Apple-centric conference announced for Auckland

Apple VR pioneer and enthusiastic futurist Mark Pesce will be one of several expert speakers at the Creative Tech conference in September. Photo / Supplied

CreativeTech is an Apple-centric conference concept, and the very first one is taking place in the Auckland CBD in September.

Full disclosure - this is something I have been working on for months. It is not Apple's conference, although I (and my CreativeTech Ltd team of Justine McKay and Avril Stott, plus Jo Bell) have taken some advice from Apple, among many other players in the IT industry here and overseas.

CreativeTech 2010 will run over two days, covering many topics including developing and software writing with cocoa and the iOS SDK (Software Development Kit); IT and business; using your Mac; getting more from Apple software including iLife and iWork; presentations covering audio-visual applications like Pro Tools; FileMaker and Bento; Adobe Creative Suite 5; Microsoft Office:Mac (and even a Windows 7 presentation), and all with input from a wide range of NZ and overseas-based professionals.

CreativeTech's binding factor is Apple - Macintosh, iPhone, iPod and iPad - but topics will range through developing, using Macs in business, iPad and iPhone development from go to whoa, IT and NZ education and a lot more.

One of the many big pluses is the CT Lounge - a space in which paid attendees can relax and network with each other and the CT speakers - this is a chance to get some one-to-one with NZ and overseas luminaries. The CT Lounge comes complete with a Wired Dog Help Desk staffed to assist on Apple-related questions.

The emphasis on the Friday (September 10th) is 'techie', with iOS SDK experts and entrepreneurs illuminating many aspects of the IT world relating to Apple Macs and iDevices..

This will suit working developers, but also those wanting to try their hands at developing (app creation or in the business sense), with sessions tailored to different levels.

An academic stream throughout the conference will reward those in education - educators and students. It covers such topics as how Macs helped turn around a low-decile Auckland Primary School.

This is hosted by the visionary Dorothy Burt. There's a session with FileMaker Pro engineer David Head, and Apple Final Cut and Microsoft Office:Mac sessions run by the experts from Renaissance and Microsoft.

On the Friday night, the nearby Academy Cinema is running a Mac film to keep the buzz going into the evening.

On the Saturday the emphasis broadens to suit anyone using a Mac, with sessions on iLife apps (the Apple iLife suite includes iPhoto, iMovie, iWeb and GarageBand), iWork (Numbers, Pages, Keynote), Logic - and we're flying renowned tipster Miraz Jordan up from Wellington to deliver 50 Mac tips.

But that's not all. By any means. We start the whole event with a keynote from legendary Futurist Mark Pesce on Friday morning - Pesce developed VR for Apple in the '80s in California, then went on to put his name to various patents. Now living in Sydney, Mark travels the world lecturing on IT and the future for you and technology.

A second keynote takes place on Saturday morning. This one will be delivered by Matthew JC. Powell, former editor of Australian Macworld and current editor of MacTheMag, MacThePodcast and MacTheTweet. Powell has been to Cupertino and the Macworld conferences, he's very well connected in the Mac world (ha ha) and he's not afraid to speculate: Matthew will talk about where Apple is going, and just what it may mean to me and you.

We bring Matthew back to wrap the whole event with a journey through the lives of six New Zealanders and what Apple means to them.

At any one time, three sessions will be running in, respectively, a 200-seat, 150-seat and 100-seat theatre. The keynotes will accommodate 330.

Spaces are limited, so it's essential to book your preferences online at www.creativetech.net.nz.

Thanks to Vodafone NZ's deployment of QR code technology for the ticketing, buying a ticket will send a QR code to your phone and via email.

Simply display the code on your phone (or a printout of the email) and wave it over the scanners at the entrances for regulated entry. Vodafone is one of the show's big sponsors, along with AUT's Creative Technologies department.

AUT's Creative Technologies is a recently formed interdisciplinary department that focuses around the knowledge-intensive creative industries sector.

Creative Technologies covers design, communication, computing, digital animation and moving image production, engineering, interactive and game entertainment, smart systems and robotics.

Many other sponsors have come together for CreativeTech also - Pacific Blue is flying our speakers to and fro, NZ's sole licensed Apple Distributor Renaissance Ltd is supplying expertise, Adobe Pacific and FileMaker Pacific are onboard along with nzherald.co.nz, Macguide (a division of Action Media, which publishes NetGuide), Idealog magazine, Radio Live and George FM.

Other sponsors and a couple of extra speakers will be confirmed as we progress towards September 10th.

But wait, there's more...

Of course there will be all sorts of goodies on offer, along with the chance of hardware and software prizes. A trade display area can host up to 17 displays for anyone who wants to showcase their wares. (For more information on booking a trade display, email avril@creativetech.net.nz).

This trade display area is open to attendees - but it's also open to the public, so if you just want to come along and feel the buzz, plus see what premiere Apple resellers and third-party vendors have to offer, this is your chance.

How long is it since that has happened in New Zealand? Too long.

Finally, we have set up CreativeTech as a sustainable event - we are already working on next year's, and we intend adding other centres in 2011.

We have priced the conference to be very accessible - a two-day full pass is $200 inc GST. A one-day full pass is $120.

A full pass lets you go from one session to another for a full day of Apple madness, knowledge and networking. (Individual ticket sessions may become available later, according to demand.)

For more information, the full schedule and ticketing, go to the www.creativetech.net.nz site custom-built by our NZ developers BoCaPa.

(The payment gateway may not be active until this afternoon, but you'll see what CreativeTech offers.)

See you there.

- Mark Webster mac-nz.com