Yesterday’s event worked out really well. We had about 100 people in the theater take part in opening evening. My welcome speech was nothing to be worried about – I forgot half of what I was going to say, but that’s OK – it just gives me some opening words this morning.
Joel’s keynote presentation on how to build blue ribbon products was great fun and really informative. I have never seen PowerPoint used like that – hats must go off. Apparently there was some stress in getting him to the airport, I’ll have to get the full story today.
The panel discussion was very insightful. Covering everything from the impact of the new OSX distribution not upgrading its JVM to the JSR standards versus open source innovation, the future it seems is anything but clear. To know what to recommend, learn and implement will always be a matter of personal judgment and experience. The only way to keep up, is to engage and be aware of the landscape of competing products in the landscape. It’s one of the huge challenges of a career in IT, and one that should be enjoyed and embraced.
The first day of presentations kicks off in an hour and a half. I have to have a quick shower and get out to Cineworld. We are starting right on the dot today, but it will be a challenge getting everybody in to the first session by 9:15 – the Irish tendency for being casual with time really test your nerves. It’s not a party guys, fashionably late doesn’t work here. Lol \o/