mac OS X Lion applications using its latest technologies and capabilities. Mobile developers will be able to explore the latest innovations and capabilities of iOS and learn how to greatly enhance the functionality, performance and design of their apps. All developers can bring their code to the labs and work with Apple engineers. For more details, visit the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2011 website at developer.apple.com/wwdc. Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.
Apple to unveil iCloud, iOS 5 on Monday, June 6
Had some doubts that Apple was heading skyward? Those lingering concerns can now be put to rest. Apple has confirmed that it will be announcing iCloud on June 6th, what it's calling an "upcoming cloud services offering." That will be part of the keynote for this year's Worldwide Developers Conference, known to the cool kids as WWDC. This is, of course, where everyone has come to expect new iPhones to come to light, but this year we're thinking the focus will be more on software, and indeed Apple's event notice indicates that the big highlights will be Mac OS X Lion and the next version of its mobile operating system, iOS 5. This is a decidedly non-Apple way to announce something big like iCloud, making us wonder what other surprises Steve Jobs will have for us at the event -- yes, he'll be kicking things off. As ever you can find out as it happens here, live.
Apple's iCloud music service will automatically mirror your iTunes library using 'high-quality' tracks?
There's been so much chatter about Apple iCloud that you'd think the streaming music service had already been announced and the deals inked. But it's still just a rumor until an Apple executive takes the stage and unleashes the Amazon Cloud Player and Google Music competitor in a spate of superlatives. That hasn't stopped Businessweek from stepping up with a good summary of all that is "known" thus far, while giving us some insight into the particulars of how the service will work and the motivations to make it happen. One revelation, sourced from three people in the know, claims that Apple will scan customers' iTunes libraries (hello, LaLa) and quickly mirror the contents on Apple's own servers -- no massive DSL-choking upload required. And Apple will do you the solid of "replacing" any low bitrate tracks with the "high-quality" versions it stores in its fully licensed music locker for streaming to your connected devices. Of course, this value-add won't come free and will certainly require a subscription fee. The cost to the consumer, though, is still very much unclear as is the service's integration with Apple's $99 per year MobileMe sham. And you know those rumors about MobileMe being offered as a free service? We wouldn't be surprised if it stays at $99 with iCloud being announced as a "free" feature update; aka, an $8.25 per month music subscription that also provides web access to your synced bookmarks, contacts, email, and calendar. Regardless, it's this subscription model that has the major labels so enthusiastic as it will finally allow them to extort fees for all that pirated audio you may have stumbled upon since Napster was loosed on an unprepared music industry a decade ago. All signs point to WWDC for this to get official but we're sure to hear more -- much more -- before the event kicks off on June 6th.
Steve Jobs NOT confirmed for 2011 WWDC keynote, false alarm... and now he's confirmed.
Update 2: Sometimes you can be right for the wrong reasons. Apple has now for-real announced Steve for the keynote at WWDC 2011. Update: GigaOm has retracted the story; their post was indeed based on the 2010 WWDC press release. Oops. Apple has NOT confirmed that Steve Jobs will be presenting the keynote address at this year's WWDC this June in San Francisco, but that's what this post by Charles Jade over at GigaOM was saying. It's always a treat when Jobs can participate in Apple events. His ongoing health issues and medical leave from Apple make him less of a guaranteed speaker and more of a delightful surprise when he feels well enough to appear. Unfortunately, GigaOM jumped the gun on this one. There is no official announcement from Apple and the only press release showing a SteveNote at WWDC is from last year (thanks to Ars Technica's Jacqui Cheng for pointing that out). We've reached out to Apple for comment and will update if we hear anything. Not to say for sure that Steve wouldn't appear at WWDC, but as far as we know right now, he's not. [And now he is.]
WWDC 2011 ticket shows up on eBay
Well, if you weren't quick enough to get a ticket to this year's WWDC, this just might ... make you angry. A developer is selling an unactivated extra ticket on eBay for the Buy It Now price of US$3,500. That's $1,900 more than the original $1,599 cost. The eBay seller says the ticket is one he bought for a colleague who can't make it this year. It's great that he wants to give another dev who missed out on a ticket the chance of going, but trying to make a buck off it? Come on. [We thought about putting in a link to the auction itself, but decided that was just bad form. -Ed] Now before anyone gets too hopeful (or angry), I'm certain that Apple is going to put an end to this auction quicker than it can pull an app from the App Store. The last thing Apple wants to have happen is a string of bogus developers in future years buying up WWDC tickets and then scalping them for a profit. Still, I wouldn't be surprised to see some more WWDC tickets show up on Craigslist or eBay before the June 6 conference begins.
WWDC 2011 unlikely to launch hardware, iPhone 5 may be later this year
Each year we set our calendars to expect new hardware announcements around WWDC, if not actually during Apple's annual developers' conference. Last year we got a glimpse of the iPhone 4 in action. At WWDC 2009, the 3GS was announced. Naturally, many of us thought the iPhone 5 would appear at WWDC 2011, but as mentioned earlier, knowledgable sources cited by Jim Dalrymple say we shouldn't expect any hardware announcements at the keynote. While WWDC is for developers, Apple's special magic has always included the strong integration between the OS and the hardware -- making the whole widget equals better widgets. By revealing the "next new thing" to developers, the company has traditionally pushed developers to begin considering new hardware features before the gear is generally available. This is good for consumers, who then have apps that exploit new features when the hardware becomes available. MacRumors says that Japanese blog Macotakara reports the iPhone 5 may not ship until the end of Apple's fiscal year, which ends in September. This would still make the phone available just in time for holiday sales. This year's WWDC will be more about Lion, of course, and it seems like an iOS device announcement would simply confuse the message, "Back to the Mac."
No iPhone 5 at WWDC this year? That's how it looks from here
By now you've seen the announcement for WWDC 2011 (coming June 6th), but what you may not have heard yet is that this one is going to be a little different than some of the dev cons from years past. Namely, unlike the events in 2008 through 2010, you won't see the announcement of a new iPhone (or iPad... or anything else hardware related). We're hearing the same kind of chatter from sources that solid writers like Jim Dalrymple of The Loop and All Thing D's John Paczkowski have been reporting today -- that this WWDC is going to be all about the future of iOS and OS X. Of course if that pans out, all eyes are going to be on the company's Fall event, which seems like an increasingly likely place to launch a new phone -- especially considering the fact that the iPod's place in Apple's lineup has become diminished thanks to the success of its mobile devices. The timing also sets Apple up nicely for a brisk season of holiday phone purchases. As for the iPad, Daring Fireball's John Gruber speculated that we might see some kind of new model at this year's Fall event, and while that seems highly unlikely to us given the recent launch of the iPad 2, a new tablet would make a perfect companion to that new phone. What September holds is pure speculation right now, but for the time being, it looks like you can just get comfortable with your iPhone 4.
Apple sets dates for WWDC 2011: June 6-10
Apple announced the dates for WWDC 2011 this Monday morning. The Apple developers' conference will take place from June 6 to June 10 at Moscone West in San Francisco. As expected, Apple will "unveil the future of iOS and Mac OS" at the developers conference. Apple will also host hundreds of technical sessions and offer code-level assistance from Apple engineers. Besides details on iOS 5.0, WWDC is also expected to unveil the final details and availability of Mac OS X Lion. Apple may also introduce the iPhone 5, but recent rumors suggest a fall launch of iOS and the iPhone 5 instead of the traditional summer debut. Update: The Loop has chimed in with information that suggests WWDC this year will be a software-only event. No iPhone, iPad or Mac hardware will be introduced. Gartner analyst Michael Gartenberg also cautions customers about getting caught up in this yearly cycle, "There is no reason for Apple to follow a predictable yearly pattern, and it keeps their competition off guard a little bit." [Via TechCrunch]
Rumor: Next WWDC scheduled for June 5
There's a hole in the Moscone Center schedule, and it's filling up with a 'Corporate Meeting' -- looks like it might be time to start booking those flights and hotel rooms, developers. June 5 to June 9 is blocked off on the conference center's schedule, and similar bookings have in the past turned out to be the annual WWDC slot. AppleBitch.com, which spotted this booking, also points out that there are single-day events in May and June also allocated to 'Corporate Meeting.' These might be for Apple events and product introductions, or they might not. MacRumors notes that the presumptive WWDC 2011 dates line up nicely with the 'Moscone Stone' longterm bookings calendar that revealed the 2010 event's timing. While the last WWDC was focused on iOS and iPad development to a very high degree, it's expected that this year's event will include much more Mac content; the expected release of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion will drive many of the conference sessions. [via MacRumors]
