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WWDC 2012 - How can I prepare?

M

Moriquendi

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 26, 2010
17
2
Hey everyone,

pushed by Steve's quotes I decided to travel over 5000 miles and attend WWDC no matter what. I'm terrified cause I've never been to the USA and I'm just starting my "Mac/iOS programming journey".

Can you give me some advices?

First of all - tickets.
Ok, I know I have to be "fast".
But how the procedure of buying tickets looks like? What personal data I will need to fill the form and register tickets? How can I pay for the ticket - PayPal/Credit Card etc?
I've also read I have to be an "Apple Developer". But is it required to be a developer who paid $99?

Ok, I've bought ticket. I'm in San Francisco. What's next?
Can you somehow assess how much it will cost to live there in those days? Hotels, food, other costs.


WWDC schedule.
There are so many sessions that I'm guessing some of them take place at the same time and it is a necessity to choose between them, right?

I'm 19. What surprises can happen to me becouse of my age?

Time after "educational" sessions - what happens then? Is it really a place "to meet great people and make new friends"?
 
Yeh, I have a passport, but I don't have a visa. Probably, I should apply for a visa as soon as it's possible.
 
Make sure you are a registered ( paid ) Developer. Otherwise you have no chance of attending. If you're registered the WWDC2012 site on ADC will have a registration page where you should already have credit card info with Apple to pay for the ticket.

The WWDC site will have links to hotels,restaurants etc. where you can book a room. They usually run around $139-$239 USD per day.

After the WWDC2012 website is live there will be pages for different sessions and schedules where you can organize what you want to do and when.

[edit]

I don't believe WWDC accepts PayPal for tickets. You must have a credit card.

[/edit]
 
Last edited:
I'm from Poland.

So I am a 'Registered Apple Developer' but I didn't pay $99 for iOS Developer Program myself.
The company I cooperate with has bought iOS Developer Program and added me as the "Admin".
Is it enough to buy tickets?

And I've never given to Apple my credit card's number. Ok, so I'm gonna update my profile. Do I have to be a card's owner or may it be e.g my sister's card?
 
Depends on your budget

If you want to stay close to the Moscone center you have many choices, Marriott, Intercontinental, W hotel Westin, St Regis are just a few. The Intercontinental is even on the same block as Moscone West.
These are fairly nice hotels but they are expensive(~$250USD a night). If you are on a budget I would look for hotels a little further out from downtown as long as you find a hotel near a BART station it should not be to hard for you to follow the map to Moscone center.
I have never used Airbnb in SF but you can get some really good deals from what I have seen. Like someone said earlier they have recommendations on where to stay on the WWDC page. Just go online and look, as soon as you get your WWDC ticket book the hotel, do not wait because rooms fill up fast.

Food can be cheap if you are on a budget they feed you at lunch there are snacks you can alway sneak an extra lunch/snacks to eat for dinner if money is really tight.

Lots of parties some you have to be in the "know" to get into but most are all published a few weeks before the event(there is a app for this).

SF is pretty safe place as long as you use common sence, don't walk around with your wallet out and keep a tight grip on bags/iPhone etc.

As far as WWDC itself they publish the schedule about a month before the event and you will build your session plan then. Lots of sessions, for me there is only about 1 conflict a day for sessions I want to go to and you just have to pick. If you are lucky they will have a duplicate session near of the week that you can go to. The Apple design awards, stump and the concert/bash are all a lot of fun.
With Steve gone I have no idea how the keynote line is going to be. In years past it has been a little crazy with people in line at 9pm the night before. As long as you are in line 2.5 hours before the keynote you should not have a problem getting into the main hall, otherwise you will have to sit in an overflow room and watch on a screen but in some cases it is a better view then the people get in the main hall.


This will be my 8th in a row going(if I can get a ticket) hope to see you there.
 
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Peace said:
Under membership does it show an individual ID number ?
Click to expand...

Mmm...Where exactly? I can't find it.
Anyway, I think I can participate in WWDC, because I don't see anymore the button "Join today" next to the "iOS Developer Program".

@lostngone,
yeah, $250 or even $150 a night is quite expensive. I'm going to look for something <$100 if it's possible. Airbnb sounds interesting.
Also, I don't want to spend more than ~$80/100 a day for "other costs" like food, transport etc.

Do you think that tickets will be sold within an hour this year?

Thank you all for your extensive answers. I really apprecieate it.
Hope to see you there too!
 
Moriquendi said:
Mmm...Where exactly? I can't find it.
Anyway, I think I can participate in WWDC, because I don't see anymore the button "Join today" next to the "iOS Developer Program".

@lostngone,
yeah, $250 or even $150 a night is quite expensive. I'm going to look for something <$100 if it's possible. Airbnb sounds interesting.
Also, I don't want to spend more than ~$80/100 a day for "other costs" like food, transport etc.

Do you think that tickets will be sold within an hour this year?

Thank you all for your extensive answers. I really apprecieate it.
Hope to see you there too!
Click to expand...

There is a hostel at 711 Post St. that I walk by a lot when visiting friends in the city, and it is walking distance to the Moscone center (20 min). Just make sure you know where the tenderloin is and stay away.
 
Moriquendi said:
Mmm...Where exactly? I can't find it.
Anyway, I think I can participate in WWDC, because I don't see anymore the button "Join today" next to the "iOS Developer Program".

@lostngone,
yeah, $250 or even $150 a night is quite expensive. I'm going to look for something <$100 if it's possible. Airbnb sounds interesting.
Also, I don't want to spend more than ~$80/100 a day for "other costs" like food, transport etc.

Do you think that tickets will be sold within an hour this year?

Thank you all for your extensive answers. I really apprecieate it.
Hope to see you there too!
Click to expand...

I do not think they will be sold out in under an hour but I would guess it is going to be under 8 hours this year.

You can eat well for 40 dollars a day and as long as you can use the BART for transportation you should have no problems fitting within your daily budget.
Your hotel budget is going to be a little harder but a 100 a night is possible(book as soon as you can). As long as you check the address and scope out transportation to/from the Moscone center via BART you should be fine. If you have to use a taxi you will go over your daily expense budget fast.


More tips....
If at all possible get your conference badge on Sunday, I see a lot of people show up on monday morning right before the keynote to pick up their badges. They have to wait in line to pick up their badge and then get inline again for the keynote.
 
Thanks for the tips.
btw, I thought everyone can get into main hall. You surprised me a little.

Few more questions.
Are the tickets signed to the specific name? For example, can my friend buy a ticket for me?

On what time Apple started selling tickets?
In the morning/afternoon,evening? I'm in Europe so it's about +10 hours here.

Do you use any "WWDC Alerts"?
something like e.g http://wwdcalerts.com
 
Moriquendi said:
Thanks for the tips.
btw, I thought everyone can get into main hall. You surprised me a little.

Few more questions.
Are the tickets signed to the specific name? For example, can my friend buy a ticket for me?

On what time Apple started selling tickets?
In the morning/afternoon,evening? I'm in Europe so it's about +10 hours here.

Do you use any "WWDC Alerts"?
something like e.g http://wwdcalerts.com
Click to expand...

Hold on there, jeffro.

Before any of this, make sure you have a valid passport to enter the US. Poland requires one to visit the US.
 
chrf097 said:
Hold on there, jeffro.

Before any of this, make sure you have a valid passport to enter the US. Poland requires one to visit the US.
Click to expand...

Yeh,I'm currently gathering necessary documents to get a visa. On Monday, I'm going to take new, nice photo :p
I've read that it takes about 2-4 weeks to go through 'visa process' so I'll have it (or not...) by March.

I'm asking these questions earlier just to have a general view of WWDC. Just wait until March - I'm gonna have hundreds questions then:p
 
Moriquendi said:
Thanks for the tips.
btw, I thought everyone can get into main hall. You surprised me a little.

Few more questions.
Are the tickets signed to the specific name? For example, can my friend buy a ticket for me?

On what time Apple started selling tickets?
In the morning/afternoon,evening? I'm in Europe so it's about +10 hours here.

Do you use any "WWDC Alerts"?
something like e.g http://wwdcalerts.com
Click to expand...

They warn you that the tickets are not refundable and can NOT be transferred...

However after you buy the ticket you have to activate it. In your ADC account you can transfer assets. As long as you do not activate the ticket my guess is you can transfer/assign it to another valid ADC account. I believe this is how the scalpers are able to re-sell tickets without running into the transferring issues.
Due to the scalper problems I would not be surprised if Apple somehow changes how they sell tickets this year.

I do not have an exact time/day the tickets go on sale. I have not yet looked into this with great detail but my guess is late march, in the past it has been early in the morning (PST) time.

I did sign up for "WWDC Alerts" but I have also setup a few other failsafe alerts if that service fails.
 
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Good luck in attending :)

I'd love to go however I'm only 16. Im determined to go in a couple of years though. I'm learning iOS programming now.
 
That's a hefty chunk of zloty to fly for the WWDC.

Best of luck in your plans and with figuring everything out. I'm sure if you get tickets, you'll have a blast.

I almost wish I could switch places. Poland's a swell country. Visited for a few days, landed in Katowice, spent a night in Warsaw, spent a couple days in Torun, a night in Krakow and a day in Oswiecim/Auschwitz. Been meaning to go back again.
 
malman89 said:
I almost wish I could switch places. Poland's a swell country. Visited for a few days, landed in Katowice, spent a night in Warsaw, spent a couple days in Torun, a night in Krakow and a day in Oswiecim/Auschwitz. Been meaning to go back again.
Click to expand...

Cracow's best for me ;) (I'm going to study there). Whenever you go back, I will be pleased to give you some guide tips :)

I'd love to go however I'm only 16. Im determined to go in a couple of years though. I'm learning iOS programming now.
Click to expand...
Yeh, I also started at this age. I began with few games on windows, and I'm learning iOS/MacOS programming now. I've learnt everything from the Internet and books at home. It's awesome.

Wish I can meet you all one day.
 
Hey,
Could you tell me at what time I should expect tickets going on sale? I couldn't find any information about it.
Based on earlier experience, Apple will probably start selling them early in the morning (San Francisco time), right?
I assume they won't do it afternoon because in others places (eg New york) it will be after working hours. So 8-10 am seems most likely.
Am I right?
 
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