Pre-Conference Workshops

New to 2013 is the addition of SIX optional, certifications and pre-conference workshops -- half-day for a study group and Apple Certification Exams in the morning (additional charge), half-day Microsoft Office for Mac Accrediation (afternoon, no additional charge), and four full-day Pre-Conference Workshops (additional charge). The Office accreditation is limited in size, but we confirm your spot at registration time. The exams must be reserved well in advance. And, the workshops are small group, interactive and hands-on. Student to teacher ratios are approximately 25:1 or better.

Where approrpriate, instructors may require you to bring a computer with specific, and freely available tools or software installed (such as Xcode).

• Apple Certification Exams
  Tue Nov 5, 9am-1pm. Early Bird Pricing: $199, (Normally $299)
  
  
• Microsoft Office for Mac Accreditation
  Tue Nov 5, 2pm-6pm. First 100 attendees included with MacTech Conference Registration
  
  
• iOS Development 101
  Tue Nov 5, 9am-6pm. Lunch included. Early Bird Pricing: $299, (Normally $499)
  
  
• Adding iCloud Syncing to your App
  Tue Nov 5, 9am-6pm. Lunch included. Early Bird Pricing: $299, (Normally $499)
  
  
• The Automation Mindset: Scripting, Command Line, and More
  Tue Nov 5, 9am-6pm. Lunch included. Early Bird Pricing: $299, (Normally $499)
  
  
• iOS Mobility Solutions
  Tue Nov 5, 9am-6pm. Lunch included. Early Bird Pricing: $299, (Normally $499)
  
  

You can register for the pre-conference workshops when you register for MacTech Conference 2013 (it's an option on the registration form). Or, if you are already registered for MacTech Conference, simply contact MacTech customer service to assist you.

Note: Workshops may require minimum participation levels. All times are approximate. All sessions, speakers and descriptions are subject to change at any time without notice.

Apple Certification Exams
Study Group and Exams by v.2 Consulting, MacTech Conference Testing Partner

Prior to MacTech Conference but at the same venue, Apple Certification Exams will be available during the "Pre-Conference" activities on Tuesday. On Tuesday morning, our testing partner and local Apple Authorized Training Center, v.2 Consulting, Inc., will offer a study hour and exam session on-site. Testing will conclude by 1pm (if not earlier), so that you can also attend the Microsoft Office for Mac Accreditation.

All registered attendees to MacTech's 2013 Events, are welcome to register for the study group and an exam. The price is normally $299, but you can register early at $199. Space is limited.

What attendees need to bring: A laptop (not an iPad) with a web browser.

See additional information on the Apple Certification Exams page.

Ready to register for MacTech Conference?
Do so now as space is limited for ALL pre-conference activities.

Microsoft Office for Mac Accreditation
Workshop taught by Brian Govatos, Microsoft Trainer

Microsoft has created a new pilot program specifically designed to train and accredit Apple techs and consultants on Microsoft Office for Mac and Office 365 suites. The "Microsoft Office for Mac Accredited Support Professional" accreditation is a half day long pilot program, and will take place the day prior to each MacTech BootCamp II, and MacTech Conference in 2013. This new Microsoft accreditation program is training and evaluation focused on the issues every consultant and tech should know when advising on or supporting Microsoft Office for Mac, and Microsoft Office 365, with a focus on Apple users.

All registered attendees to MacTech's 2013 Events, are welcome to attend the course, and become accredited, at no charge. Space is limited. If you haven't already registered for MacTech Conference 2013, you can do so now.

What attendees need to bring: Nothing required, but it's helpful to bring a Mac with Office for Mac installed.

See additional information on the Microsoft Accreditation page.

Ready to register for MacTech Conference?
Do so now as space is limited for ALL pre-conference activities.

iOS Development 101
Workshop taught by Brian Moakley, raywenderlich.com

Are you a beginner to iOS, or are you an intermediate iOS developer looking to brush up your foundational skills? Then iOS 101 is for you!

iOS 101 is day-long workshop that consists of several lectures and live coding demos followed by hands-on labs. It covers the following material:

• A crash course in Objective-C
• Making your first iPhone app
• Using common UIKit controls, such as buttons, sliders, and text fields
• Using the Storyboard editor
• Transitioning between view controllers with segues
• Using Navigation Controllers
• Using table views to display lists of data
• (Time permitting) Saving data to disk
• (Time permitting) Introduction to iPad development

This workshop is a high intensity crash course where you'll learn a lot, code a lot, and (if you're lucky) leave with some epic loot at the end! :]

By the end of the workshop, you'll have developed several iOS apps by yourself, from scratch, that are actually useful! You'll leave with a firm foundation of iOS skills that you can use to make the most of the rest of the conference.

What attendees need to bring: Attendees will need laptops w/ Xcode installed, but devices (iPhones, iPads, etc) are optional as the workshop can be done just with the simulator.

Ready to register for MacTech Conference?
Do so now as space is limited for ALL pre-conference activities.

Adding iCloud Syncing to your App
Workshop taught by Rich Warren

iCloud Document Storage should have been the killer features from iOS 5. The ability to seamlessly and transparently move documents between iOS, Mac OS X and even Windows, should have radically altered the way we think about our data. Unfortunately, two years after it's initial release, very few applications have successfully adopted iCloud storage.

Part of the problem comes from the complexity of the API. Even if iCloud does "just work," implementing it is far from trivial. Documentation has been scarce, with key points scattered across different files. Worse yet, it is often difficult (if not impossible) to determine whether the bugs are our fault or whether Apple is to blame. In fact, developer frustration with iCloud--and in particular, with iCloud's Core Data support--has lead to a significant amount of bad press in recent months. As a result, developer uptake remains exceedingly slow.

In this workshop, we will explore the three main APIs that Apple has provided for iCloud syncing: key-value storage, document storage and Core Data support. We will then discuss the strengths and weaknesses of iCloud, common misconceptions about iCloud, and--more generally--separate those aspects of iCloud that work from the elements that still cause some difficulty.

Finally, we will look at tools and techniques to peek inside iCloud's operations, to help monitor, test and manage all aspects of document syncing. We will also look possible workarounds for many common problems. Yes, the road has been bumpy and uneven, but this workshop will help fill in the worst potholes and put your app development back in the fast lane.

What attendees need to bring: (Being determined. More info to come.)

Ready to register for MacTech Conference?
Do so now as space is limited for ALL pre-conference activities.

The Automation Mindset: Scripting, Command Line, and More
Workshop taught by Scott M. Neal, Mindset Garden/AcmeFoo

You see all the cool stuff in MacTech magazine (and elsewhere) about scripting, automation, etc., but you haven't been able to apply those articles to your own uses as well as you would like…

You certainly do NOT have time to get a 4-year Computer Science degree to learn to become a programmer…

Why not let a programmer who works closely with non-programmers on a regular basis give you a crash course in Automation--the basics that you need to be able to walk away with your own Automation at the end of a single day?

In this one-day compressed course, learn the basics of Automation using Automator, AppleScript, and Xcode. It won't make you a full-blown programmer, but you'll have the basics you need to not only work with other scripts and modify them in useful ways, but also write your very own scripts from scratch!

Scott M. Neal will happily plant the Automation Mindset into your brain, allowing you to see the big picture about Automation, from scripting to basic programming (and much in between).

What attendees need to bring: (Being determined. More info to come.)

Ready to register for MacTech Conference?
Do so now as space is limited for ALL pre-conference activities.

iOS Mobility Solutions
Workshop taught by Workshop taught by Russell Poucher, Creative Resources Technology Group

Mobility solutions are in high demand and this hands-on workshop delivers services on Apple's mobile platforms. And, mass deployments make it that much more challenging. Upon completion of the iOS Mobility workshop, you will be able to have the technical capability to deploy iOS projects and breadth of knowledge on core set up, configuration and security management of iOS devices.

Description (Hands on and Set up of Mobile devices- BYOD Required):

• Installation and set up of iOS devices
• Integration of iOS devices
• Device and Data Protection
• Network and App. Security
• Support of iOS devices
• iOS devices within intermingled network environments

What attendees need to bring: Attendees need to bring an iOS device and an Apple laptop with the latest version of OS on each device.

Ready to register for MacTech Conference?
Do so now as space is limited for ALL pre-conference activities.

What's new this year? New Venue. Expanded Schedule. Pre-Conference Workshops. More Sessions. More Labs. More Certifications. New Vendor Forums. This year's event has an expanded schedule with more time for even more sessions, new and expanded labs, more peer networking opportunities, additional accreditations, and optional pre-conference workshops. Our new Pre-Conference Workshops and the acclaimed Microsoft Office for Mac Accreditation Courses take place on Tue, November 5, 2013. And the core of the event: the sessions? It's better than ever! Great speakers. Awesome, timely topics for both IT and Devs. There's a whole lot more industry leaders, sessions, and even surprise speakers coming. MacTech Conference 2013 will be three full days — this year, we're adding a half day of content on the last day, and we'll end by 5pm on Friday. Not to mention our widely talked about evening events. And, we're really excited about our new venue: The Manhattan Beach Marriott. It's a beautiful venue, much closer to LAX, overlooks a golf course, and is an even better deal on guest rooms. As it did last year, the discounted guest room block is expected to sell out, so don't wait (you must be registered for MacTech Conference to reserve). Register by August 15th, and save $500 on Super Early Bird Pricing!