, Jacqui Cheng had an in-depth report on the WWDC ticket crunch, including some really great insights from developers about how to satisfy the ramped-up interest in the conference. There are pros and cons to some of the solutions proposed in that article--expanding the size of the conference, I think, would reduce the all-important face time attendees can enjoy with Apple engineers, for example. But I don't think there's any dispute that ticketing to Apple's major event for developers should be handled with greater care than a radio DJ giving away tickets to the Foghat concert at the Fairplex to the lucky 10th caller.

Apple does seem open to try and fix the process, at least if some of the changes it instituted this year are any indication. It limited buyers to just one ticket (or five for an organization), ostensibly to give more developers a shot at grabbing a ticket. And it put the clamps on ticket resales to quash that's sprung up in past years. Of course, some of these new policies may be creating new problems--as I write this article, there's an from developers who bought multiple tickets for their employees using the same credit card only to discover that their orders have been cancelled. If anything, it illustrates the need for Apple to put even more care into how it handles WWDC.

So how should Apple handle things? Well, there is one element of an iPad launch that Apple would do well to replicate with WWDC ticketing--a delay between announcement and release. Apple doesn't issue a press release at 5:30 a.m. that it's shipped iPads to random Apple Stores around the country, so why do that with WWDC tickets? Announce when the event is taking place and then a few days later, open up the ticket window. Developers would still have to take their chances on getting a ticket, but at least they'd have fair notice.

Another possibility: institute a lottery system where registered developers could enter a drawing for the right to buy a WWDC ticket. If their name gets pulled from the hat, they have the option of paying the $1600 entry fee or making way for someone else. Again, not every developer is going to get the chance to attend this way, but at least it doesn't leave things up the vagaries of an Internet connection.

Finally, in this age of video conferencing, it seems like the technology exists to include more developers even without expanding the capacity at WWDC. Yes, Apple makes videos of WWDC sessions available to developers after the event, and that's a great move, but those videos aren't available until weeks later. (On its WWDC Web page informing developers that the 2012 event is sold out, Apple indicates that it will make videos of all sessions available for free "shortly after the conference.") A separate remote video track for developers who don't have the opportunity to be at WWDC in person may not provide all the depth that attendees in San Francisco enjoy, but it gives more iOS and Mac software makers the chance to participate in some way.