I'd thought I'd break away from the norm here, and bring in someone the like of which has never been seen here before at the TTB: Mitch is a Canberra based MVP who works for Readify...oh, hang on...maybe we have (ok, so Glav isn't Canberra based, but Campbelltown is just a suburb of Canberra isn't it?). But anyway, here's what Mitch has to say about TechEd.

  1. Name rank and serial number.
    Mitch Denny, Senior Consultant, 0xC0FFEE. I spend most of my time helping people get a leg up on .NET and related technologies, but to keep it interesting I always like to throw something new into the mix and push the envelope a bit. I’m really interested in team dynamics (hence my interest in TFS), component based systems (hence my interest in System.ComponentModel) and blogging (hence http://notgartner.com).
  2. What TechEds have you been too? Why did you go? If you've been to more than one, why do you keep going back?
    This year will be my third TechEd, I hadn't gone before then because a lot of my work was related to the dark side (IBM kit). Coincidentally I was actually a speaker at my first ever TechEd (2004) where I attended in both Auckland and Canberra. I did a talk on Advanced Windows Forms stuff. New Zealand was a hoot because it gave me a chance to try out a joke about under-arm bowling in Cricket. Canberra was good too because it was funny watching all the out-of-towners run around freezing whilst I was just wearing shorts. In Canberra they also had a horizontal bungee thing where you had to race to the end and touch the mat before flying backwards through the air (I would love to do that again).
    I guess the thing that keeps me interested in coming back is the fact that it's a great chance for the .NET developer community to get together and compare notes. The five hallway conversations you have each day are just as valuable as the five sessions might catch. In fact, last year I actually caught up with a guy that I hadn't really seen since high school - he came to my session and introduced himself at the end.
  3. Once it was over, were you glad you went? What did you get out of it that you consider valuable?
    Absolutely. Last year was great. It was my chance to catch up with a whole heap of work colleagues. I spent a fair bit of time preparing my sessions but I did manage to catch quite a few sessions and spend some time in the exhibition area. The sessions I tried to focus on were around what is now being called .NET 3.0.
  4. What were your favourite parts of TechEd?
    Getting exposure to new technology that is coming down the line, talking to people about how they are using the current stuff now, and just generally taking the time to geek out.
  5. What could have been done better?
    Wireless and wired internet access. I know that this can be a big cost, but don’t throw a Telstra stand in the middle of the hallway and say that people can get wireless access there. I think that everywhere there is a TechEd terminal there should be a spare power lead and CAT-5 cable to jack into.
    Catering. This is always hard, but when you have 1000s of hungry geeks queuing to eat, don’t stand around tables of hot food fending them off. If nothing else respect their time - they aren't there to queue - they want to spend that time more productively. It’s hard for the folks managing the catering too because there is no way they can win an argument with a geek on concurrency :)
  6. How much of it was relevant to you personally? Did you get a big enough benefit that the expense was worth it, or would, say, someone else from your workplace have benefitted more?
    Because I am a speaker I get a free ride to a certain extent, but I guess time is my currency, and on that score there is no better place for me to be when TechEd is on.
  7. Would you go again if you had the chance?
    Sign me up! See everyone there!
  8. Where was the party? Did you have a good time?
    In Canberra, I’m not sure what the name of the place was, but it was on Northbourne Avenue. That was great fun, at the Gold Coast it was at Movie World. That wasn’t too bad but I think I had more fun at the Canberra venue. Can't wait to see what they do this year.