Reprinted from TidBITS by permission; reuse governed by Creative Commons license BY-NC-ND 3.0. TidBITS has offered years of thoughtful commentary on Apple and Internet topics. For free email subscriptions and access to the entire TidBITS archive, visit http://www.tidbits.com/ 22 Conferences for Mac and iOS Professionals in 2017 Josh Centers Despite the loss of Macworld/iWorld, which many in the industry continue to mourn, there's no shortage of Apple-focused conferences for professionals to gather with peers. We have once again collected details ' or at least dates ' for all the Apple-related conferences we can find; if we've missed any, let us know in the comments. We've sorted them by date so you can scroll through and see which might fit into your schedule. If you want to meet part of the TidBITS gang, Adam Engst will be at the ACEs Conference in May, and he and Tonya are likely to go to MacTech Conference in November. Josh Centers is planning to attend the iBooks Author Conference in October. If regular TidBITS contributors are asked to speak at any others, we'll be sure to mention that in a future article. MacTech Pro: March'September 2017 -- A regional event series from the folks behind MacTech Conference, [1]MacTech Pro is designed for professional Apple techs and consultants. Events are single-track, hotel-based seminars, and the all-day schedule includes lunch. Topics will include creating a storage strategy, deployment methods, scripting Python, IoT and home automation, security, troubleshooting, [2]and more. Early bird pricing is $299, with pre-registration pricing at $399, and regular pricing at $499. Educational and non-profit pricing is $199. The March 15th event in Seattle, WA has already passed, but the remaining MacTech Pro events will take place in eight cities throughout the United States: * April 5 in Boston, MA * May 3 in Atlanta, GA * May 24 in Washington, D.C. * June 28 in Denver, CO * July 26 in New York, NY * August 9 in Orlando, FL * August 30 in Chicago, IL * September 27 in San Francisco, CA Mdevcon: March 16'17, 2017 -- Held in Amsterdam, Netherlands on March 16th and 17th for mobile app developers, [3]Mdevcon offered sessions for both iOS and Android developers. Tickets cost '¬190 (US$200) for conference-only tickets (sessions on the 17th) or '¬410 (US$440) to add the tutorial day on the 16th. iOSCon: March 30'31, 2017 -- Returning for its fourth year, [4]iOSCon takes place at CodeNode in London, England for two days. The [5]program features a number of sessions on building apps with Swift. Tickets cost £650 (US$800) plus VAT. Ãll: April 10'11, 2017 -- The two-day [6]Ãll conference takes place in Killarney, Ireland at The Europe hotel and resort. Ãll is designed for 'people who build and love great products'¦ presented through an Apple-shaped lens.' Frankly, it sounds like big fun. The [7]speakers this year include refreshingly new faces; we encourage you to read their bios. Headline speakers include Christina Warren of Gizmodo, Horace Dediu of Asymco, and Jason Snell of Six Colors. Tickets cost '¬799 (US$855) without accommodations or '¬1149 (US$1230) with two nights at The Europe hotel. CocoaConf: April 21'22, 2017 -- Focusing on training for iOS and Mac developers, [8]CocoaConf will be providing three tracks and over 30 breakout and general sessions for its April session in Chicago, IL. (CocoaConf also has [9]a conference in Yosemite National Park on March 20th through 23rd, but tickets are sold out.) [10]Speakers for the Chicago event include developers Chris Adamson, Jeff Biggus, Janie Clayton, James Dempsey, Laura Savino, and T.J. Usiyan. Registration for CocoaConf costs $650, or $850 if you want to attend a pre-conference workshop held the day before. The workshop is also available on its own for $350. App Builders Switzerland: April 24'25, 2017 -- Another conference for mobile app developers, [11]App Builders Switzerland will take place in Zürich, Switzerland on April 24th and 25th. It offers two tracks: one for iOS developers and another for Android developers. Tickets cost 349 CHF (about US$350) and include lunch and snacks. UIKonf: May 14'17, 2017 -- Billed as 'Berlin's independent conference for serious iOS developers,' [12]UIKonf is still lining up [13]speakers but currently promises developer Cate Huston of Automatic, typographer and developer Frank Rausch, and author Rob Napier. Registration costs '¬529 (US$565) and includes free social events on the first day of the conference, but the organizers are encouraging charity donations for the social events. ACEs Conference: May 31'June 1, 2017 -- Organized by Apple consultants and technologists Justin Esgar and Luis Giraldo, [14]ACEs Conference is in its third year and promises to be 'the place for inspiration, ideas, business networking, and instantly-applicable knowledge.' Focusing on ways that Apple consultants can grow their IT businesses, topics will include brand coaching, business workshops, and even meditation for dealing with high-stress situations the job entails. It's scheduled for May 31st and June 1st at the Sheraton Grand Phoenix in Phoenix, AZ. This year's keynote will be delivered by business author and entrepreneur Mike Michalowicz. [15]Other speakers include well-known names from the Apple IT and enterprise communities, like our own Adam Engst (who will be talking about content marketing based on his experience with the [16]TidBITS Content Network), Marcy Maslove of Empowerment Unlimited Coaching, Alex Narvey of Precursor Canada, and Harold Mann of Mann Consulting. Early bird pricing of $524 ends 31 March 2017, after which the registration price is $699. The price includes breakfast and lunch both days, and dinner the night of the 4th. You can also buy one-on-one consulting sessions with Michalowicz for $500 or with Jennifer Dawn of Jennifer Dawn Coaching for $350. You can also sign up for [17]Proactive Support professional certification for $250. MacDevOpsYVR: June 5'7 2017 -- [18]MacDevOpsYVR will take place June 5th and 6th in Vancouver, Canada on the campus of Simon Fraser University, and it will focus on all things related to Mac development and administration. Few details are currently available, but the speaker list includes the Mike Lynn of Dropbox and Joel Rennich of Trusource Labs Enterprise Services. Early bird registration is CAD$256 (US$190) until 31 March 2017, after which it increases to CAD$465 (US$345). WWDC: June 5'9, 2017 -- Apple's [19]Worldwide Developers Conference will take place at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California June 5th through 9th (see '[20]WWDC 2017 Moves Back to San Jose on June 5th through 9th,' 16 February 2017). Registration will open 27 March 2017 at 10:00 AM PDT. As in previous years, tickets will be distributed by lottery to registered developers who wish to attend. Last year, tickets cost $1599, but Apple offers [21]scholarships for students that include lodging. MacDeployment: June 8'9 2017 -- A two-day conference starting on June 8th at the University of Calgary in Canada, [22]MacDeployment is dedicated to the best practices in Mac deployment and maintenance. Registration will open in April. MacAdmins: July 11'14, 2017 -- Hosted at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel in State College, PA, the [23]MacAdmins conference offers over 50 technical sessions on Mac and iOS deployment plus networking opportunities for over 400 Apple-focused admins. Details about sessions, speakers, and conference fees are not yet set, but rooms at [24]recommended hotels can be found for around $100 per night. The registration will include workshops, breakout sessions, networking events, and breakfast, lunch, and dinner throughout the event. X World: June 29'30, 2017 -- For those who manage Mac and iOS installations in a support, lab manager, network technician, or systems administrator role, the Australian Apple University Consortium puts on the [25]X World conference. Session and registration information are not yet available, but the conference will take place at the University of Technology Sydney in Sydney, Australia. Macstock Conference & Expo: July 15'16, 2017 -- Returning for its third year, [26]Macstock 2017 will be held July 15th and 16th at the Luecht Conference Center in Crystal Lake, IL. The $199 premium ticket admission to all speaker and roundtable sessions, lunch, dinner, breakfast, a T-shirt, the new Macstock Swap Trading Zone, admission to Barry's Midwest Mac Mingle After Party, and a complimentary pint glass. If you don't want to go to the after-party or need a pint glass, you can get a $169 standard ticket, and if you have only one day to attend, an $89 single-day ticket gives you a choice Saturday or Sunday. Speakers will include Chuck Joiner of MacVoices, developer Brett Terpstra, and Allison Sheridan of Nosillacast, among a variety of other well-known members of the Apple media and user group world. Refreshingly, Macstock is aimed at Apple enthusiasts of all experience levels, making it one of the few conferences that's open to the everyday Apple user who just wants to learn more and hobnob with like-minded people. Sessions are identified as being appropriate for beginners or intermediate users. FileMaker Developer Conference: July 24'27, 2017 -- This one's pretty specific, but since the [27]FileMaker Developer Conference is open to the public and FileMaker is an Apple subsidiary, we're including it. It takes place from July 24th through 27th at the JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge in Phoenix, AZ. Early bird registration is $999 until 28 April 2017 after which it goes up by $100. 360|iDev: August 13'16, 2017 -- Claiming to be 'the Leading indie iOS/Mac (and watchOS, and tvOS) developer conference,' [28]360|iDev is scheduled for August 13th through 16th at the Grand Hyatt Denver in Denver, CO. Registration is $799 for indie developers and $1049 for enterprise developers. The fee includes hands-on pre-conference training, lunch every day, and receptions on the first two days. Speaker and session details aren't yet available. Indie DevStock: September 2017 -- A conference for developers at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee, [29]Indie DevStock is organized by women and will probably take place in September. No details are yet available. Sign up for their mailing list to be notified when tickets go on sale. try! Swift: September and November 2017 -- While the Tokyo instantiation of this conference is already over, try! Swift is returning to [30]New York City in September and expanding to [31]Bangalore in November. Details have yet to be announced, but try! Swift is described as 'an immersive community gathering about Swift Language Best Practices, Application Development in Swift, Server-Side Swift, Open Source Swift, and the Swift Community.' You can sign up to receive more information. iOSDevUK: September 4'7, 2017 -- Focused on iOS development topics, the seventh installment of [32]iOSDevUK will take place from September 4th through 7th. No other details are forthcoming, although the organizers say that tickets will go on sale before Easter. Release Notes: October 16'18, 2017 -- While many conferences aimed at Mac and iOS developers have some sessions that cover business issues, the [33]Release Notes conference aims squarely at that topic, building in plenty of time for essential networking. Scheduled for October 16th through 18th in Chicago, IL. Details about speakers, sessions, and registration prices aren't yet available, but you can sign up to be alerted when they're decided upon. Last year's speakers included Christina Warren of Gizmodo, David Sparks of MacSparky, Stephen Hackett of Relay FM, Jaimee Newberry of MartianCraft, and Rich Siegel of Bare Bones Software. iBooks Author Conference: October 12'13, 2017 -- A gathering of the iBooks Author user community at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, the [34]iBooks Author Conference focuses on educators, entrepreneurs, trainers, and authors. The main conference will be on October 12th and 13th. Early bird admission is $560 through 1 April 2017 with the price jumping by $70 after that. The keynote speaker will be Scott Bolton, a NASA astrophysicist and author of '[35]Destination: Jupiter.' Other speakers will include the Apple Distinguished Educator Jason LaMar, Denise Clifton of Tandemvines Publishing, and author Luke Asa Guidici. MacTech Conference: November 15'17, 2017 -- While the MacTech Pro events fit into a single day and travel around the country, the Los Angeles-based [36]MacTech Conference offers attendees three days of sessions, seminars, and vendor interaction, plus pre-conference workshops and a pair of superlative evening activities. We've attended a number of times (see '[37]MacTech Conference 2012 Opens Mental Doors,' 22 October 2012, '[38]MacTech Conference 2013 Abounds with Networking and Fun,' 11 November 2013, and '[39]Three Highlights from MacTech Conference 2015,' 9 November 2015) and recommend it to Apple IT professionals. It's too early for there to be a list of speakers or sessions, but now is a good time to pencil MacTech Conference onto your calendar for November 15th through 17th, with pre-conference workshops on the 14th. Early bird tickets currently cost $949; the price will rise to $1599 eventually. Others? -- If we've missed any notable Apple-focused conferences that are open to the public and attract attendees from a broad geographic area, please let us know in the comments, and we'll look into adding them. We do know that [40]NSNorth is taking a year off, but may return in the future. A number of conferences from last year are either not returning in 2017 or say nothing online about their 2017 plans. If you know more about what's happening with one of these conferences, tell us, and we'll update the article appropriately. * [41]/dev/world * [42]AltConf * [43]CocoaLove * [44]iOSDevCamp * [45]MacSysAdmin * [46]NSSpain References 1. http://pro.mactech.com/ 2. http://pro.mactech.com/topics/ 3. http://mdevcon.com/event-info/ 4. https://skillsmatter.com/conferences/8180-ioscon-2017-the-conference-for-ios-and-swift-developers 5. https://skillsmatter.com/conferences/8180-ioscon-2017-the-conference-for-ios-and-swift-developers#program 6. http://2017.ull.ie/ 7. http://2017.ull.ie/presenters.html 8. http://cocoaconf.com/chicago-2017/home 9. http://cocoaconf.com/yosemite 10. http://cocoaconf.com/chicago-2017/speakers 11. https://www.appbuilders.ch/ 12. http://www.uikonf.com/ 13. http://www.uikonf.com/speakers/ 14. https://acesconf.com/ 15. https://acesconf.com/speakers/ 16. https://tcn.tidbits.com/apple-pros/ 17. https://acesconf.com/proactive-support-certification/ 18. http://www.macdevops.ca/ 19. https://developer.apple.com/wwdc/ 20. http://tidbits.com/article/17055 21. https://developer.apple.com/wwdc/scholarships/ 22. http://macdeployment.ca/ 23. http://macadmins.psu.edu/ 24. http://macadmins.psu.edu/conference/accommodations/ 25. http://auc.edu.au/xworld/ 26. http://macstockconferenceandexpo.com/ 27. http://www.filemaker.com/learning/devcon/ 28. http://360idev.com/ 29. http://www.indiedevstock.com/ 30. https://www.tryswift.co/events/2017/nyc 31. https://www.tryswift.co/events/2017/bangalore 32. http://www.iosdevuk.com/ 33. https://2017.releasenotes.tv/ 34. http://www.ibooksauthorconference.com/ 35. https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/destination-jupiter/id1177233734?mt=11&at=10l5PW 36. http://conference.mactech.com/ 37. http://tidbits.com/article/13346 38. http://tidbits.com/article/14286 39. http://tidbits.com/article/16070 40. https://nsnorth.ca/ 41. http://auc.edu.au/devworld/ 42. http://altconf.com/ 43. http://cocoalove.org/ 44. http://www.iosdevcamp.org/ 45. http://macsysadmin.se/ 46. http://nsspain.com/ .