2000: With the OS X push in full swing, developers received a new preview disk with the final API specifications needed to upgrade OS 9 apps to take advantage of Mac OS X’s new capabilities. Or, as Steve put it, “With this Preview release, developers now have everything they need to make killer applications for Mac OS X.”
2001: With OS X already on shelves and developers hard at work on Cocoa apps, Steve trumped his own announcement of an all-LCD flat-panel display lineup by declaring Apple would be installing OS X on all new Macs a full two months ahead of schedule. Mac OS X Server also made an appearance, along with some new Power Mac G4 models built specifically to handle industrial-strength tasks. And some 1,500 attendees walked away with a nifty leathered jacket adorned with an Aqua-colored OS X logo.
2002: Sherlock 3, Rendezvous, Quartz Extreme and an Address Book. Of course, we’re talking about Jaguar, which developers got to take home at WWDC 2002. And attendees paid final respects to OS 9 at a mock funeral capped by a moment of silence and a single rose laid on a coffin.
2003: The keynote even “premature specification” couldn’t ruin. On a larger stage at the Moscone Center, The next cat made its debut (Panther), attendees got free iSights and a stable Safari popped up in Software Update, but all developers wanted to talk about was the new Power Mac, powered by the 10-years-in-the-making G5 chip.
2004: Another year, another cat. Tiger--including Dashboard and Spotlight--was unveiled alongside the “gorgeous” 30-inch Cinema HD Display.
2005: It’s true. After months (years?) of speculation, Apple formally announced the end of the PowerPC era and announced a partnership with Intel to supply Macs with x86 processors. Stunned developers were able to purchase a Transition Kit for $999, “consisting of an Intel-based Mac development system along with preview versions of Apple’s software.”
2006: Quad 64-bit Xeon Processor stormed onto the scene and Time Machine, Spaces and Boot Camp added some spice to the sixth major version of Mac OS X, dubbed Leopard.
2007: A lackluster event brought a “near-final” version of Leopard (with a delayed launch date), Safari for Windows and support for Web apps on the soon-to-be-released iPhone.
2008: A monster of a conference that more than made up for the prior year’s tedium, the first sold-out WWDC brought the worldwide launch of the iPhone 3G and the App Store, Snow Leopard and MobileMe... well, nobody’s perfect.
2009: New MacBook Pros were just an appetizer to the main course, iPhone 3GS. More Snow Leopard and Safari rounded out the first Steve-less keynote in a decade.
2010: After turning a small show into a one of the most anticipated events of the year--complete with rumors and police raids--Steve returns to the stage at Moscone Center this year with an uncharacteristic e-mail assurance: You won’t be disappointed.
Follow our live blog of this year's WWDC keynote beginning Monday, June 7 at 10AM PDT.
Thomasryll
June 07, 2010 at 8:26am
Wheredat? Maybe it should have been in Monetary, Calif.? It is, of course, all about the money. WAIT! I bet the first WWDC was in Anagram, Calif. No? Maybe Anaheim? Quick, Mabel! Fire up the proofreader!
bazaarsoft
June 05, 2010 at 1:24am
...but Mac OS 8 (the latest iteration of Copland)...
Incorrect. Copland never shipped in any form. Mac OS 8 was another iteration of the System 7 code base. The UI was jazzed up and turned more 3D, some of which was borrowed from Copland, but it was by no stretch Copland.
Michael Simon
June 05, 2010 at 9:24am
I understand your point, but Mac OS 8 was code-named Copland, after they had already demonstrated pieces of the Copland project. So, yes, it wasn't Copland, but it was called Copland. Confused? Me, too.
