The Twelfth annual Technical Conference for leading edge developers
June 26-28, 1997, Holiday Inn Fairlane, Dearborn, Michigan
Greetings, MacHack XI attendees! We hope you had a great time this year and that you will return to join us next year for yet another wonderful MacHack. Please help us bring you the latest news as the 1997 conference takes shape, by doing the following:
- Fill out the survey that will be sent with the CD-ROM this Summer.
We need your input to understand your needs for next year.
- Join the MacHack-L announcement list for important updates.
To subscribe, send a message to majordomo@machack.com with the body containing SUBSCRIBE MacHack-L
- On the Web, visit <http://www.machack.com/>
- E-mail <expotech@aol.com> to keep your contact info up to date.
The MacHack XII conference committee (partial list)
Chairman: Raines Cohen <raines@machack.com>
Sessions: Eric Gundrum
Sessions subcommittee: Chris Russ
Apple Liaison: Jim Black
Papers: Chris Haupt
Papers helpers: Bill
Keynote: John Kalb
Keynote backup: Chris Allen
Code Clinic: Alex McKale
Machine Room: Steve Sisak
Machine Room helpers: Josh Dady, Keith Stattenfield
CD-ROM: Mike Rutman
CD-ROM helpers: Keith Stattenfield, Al Evans
Sponsorship: Brian Hall
Sponsorship helper: Dave Koziol
Internet connectivity: Brad Kollmyer
Volunteers: Gerry Felipe
AV Coordination: ExpoTech
Look-and-Feel coordinator: Grant Neufeld
Michigan Liaison: Dave Koziol
WebMaster: Marshall Clow
Evangelist: Timothy Knox
Members at large: (to do all the stuff we haven't thought of yet)
Neil Ticktin
Bob Desoff
Waldemar Horwat
John Ardussi
Chris Goodman
Raymond Lance
Steve Jovanovic
The 1996 MacHack Top Issues For Apple Result
Based on 108 returned ballots
Format:
rank/votes. What Apple should do
General illustration or explanation of the issue
The Result:
1/66. Encourage academic/hobby development.
Support college students in Mac hacking with affordable access to systems, tools, and docs.
2/57. Use real release numbers!
Give each new release of each system software component a new, higher,version number, an actual sequential real number, not a "release 2a."
3/47. Provide MacOS 8 API's under System 7.
Give us backward-compatibility API's to ease the transition so developers can maintain one source base.
4/40. Give us cheap Macs.
Let each developer purchase an affordable, high-end development workstation.
5(tie)/37. Improve hardware quality
Make it right from the start so it won't break when we need it most.
5(tie)/37. Give us more Sprockets.
We need more application-specific frameworks for comm., text, Apple events, I/O, etc.
6(tie)/32. Increase installed base of key new Apple technologies.
Optional installs of essential resources discourage customer adoption.
6(tie)/32. Improve API Quality across-the-board.
7/28. Give us Radar access.
Open up your internal bug-tracking database to developers (respecting confidentiality).
8/27. Revive the "Cool Tool" awards.
9(tie)/26. Recognize and reward Mac-first/Mac-only development.
Create a program with tangible marketing incentives for releasing apps first on the Mac.
9(tie)/26. Don't snub Pascal.
Provide Pascal API's for all Apple technologies. Don't require C/C++.
10/24. Help drive adoption of Apple technologies by delivering them cross-platform.
11(tie)/21. Help us avoid DLL confusion and conflict in System 7.
We need coordination of shared library issues and versions.
11(tie)/21. Give us protected memory - now!
12(tie)/19. Apple's chief technologist should know how to patch a trap.
12(tie)/19. Give us your test tools.
Provide developer access to Apple's internal software testing tools, as appropriate.
12(tie)/19. Provide a system-level exception model.
13(tie)/16. Improve Apple's developer tools.
Give us what we need to create great apps using the latest technologies.
13(tie)/16. Use our test tools.
Take advantage of third-party stress-test tools to produce better system software.
13(tie)/16. Improve the developer seed program.
Give us better, faster access to new hardware and software.
13(tie)/16. Give us one feature per file.
Consolidate all shared libraries, cdevs, etc. that are related into a single, shared resource.
13(tie)/16. Improve TextEdit.
Get rid of limits and incorporate support for new technologies in Apple's text-editing engine.
14/14. Improve WWDC.
We want better food, more emphasis on existing technologies, and better room sizes.
15(tie)/12. Offer priority service for developer's hardware.
Keep our machines running so our development isn't interrupted and products delayed.
15(tie)/12. Provide low-cost/minimal developer tools.
Don't shut out entry-level developers by forcing them to buy third-party tools.
16(tie)/11. "We can all be friends."
Don't stomp third-party developers through unfair competition.
16(tie)/11. Improve the system software installation process.
17(tie)/10. Improve Macintosh documentation and technical information.
17(tie)/10. Provide mechanism to quickly disable non-essential extensions.
For example, we want to be able to press a key to load just CD-ROM drivers and the like.
18/8. Give developers more informational "ammo" so they can fight for Macintosh.
19(tie)/7. Provide file mapping for Code Fragment Manager 68K and CFM PPC with VM off.
19(tie)/7. Provide online Apple Developer Relations presence and support.
20/4. Kudos to Apple for doing some things right.
21(tie)/3. Improve Developer Technical Support.
21(tie)/3. Offer an all-inclusive "premium" Mac developer program.
Provide a higher-priced membership level that includes ETO, everything needed.
