Hello from the Ajax Experience conference in Boston!
Not too long ago, you probably couldn’t get a self-respecting software developer to wear an AOL t-shirt (I joked that once upon a time, they’d have been as popular as NAMBLA shirts). However, AOL seems to be embracing the mash-up scene and they’ve cranked out a series of shirts with some geek appeal. I’m modelling the most-requested one here:
…are over at Global Nerdy and the Tucows Blog. Go check them out!
(Well, the best one I’ve seen in a while, anyway.)
The swag that every attendee gets here at the Ajax Experience conference gets comes in a very nice custom knapsack, and it’s surprisingly heavy. I’ll post a video entry later, where I’ll go through what’s in the bag. We’re swagging like it’s 1999!
[Cross-posted to Global Nerdy.]
I’m in Beantown to attend the Ajax Experience conference (Ajax as in the web application programming technique, not the cleanser), which starts tomorrow and runs until Wednesday.
The conference takes place at the brand spanking new Westin Boston Waterfront, which still has the “new hotel smell”. It’s considerably more posh than the typical stone’s-throw-from-the-airport conference hotel, and it’s pretty close to downtown (a ten or fifteen-minute walk, depending on your pace, will land you right at Downtown Crossing). I predict the possibility of some post-session expeditions for booze.
Aside from dinner with Wendy’s parents tonight, I had nothing scheduled today, so I walked over to Downtown Crossing and ended up doing what I always do when I go there: buying dress shirts at half-price in Filene’s Basement. I think half my office and going-out wardrobe comes from Boston now. I then handed a guy in a tri-corner hat twelve bucks to take me on a walking tour of the Freedom Trail. This sort of thing would probably bore Wendy to tears (she’s lived in Boston most of her life), so I thought I’d catch it as long as I was travelling without her.
I’ll be blogging about the conference over at the Tucows Blog and Global Nerdy; my non-technical entries about the trip will go here. If you’re attending this conference or just happen to be a friend of mine in the Boston area, drop me a line. I’ve got the accordion with me, and am always up for a little beer-fueled fun.
From Sunday afternoon until Wednesday night, I’ll be reporting from The Ajax Experience in Boston, the premier gathering of developers interested in building Ajax-ified web applications.
Take a look at the conference schedule. Content-wise, it’s pretty meaty (six tracks!) and seems to offer something for Ajax developers of all levels. It’s also pretty intense, with Monday’s and Tuesday’s sessions running until 6:45 and evening panel discussions running until 9 p.m.. I don’t think I’ve seen a schedule this hardcore since RailsConf back in June.
Over the next couple of days, I’ll be posting my general impressions and detailed notes and photos from the sessions I attend. I’ll also be incorporating my notes into an internal training session at Tucows.
I have to tip my hat to Brent Ashley, local developer and longtime friend of Tucows. He’s a presenter at the conference and as such, was entitled to two freebie passes, one of which he gave to me. He’ll be doing a talk on alternate transport mechanisms, which I will attend.
Take a look over at the Tucows Blog to see what sessions I’m thinking of attending. If you’re a programmer and have any suggestions, please let me know in the comments!
Photo courtesy of Miss Fipi Lele and flaunted.
The next session of DemoCamp — the Toronto area’s show-and-tell for the software development community — takes place this Monday, October 23rd at the MaRS Centre (101 College Street, right by Queen’s Park subway station) from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., followed by a social at a nearby pub. There’s no admission to attend, and you’re encouraged to ask questions!
The rules of DemoCamp are simple: NO POWERPOINT (or any other slideware)! We want to see working applications or prototypes in action, not marketing spiels! We’re pretty open about what’s demo-able at DemoCamp: desktop software, web applications, embedded software, hardware hacks, hobbyist projects, corporate applications, whatever. As long as you can demonstrate it and be interesting, it’s fair game!
This is the 10th DemoCamp, and it’ll feature the following presentations:
If you’ve got something you’d like to demo, there’s one slot available! You can sign up to take this slot over at the wiki page for DemoCamp 10.
This will be the first DemoCamp that I will not be able to attend; I’ll be in Boston at The Ajax Experience, getting all JavaScripty and XMLHttpRequesty and blogging it at the Tucows Blog and Global Nerdy.