suggestions for future conferences

[Bob Fisher]

>From article <8902090223.AA01916 at decwrl.dec.com>, by devine at cookie.dec.com (Bob Devine):
> 
>   - Get a "pulse of the crowd" by doing a poll on what
>    is needed in computing.  Or a poll on what would be a
>    really neat application to have.  Any information gathered
>    is valuable for its own sake and can be used as a news item.
>    The American Bar Assoc, for example, gets national attention
>    for its conference when it releases opinion surveys.

  Sounds good, but I wonder which pulse we really need to take - the
  end user, management or conference attendees (who seem to be mostly
  hackers).  Perhaps a questionaire sent out in advance of the conference
  to be completed by management (maybe after a poll of end users).
  Presumably, managers (and dedicated individuals) who are willing to put
  up the money to attend the conference are somewhat enlightened and would
  provide good input to a questionaire.


>   - Use the conference as a way of telling people about Unix.
>    What is in the weekly computer newpapers is a lot of vendor
>    press releases.  Usenix could be publicized by press releases
>    that highlight interesting papers.

  Hear!  Hear!
  Shout it out before the conference begins about what is planned and
  again after the conference is over.  Announce the results of the poll.

  Perhaps someone will volunteer to write a regular news article for the
  papers/magazines.  If it were provided as a *free* press release from
  USENIX, it might get published more easily and possibly by more than
  one publisher.


>   - Have an equipment demo room.  A computer conference without
>    computer is sort of like a automobile show without cars.

  I have reservations about this.  Setting up a demo room is ticklish.
  How much space is needed?  How do we get the vendors to pay for it so
  that it doesn't become an extra expense for USENIX.

  It may cost vendors more to rent space in a central area than to rent
  a room of their own.

     A central demo area needs open space to provide traffic flow.

     The vendors may prefer to rent hotel rooms and show their stuff
     privately with fewer distractions.

  Of course they would have move visitors in a concentrated area.

> 4. Open up the conferences to more than Unix.  This might be a
>    heretical statement.  But, many sites have quite a mixture of
>    systems.  Topics could be on how to manage mixed-computer sites.
>    Or on how run different OSs on the same network.  The point is
>    that there can be a fruitful exchange of information for this
>    area.  If Usenix doesn't do it, who will?

  PCs as well as mainframes.

This was my first USENIX.  I understand that the summer conferences
are somewhat in the nature of an exposition, so some of what I said
about demo space may be wrong or already considered.

Anyhow, THANKS FOR A GREAT CONFERENCE IN SAN DIEGO!

-- 
Bob Fisher (osu-cis!dsacg1!bfisher) 614-238-9071 (Autovon 850-9071)
>From the Internet: bfisher%dsacg1.uucp at daitc.arpa
US Defense Logistics Agency Systems Automation Center
DSAC-TSX, Box 1605, Columbus, OH 43216-5002