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Press Release: March 27, 2003

2003 O'Reilly Mac OS X Conference: Call for Participation

Sebastopol, CA--Developers, system administrators, IT managers, and power users are invited to submit proposals for the second annual O'Reilly Mac OS X Conference, taking place at the Westin Santa Clara in Santa Clara, CA from October 27-30, 2003.

The O'Reilly conference program committee is seeking a wide range of presentations, from overviews of cutting edge projects, to practical, hands-on advice from presenters who are immersed in the nuts-and-bolts operation of Mac OS X, as well as those who are creating its future. We're also looking for proposals aimed at CIOs and design managers evaluating a switch or trying to understand the latest tools and techniques. Proposals on scripting, particularly AppleScript, as well as topics that address applications, hacks, sys admin Mac style, Unix relationships, networking, and the iApps are especially welcome.

"Without a doubt, Mac OS X is the coolest and most powerful platform around today. We want this conference to capture what people find exciting about Mac OS X," observes O'Reilly & Associates founder and president Tim O'Reilly. "Individuals and institutions are 'switching' in droves, and innovative applications are appearing first on the Mac. Rendezvous, the iApps, Sherlock and Watson, the sleek Aqua interface and its underpinnings in new graphics libraries like Quartz Extreme, the tight integration with Unix and compatibility with its rich open source heritage, all have competitors feverishly revamping their product plans and trying to catch up. Meanwhile, Mac users themselves, and the administrators who support them, are working hard to master the incredible wealth of new functionality that's open to them."

The conference begins with one day of in-depth tutorials, followed by three days of sessions covering the landscape of Mac OS X development: technologies, methodologies, and techniques that save time, increase functionality, and make a computer fun to use, oriented to two principal audiences:

  • System administrators, especially those in a design environment, traditional Mac admins getting up to speed on Unix, as well as Unix admins who now have to support applications like Quark and Photoshop.

  • Developers who want to understand and leverage the new paradigms at the heart of Mac OS X, from Rendezvous to web services, from Cocoa to Quartz Extreme.

The conference program committee also hopes to have a substantial number of talks aimed at power users.

Individuals, companies, and project teams interested in making presentations, giving a tutorial, or participating in panel discussions are invited to submit proposals. Proposals will be considered in two categories: tutorials and conference presentations (sessions). Session presentations are either 45 or 90 minutes long, and tutorials are either a half-day (three hours) or full day (six hours). Presentations by marketing staff or with a marketing focus will not be accepted; neither will submissions made by anyone other than the proposed speaker. Session proposals should be a thoughtful summary or abstract; outlines are preferred for tutorial proposals. Please provide enough information for the committee to understand the topic being covered. Proposals are due May 14, 2003. Speakers will be notified of acceptance by June 30, 2003.

If you're interested in joining or moderating a panel discussion, or otherwise contributing to the conference, please send a message to [email protected].

Comments about the 2002 O'Reilly Mac OS X Conference:

"Last week's O'Reilly Mac OS X Conference marked the rise of the first major new Macintosh conference in years. Luminaries from the Macintosh and Unix worlds, brought together by Apple's melding of the Mac OS and Unix in Mac OS X, mingled with a similarly eclectic mix of several hundred attendees. I found my three days of attending sessions, chatting with speakers and attendees, browsing the small room of exhibitors, and giving several presentations both enjoyable and illuminating..."
--Adam Engst, TidBITS, October 7, 2002

"One of the highlights of an O'Reilly conference is that not only are you able to attend tutorials and sessions that are really quite beneficial, but you get to network with people who work in and lead the industry...If this is how all O'Reilly conferences are, I'll be at every one."
--Brandon Collins, MacSpotlight, October 2002

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