Just because I'm feeling cantankerous...

In preparing for HPWorld I noticed various references to NDA sessions and an
Expo area requiring an NDA. But nowhere in the session catalog was there any
mention of which sessions would require an NDA. Since I am co-Chair of
SIGMPE and Vice Chairman of the MPE Forum I decided to pursue this issue
with Interex. My seemingly logical reasoning was that I needed to know what
sessions required an NDA before I could decide whether to apply for one as
part of my registration.

The official response from Interex was:

"The NDA sessions are so designated by HP.  Having them at part of the
sessions offered this year is as a result of combining the HP ETS Conference
(which was put on by Encompass and HP in past years and had many NDA
sessions) with HP World Conference & Expo.  The conference scheduler
indicates which sessions are NDA when an NDA has been signed and approved;
the reason for this is that many of the titles themselves reveal
confidential information.  If you have questions about this, the person
responsible at HP for the NDA program is named Bob Mack and he can be
reached at [log in to unmask]"

I commented back that this sounded like the ultimate catch 22, to which Bob
Mack replied (note he encouraged dissemination of his explanation):

======================

Folks - let me see if I can clarify things somewhat.

1) These presentation sessions, along with the Technology Preview Area
(where unannounced prototype products and technology are on display), make
up the HP World segment we call the NDA area. Access to these sessions is
strictly controlled and only available to attendees who have an active Event
Confidential Disclosure Agreement (ECDA) on file with HP at the time of the
event (see below)

2) As you've observed, NDA sessions are somewhat obscure. This is by design
and by direction of the HP Product groups who will be making the
presentations. Their rationale is that sometimes even the title (let alone
the associated abstract) could disclose information prematurely.

3) As the message thread indicates, the NDA area is something new to HP
World. For the previous ETS conferences, these were generally known to exist
and eagerly anticipated based on history. With the advent of HP World 2003
and recognizing that there will be many attendees this year who've never
attended a previous ETS conference, we have tried to be more forthcoming in
terms of mentioning these sessions in the HP World communiqués. Almost every
communication so far has made reference to the NDA area.

4) For this event we have tried to simplify the process of applying for an
ECDA as much as possible. Full details and instructions are provided to all
once they have registered. We typically turn around ECDA requests within 24
hours and once approved, all NDA sessions become visible and available for
scheduling.

I hope this helps - please feel free to forward this note to anyone
contemplating attending or that you know may have the same questions in
mind. My goal is to make sure visitors to the NDA area walk away with
valuable information they won't get anywhere else at the conference even if
we have to subject them to a little obfuscation and paper-work. For that I
can only be [slightly] apologetic.


Regards,
Bob Mack
WW CSPS Knowledge, Content, and Technology
Manager, Knowledge Architects Team
Hewlett-Packard Company

===========================

It seems to me that one of the major things HP acquired in the merger with
Compaq was a totally outrageous case of paranoia. There is nothing that will
be said or shown at HPWorld of any import that could not be found out with
just a little digging by Friday of the conference. Most has probably already
been at least hinted at in HP and independent publications. As for anything
earthshaking, does anyone seriously believe that if the old HP had such an
NDA policy that it would have told people at HPWorld 2001 about the
announcement it was going to make in November about the HP 3000? [BTW, do
not be fooled. The decision had been made by HPWorld 2001 and various
executives other than Winston knew about it.] Will the new HP tell NDA
participants of its plan to phase out HP-UX for all but niche applications
by 2010? [Just kidding - maybe.]

Bottom line is this (slightly altered) would make a good Monty Python
sketch.

A: How much does this cost?

B: I can't tell you until you agree to buy it.

A: But how can I agree to buy it if I don't know how much it costs?

B: The cost is proprietary information, we can't just have our competitors
knowing how much we charge. Just sign this paper to buy it and I'll tell you
how much it costs.

...

Making it "easy" to sign away your free will is no justification for such a
stupid policy.

Obviously I'm not going to change anyone's mind, but I think Interex might
consider whether it is exposing itself to legal liability by discriminating
among attendees - who all paid the same amount of money to attend.

Silliness, silliness, silliness.

Regards,
John Burke


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