WWDC '17

I wanted to give a recap of my week at WWDC. The World Wide Developers' Conference is a yearly conference by Apple to unveil and discuss the latest technologies and bring together the world wide Apple developer community. This community consists of the developers and evangelists who work on developing applications for each of Apple's platforms including macOS, iOS, tvOS, and watchOS. Attendance to the conference is by random selection, and I was lucky enough to win the lottery this year to attend!

On the right is my perspective of Tim Cook on stage as he was delivering the keynote address to an eager crowd of over 5,000 developers packed into the San Jose Convention Center. It was pretty awesome to see the speech in person. I was able to see him announce the new version of iOS developed specifically with the goal of expanding support and functionality for the new iPads also announced in the keynote. I'm definitely interested in picking up an iPad now after seeing the improvements made in iOS to support better multitasking and drag-and-drop functionality. I can't wait to get my hands on the API in my own apps! Even though I'm not quite sure how I would D&D yet, the concept is really slick.

An Augmented Virtual Reality

The week consisted of several sessions and lectures by Apple engineers demonstrating the newest technologies available in the forthcoming platform releases. Additionally, many of the sessions put an emphasis on developing apps with all users in mind, including those with disabilities or limited interactivity. I'm encouraged to see that Apple has made several enhancements to support accessibility at the operating system level over the last several years, making each of their platforms accessible to everyone.

In my view, one of the biggest things to come out of the keynote is the announcement of baked in augmented reality (AR) support for camera-based applications. This exciting new feature ushers in a new era of machine power where the lines between the real world and the virtual world are increasingly blurred. AR places virtually computed objects alongside real-world objects on the screen adding another dimension of life to the view. This opens the door for new applications such as a furniture store developing an AR app to demonstrate to a prospective couch buyer how that new piece would look in their living room. I'm pretty excited to experiment and tap into some of the new ARKit APIs that Apple has released for developers in the new version of iOS.

Along with augmented reality, Apple is making earnest efforts to beef up the Mac's graphics support in order to enter the virtual reality (VR) space. I was able to preview a virtual Star Wars environment at WWDC using HTC Vive headsets. I'm also pretty excited Apple is teaming up with companies like Unity and Valve to bring VR to the forefront. Pretty exciting new technologies are on the horizon and they'll be here very shortly!

Conference Vibes

Outside of the techie stuff, there was a lot to experience at the conference. Michelle Obama was a guest speaker on the second day. I was intrigued to see her converse with Lisa Jackson, Apple's top social initiatives employee in a sit-down, conversation style. Mrs. Obama emphasized the importance of using technology and app development as a means to truly make the world a better place around us. That means addressing the most critical issues of our time, such as global warming or safe access to utilities and then making these technologically advanced tools accessible to everybody and not just a monochromatic demographic. She discussed the impact of how we introduce STEM to girls when they are young influences their career decisions down the road. So many times even today in 2017 we are subtly dissuading women and girls from perusing high-tech careers because of negative experiences or a bad role model in school. Given that Silicon Valley clearly has an issue with women, it is on us men, the industry, and society at large to help address this issue. We're losing out when all voices aren't present at the table. Some of the best and brightest ideas have come out of collaboration with those who do not look or think like we do. (Sorry I wish I had better pics!)

Other than social initiatives, the former First Lady also reflected on her time at the White House, recounting the successes and struggles in the White House. She was a large figure alongside her husband while he was in office, well-known for her initiatives such as Let's Move to bring awareness to childhood obesitywith the ultimate goal of ending it. She also remarked that during official visits she was mostly worried about just not falling on her face. She garnered some healthy laughs from the crowd for that. Her speaking style and content was refreshing; it was nice to know that a former First Lady can be so down-to-earth and casual in her conversation style. She has a way of making you feel like you are in a close-knit group of friends even in a convention hall of thousands. I'm thankful this opportunity came up to see her and hear her speak in person.

Other activities included a screening of Planet of the Apps, a Shark Tank-style reality show developed as original content by Apple specifically focused around app developers pitching their ideas to a celebrity panel (Jessica Alba, Gwyneth Paltrow, Gary Vaynerchuk, and will.i.am) in order to receive investment in their budding ideas. I thought this show was a bit flawed in its execution (it felt hurried) and the production quality was not as good as Shark Tank, but the idea was on point. They even featured a startup from UM that ended up receiving funding! The rest of the conference was fairly typical in format and presentation. There were a number of sessions to attend, and I tried to go to as many as I could, especially those one the new drag-and-drop and machine learning APIs. AI is the hot new thing in the industry right now, and I want to be sure that I can ride the train as long as it is going forward in that direction. Hopefully, we don't run into any HAL 9000 scenarios, but who knows!

Not all of the conference and week was perfect. I ended up losing my absolute favorite stainless steel insulated water bottle and a WWDC shirt I bought from the official store. Also, I ended up getting chastised by the San Jose transit folk for not understanding completely how the light rail payment system worked, which caused me to run late. My Airbnb was a nice place to stay (along with the playful doggie!), but it was far away from bus stops and required a lot of talking to get to where I needed to be.

As far as nourishment goes, it was not most appetizing of conferences. Other than the painful fact I had developed a swelling infection in my mouth early in the week requiring an impromptu dentist visit, the food offered at the conference was average, and a snafu occurred where not enough meals were available at first for several hundred attendees the first day. Also, the accommodations for those who do not eat meat or dairy was pitiful and slightly insulting. Several days my lunch consisted of a mixed greens salad and one small side - one of those days the salad dressing packet had a best by date of February 28th, three months before the start of the conference. I was not really pleased with this, but I made the best of it that I could. As always with large events like this, I understand that logistics and arrangement of meals for thousands of people especially those with specific dietary needs is not easy. However, with the world's most valuable company employing some of the most intellectually capable people that puts on this entire event to cater to arguably its most important demographic, the people who create and drive content for their most lucrative platforms, you'd think they would have a better plan in place for this.

Wrapping Up

I was able to meet up with a former coworker - Mir. He's a talented Android developer who I worked with at my previous job. Last fall, he decided it was time for a new adventure, so he moved out to the Bay Area. Courageous! It was truly nice to see him again after many months and miles. We got dinner, strolled along downtown San Jose, and caught up on life. Hope to see you again soon, Mir!

As the week wound down, I attended The Bash, the main social activity at the conference. It was a large outdoor party put on by the conference next to the convention center at an open-air park. Although it was cool and rainy, that didn't dampen the spirit of the thousands of attendees who made their way to this celebration. There was even a special private concert by Fall Out Boy, not a bad band to pick up for a developer conference! There were glowing bean bags as a part of a large corn hole toss. Food tents served up bite-sized entrees, though unfortunately again the plant-based offerings were mostly throw away. I stayed for a short time and was able to mingle with a few people I had met over the course of the week. After FOB finished playing, I took a stroll down the nearby Guadalupe River to reflect on the week behind me and the new European journey that now lay just several hours in front of me and made my way for home to sleep and get ready for one last short day at the conference, pack my bags, and prepare to fly.

In conclusion, I would say WWDC was a mild success. I'm glad I was able to attend and be around like-minded individuals who were passionate with initiatives of their own. It also was great to be surrounded in a learning environment - attending the sessions felt a bit like attending college lectures again. It's paramount to learn new skills and keep yourself sharp in a rapidly-evolving industry which demands that its constituents be at the bleeding edge of technological advancement. However, if I were to attend in the future, I would try to figure out a more workable meal situation ahead of time. With such brain-intense sessions, proper nourishment is key and while fiber-rich the energy content of salads isn't very high. Additionally, I love lone-wolfing things, but it would be nice to attend the conference with some coworkers or friends. I'd love to have someone I can converse with about ideas and share feedback about the sessions. Meeting people was nice, but they had their own groups and schedules to keep.

Sorry this post is a bit later than I wanted it to be. I've been adjusting to life on the road, but a goal of mine is I want to keep these blog posts rather in depth so as to have content to keep you readers engaged. Next post will come later this week and include thoughts and pictures on my first week in Belgrade, Serbia and my new life in Europe this summer. Stay tuned!