jils@WWDC 2007

Wow.

I've been wrestling with the decision to attend Apple's WWDC this year for about three months now. Ever since my work on iPhoto2Gmail sparked a huge interest in Cocoa programming, I've been trying to figure out which decision will have the greatest overall positive effect on my life and career.

Last Friday, just a couple of hours before the early registration prices expired, I decided to go. My wife and family had no small role in the decision, and I am glad to have their support.

I should say that this will be my first professional conference. I am completely stoked and quite overwhelmed at the same time. It is a strange sensation, but I like it.

I've downloaded the head-starts that seem most interesting to me and have started singling out sessions that I want to attend -- Aperture, Dashboard and Dashcode, Cocoa 2.0, Javascript and SOAP in Cocoa, Cocoa UI Animation, CoreImage, Digital Video, etcetera. I also cannot wait to meet some of the folks that build the awesome software and run the key sites I use everyday. It's going to be one hell of a week!

Now I just have to figure out some minor details. For example: should I risk being stoned and ostracized for taking my only laptop (an aging Dell 600m), or should I sell my Jeep to pay for a Macbook? Will I drive my brother-in-law nuts by crashing at his place for a whole week?

You know, small stuff like that... but it feels right, you know?