I'm very interested in Stan's poll on who's NOT going to
IPROF and why, but I'm also interested in who IS going
to IPROF, and what do you expect to gain from it.

I attended IPROF for the first time last year, and was
impressed enough to go again this year (yep, the
registration fee showed up on my CC bill that arrived
today!).

Here are my reasons:
1.      The personnel contacts made with everyone who
        attends is invaluable.  Many of these people will
        not be at HP World, so this may be the only time
        that individuals from small shops can talk face-to-
        face with the people from the labs.

2.      The pace is more relaxed, and there is no (real)
        marketing going on.  People can concentrate on
        the problems at hand.

3.      Your opinions are heard directly by the people that
will be trying to solve your problems.  You'll be able
to hear what others have/are doing on the same issues.
(sidenote: although last years discussions about
year 2000 dates didn't seem to satisfy anyone entirely,
I came away with a better appreciation for the problem
than I did going in).

4.      You have a hand in the development process.  At last
        years conference, several people in the lab actively
        solicited the input of the attendees on several upcoming
        projects, and based on what they heard, proposed
        changes to those projects on the spot.  This give and
        take with "the real world" benefits everyone.

5.      You get a very early view of many of the projects in
        the pipeline (see #4 above).  Although some of these
        may never see the light of day, it gives you an "insiders
        view" of things, and if nothing else boosts your
        resolve for the future of the system.

6.      I'm a techie at heart, and if I have to choose a single
        conference to go to once a year, I'd choose IPROF
        over HP World in a heartbeat (which BTW is what I
        did last year :).

These are my own opinions, and no one has asked me
to do this.  Since Stan will be collecting the negatives
of the conference, I'd just like to collect the positives.
Maybe the outcome will be a better conference with
a larger attendance.

Regards,
Michael L Gueterman
Easy Does It Technologies
email: [log in to unmask]
http://www.editcorp.com
voice: (888) 858-EDIT -or- (509) 943-5108
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