Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference is the hottest ticket in town when June rolls around. Before a lottery system was introduced for distributing passes last year, the week-long event sold out in a little over a minute.
For those who aren’t lucky enough to get into Apple’s main event, there is AltConf. Created by developers for developers, the indie conference will run alongside WWDC again this year — and it’s expected to be bigger than ever.
Run by volunteers and sponsored by companies like FastSpring and Smile Software, AltConf 2015 will be a place for developers to meet, code and learn from guest speakers during the week of WWDC.
The four-year-old event has outgrown itself, so this year it will be held in the AMC Metreon, a bigger venue that’s just across the street from the Moscone Center where Apple holds its conference. The majority of tickets will still be free, but AltConf is introducing some $300 passes that guarantee seating, a bag of swag, and “a reason for your employer to approve your attendance.”
A lineup of speakers was announced today, including Cydia creator Jay Freeman and developers from Khan Academy, Facebook, Twitter and Github. AltConf is accepting speaker applications until April 6th, and creative topics are encouraged. Last year’s talks ranged from the ethics of coding to how to make an app stand out to the press.
Notably absent from AltConf 2015’s website are dates. That’s because Apple hasn’t announced when WWDC is happening this year, although it’s widely expected to take place the second week of June.
