Apple just announced the official dates of this year’s WWDC expo, and as rumored, they are June 6th and June 8th. Accompanying the announcement, Apple has posted a teaser page for their annual Apple Designer Awards, which seek to recognize “apps that demonstrate technical excellence, innovation and outstanding design.”
The good news here is that, unlike last year, Apple will be giving out awards to both iOS and OS X developers. This is a relief, since only iOS developers were recognized last year, with Steve Jobs mysteriously saying that this was just “the normal cycle of things.”
The bad news? If your software isn’t on the App Store, Apple’s not going to bother recognizing your software, no matter how excellent. With the iOS App Store, that’s a non-issue, but considering the fact that the majority of Mac software isn’t on the Mac App Store yet, it prevents developers with a choice: either give Apple a 30% cut of all of your software sales or don’t qualify for an award. That’s sure to cause controversy.