Colorado Software Summit
2002 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 2002. 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:

• Meeting people from various places and exchanging experiences. Some very good sessions; "Goodies"; Nice location; good food.
• Good mix of technical how-to presentations and lighter introductory or software trends types of presentations.
• Would attend again in a minute – it has been a great value
• High technical level; no marketing
• Quantity & content of presentations; food; location.
• "All" the people and their knowledge
• Availability/approachability of presenters. Really gave a "let's get together and talk about Java/XML" feel, rather than a "here's how to do it, now leave me alone because I'm better than you!" feel.
• Quality and content of presentations; food!; location
• No vendor push; solid technical attendees/presenters; strong thread of continuity year to year.
• The area, the speakers and the participants. It's always possible to get a good technical discussion going over lunch or breakfast.
• Very well organized.
• Atmosphere; possibility to discuss with speakers and with other specialists; meeting other developers; food; environment/scenery.
• The variety of topics.
• Well organized with great speakers
• Quality of presentations – detail; knowledgeable presenters and the effort they put into the presentations; location – allowed one to focus/stay involved/concentrate
• The whole organization was wonderful. Nice to meet new people and learn the new technologies.
• Small classrooms led to better interaction with instructors.
• The longer sessions (1 1/2 hours instead of 1 hour or even 45 minutes).
• My brain is as full as it can be and I am excited to head back to work and try all these suggestions.
• The ambiance. Whether it was speaker attitude, the stimulating Q&A sessions, the fantastic food, or the Keystone setting — all contributed to a magical week. (The fireside Internet hub was also a boon).
• Mix of introductory & advanced presentations & the opportunity to see all the sessions you're interested in since each is offered three times.
• Focus on just Java.
• Technical aptitude of presenters; beautiful Rocky Mountains; access to speak to presenters and other peers; lunch
• Size and interaction with the speakers.
• I really like the lack of marketing.
• Liked having 1 1/2 hour presentations compared to 45 minutes; multiple presentations (3 times) for each topic.
• Casual atmosphere and availability of the speakers; international attendees
• The networking, Q&A, and BOFs as an added value to the sessions.
• Architectural level topics; absence of vendor halls; advanced topics.
• Very intellectually stimulating. Helps me see beyond the boundaries of the projects I'm working on a and understand better designs and other possibilities. Always a great way to approach Java "buzzword conference."
• Geek atmosphere all around.
• Expert speakers with real coding experience.

The worst thing about this conference was:

• Not long enough. There wasn't enough time to see all the presentations I wanted to see.
• Not held during the summer and ski season opened after the conference.
• I realized how little I know and how much there is to learn.
• Nothing in this negative category about the conference. Only thing related is the wish for more detail on the topics/presentations on the Web site prior to registering.
• Days a little too long for very technical topics.
• Brain overload; actually that is a good thing.
• Didn't snow this year. I missed swimming outside while the snowflakes fell.
• Putting together my personal schedule was hard, but it is really a result of high interest and good topics.
• The chairs got a bit hard after 90 minutes.

Please give us any additional comments about the conference:

• Wonderful location and outstanding food. Absolutely enjoyed myself and learned things that are immediately applicable to my work.
• It has been a great value. Thank you.
• This is the best conference. I have been here five times and I thank you personally for what you have created and, more importantly, maintain.