Since I work with and enjoy creative media technology, Apple and Adobe have been the places I have looked to. I have applauded Adobe's move to embrace Linux, not just in words, but in real products. But as many Adobe technology buffs observe, the carbon-based Flash Player on OSX is not exactly getting with the program. Apple has been going the way of Cocoa for some time. Don't even get me started about Flash on the iPhone! The ball is in Adobe's court, it's no secret what they need to do. I sincerely hope they respond well.
One of the highlights of the week was our Helius group going to the ballpark to see the A's and the Yankees. The A's won. The food in the city was fantastic. I think my favorite meal was at Roy's, which is not too far from Moscone Center.
Up until now, the market share of Apple was so small that it was a niche of a career move to develop on. The combination of a very successful OSX, the explosion of iPods, the spectacular failure of Vista, and those extremely-funny-and-true mac/pc commercials, the market is changing in Apple's favor. Look on any college campus, and the cool kids are the one's with the Macs, definitely not the Dells. At the conference, the momentum is obvious.
As a developer, that is a trend I cannot ignore. The fact that the conference sold out for the first time, and about half of the attendees were first time attendees spoke volumes. And after this week, and seeing the direction, and the polish of the development tools, I've come away extremely impressed and energized.
Yes, I want an iPhone! Yes, my head is swimming with information and techniques from the week! Yes, I ate too much! Yes, I had a great week with perfect weather! Yes, I love working for Helius! I'm typing away on my Mac laptop, on my back porch on a sunny, mid-70s day with my wife, our cats, and my son playing in the jacuzzi. Tomorrow is father's day. I'm happy, for sure.
