Live Blog: Apple At WWDC 2014

In a few moments, Apple will kick off their 2014 WWDC, or the Worldwide Developer's Conference, a highly anticipated event that will last June 2 to June 6. The conference has been an integral part of the techworld for decades, beginning in 1983 as a small meeting among only the most tight-lipped and elite members of the industry. But only recently has the annual WWDC become a platform to announce the latest and greatest innovations in technology, with the late Steve Jobs first notifying the public of the existence of a previously unheard of device called the iPhone in 2007. In the years since, the WWDC has become a mecca of tech conferences, and has been a sold out event since 2008.

Monday's WWDC promises to be no less exciting than its predecessors, with many anticipating the announcement of yet another operating system (iOS 8), which leads us to ask: how many more large cats can you name a system after before running out? Additionally, Apple is expected to reveal a new design of the Macbook's software to reflect last year's changes to the iPhone design. Apple might also be competing with LG for smart appliance domination, and are expected to release some sort of uber-fancy technology that would allow you control many aspects of your home, like your washing machine, thermostat, and even locks, with your iWhatever. Also, Dr. Dre and his Beats might be a topic of interest — what the heck did Apple want with them anyway?

You can watch the live event here, but if and only if you are running an Apple device. And not only an Apple device, but an Apple app — so don't try to watch this on Chrome, you've gotta use Safari. See what they did there? Sneaky, sneaky. But have no fear! Even if you're running Windows, we are here to save the day, and let you know which predictions were right and which were wrong about Apple's latest gizmos and gadgets.

1:05 p.m.

An eager audience awaits Tim Cook.

1:14 p.m.

Tim Cook announces the release of Mac OSX Yosemite (OSX 10.10), calling it a "fantastic new release." So no more big cat names, it seems. This latest OS was actually leaked before WWDC 2014.

Unfortunately, Cook made a weed joke before actually announcing the real name of the new OS, calling it Mac OSX Weed. And now it's trending on Twitter.

1:16 p.m.

This new OS does look like your latest iPhone OS — it is flat, flat, flat.

1:17 p.m.

Craig Federighi announces something called "dark mode," and Spotlight is being improved. Specifically, the tool will now autocomplete your searches, and will be in the middle of the desktop, rather than off on another screen somewhere.

1:25 p.m.

iCloud drive is announced to cheers, ohhhhs, and ahhhhs. You can even access it from Windows! This is Apple's answer to DropBox and Google Drive, it seems.

1:26 p.m.

Mail is changing! It will allow us to send large attachments, using "a technology we call 'Mail Drop.'"

1:28 p.m.

Wow, Safari looks really different. Your favorites bar is gone, and is instead replaced by an automatically loading autocomplete of your favorites, including those from your Spotlight searches. Basically, Safari search can do everything but read your mind.

Also, Safari is now super battery efficient, allowing you to stream Netflix for two hours longer than before. Move over, Chrome.

1:32 p.m.

You guys you can scroll through your tabs! We always lose our tabs!

1:35 p.m.

You can now use your trackpad to mark up your images in Mail, all without ever opening a different app. You can literally annotate with the click of a button.

1:36 p.m.

Apple introduces Continuity and begins with Handoff. What is Handoff? It allows you to handoff functions between your various iDevices. Go between your Macbook, your iPhone, and your iPad! Hotspotting just got a lot easier too. You don't even have to touch your phone to use it for Internet connectivity.

1:38 p.m.

Continuity continues with the iPhone. You can now see text messages on your computer! Not just iMessages! So now your green message friends won't be neglected. And phone calls too. "Your Mac gives you caller ID and you can accept the call and use your Mac as a speakerphone!" The audience erupts.

1:42 p.m.

YOU GUYS DR. DRE IS ON THE PHONE. WITH CRAIG.

Yosemite is available to the developers in the WWCD conference today. For the rest of us, we'll have it in the fall, and it'll be free! But wait! You can get it in the summer if you sign up to be part of their summer beta program.

1:47 p.m.

iOS is next on the table. That means your iPhones are up for discussion. Tim Cook is bashing Androids, which "dominates the mobile malware market."

1:50 p.m.

iOS 8 has been released. Repeat, iOS 8 is out.

1:51 p.m.

You can now reply to text messages by just pulling down from the notification center. No more closing out of a tab to reply to a text. You can even do this in a lock screen?! This will make us all dangerously fast texters.

1:57 p.m.

Basically, everything good about Yosemite is also being applied to iOS 8.

1:58 p.m.

Quicktype. Our ears are perking up. It is autocomplete for your phone. And it is personalized. It learns how you talk to different people in different situations, differentiating between your friends, your coworkers, your parents, and your significant other. This is really, really cool.

2:00 p.m.

You can now do really cool things with group messages, like delete people from them, name them, and leave them.

Holy cow, you can also find a lot more information about your contacts in the "Details" tab.

2:04 p.m.

Voice messaging is now coming to iMessage, competing with apps like WeChat and WhatsApp.

Also, the selfie just made its way into a WWDC keynote. Yikes.

2:09 p.m.

Health is new. Health looks cool. Announcing Healthkit.

It will integrate all of your health information from various health apps, working with companies like Nike, the Mayo Clinic, and others, all while protecting your privacy.

This new Mayo Clinic app will allow doctors to monitor your vitals and contact a doctor or a hospital if you appear to be in danger. Sharing information with your healthcare provider has never been easier.

2:12 p.m.

Family sharing. Share reminders, calendars, photos, and everything you ever wanted to know about your family members. So much for privacy. You can also now access the App Store purchases of everyone in your family for up to six family members who share the same credit card.

2:14 p.m.

Photos. "We all take a lot of photos." Yes, Craig, yes we do. They're now available on the cloud and on every device you have. To deal with the phenomenal number of photos this will inevitably cause you to take, you can no search through your photos. Pretty nifty.

Apple is also now competing with Instagram. And more than just filters, Apple is offering such useful options as lightening, brightening, color enhancements, and other edits that are immediately saved for the photo across all your devices.

2:22 p.m.

You can now use Siri without touching your device. Handsfree Siri, guys. That's pretty cool. And as far as Maps go, in China, Apple now features greatly improved maps. No word yet on the United States.

2:24 p.m.

For the developers, Tim Cook is now talking about improvements to the App Store. 75 billion apps have been downloaded thus far, so the App Store is a pretty major marketplace. Developers can now form "app bundles," so that "users can buy multiple apps at a discounted price."

Developers can also invite users to beta test their apps in a release called "test flight", which the audience seems very pleased about.

Apple is also really excited about the SDK (software development kit), which is being called the biggest thing since the App Store. You can now use app extensions from apps like Bing, Pinterest, and others to improve your iDevice experience.

2:33 p.m.

You can now install different types of keyboards.

2:34 p.m.

Touch ID. People are excited about this. Third party apps, like your banking app, can also utilize the security provided by Touch ID.

2:36 p.m.

Homekit. Here we go. This is the smart thermostat, lock, every-other-home-appliance you want app. Your iPhone can now open your garage and unlock your front door. You can tell Siri "get ready for bed," and your lights will be dimmed, doors will be locked, and thermostat turned down. Oh. My. God.

2:41 p.m.

Graphics look uh-mazing for developers.

This takes gaming on your iPhone or iPad to a whole new level. These types of graphics now compete with those of console devices, like PS3 or XBOX.

This is all thanks to Apple's new release, Metal.

2:46 p.m.

Apple has a new programming language. What? It is called Swift, and it "totally rules." Apparently, it's a whole lot better than every other language ever. This is Apple's first new language in almost 20 years.

The crowd goes wild. Craig recognizes that we don't know what he's talking about, but should be impressed. We can't all be developers.

Swift code, is apparently "fun and interactive" according to master developers and programmers. Great. But seriously, so cool. Here's the building process:

And here's the finished product:

Whoa.

2:55 p.m.

iOS 8 will be available in the fall for all of us not at the WDCC.

2:56 p.m.

In sum, we've seen Yosemite OS X, iOS 8, and in general, been reminded of just how great Apple really is. Contrary to reports that have suggested that Apple is losing its innovative edge, this year's WWDC shows that the company still has a few phenomenal tricks up its sleeve. Here are just a few of the people involved in these new developments.

"It's a privilege of a lifetime for me to get to work with all of these incredible people," Cook says, ending the 2014 keynote.

Images: Live Stream Screenshots/Apple