Next week, as you probably already know by now, the mighty Microsoft TechEd 2009 will swing into action and, along with it, so will DevExpress and its merry team of developers, architects, and evangelists. Tagging along for the ride (and to make sure that all the bits and pieces are there, the swag is properly given away, and that the interviews with the press, podcasters, and bloggers run smoothly), will be Kevin and Rachel. Of course Jeff, Amanda, and Erica will be wielding the camera and microphones to make sure we capture the buzz and share it with everyone who couldn't make it.
I like to think of TechEd as the show that concentrates on the Microsoft technologies here and now, whereas the similar Microsoft PDC is more about the future, both the fairly concrete short term and the more diaphanous one a couple of years hence. No matter which one, we're keen to show off our latest products (and also those flaky pre-alpha bits for future features that everyone wants to see) and to talk to the customers that always gather around our booth. Next week will be no different, however, we've gone back over the past few conferences to work out what went well and what didn't.
This particular TechEd, we've organized things to concentrate on smaller intimate gatherings in our booth rather than the larger crowds of yore (although we can do that too: the booth layout is very flexible). We have six mini-demo areas in our booth, each staffed by one of the aforementioned experts, each with a 32" plasma so the audience can see. This means that you'll be able to get really down and dirty with some in-depth questions and get some answers to your pressing issues. After all, what better way to find out about a product than to actually see it in action and possibly see how to create something with it. So don't wait for the training video for a particular feature (although it'll appear soon anyway, given the rate at which we're producing videos), come to our booth, stand comfortably on the extra-stuffed carpet, and get the guy who knows it best to show it to you directly.
Of course, any company exhibiting at a trade show is doing it for the marketing. But with this new layout and the thought that's gone into it, we're going to push the boundaries on making it more technical. Of course, that doesn't mean we're not going to have some fun as well: we are, after all, DevExpress.
We also have some guests helping us this year, both in our booth and in their talks. These guests are developers like you and me, who've standardized on our products for their applications. Come and see them to hear how they leverage the best .NET components and tools in the market today.
Here's the exhibit hall hours, so you know when to find us:
Monday, May 11: 11:30am – 2:30pm, and 5:45pm – 9:00pm
Tuesday, May 12: 11:00am – 4:30pm
Wednesday, May 13: 11:00am – 4:30pm
Thursday, May 14: 11:00am – 2:45pm
See you there!