Apple’s “PC” is coming home to Microsoft country, but not to huddle with Steve Ballmer.

John Hodgman, the author and humorist known for his regular appearances on The Daily Show and his past role in Apple’s television commercials, was announced this morning as part of the lineup of speakers for the upcoming Seattle Interactive Conference.

The event, to be held in late October, will also include the first-ever Seattle meetup for tech blog Engadget, and a Laptop Battle in which digital musicians will challenge one another in three-minute rounds.

[Editor’s Note: Seattle Interactive Conference is a GeekWire advertiser, and GeekWire’s John Cook and Todd Bishop are both participating in sessions at the event.]

Other speakers announced this morning include entrepreneur Elan Lee, whose company Fourth Wall Ventures has raised more than $200 million in venture capital. Companies with representatives speaking at the event include Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Starbucks, and Amazon.

Seattle Interactive Conference, in its second year, was created in part to give Seattle something akin to Austin’s South by Southwest Interactive — a goal that conference curator Brian Rauschenbach acknowledged wouldn’t be accomplished overnight. The conference drew more than 3,000 attendees last year, and it can accommodate up to 4,000 this year.

Some SIC speaking slots are sold as part of conference sponsorship packages. The conference takes place Oct. 29 and 30 at the Conference Center at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center.

Photo by Mai Le via Flickr.

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