Rosemont Media Lead Web Developer Returns from WWDC
As we highlighted in last Friday’s question on Keith’s Corner, Apple made some big announcements at the annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). Our lead web development manager, Matt Grimes, attended the conference and just sat down with the Rosemont Review to give us the scoop on the latest from Apple.
WWDC Keynotes: Here’s How the New Stuff Works
According to Matt, the conference begins with two keynote presentations. The first focuses on all the new technology Apple will release and plans to implement in the near future. This is the part that garners all the oohs and aahs as they parade the shiny new objects through the crowd. The big announcement (aside from retina display, which we’ll cover later) this year was a new Mac computer and the new Mac Maps that will be powered by Yelp.
After the collective mind of the crowd has been blown to pieces, the second presentation offers a behind-the-scenes look: here’s how all of this new stuff works and how we recommend you take advantage of it. Matt says this part of the conference is extremely helpful because it familiarizes everyone there with the new technology, and allows them to stay ahead of the curve as they leave the conference and consider implementing it into their lives.
It Just Works (and Here’s Why)
The rest of the conference consists of courses designed to help developers build depth of Mac knowledge in the fields most important to them. Seeing as how Matt is dedicated to faster sites that work better, he says it was important for him to check into a couple HTML 5 courses.
Matt: “Apple’s slogan has always been, ‘it works,’ which is why we’ve converted the office to an all-Mac space. Courses at the WWDC introduce the new technology and tweaks to the old technology so I can come back to Rosemont and implement the upgrades to improve the performance of our sites.”
WWDC Hot Topics 2012
While there were some interesting courses on new publishing software with iBooks, Matt says the highlight of the conference was the new retina display technology.
Matt: “Looking at the devices with retina display, I got the same feeling as when I first saw a high definition TV. Apple is really forcing the issue with this technology because once you see it, there’s no going back. The font and images are crisper and cleaner. It really does provide a better user experience. One of the iPads on display had a picture of zebras and I felt like I could have reached out to touch one of them, they looked that real.”
Final Thoughts on WWDC
Now that Matt’s had a few days away from the gluttony of Apple products, he says the one thing that still resonates with him is the potential impact of retina display. He says Apple just upped the ante and is going to force the competition to scramble and try to catch up. While it may be a few years in the making, the size of screens available with retina display are growing, which Matt takes as a sign that something bigger is coming.