Just spent the last two days at a software vendor sponsored conference for work. First one I've been to in awhile. They're painful. It's suppose to be an opportunity to get in touch with the vendor and see what's happening with them and their products. They push out their vision of the industry and magically how their products fit into that vision. The thing that bothers me the most is the illusion that it's anything more than a huge sales event. "Thanks for coming . . . Let's have a great time and have some fun over the next few days.". No thanks. Don't get me wrong I like to have fun, but not when a software vendor tells me to, especially when they're trying to sell me something. I really dug the interaction between all the participants. It was great to informally share notes on how people are using the products. Not sure how quick I'll be heading back to one of these types of conferences.