I managed to make it over to TechEd for a brief 24-hour period last week and what a terrific trip it was. I had two–eh, three goals: 1. Visit as many companies as I could to see who was working on Tablet apps, 2. Go to Julia Lerman’s Tablet BOF, and 3. See how visible Tablets are. In all three areas I was pleasantly surprised.
I wasn’t at TechEd for more than a few minutes and I’d already counted a couple Tablets. And the number kept growing. I lost count in the 20s somewhere. And there were lots more than this.
First up, I scampered over to the exhibit hall. I was blown away. I don’t know why, but I was expecting maybe a dozen exhibitors. Nope. I was off by more than a magnitude. Anyone dragging their knuckles wondering if the software industry is turning around, should have been there. There’s no doubt that the competition is heating up again–if it ever dimmed.
At the end of the day, somewhere between the snack table and the lounge chairs, James Griffith–a Student Ambassador and Tablet aficionado–tracked me down and I sat with him and a couple of his friends chatting about Tablets and the job market. It was refreshing to meet up with such enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and high energy computer science students. After about an hour or so, we made our way upstairs to the Tablet BOF.
I was surprised at the number of people there. I’m guessing 40. Maybe more. Julia did a great job leading the session and keeping things at a level that just about everyone could enjoy. I only wish it could have been longer. Next time it looks like there will be enough for more than one Tablet BOF. Hmm. Now how can we clone Julia to chair them all?
After the BOF, the Tablet team invited us all for dinner, so in reality the BOF kept going for a couple more hours. What a great way to cap the day. Unfortunately, even with all the Tablet talk I was beginning to slouch further and further in my seat as the evening turned to night. So about 10 or so I started my walk back to the convention center. I’m glad I did, because on the way back I got a call from Lan and she needed me to change my plans for the next day. Originally I was going to spend two days at TechEd, but now I was needed back home so my one day Tablet-extravaganza was going to have to suffice and I needed to get up early to start my drive back to Phoenix.
I have a couple pictures I’ll post this evening. Till then, maybe my “Sketch-Photo” of the sights and sounds of TechEd 2004 will do. 🙂
