In defense of vendor shows,  however, is the fact that they can offset the
cost of the rest of the show, because vendors are paying for their booth,
which is revenue to the show's sponsor.  I'm not advocating this, just
pointing it out.  I don't exhibit at many, so I don't have any real selfish
interest either way.

Plus it gives us vendors a chance to meet our customers, some of whom,
believe it or not, are more than just customers...they're good friends and
trusted colleagues.  And if you've ever been to the vendor party during HP
World, well... you'd want us back every year!!! :) :)

At 12:58 PM 3/13/02 -0800, Harrington, Don wrote:
>Yes, it would be nice; but I expect it will never happen.  Why?  Because as
>long as vendors are involved, they will want to sell you something (beyond
>things like the AMS and MAA publications), since they are in business to
>make a profit, while AMS and MAA are not.
>
>Just a thought.
>
>Don Harrington
>Sr. Systems Analyst
>Facilities Applications Support
>Shared Services Group
>The Boeing Company
>P.O. Box 3707 M/C 6C-AK  2R-32 as of 3/20
>Seattle, WA  98124-2207
>(v) 425-234-1145 (f) 425-234-0464 (p) 206-797-6360
>(v) 206-544-5679 (f) 206-544-5788 as of 3/20
>
>The opinions expressed in this e-mail reflect those of the sender.  They do
>not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Boeing Company unless
>specifically stated otherwise.
>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Wayne Brown [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
>Sent: Wednesday, March 13, 2002 12:47 PM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: [HP3000-L] Interex News Announcement
>
>
>This past weekend I attended a three-day meeting in Atlanta (at Georgia
>Tech) of
>the American Mathematical Society.  (Actually, it was a joint meeting of the
>AMS
>and the Mathematical Association of America.)  It was very much like Wirt
>describes here:  a $25 registration fee, no fancy entertainment (other than
>a
>low-key reception the first night) or celebrity speakers, a HUGE number of
>very
>technical talks (far more than a single individual could attend) and an
>opportunity to purchase AMS and MAA publications at a discount.  None of the
>computer conferences (for any platform) I've ever attended offered even a
>fraction of the pure technical expertise I found in those sessions.  I'd
>love to
>see computer conferences and user group meetings adopt that kind of format.
>
>Wayne
>
>
>
>
>Wirt Atmar <[log in to unmask]> on 03/13/2002 02:03:08 PM
>
>Please respond to [log in to unmask]
>
>To:   [log in to unmask]
>cc:    (bcc: Wayne Brown/Corporate/Altec)
>
>Subject:  Re: [HP3000-L] Interex News Announcement
>
>
>
>John Wolff writes:
>
>> Perhaps it is now time for a "Back to the Future" idea.  Since Interex
>>  seems to be doing an increasingly poorer job of representing the
>interests
>>  of the HP3000 user community (and perhaps all users), and has been
>>  exhibiting rogue behaviorial traits by putting its interests above that
>of
>>  the membership:
>>
>>  Why not a new "MPE/IMAGE Users Group" for the users and run by real
>users?
>
>I have been politely -- and perhaps far too subtly -- arguing the same thing
>for the last 12 years. Should the emulator come to pass, it seems that that
>would be a natural time to create a new users' group, one where admission to
>the meetings would be $25 instead the now customary $1500.
>
>Indeed, I would argue that basically all of the traditions be examined in
>some detail, but most especially those that are potentially corrupted by the
>influence of money. I would argue that the meetings should be without a
>vendor show, without high-priced entertainment or featured speakers (Al
>Franken, etc.), or loud parties, but rather nothing much more than a series
>of informative technical talks, where vendors are allowed to present
>technical talks, just as any other contributor might. I've always thought
>that because the vendors have invested a great deal of effort in their
>products, and because they've researched their various solutions the most
>intensely, they should be the people that you would want to listen to the
>most carefully. But such talks would also provide the listeners in a Q&A
>period after each talk to ask pointed questions of the speakers, asking them
>why they did this rather than that and how their solution stacks up against
>another.
>
>Wirt Atmar
>
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>

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