Colorado Software Summit
2001 Feedback

Each year we encourage every attendee to provide written feedback about their experience at the conference. We ask them to tell us the best thing (and the worst thing) about this conference, as well as to provide any additional feedback. Below are some comments we received about Colorado Software Summit 2001. The only editing that has been done to the individual comments was to remove the names of individual speakers and the names of competing conferences.

The best thing about this conference was:

• Only one thing??? The wide variety of topics, the resort, the conference facilities, the food, the wonderful friendly attendees and organizers that made this first timer feel right at home.
• For developers, by developers! Lots of code examples. Very nice to get the notes in advance to see if the content of a session really is interesting
• Small size, excellent topics and speakers, no frills/nonsense/marketing BS.
• Content, access to experts, handouts, food. Overall organization was well thought out/planned. Food (especially coffee) was always available. High Quality speakers.
• Most sessions were top notch.
• Location, location, location!
• Networking with other technical people; seeing what is going on in the Java world; what happened to CORBA; no trade show!
• The Quality of the good presentations
• Good mix of programming, process, technology and methodology.
• Quality of speakers, organization, professionalism!
• The size and the location; The conference center is super compared with JavaOne. The topics are pretty much the same and can be little bit more technical in some areas. (XML, ESB, Java topics were OK).
• Size (# of attendees), location, quality & accessibility of speakers. Focus on J2EE technologies.
• The two best speakers, Moskowitz and Giangarra presented the most important topics.
• Content and location at its best! Thanks to Wayne & Peggy*! Simply the best technical conference in the world!
• The people, the facility, the food!
• Speakers and depth of topics they discussed; details and tips were very helpful; location & food are great!
• Please continue to do the wonderful job of having such a high quality gathering of speakers and topics!
• Practical, technical, applicable "meaty" content presented at the sessions (with example code where appropriate).
• Very good technical discussions.
• The small size. The lack of commercialism. The friendly vibe. The range & depth of the topics. The catering. The nightly Q&A session. LOVELY LOCATION!
• With very few exceptions, I was very impressed with the presentations that I attended. What a wonderful variety of top notch speakers! Definitely something here for everyone!
• Simon Roberts, Kimberly Bobrow, food, location.
• Geeks at the fireplace. Access to speakers. No vendors. Nachos & pizza. Quality of speakers, materials, etc. Locale.
• Technical content and knowledge of some presenters; no vendors/presenters shoving products; food.
• The speakers and the people.
• No vendor pitches and focus on technology.
• Presentations and examples from Landers, Gunther and Sierra.
• Food and sessions.
• Sessions, food, camaraderie, sense of family, no marketing BS.
• The atmosphere and the fact that all the presentations were about "real" things instead of some idea somebody may some day implement.
• Size; topics.
• The latest topics and hottest technologies.
• Great location — provided a great learning environment. Some good presentations.
• Good planned/organized and many good speakers. Good food.
• Environment — tables, chairs, lighting, sound, etc. Variety of topics.
• Excellent technical presentations; Good atmosphere/food; Repeating presentations is great!
• The conference has a unique perspective. It has an excellent focus on very technical issues.
• The ability to talk to other people with a knowledge of the subjects I'm interested in.
• Breadth of topic covered.
• Experts to consult with.
• Lots of good info, fast paced. Excellent facility and food. Well organized and executed.
• The lack of marketing; Excellent facilities/food.

The worst thing about this conference was:

• There was no such thing!
• Jolly Ranchers — they "insure" my dentist will be quite happy to see me!! But don't give them up!
• Not enough computers in the computer room.
• No coke beverages — this has to change. More internet connections.
• No hot food for breakfast. :-)
• Sometimes I wished for a "nap time"/break in the middle of the day (maybe the lunch break could be a bit longer to accommodate this?)
• The location is nice, but it would be nice to be nearer a bigger location for other opportunities for eating or shopping. Otherwise, should recommend a car; wasn't enough time after classes to use shuttle and most stores were closed.
• Some presentations can be "pre-requisites" for other presentations. It would be useful if there were a sort of formal way to express that relationship in the schedule.
• It would be nice to have some of the better programming books and magazines available for purchase.
• Perhaps the day is too long (nearly 12 hours from breakfast to the end of the Q&A).
• Too short; we need to have this go on & on.
• Hard to see all I was interested in even though three offerings of each are offered.
• Too many excellent selections to choose from — oops — I guess that's a good thing.
• Sun, I wanted some snow.
• The intense program perhaps. I found 1 ½ hours on each presentation a bit too much. Perhaps a little break would be smart.
• Need slightly more organized management of BOFs.
• Too much great food :)
• Early morning to evening — jam packed day, but no complaints.
• It should be broader. I understand the difficulty in achieving this, but some more comparisons to the 800 lb. gorilla (Microsoft) would be great.
• Weather. Better earlier in the year. However, it doesn't collide with other conferences.
• Making all presentations 90 minutes not always practical. Maybe a combination of 1 hour and 2 hours.
• All sessions should be 3 hours.

Please give us any additional comments about the conference:

• Wonderful, great content, little hype. While I am not a fan of Microsoft, the reality is that we need to deal with MS products. A more balanced attitude, recognizing that reality would be better. Thank you, best conference I have attended this year (and I attend most).
• Almost too much information to soak up!
• Still a great conference, and I will most likely be back again next year. Great job!
• Colorado Software Summit is a "Technical Retreat," it allows me to escape, learn, ponder, ask, answer, and interact with like and unlike minded people who share a common interest in Java Programming.
• This was the best conference that I've ever attended! I hope I will be able to come back.
• Very nice atmosphere. The hotel was very good. Good food and very good technical input form some of the speakers. A lot of good examples also.
• Great conference! Hope that I come back next year. Only suggestions I have is that have the conference a bit later (early December) so I can ski, or during summer so I can bring my family.
• Please keep up the good work! Congrats on your 10th anniversary.
• See you next year.
• I would like to see the keynote speakers scheduled for Sunday night and Friday afternoon instead of on class days. They are excellent, but not everyone needs to hear them!
• So many choices, it is extremely difficult to choose which great session to see! (Thank goodness for the notebook!!)
• Overall a great effort.
• I like the fact that the conference is not a marketing opportunity for companies. It is truly a learning opportunity conference.
• Some speakers "spoke." Some speakers "taught" and actually cared about the level of understanding of the audience. Those who "taught" provided much more value. Conference organization was excellent.

(* Wayne and Peggy, mentioned in the comments above, are the conference organizers.)