Apple posted information to its Web site on Monday detailing what sessions it will offer developers at its upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). The conference, which will obviously focus on Mac OS X Leopard, takes place June 11-15 in San Francisco.
“There’s no better time to attend WWDC,” Ron Okamoto, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations, told Macworld. “Mac, iPod and Apple TV offer software, hardware and content developers an unrivaled opportunity for innovation.”
One popular Apple product not mentioned is the iPhone. Okamoto said that the iPhone would not be released until June and Apple did not want comment further on the product until then.
Apple will help developers get the most out of Leopard with over 100 sessions and labs. As with past developer conferences the sessions are presented by Apple the engineers that work on the technologies, so developers get first hand experience in making the technology work with their applications.
The six technical tracks at this year’s WWDC are: Leopard Innovations, Mac OS X Essentials, Developer Tools, Information Technologies, Graphics & Imaging and Content & Media.
Traditional Macintosh and student developers are not the only ones Apple is courting for WWDC. The company is also inviting many Windows and Linux developers to this year’s event.
“One of the most popular questions we get from developers is ‘where can I find some great Mac engineers?’” said Okamoto. “We are going to invite the Windows and Linux engineers and help them leverage their experience to become Mac engineers.”
Apple’s work with Windows engineers and developers is not just focused on the developer conference itself. While he would give no details, Okamoto said that Apple is “working with several name brand developers that will show there is a nice move to the Mac.”
In 2006 Apple attracted over 4,000 developers to its conference, which led to some innovative products being released — a trend the company expects to continue in 2007.
“The volume and quality of products from our developers has been inspiring,” said Okamoto. “It’s coming from both camps — small developers and the more established developers that have been with the Mac for a long time. We expect to see much more of that in 2007.”