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
* To join/leave the list, search archives, change list settings, *
* etc., please visit http://raven.utc.edu/archives/hp3000-l.html *
* To join/leave the list, search archives, change list settings, *
* etc., please visit http://raven.utc.edu/archives/hp3000-l.html *
* To join/leave the list, search archives, change list settings, *
* etc., please visit http://raven.utc.edu/archives/hp3000-l.html *
|
