Apple has relaxed a long-standing policy of restrictiveness regarding open conversation about unreleased versions of Mac OS X by creating a Snow Leopard discussion forum for developers. Historically, Apple has prevented conversation about future versions even among those bound by the same Non-Disclosure Agreement (which proved very challenging in the rampup to the iPhone SDK going public).

These new forums aren't available to the public or student developers, so don't begin a fruitless search. Only the developers who receive seed releases (those in Apple's Premier and Select developer programs) have access.

I'm not a member of the ADC. We know that some of you are. What's your take on this? Is it a surprise, and do you plan to make use of the forum? Let us know.

It's no secret that iPhone app developers are less than happy with the App Store. The criteria for approval of iPhone apps is arcane and approval can take anywhere from a couple of days to months. There's currently no way for developers to "hook" people on apps with a free demo. It's apparent that the sweet spot for iPhone app pricing is at US$0.99, and for developers who are expendng lots of resources to design and implement great software, that is a killer. The list goes on and on...

One of the more well-spoken developers who would like to see improvements in the App Store is Layton Duncan from Polar Bear Farm. His company is well-known for the Note Pad, Record, and Nice List apps, among others. Layton has used the Polar Bear Farm blog many times to express his ideas about how the App Store could be improved. Now he's started up a new website, ImproveTheAppStore.com, as a sounding board for all developers.

Layton asks that developers make suggestions to Apple through the traditional Apple Developer Connection channels, but is providing the site as a public forum for ideas. If you're an iPhone developer, join the movement.

In case you missed WWDC 08 because of a project deadline, the impending birth of your first child, or you just couldn't make it, Apple Developer Connection now has the conference sessions available on video.

The videos aren't cheap -- each track (iPhone, Mac, or IT) costs $499, or you can get all of the sessions for the entire conference for "just" $999. The latter collection of geek video features 146 presentations from the conference, perfect for those mid-winter coding marathons.

Apple is getting rid of physical media, so you purchase the videos, activate them, and then log into ADC through iTunes to download the videos and presentation slides. You need to be either a free ADC member or registered iPhone developer to activate the videos.

If you did attend WWDC 08, you are entitled to access the videos for free and should have received an email from Apple with instructions. If you've lost that email or never received it, contact ADC for details.

Lest you think I hate web development for the iPhone, I thought I would point out this section on Apple's Developer Connection. The iPhone section deals with developing web applications that play nicely with the iPhone. Included on the site is sample code, video of the WWDC session called 'Designing Web Content for the iPhone' (you'll need an ADC membership to download it though), and a number of tips and tricks about how the iPhone handles websites.

I couldn't help but notice that Apple stresses the important of web standards in these guidelines, and no where do they suggest redirecting people based on browser type (other than using some CSS methods). Interesting, don't you think?

Back in October, Apple dropped DVDs as their distribution system of choice for WWDC sessions and presentation slides. The company moved all this content to iTunes - but only for Select and Premiere members of the ADC (Apple Developer Connection). Today I just received an ADC email titled "Watch Mac OS X State of the Union," re-announcing the availability of this content, but seemingly for all ADC members. This time around there is no talk of access only for specific members, so it sounds like anyone with a valid ADC account of one level or another can access this library of Mac OS X development goodness. We would post the URL, but it seems as though it is only accessible by logging into one's ADC account online.

[Update: According to readers, it sounds like only the general State of the Union sessions are offered, while access to "the juicy stuff" still requires a Leopard Early Starter Kit.]

Leopard is a pretty big deal to developers and users alike, and Apple knows this. That's why they are kicking off a series of Tech Talks around North America that are geared towards helping developers, both big and small, to prepare for Leopard.

The Tech Talk schedule is as follows:

• San Francisco, CA: December 1
• Portland, OR: December 6
• Seattle, WA: December 8
• Chicago, IL: December 13
• Toronto, ON, Canada: December 15
• Los Angeles, CA: January 19
• Boston, MA: January 22
• New York, NY: January 24
• Atlanta, GA: January 26

Session will include 'What's new in Cocoa,' 'Introducing Core Animation,' and 'Printing in Leopard' amongst many others.

Space is limited, so register now (if you are an ADC member, otherwise you are out of luck).

Thanks, Stephen.

The Apple Developer Connection spoke with the folks at Bare Bones about Yojimbo, their application for organizing just about everything, and how Apple technologies made it possible. Core Data, Sync Services, and Cocoa created the perfect storm, in the form of Tiger, that combined to form Yojimbo, after some work in Xcode and Interface Builder that is.

An interesting article about a very clever app.

The Apple Developer Connection has posted a short feature consisting of quotes from several well known audio programmers and how the move to Intel has affected their products and their development process. It isn't shocking to find that these programmers are excited about the performance gains that they are seeing in the Universal versions of their code, some even contend that this raw performance may open the door to new features.

Check out the whole article for more information.

"Show off your latest feat of programming genius," says the Apple Developer Connection email announcing the call for entries to their 11th annual Design Awards. Recognizing "technical excellence and outstanding achievement in developing Mac OS X software," there are eight award categories into which developers can submit their apps: Best Mac OS X Developer Tool, Best Use of Mac OS X Graphics, Best Widget, Automator Workflow, User Experience, Game, Scientific Computing Solution and Student Product.

As far as what winning developers receive for all their hard work, Apple's going all out this year. Each category winner receives two 15-inch MacBook Pros, two 23-inch Cinema Displays, an ADC Premiere Membership, a WWDC 2006 E-ticket, and an exhibitor space at Macworld 2007. The Student category winner will receive one 15-inch MacBook Pro, one 23-inch Cinema Display, one 60GB iPod, an ADC Student Membership, and a WWDC 2006 Student E-ticket. Does anyone else find it odd the non-student members don't receive an iPod? And how about the lack of PowerMac prizes?

The entry deadline is June 16th, and the winners will be honored at WWDC in August.

TUAW reader Nolan B noticed that ADC (Apple Developer Connection) student members can now apply for a scholarship to WWDC 2006, Apple's annual World Wide Developer Conference, being held August 7-11 this year in San Francisco. Scholarship winners receive a free ticket which includes total access to all technical sessions and special events - a $1595 USD value in all.

Applications are due April 28th, so you'd better get crackin'. Check out the scholarship rules  and WWDC FAQ sections for more information, and then wait patiently until June to find out if you'll be attending WWDC on Apple's dime.

Search utilities for the Finder's menu bar certainly aren't anything new, but Nuevos by Waffle Software is a nice one (and free!). With Nuevos installed, you can query any number of online search engines, including ones you've defined yourself. Create keystrokes to select the particular engine you want Nuevos to use for a given search (for example, Command-G for Google and Command-1 for the Apple Developer Connection), as well as a hot key to make it active. It's fast, unobtrusive and quite useful.

Nuevos requires Mac OS 10.3.9 or better and is universal.

[Via FreeMacWare]