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The LA Fox Developer Newsletter
March 2000
Who’s Going to DevCon? (Con't from page 4)
of my unnamed peers: “It’s very evident to me that there are a
wide range of topics, a huge percentage of which discuss the
issues I see being discussed on places like the UT all the
time.” (I won’t mention what was said about the rest of the
editorial.. .this is mixed company up here. <g>) There are,
however, some major points to consider in Whil’s observations.

It’s true that VFP6 will be widely discussed at the NOLA
conference. A visit to the NOLA conference site (http://
www.vfpdevcon.com) will reveal that. It’s true that there is a SQL
conference going on in the same hotel. BUT, there isn’t “some
sort of deal” that allows the VFP conference attendees to attend
SQL sessions, It’s a plain fact. Attendees will be able to “cross-
pollinate” with the SQL conference, at will, free of charge. They’ll
even receive a beta copy of the latest version of SQL. And they’ll
have twice the opportunity to expand their skillsets. Several
sessions will be presented early on in the VFP conference that
will allow attendees to come up on the SQL curve enough to
jump into many of the SQL conference sessions. It just doesn’t
“sound like a bargain”.., it’s one hell of a bargain and opportu-
nity. And don’t forget there’s a third conference going on at the
same time, same hotel. (Oops!) And, oh yeah, let’s not forget
about the pre- and post-conference sessions, as well.

One thing the SoCal conferences have become famous for is
the ability of the attendees to glean a lot of useful information,
techniques, etc., that they can immediately take back to their
respective work places and put to use right away. The same can
be said about the other “regional” conferences in Milwaukee,
Toronto, and specialty events like Double Impact. This confer-
ence promises to be no different. And, based on the session
content of the NOLA conference, most, if not all of the informa-
tion gained will easily transition into VFP7. So, let’s discuss
how VFP7 plays into all of this, as opposed to how it was
presented in the editorial.

The latest news I have is that Visual Studio 7 will not be ship-
ping until the first quarter of 2001. There is a high probability
that the Miami conference will be featuring VFP7, since MS like
to use these events to launch or preview new products. How-
ever, any guesses that Whil made on conference content are
just that... pure speculation. I’ve been up to Advisor’s conference
site many times to view session content only to find.., nothing.
I’m not going to speculate, but I will say that I’ve heard from
reliable sources that content for the Miami conference hasn’t
even been decided yet. The Miami conference will indeed
provide attendees with guidance on the right approach and
direction, as well as preparing them for VFP7 and beyond.
However, many new features of VFP7 will be presented for the
first time at the NOLA conference. Direction, preparation, and
Microsoft’s vision for VFP7, and the future of development in
general, will also be presented in NOLA.

One last item on this topic. The Miami conference is scheduled
for Sept. 24-28. Visual Studio will ship in the first quarter of
2001. That means that even if attendees can get their hands on
a beta copy of VFP7, they’ll have to wait through October,
November, December, and, more than likely, most of January
before they can get their hands on actual product. The product
may or may not go through several revisions between Septem-
ber and January. So, is it more important to get a glimpse of the
future and wait several months for the actual product or prepare
for the future by getting as firmly grounded as possible in the
current product while looking ahead at future technology? All
while learning things you can take back and immediately use.
That’s a question many people will have to answer for them-
selves.

With a new release being discussed in Miami, the show will
pmbably be packed. I’m personally betting on 1,500 to 1,800 or
so...,,

For the record, attendance at DevCons has been steadily
dropping from a peak attendance of 3,000 in 1993, to about
1,600 in 1995; 1,200 in 1996; to somewhere between 900 -
1,100 in 1999, depending on who you talk to and what they’re
basing their numbers on. Any conjecture on NOLA or Miami
attendance is, again, just that - conjecture. (I won’t go into the
off-handed comment about there being “more room in the bar” at
smaller conferences, unless, of course, that was based on
personal experience. <g>) I think it may be a little unrealistic to
expect attendance at either conference to exceed 1995 levels
or even 1996.

“I declined a speaking invite to New Orleans. Between a new
baby and . . .leg surgery, I just couldn’t find the hours to prepare
two VFP6.0 sessions that I can’t use again.”

Let’s set the record straight on this one once and for all. I have
been in charge of speakers and content for the NOLA confer-
ence. About two years ago, Whil announced that he was
removing himself from the “speaker circuit” to work on things of
importance closer to home - his consulting business, his then-
fledgling publishing business, etc. In the two years since that
announcement, he has never made it known to me (except after
the fact) that he was back on “the circuit”. Consequently, he
was not asked to present any sessions at the conference. What
he WAS offered was a speaking slot at Pinnacle Publishing’s
FoxFire VFP Excellence Awards taking place at the NOLA
conference. He vehemently and angrily declined in words that
could not be quoted here.

“On the other hand, I’ll still end up going to New Orleans, cuz,
hey, my authors will have new books they’ll want me to selL”

I could be mistaken here, but doesn’t his publishing company
make money on the books he sells?

So what is the actual purpose of this editorial? Does Whil have
a hidden agenda here or does he have an axe to grind?
Maybe... maybe not. But he shouldn’t couch whatever he’s trying
to do under the guise of “editorial opinion”. What he is coming
dangerously close to is malicious intent. Malicious or not, he’s

(Con’t, page 9)
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