Although circumstances have unfortunately forced the upcoming 2020 Worldwide Developers Conference to be online-only, I thought it would be fun to look back 30 years to WWDC 1990, the second conference held (and the first for which a CD was published).
On May 7-11, 1990, Apple Computer held the second-ever Worldwide Developers Conference at the (then-new) San Jose Convention Center in San Jose, CA. A newsgroup post indicates that the attendance fee was $195 per day, and hotels were available for $56-135 a night.
Category: Apple History
A Decade of the Apple Store App⇢
On June 15, 2010, Apple released the Apple Store app in the App Store. The app recognized the growing importance of mobile shopping on the iPhone and elevated the in-store experience at Apple Retail Stores. On its 10th anniversary, let’s take a look back at the app’s design evolution and how it changed the way we shop.
This is really cool, and I think I miss the old glossy black buttons apps used to use for things.
"30 Years of TidBITS"⇢
I really enjoyed this interview by John Gruber of Adam Engst. It was fascinating to hear how TidBITS got started and has evolved over the years.
Five Years of Apple Watch
This anniversary snuck up on me, but thankfully plenty of other folks have put together some great content marking the date.
Of course, Rene Ritchie has a great video up:
… and here are some links worth checking out:
- Joe Rossignol has written a nice timeline piece on MacRumors
- David Smith’s original batch of Apple Watch apps
- My review of the original Apple Watch
- MacStories’ overview of the original Apple Watch release
- A cool Twitter thread by Imran Chaudhri about some early design work on the Apple Watch.
Larry Tesler Dies at 74⇢
Larry Tesler, a pioneering computer scientist who worked at Apple from 1980 to 1997, and created computerized cut, copy, and paste, died this week at the age of 74.
Tesler was VP of AppleNet and Apple’s Advanced Technology Group. During his time at Apple, he played a key role in the development of products ranging from the Lisa to the Newton MessagePad.
And that was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to his contribution to computing.
My Cairo Throw⇢
Last week, I linked to this blanket that features designs by Susan Kare. I ended up ordering one and have opened it over on Instagram. I’m going to work out a way to hang it in my studio.
A Plague of Performas⇢
When I mentioned that I was trying to do a weekly chart on Six Colors, Stephen Hackett suggested a few charts that he’d like to see—some silly, some serious. I’m not sure where this one falls. Stephen was curious about how many Macs were released, historically, per year.
It’s a complicated concept. My first thought was to chat all Macs that have ever been alive at any given time, but that would require a level of research that I am not able to do today. Instead, I decided to focus on release years, and scoured the Macs by year page at EveryMac.com to generate a list.
Video: Mac OS 9’s Voiceprint⇢
Mac OS 9 included a featured named Voiceprint, which allowed you to log in to your Mac with just a spoken phrase. It wasn’t great.
Apple didn’t even get the “My voice is my passport” reference right.
Cairo Throw⇢
I’m thinking this would look good as a tapestry in my studio:
The original emoji, Cairo was a typeface designed by Susan Kare in 1984 for the first Macintosh operating system. Taking its name from the hieroglyphics of ancient Egypt, each symbol was drawn by hand using the bitmap grid. A few notable symbols lived on into later operating systems including the cursor and watch.
Kare designed this woven blanket for the Jacquard loom, an early example of computer-controlled machinery, operated with punched cards and invented by Joseph Jacquard in 1801.
iPad at 10
Ten years ago, Steve Jobs introduced the iPad. As you may imagine, there’s quite a collection of stuff to absorb about this:
- Upgrade #82: Jason and Myke discuss the iPad keynote and a lot of what has happened since.
- AppStories #147: Federico and John look back at the introduction of the iPad and how apps have defined the product ever since. John wrote a great article as well, which includes a roundup of all the whacky rumors and rendering leading up to the iPad keynote.
- Simple Beep #88: Ed and Brian walk though the keynote in great detail.
- Debug #41: A 2014 episode of Rene Ritchie’s old podcast, in which Nitin Ganatra talks about the original iPad interface.
- Rene Ritchie’s video on the iPad’s origins.
- The chair Steve Jobs sat in during the keynote.
It’s also fun to revisit old reviews:
About that Easy Pay Video⇢
One of the true gems on The Apple Archive is this video about Easy Pay, a roaming payment solution Apple used in its retail stores back in my day.
Rumor around Apple Retail was that this video was not officially-sanctioned, and that the people involved had been let go after it surfaced. Sean Hollister at The Verge has gotten to the bottom of this once and for all:
I can guess what you’re thinking, but no, these employees were not fired — in fact, a LinkedIn profile suggests lead singer Brian Maslow spent five more years at the company and got promoted first to train his fellow Apple retail employees, later trained Whole Foods employees, and is now a manager of talent development at NBCUniversal.
The Apple Archive⇢
Sam Gold has put together the ultimate Apple press imagery archive. I’m blown away by the work that must have gone into this.