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MacTech Conference 2013: Sponsorship Options

Becoming a MacTech Conference Sponsor

MacTech Conference’s attendees are not only the driving force behind the industry, but they are the most influential in terms of purchasing and product advice. MacTech Conference has a limited number of sponsorship opportunities in a variety of packages to help you get your message out to attendees. Sponsorship pricing is based on packages and start at low out of pocket.

Between 94-96% of MacTech Conference attendees have one-on-one conversations with event sponsors. And, MacTech’s delivery method of sponsor brands gives an incredibly high retention rate for attendees to not only have your brand top of mind, but what your product actually does.

Contact 877-622-2371 for more information. Pricing below is for both MacTech print advertisers, as well as non-advertisers, as indicated.

Note: Customized packages and pricing are available. Give us a call to discuss options.


MacTech Conference Sponsor Comments

“Microsoft is excited to be a sponsor of all MacTech events since 2010. MacTech has consistently given us one of the most valuable ways for us to connect with consultants and IT Pros recommending and supporting Microsoft Office for Mac. In fact, MacTech Conference was the best Apple related show we have been a part of in the last couple years.”

– Susie McDonald, Microsoft Office Marketing Manager

• • • •

“eSellerate has proudly sponsored Mac related events since our inception in 2000 and the MacTech conference proved a wonderful addition to that list. Speakers were both informative and creative (think pirate costume), logistics were effortless and the schedule allowed for both casual conversation and deeper, more serious discussion. In all, it was a well-balanced event that already has us penciling in the 2011 version for attendance and sponsorship.”

– Michele Johannes, eSellerate/MindVision

• • • •

“We had a very successful showing at the MacTech Conference. Our app sales made the top 10 in the Education category during the event, and I’ve got a large number of pre-release reservations for our new SkyWire product. Our demo was well received, and in addition to the exposure at the event, we got great media coverage. Thanks again for the opportunity.”

– Tim DeBenedictis, Founder, Southern Stars

• • • •


Conference Sponsors

Throughout the conference, attendees will see your brand and get exposed to your product. Sessions run throughout each day until dinner when the evening activities begin.

Platinum Sponsor: $17,995 ($23,995 for non-advertisers)

Limit 2

  • Highest level of sponsor (just below MacTech itself)
  • Principle conference sponsors (just below MacTech itself) including special logo placement
  • Larger size logo whenever all sponsor logos shown
  • Logos displayed throughout sessions
  • 5 minute product demo speaking session in one track
    (requires topic approval to verify appropriateness)
  • Includes exclusive sponsorship of one break ($1500, see below)
  • NEW! Vendor Forum 30-minute session (while slots available)
  • EXPANDED! 6′ table for display/demo during lunch on THREE days (Wed, Thurs, Fri). Note: location for lunch each day may change.
  • INCREASED! Includes THREE conference passes (normally $999 each)
  • MORE! Vendors can provide prizes for event raffles for additional visibility.
  • IMPROVED! Vendors can offer discounts on event registration for visibility to both attendees and non-attendees.

  • Vendors can provide giveaways if quantity is available for all attendees.


Gold Sponsor: $9995 ($14,995 for non-advertisers)

  • Logo sponsorship in online show materials (registration)
  • Logo sponsorship in on-site show materials
  • Logos displayed throughout sessions
  • 5 minute product demo speaking session in one track
    (requires topic approval to verify appropriateness)
  • NEW! Vendor Forum 30-minute session (while slots available)
  • EXPANDED! 6′ table for display/demo during lunch on THREE days (Wed, Thurs, Fri). Note: location for lunch each day may change.
  • Includes TWO conference passes (normally $999 each)
  • MORE! Vendors can provide prizes for event raffles for additional visibility.
  • IMPROVED! Vendors can offer discounts on event registration for visibility to both attendees and non-attendees.

  • Vendors can provide giveaways if quantity is available for all attendees.


Silver Sponsor: $6495 ($9495 for non-advertisers)

  • Logo sponsorship in online show materials (registration)
  • Logo sponsorship in on-site show materials
  • Logos displayed throughout sessions
  • EXPANDED! 6′ table for display/demo during lunch on THREE days (Wed, Thurs, Fri). Note: location for lunch each day may change.
  • Includes one conference pass ($999)

  • MORE! Vendors can provide prizes for event raffles for additional visibility.
  • IMPROVED! Vendors can offer discounts on event registration for visibility to both attendees and non-attendees.
  • Vendors can provide giveaways if quantity is available for all attendees.


Bronze Sponsor: $2995 ($4495 for non-advertisers)

  • Logo sponsorship in online show materials (registration)
  • Logo sponsorship in on-site show materials
  • Logos displayed throughout sessions

  • MORE! Vendors can provide prizes for event raffles for additional visibility.
  • IMPROVED! Vendors can offer discounts on event registration for visibility to both attendees and non-attendees.
  • Vendors can provide giveaways if quantity is available for all attendees.


Exclusive Break Sponsor: $1495 ($2295 for non-advertisers)

  • Signage at serving tables for breaks
  • Morning and afternoon break sponsorship available
  • Includes all food/service charges for basic break
  • Additional break options available
  • MORE! Vendors can provide prizes for event raffles for additional visibility.
  • IMPROVED! Vendors can offer discounts on event registration for visibility to both attendees and non-attendees.


Additional Sponsorship Options at Party

On the second night of the conference, attendees will enjoy a party. If you are interested in sponsorship options at the party, contact us for more information.

 

Sponsors

MacTech selects key vendors to be a part of the event. Gold and Silver sponsors will be speaking and attending the event, and can talk to you about the solutions they offer. It’s a unique opportunity to make contacts within these companies and get your questions answered. Interested in sponsoring a one day MacTech BootCamp event? See our MacTech BootCamp sponsorship page.

Who sponsors MacTech’s live events? Here’s a sampling of who has taken part.

 

Media Support

These great publications support MacTech Events in a variety of different ways.

 







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MacTech Conference 2013: Schedule

MacTech Conference is known for packing in a lot of content as well as ample time for networking, activities, and more. We don’t force talks to conform to an arbitrary block of time that works for the conference, but focus on what’s best for the attendee and presenter. Due to this, we list approximate times, but it’s typically a good estimation. This invites discussion from participants and allows a natural flow to the event.

Detailed Color Coded by Track Schedule

For a full view of the schedule, color coded by track, this is best done on our

Calendar Web Page



The following information is NOT for public dissemination or USE. Please do not use them, subscribe to them, publicize them. We will announce when they are ready.

If you’d like to subscribe via iCal, there are four calendars you should subscribe to:

Subscribe to General Schedule

Subscribe to Breakout Track 1 Schedule

Subscribe to Breakout Track 2 Schedule

Subscribe to Special Activities

NOTE: For this to work well, you must change the refresh interval on the calendar to an hour or less. If you don’t, the calendar will be out of date.


The following information is NOT for public dissemination or USE. Please do not use them, subscribe to them, publicize them. We will announce when they are ready.

If you’d like to subscribe via iCal, there are four calendars you should subscribe to:

Subscribe to General Schedule

Subscribe to Breakout Track 1 Schedule

Subscribe to Breakout Track 2 Schedule

Subscribe to Special Activities

NOTE: For this to work well, you must change the refresh interval on the calendar to an hour or less. If you don’t, the calendar will be out of date.


If you’d like to subscribe via iCal, there are four calendars you should subscribe to:

Subscribe to General Schedule

Subscribe to IT Sessions Schedule

Subscribe to Dev Sessions Schedule

Subscribe to Special Activities

More details to come as we get closer to the event.

Schedule

For travel planning purposes, here are a couple of times you may want to know.

 

Tue, November 5th, 2013:

Pre-Conference Workshops

9am: Pre-Conference Registration
– no Conference Registration Please

9:30-10am: Workshops Begin

Workshops include morning break, lunch, and afternoon break.

No evening activities.



Apple Certification Exams

9:00am: Exam Registration and Study Group
– no Conference Registration Please

9:15am-1pm: Course and Exam

Exam Certificates included.



Microsoft Office Accreditation

1:45pm: Accreditation Registration
– no Conference Registration Please

2pm-6pm: Course and Exam

Course includes afternoon break.

No evening activities.

Wed, November 6th:

8am: Conference Registration Begins

10am: Keynote Begins

Schedule includes continental breakfast, lunch, afternoon break, dinner and evening activities.

Thu, November 7th:

8:30am: Breakfast

9:30am: Sessions Begin

Schedule includes full breakfast, morning break, lunch, afternoon break, dinner and evening event party.

Fri, November 8th:

8:30am: Breakfast

9:30am: Sessions Begin

5pm: All Conference Activities Conclude.

Schedule includes full breakfast, morning break, lunch, and afternoon break.







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MacTech Conference: Who attends?

You might be wondering what type of people and companies register to attend MacTech events. There are too many to list. Here’s a good representation of the types of organizations that attend MacTech Conference (not to mention a whole number of independent developers, consultancy firms, and other individuals).



  • 318
  • Aberystwyth University
  • Absolute Software
  • ACI
  • Adobe
  • ADP
  • Advanced DataTools Corporation
  • Aerovironment Inc
  • Alchemy
  • American Chamber of Commerce in Japan
  • American Film Institute
  • Anchorage School District
  • AOL
  • Apparent Software
  • Apple Inc.
  • ARX Networks
  • Association of Corporate Counsel
  • Aura-Gemini Observatory
  • AVAST Software
  • AVG Technologies
  • Big Nerd Ranch
  • Billy Graham Evangelistic Assoc.
  • Boinx Software Ltd.
  • Bowdoin College
  • Brigham Young University
  • Broad Institute
  • California College of the Arts
  • Caltech
  • Celebration Church
  • Checkpoint Services, Inc
  • Cisco Systems
  • Citigroup
  • CMA
  • CMGdigital
  • Code 42 Software, Inc
  • Columbia College
  • Columbia Sportswear
  • Condé Nast
  • ConnectPoint Resolution Systems
  • Conseil Scolaire Francophone
  • Consultant Alliance
  • Core Computing Technologies, Inc.
  • CREDANT Technologies, Inc.
  • Davidson College
  • DaVinci Digital
  • DDB
  • Delicious Monster Software
  • Digicat Systems
  • Digital Desktop Consulting
  • Disney Animation Studios
  • Duke University
  • e3 Software
  • El Monte Union High School District
  • Emory University
  • Envision Design
  • ES3 Inc.
  • eSellerate
  • Evernote
  • Expedia, Inc.
  • Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
  • FileMaker
  • Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy
  • Forget Computers
  • Fourth World
  • Fuller Theological Seminary
  • Genentech
  • Giant
  • Google, Inc.
  • Grainger
  • Groupon, Inc.
  • Hallmark Cards, Inc.
  • Harris Publications
  • Haywood Community College
  • Heatma.ps
  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute
  • Huron City Schools
  • iDeveloper TV
  • Imaging Solutions
  • InfoEther, Inc.
  • Insight
  • inVentiv Health
  • IronGate Server Management
  • J. Paul Getty Trust
  • Jet Propulsion Laboratory
  • Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
  • JPMorgan Chase
  • Kadimac Corp
  • Karelia Software
  • KMSHD
  • L.L. Bean
  • Lamps Plus
  • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
  • LDS Church
  • Liberty University
  • Lockheed Martin
  • Lop AB
  • Los Alamos National Laboratory
  • MacAmerica
  • MacRescue
  • Macroplant Inc.
  • Manila Mail Newspaper
  • Manning
  • Market America

  • Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
  • Microsoft
  • Mid-Pacific Institute
  • Miller Middle School
  • MindVision / eSellerate
  • MIT
  • MITRE
  • MTV Networks
  • MULTI Computers / Genova
  • Munich International School
  • National Institute of Health
  • Nationwide Children’s Hospital
  • Northbrook / Glenview School District
  • Northmont City Schools
  • Northwestern University
  • Nuance
  • O’Reilly Media, Inc.
  • Ohio State University
  • Oklahoma State University
  • Ooyala
  • Organized Village of Kasaan
  • Oser Computer Solutions
  • Ozate
  • Parallels
  • Peachpit Press
  • Penn State University
  • Pixar Animation Studios
  • Point Consultants
  • Pomona College
  • ProVUE Development
  • Puppet Labs
  • Qivliq Commercial
  • Qualcomm
  • Red Sweater Software
  • Reed College
  • Robert Morris University
  • Roche Worldwide
  • Rochester Institute of Technology
  • Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd
  • Royal Caribbean International
  • Ruckus Wireless
  • Sacramento State University
  • Sandia National Laboratories
  • Screen Australia
  • SDS
  • Senqua Corp.
  • Shenandoah University
  • Sheridan College
  • Simon Fraser University
  • Simons Foundation
  • Smith College
  • Solana Beach School District
  • Sony Pictures Entertainment
  • Southern Oregon University
  • Southern Stars
  • SPM Marketing & Communications
  • Sprukfield International
  • Stanford University
  • Swiss Education Group
  • Tee-Boy
  • Tekserve
  • Tethras
  • Texas Instruments
  • Tiffany & Co.
  • TrialPay, Inc.
  • U.S. Army Research Lab
  • UBS
  • UC Denver
  • UCAR/JOSS
  • Ultradent Products Inc.
  • United Lemur
  • United Nurses of Alberta
  • United States Senate
  • University of Alabama
  • University of Alaska Fairbanks
  • University of Arizona
  • University of British Columbia
  • University of California
    (multiple campuses)
  • University of Colorado
  • University of Connecticut
  • University of Hawaii
  • University of Michigan
  • University of San Diego
  • University of Southern California
  • University of Utah
  • University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee
  • Vanderbilt University
  • Virtua Computers Inc
  • VMware
  • Walt Disney Animation Studios
  • Walt Disney Company
  • Walt Disney Studios
  • Watchman Monitoring, Inc.
  • Western Digital
  • Western Kentucky University
  • WorkGroup Technologies
  • Yahoo! Inc.







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MacTech Conference: What do people say?

Right from the start, MacTech Conference has been an International conference. Even the first MacTech Conference had attendees from a majority of states in the U.S., and a wide range of countries from Sweden to Egypt to Japan. If you want to know more, see some attendee comments below.

Attendee Comments

What are MacTech Conference registered attendees saying? See for yourself.


“MacTech is a true, “in the moment”-style tech conference. Last year’s show was packed with the stuff that every developer and support tech wants to see, but the organizers managed to put on a panel about an issue that had broken in the news that very week! The smallish size means that there’s an immediate energy and goal that you don’t get from a conference with a cast of thousands.
     The best compliment I can give is that as soon as the show was over, I was already talking to the MacTech folks about coming back next year.”

– Andy Ihnatko, Columnist

Chicago Sun-Times and Macworld


“As a developer, I’m really looking forward to this year’s dev-track presentations—so much great stuff in every corner of the field. I expect my brain to grow three sizes over the Conference’s three days.”

– Peter Hosey


“If you are truly serious about supporting Apple in the enterprise, then this is the conference for you. At MacTech you will learn from some of the brightest minds in the mac community today”. If you have not signed up yet, do your career a favor and sign up today”.

– Adam Girardi, Systems Manager

University Communications


“If you’re not attending MacTech Conference, you’re missing out. MacTech is a fully immersive conference experience that is truly best of breed. I heavily enjoyed MacTech last year and am much looking forward to attending again this year.”

– Mike Boylan

Robert Morris University


“Last year the MacTech Conference served as kind of an escape from the real world, with its surreal Universal City location, surrounded by hundreds of fellow Mac nerds. I’m excited to see how the conference evolves this year, and really looking forward to seeing many familiar faces from last year.”

– Daniel Jalkut

Red Sweater


“I met a bunch of new people with new skills and new things to share and forged new friendships because of MT. I got a taste of tools that were new to me and that set me on a road to learning to add some new arrows to my quiver. Good sessions, good events, good food – what more could you want!”

– Pam Lefkowitz

Core Computing


“WWDC has sold out faster and faster every year, leaving Mac and iOS developers with few options. The MacTech Conference has stepped up to fill this void with a rich selection of speakers and topics. As a developer, there’s no better place to hone your skills, learn new things, and network directly with your peers. Simply stated, this is a must-attend event.”

– Boisy G. Pitre

Tee Boy


“What I like most about MacTech Conference is the attention to detail, opportunity to network, and the high level of the sessions and other attendees. This year, I’m looking forward to engaging and sharing information with other like-minded individuals, the amazing sessions that are scheduled, and the wonderful extra-curricular activities that MacTech has planned for us. If you want to be “in the know”, network with amazing talent, and attend sessions presented by leading industry experts and high-level sysadmins, then you cannot miss MacTech Conference.”

– Luis Giraldo, Director of Apple Solutions

Fully Managed


“As an Apple Professional, I could not imagine missing MacTech Conference. They have successfully built a conference around speakers who are amazing OS X developers and innovative IT experts. You will walk away from the conference with a head full of knowledge, inspiring ideas, new friends, and a better connection to the community in which we all rely.”

– Nathan Toups

rojoroboto


“What I liked most about MacTech was being in a room full of people smarter than me. Seriously though, it was an incredible place to meet and network with professionals in the Mac industry. Where else can you bowl with the Adobe Mac enterprise team and play games to win tickets for a disco ball to give to the Worldwide Mac Operations Dude for Google? I’m looking forward to cramming my head full of new content regarding Lion, iOS, and the future of mobile computing. I’m also excited to reconnect with people from last year and meet new people too!
     MacTech is a different kind of a tech conference. It focuses on the things we as professionals want to learn, but leaves time to network and have fun. You should attend this event because you’ll not only walk away with a head stuffed full of knowledge, but also some new friends!”

– Derick Okihara, IT Technician

Mid-Pacific Institute


“A great opportunity to meet face-to-face and discuss problems and real-world solutions with IT professionals from around the world.”

– Mary Norbury-Glaser, Director of IT

UCDenver


“MacTech Conference promises to have all the knowledge sharing of other events, but without the distractions of that come with companies targeting consumers. I am looking forward to seeing my fellow Apple Consultants Network members, as well as putting faces to so many other new names I’ve seen in the past year.”

– Allen Hancock

Apple Consultants Network List Co-Moderator

President, Mac Consulting Group, Inc.

Founder of Watchman Monitoring


MacTech Conference Comments

What did MacTech Conference attendees say after the event?

“It gave me the inspiration I’ve been needing to get out of my comfort zone and take the next steps to learn new tools and information.”

“Aside from the informative IT Track sessions, during the meals and breaks, hearing other conference attendees discuss how they overcame many of the same obstacles that I am facing.”

“Meeting people who do similar work to myself and realizing that they face many of the same challenges and solve them with a variety of knowledge bases, skills and budgets. I had the opportunity to meet some really smart tech who can do some mind-blowing stuff to get work done.”

“For me, it’s always about being in that group of like-minded people.”

“Hearing from enterprise system administrators (and developers of tools) about best practices in managing large groups of Macs.”

“The small size of the conference combined with the free meals made it much easier to connect with other people in the field. This is something lacking at other events where it’s just a sea of people.”

“Being able to talk directly with the session presenters and with other Mac admins.”

“The collection of Mac brainiacs all in one place.”

“Fostering new relationships and strengthening others.”

“Amazing job guys. It was as if you’ve been organizing conferences for years. The bar is set amazingly high for future years.”

“It was awesome, looking forward to registering for next year!”







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MacTech Conference 2013: Sessions


Sessions Overview

The Conference begins at 10am on Wednesday, November 6th, 2013 (registration opens at 8am). There will be 3 days of solid sessions with lunch and breaks provided. Dinner and evening activities will be held on Wednesday and Thursday, November 6th and 7th, and there’s Pre-Conference Workshops available the day prior (Tue, Nov 5th). The conference will wrap up on Friday by 5pm (a half day longer than last year).

Sessions are held back-to-back, maximizing content and packing in all that we can. No worries, however, there’s plenty of breaks and networking time as well.

Sessions are organized into:

Joint sessions are given to the joint developer/IT audience. Breakout sessions are given in either the developer or IT tracks. Labs are also specific to a track. To keep things fast-paced and action packed, in between full sessions, MacTech Conference uses our QuickTalk™ format — 5 minute sessions that give you what you need to know, to know if want to know more. While session start times may not align between tracks, attendees are welcome to attend either track, space permitting.

NOTE: These are simply SOME of the sessions we’re releasing information on.
Many more sessions and labs will continue to be added over the next several weeks.

Note: All times are approximate. All sessions, speakers and descriptions are subject to change at any time without notice.


Sessions Chair


Edward R. Marczak, MacTech Magazine
Conference Sessions Chair and IT Track Sessions Chair

Ed is the Executive Editor of MacTech Magazine, the author of several books, and Worldwide Mac Operations Dude at Google. As MacTech Conference’s Sessions Chair, Ed heads up the sessions, and lab content.

Neil Ticktin, MacTech Magazine

Neil not only plays host for all MacTech events, but aids the session chairs for all MacTech events (17 events in 2013). Neil has been the Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of MacTech Magazine since 1992. With both a technical and business background, Neil has authored hundreds of articles including most of MacTech’s well known benchmarking articles on productivity applications, virtualization, and performance products.


Keynotes



Keynote
Jacqui Cheng, Ars Technica

Ars Technica Editor-at-Large, Jacqui Cheng will give the keynote at MacTech Conference 2013, which will be held November 6-8, 2013 at the Manhattan Beach Marriott in Los Angeles, California.


Joint Sessions



Take Control TechUp
Tonya Engst, TidBITS

Solidify the knowledge you’ve gained during MacTech Conference by participating in the Take Control TechUp, an event that will quiz conference attendees on the topics covered in a wide variety of sessions. This interactive session will pit you against your fellow-conference goers to see who best remembers the technical content from our expert-level talks. (with Adam Engst)

Take Control TechUp
Adam Engst, TidBITS

Solidify the knowledge you’ve gained during MacTech Conference by participating in the Take Control TechUp, an event that will quiz conference attendees on the topics covered in a wide variety of sessions. This interactive session will pit you against your fellow-conference goers to see who best remembers the technical content from our expert-level talks. (with Tonya Engst)

Good, Better, Best: In product lines and in life
Andy Ihnatko

Apple often organizes its product lines so that users can choose between “Good,” “Better,” and “Best” options. One is practical, one is aspirational, and the middle one is a compromise at worst and a fusion at best. Their announcements in October underscored this philosophy in a new and unexpected way, with a simple alignment of iPad hardware and major rewrite of applications that redefined their roadmap. “Good, Better Best” isn’t a core philosophy but it’s a useful concept. How can “Good, Better, Best” improve your own project plans? And how can it inform your plans for life itself?.

Documentation Can Be a Beautiful Thing
Angel Stone

This workshop will be dedicated to creating and maintaining documentation for both users and for the technicians/developers themselves. The goal would be to cover a range of tools that can be used for creating documentation both written and video. I envision a quick demo of some of the tools. Some discussion on best practices using perception and cognition science as a background.

Hacking the Science of the Brain to Create Unforgettable Presentations
David Koff

How playing to your key talents and expertise and understanding how the brain works visually can help you to craft a presentation that will be memorable long after you’ve finished speaking.

NewStarship
Drew Furney

Hear from the CEO and CTO what the NewStarship project is all about, and how you may get involved if you are so inclined.


Developer Track



Intro to Internals
Gwynne Raskind, Chaotic Moon Studios

The “fundamentals” of computing are things like binary, meaning “on” and “off”; the components of a system, such as RAM, ROM, CPU, and I/O devices; operating systems, and the differences between them; skill at typing and use of software. On these, developers build programs, using languages and algorithms that tie these supposed basics together in new and (hopefully) better ways. The most effective developers are experts in how and why their code works, but CPU architectures, assembly language, Application Binary Interfaces, and the role of a kernel in running an OS are just some of the things many developers know little or nothing about. This talk aims to introduce as many of these “internals” as possible, in the hope of helping both new and experienced developers understand better the operation of the machines they command.

How to make a great user interface
Peter Hosey

What separates great user interfaces from the merely decent, and how to move your interface from one to the other.

Putting together an iBook – An Interactive Talk
Maria Bouniol, Maria B. Design

Learn the different ways of making ebooks compatible with iBooks. We will focus on the three different ways to make an ebook bring the most out of the story you want to tell, from flowing text to rich fixed layouts, you will learn how to bring everything together down to the nitty gritty. Want to take advantage of iBooks specific features like engaging multitouch interaction? Stick around for the second part of the talk where you will be able to download assets to build an iBook from scratch with iBooks Author in an interactive workshop.

Consuming Web APIs, the TDD way
Luis Solano, Pixable

The way our apps communicate with services across the wire has a tremendous impact in the final user experience. This talk will cover what it takes to bring the best experience to end users by properly consuming web APIs. We will talk about creating and consuming a web service, following best practices in API design and we will explore different possibilities on how to design API clients. We’ll take a look at major concerns like networking, parsing, caching, and error handling, while emphasizing testing and driving the design of our clients with TDD. We’ll discuss best practices, tools and tricks to get the best from an API and bring it to our users.

iOS Development at Google – How we make it work
Dave Maclachlan

Did you know Google ships 25+ iOS apps? This talk will focus on doing iOS development at Google and the techniques we use to design, develop and ship high quality software on the “other” mobile platform using Google Maps as a bit of a case study.

I Built an App! Now What!?
Kelly Guimont, TUAW

Development is important. Without development, there’s no app. So now it’s finished, and you release it in the App Store and go shopping for a private island to buy with all your App Store money, right? Oh, honey. No. You need to worry about the description of the app and which screenshots to put in the store. You need to use your contacts and the contact forms of others to get the word out. You need to go on podcasts, take out ads, hustle hustle hustle. And suppose that all works, and the users come. They will press button combinations and install on hardware you didn’t realize was possible in this universe or any other. Do you have anyone ready to handle the email or phone calls or tweets or Facebook posts? If that’s you, how much time does that leave for the inevitable bug fixes? This will be a discussion about all the things I hear from developers about how they forgot or didn’t realize all the stuff that went intoan app besides building it.

Use the Same Code to Create Native Apps and Websites
Brad Hutchings, Componentx

In this session, I’ll introduce Xojo, a development environment that can create apps that not only run natively on OS X and on the web. This opens up a whole new range of possibilities for consistent cross-platform development. It also gives us a way to interact with users using devices we may not have experience with.

Designing Engagement
Jaimee Newberry, Bests.com

Engagement metrics aside, how are you engaging your users at an emotional level? How much thinking goes into the personality and tone of your product? What about writing the error messages, alerts, calls-to-action, descriptions or release notes? Whether you have a playful concept or big brand product yet to be built, or a product that’s been out for a while, Jaimee wants to share some very important considerations in design thinking and copywriting to help your products become more fun, delightful and emotionally engaging experiences for your users.

Constructing Parsers with Ragel and Objective-C
Jim Rea, Provue

Many programming projects require text to be tokenized and parsed. In the past this was done manually, but now there are a variety of automatic tokenizers and parsers that can greatly simplify this task. This talk focuses on Ragel, a lightweight tokenizer that can easily be integrated with Xcode and Objective-C. Ragel uses a grammar that is very similar to regular expressions to specify the grammar you want to tokenize. Ragel converts your grammar specification into a finite state machine that directly interfaces with C functions or Objective-C methods. Unlike more complex automatic parsing tools, Ragel is extremely lightweight (does not even require linking with a framework), is fully compatible with Unicode text (can be configured to tokenize input from NSString objects), and generates code that has no license restrictions (Ragel itself is licensed under GPL). Ragel has been in continuous development for over 12 years, and has a an active user community. If your Mac or iOS application needs parse text, consider using Ragel as the core of your parser.

Automating Business
Joe Workman

No matter how hard developers try, we will never be able to add more hours to the day. This is why automation is key to running a successful indie business. Automation is more than just writing some ruby scripts. Its also about brining on staff to help with things that you don’t need to do. Its about implementing systems that will make you become more efficient.

Pre-Conference Workshop – iOS Development 101
Brian Moakley

This optional, full-day workshop takes place the day prior to MacTech Conference 2013 and is available at a discount for conference attendees. See https://www.mactech.com/conference/2013/workshops for more information on this workshop.

Pre-Conference Workshop – Mastering Auto Layout
Rich Warren, Freelance Mad Science Labs

This optional, full-day workshop takes place the day prior to MacTech Conference 2013 and is available at a discount for conference attendees. See https://www.mactech.com/conference/2013/workshops or more information on this workshop.

Passbook for Developers
Philippe Casgrain, LightSpeed Retail

Passbook is one of the most underrated features of iOS 6. In this session, we will explore how to create and maintain interactive, auto-updating, user-specific passes from basic design to server-side endpoints. From event tickets to geo-localized coupons, learn how you can create engaging passes as successfully as the NSNorth conference. There might even be a live demo with audience participation (network and Demo Gods permitting).

Creating 2D Games with Sprite Kit
Rich Warren, Freelance Mad Science Labs

The Sprite Kit framework allows the development of high-performance 2D games. It combines everything you need to animate sprites, simulate physics and create visually stunning particles. While third-party libraries like Cocos2D have provided similar features, Sprite Kit tightly integrates everything into a single, easy-to-use API. In this session, we will examine Sprite Kit’s features and demonstrate using Sprite Kit to achieve many common features in games (animating a sprite, adding physics, detecting collisions and adding particles). We will also look at Apple’s support for Sprite Kit in Xcode. Finally, we will discuss the similarity and differences between Sprite Kit and other technologies.

Dependencies Done Right with CocoaPods
Michele Titolo, Prolific Interactive

Using Open Source code in your project has become an essential part of development. Finding good Open Source projects can be difficult. Including that code can get messy. This is where CocoaPods comes in. CocoaPods manages library dependencies for iOS and OS X. This session will introduce CocoaPods, walk through a simple integration, and provide some best practices, tips, and tricks to help you make the most out of it.

Reverse Engineering 101
Sam Marshall, Chaotic Moon Studios

An introduction to the methods and practices used in reverse engineering. This talk will give you a foundation in the philosophy behind this difficult process, and detail several approaches to getting started with reverse engineering on OS X and iOS.


IT Track



Economical Shared Storage that’s Blazing Fast!
CV Rao, TechOne Centre

Xsan to the desktop – thanks to: Xsan being part of OS X, Promise SAN Links, Thunderbolt, Promise X30 and FibreChannel to the desktop. I’ll show pictures, screenshots, video’s of the work and performance. I’ll talk about the architecture and design that went into the solution. I’ll also encourage the idea of using Xsan for everyday shared storage and not just for video.

Current storage and how it is evolving in the near future
Ryan Grimes, HoosierMac Consulting

Right now storage is on the verge of being transformed from how we traditionally view our server environments into something completely different. Traditionally we have connected storage to servers directly, but with the advent of technologies such as virtualization, faster network infrastructure, and faster storage that is changing quickly. SSD’s, 10Gbe, large drive capacities are all driving this change. I would talk about how services are being migrated from servers with directly attached storage to a shared storage environment with multiple servers talking to it and sharing it out and how this changes costs and planning for your business or school.

The Business side of things…
Tim Nyberg, The MacGuys+

I would venture that many of us started out as a technician working for someone else. At some point we jumped ship with a few clients and set out to “do things better”. Soon we realized there was so much more to running a business then just being a great tech. In this round table session we are going to talk about the things we have learned about running our businesses, Please come ready to share your ideas and dig for a few gold nuggets for your own bag of tricks. Some of the topics we’ll address are Accounting, managing client impressions, Marketing, Business planning, employee’s, retirement, insurance, vacations, phone systems, web pages, and all the other things we have learned as we transitioned from Technician to business person.

LiveCode: An Open Source Addition to Your DevOps Toolkit
Richard Gaskin, Fourth World Media Corporation

With an easy-to-learn language and integrated GUI support, LiveCode has become the go-to solution for a wide range of tools from decision support, training, data management, dashboards, and more. Now that LiveCode is open source, many organizations are discovering the benefits of being able to rapidly deploy applications across the enterprise, serving users running Mac, Windows, and even mobile devices running iOS and Android. This session will provide an overview of the strengths and weaknesses of LiveCode, focusing on areas where it can be particularly useful for devops, with an introduction to its scripting language and object model so you can hit the ground running using it within your own organization.

iOS Deployment & Management Strategies
Nick McSpadden, Schools of the Sacred Heart, San Francisco

Come learn about strategies for managing and deploying iOS. I’ll cover the different models (institutional, personal, layered) for deploying to users, and the use of Apple Configurator. In addition, for management strategies, I’ll talk about the value and features offered by MDM products and the various approaches and benefits you can enjoy as a result of using them. Finally, from a soft point of view, a case study of my deployment of 900 iPads for students across K-12 and the methods used to accomplish it.

IPv6
Pam Lefkowitz, Core Computing Technologies, Inc.

How will IPv6 impact our network? How will IPv6 impact our servers? How will it impact our desktops? What about NAT? What about firewalls? How does IPv6 impact my desktops and their interaction with my servers…and vice-versa? And what about DNS? There will be math.

Security: Making Mavericks Work for You!
Samuel Keeley, AFP548

Security: Making Mavericks Work for You!

Python for the Systems Administrator
Matt Schnittker, Walt Disney Animation Studios

A hands-on lab, bringing system administrators from the basics of Python through building a useful utility to take away. (with Greg Neagle)

Building virtual Mac environments with VMware Fusion
Rich Trouton, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

When new software appears, Mac admins need test Macs that match their standard configuration in order to verify that the new software doesn’t adversely affect anything in their environment. VMware’s addition of NetBoot support to VMware Fusion means that NetBoot can be leveraged to get virtual Macs set up quickly for testing use. This session will cover how to leverage VMware Fusion, NetBoot and other tools to rapidly build OS X virtual machines to desired specifications, as well as how to migrate VMware Fusion-built OS X and OS X Server VMs to VMware’s ESXi hypervisor.

WiFi Design
Jeanette Lee, Ruckus Wireless

When dealing with wireless LAN, planning and design are vital to success. Planning, best practices, deployment, tools of the trade and techniques are the key. But, it’s also about how to analyze, track down problems, and how to deal with problems as you find them. Jeanette’s deep knowledge as a WiFi engineer will allow you gain insight, and understanding about wireless that most people never get a chance to hear.

Help us, help you: Effectively troubleshooting OS X
Michael Lynn

Determining why one machine or application installation acts differently than another can be maddening. You’ve verified the hardware is working correctly – why won’t the software behave? This session will cover fundamental diagnostic procedures for OS X using Apple’s built-in tools in addition to third-party utilities. With our growing enterprise community, knowledge of these simple methods can help us save time and work together more efficiently to better serve our customer base.

Mastering Users: The People side of IT
Tom Bridge, Technolutionary

Most of us, we hack systems. We make impossibly complex computer networks, work with massive storage arrays, insanely complex directory structures, but what about the people we work for? IT isn’t just about the technical side, it’s about the human side, and if you’re working against the human factors, no amount of technical know-how, arm-twisting and generalized control regime will get you what you want

Python for the Systems Administrator
Greg Neagle, Senior Systems Engineer, Walt Disney Animation Studios

A hands-on lab, bringing system administrators from the basics of Python through building a useful utility to take away. (with Matt Schnittker)

Pre-Conference Workshop – The Automation Mindset: Scripting, Command Line, and More
Scott Neal, acmeFoo

This optional, full-day workshop takes place the day prior to MacTech Conference 2013 and is available at a discount for conference attendees. See https://www.mactech.com/conference/2013/workshops for more information on this workshop.

Pre-Conference Workshop – iOS Mobility Solutions
Russell Poucher, Creative Resources Technology Group, Inc.

This optional, full-day workshop takes place the day prior to MacTech Conference 2013 and is available at a discount for conference attendees. See https://www.mactech.com/conference/2013/workshops for more information on this workshop.

Pre-Conference Workshop – Microsoft Office for Mac Accreditation
Brian Govatos, Microsoft Senior Trainer

This optional, half-day workshop takes place the day prior to MacTech Conference 2013 is included with your MacTech Conference registration. See https://www.mactech.com/conference/2013/microsoft-office-accreditation for more information.

The State of Apple IT
Charles Edge, 318

From the design house to the enterprise, our community of Apple admins continues to change. With an annual release cycle of the operating system and new features arriving with every point release, the skills we need to survive change in quarters now, not decades. This session will be an overview of where that Mac Admin community is today and may even (gasp) include a little prognostication of what’s to come. We’ll look at the MacTech sessions and how they interweave with the culture of our community. We’ll review the good, the bad, the ugly and the just plain delusional aspects of what’s happening in the industry and how those moves impact us and some of the areas where we’re still shielded given the unique elements of our platform.”

The State of Apple ID
Marc Grayson, Apple Product Manager at Emerging Health IT

Apple is continually changing the rules for Apple IDs, iTunes accounts, and more. Learn the latest rules, how devices are treated, migrating to new hardware, dealing with multiple IDs, and iCloud. Find out right way for working with Apple IDs in an enterprise environment for deployment and imaging. Learn the restrictions for merging Apple IDs and how to combine them.

NOTE: These are simply SOME of the sessions we’re releasing information on.
Many more sessions and labs will continue to be added over the next several weeks.







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