Clever Terminals

At the 1997 WWDC, Steve Jobs described his vision for the future (video): a world of multiple devices all connected and sharing data seamlessly through the network. This year we’re seeing this vision come to life with iCloud.
The dumb terminal model of connecting devices that are essentially just interfaces to a server that will do all the work provides two big advantages: your data doesn’t need to be synchronizes between various devices since it lives in the cloud, and the devices themselves can be cheap since most processing is outsourced to the server. This is the model that Google is refining right now with itsChromeOS. Give people devices that run a Web browser, and let the Web act as the OS with Web apps as the software.
But the problem with this model is that you lose the advantages of native apps that rely on local hardware, advantages that Apple at first ignored when they tried to get developers to use Safari as the development platform for the iPhone. People wanted to create native experiences, and they wanted to take full advantage of the hardware their software ran on. Native apps proved to be much more successful as they simply provide a better experience to the end user. But while the apps themselves on individual devices were great, the problem of keeping everything synched remained.

Apple to Unveil Next Generation Software at Keynote Address on Monday, June 6

CUPERTINO, California—May 31, 2011—Apple CEO Steve Jobs and a team of Apple executives will kick off the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with a keynote address on Monday, June 6 at 10:00 a.m. At the keynote, Apple will unveil its next generation software - Lion, the eighth major release of Mac OS X; iOS 5, the next version of Apple’s advanced mobile operating system which powers the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch; and iCloud, Apple’s upcoming cloud services offering.
WWDC will feature more than 100 technical sessions presented by Apple engineers. Mac developers will see and learn how to develop world-class Mac OS X Lion applications using its latest technologies and capabilities. Mobile developers will be able to explore the latest innovations and capabilities of iOS and learn how to greatly enhance the functionality, performance and design of their apps. All developers can bring their code to the labs and work with Apple engineers.
For more details, visit the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2011 website at developer.apple.com/wwdc.