Author: aucadmin

Objective-C Memory Management Essentials

Steven Saunders, Macquarie University

Audience: Beginner

Abstract:

Debugging memory related bugs can be a time-consuming and headache-inducing process. A solid grasp on the principles of memory management is key to avoiding these annoyances. In this presentation participants will develop a detailed understanding of Cocoa’s retain/release/autorelease system and the memory ownership issues it is designed to address.  Attendees will also learn how to adopt Cocoa’s garbage collection facility, and how it relates to reference counting. The use of tools like Instruments and Guard Malloc to track down memory leaks, as well as memory-smashing and doubly-freed-memory bugs will also be covered.

Speaker Bio:

Steven is a research programmer at the ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders (CCD) at Macquarie University, where he works on the DRC Model of Visual Word Recognition and Reading Aloud.  He has over twelve years experience in software development, and has been working with Apple technologies for eight years.

Feature Presentation: Storytelling With Software

Josh Anon, Pixar

Just as how buildings grew from just being a simple shelter against the elements to entire created experiences and how writing went from written laws to libraries of novels, software is undergoing a shift from being focused on utility to being about experiences.  While not immediately obvious, building software has come to have a lot in common with seemingly unrelated artistic fields, like creating a movie.  Josh Anon will discuss the growing role of telling a good story and providing an experience in software.

Speaker Bio:

Josh Anon is a San Francisco, USA resident and Northwestern University graduate who works at the intersection of art and technology.  He’s a camera & staging artist at Pixar Animation Studios, an award-winning freelance photographer, and a Mac/iOS developer.  He’s been writing software for OS X since Mac OS X 10.0 and has worked on a number of programs including Lightbox (the first professional image management tool for the Mac), Pixar’s digital storyboarding tool, and FlipBook (an animation program for iOS with over 2 million users).

http://www.joshanon.com/

X World 2011 Announcement

X World – the AUC’s annual 3-day hands-on training event specifically for Higher Education Technical staff who support and manage Mac OS X and iOS systems – will be held at the University of Technology, Sydney from the 6th to 8th July 2011 and will feature a wide range of presenters from the University sector and Apple as well as hands-on laboratories so attendees can learn how to configure and administer Mac OS X & iOS and implement it back in their own environments.

X World 2011 will also feature updates on Apple’s latest operating systems, Lion (Mac OS X 10.7) and iOS as well as ample opportunity to network with colleagues at social events.

Registration closes on 26 June 2011 and spaces are limited – see the X World pages for more information and registration details

iPad 2 Seeding Equipment

The AUC has added 5 iPad 2’s to our seeding equipment pool for short-term loan for use in evaluation, testing and development. These iPads are Wi-Fi + 3G however you need to provide your own micro-SIM (3FF) to be able to use the 3G data network.

Each iPad also includes a number of demonstration media files including Apps, Movies, Music, Podcasts and Books. If you sync the iPad with your local machine these demo files will be deleted and you can install your own. See the Seeding Equipment page for more information.