SIGADT? (longish)

Wed, 21 Jun 2000 08:59:31 -0500

A separate ADT conference sounds great to me. The current emphasis on the BI
tools makes the existing conference both irrelevant to our operations and
too expensive.  I attended the HP-3000 Solution Symposium held this year in
San Jose and it was outstanding. There were two tracks, one for programming
and one for system management and there was even a hands on lab available to
go try out what you had just learned.   Several of the speakers included lab
excercises in their materials.  There's no better way to get up to speed on
a new topic than learning by example.

Dennis Barnes
Director of Computer Services
Wharton County Junior College
911 Boling Hwy.
Wharton, Tx 77488
(409) 532-6329 phone
(409) 532-6545 fax
dennisb@wcjc.cc.tx.us

-----Original Message-----
From: Tim Ericson [mailto:tericson@denkor.com]
Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2000 5:50 PM
To: PowerHouse-L
Cc: Larry Ward; Rod Spring; Art Bahrs
Subject: SIGADT? (longish)

Last week I whined about Image B-Tree support in PowerHouse:
>
> Another example of our copious support dollars producing
> *nothing* for existing customers that are *heavily* invested
> in PowerHouse?

To which Bob Deskin was kind enough to reply:
>
> While I grant you that we're overdue for b-tree support, the
> 8.39 project (currently in development) does include b-tree
> support.

(thanks Bob!)

Then that thread evolved into "Cognos user conference and
ADT" (Application Development Tools aka PowerHouse), and there
was a little discussion about that:

Byron Welch hatched an idea:
>
> To some extent this is the chicken and the egg problem.  Over
> the last few years attendance at the ADT sessions has steadily
> declined.  We in the ADT community need to make a stronger
> showing.  One way we can so this is to spread the word about
> the powerhouse listserv.  If we can show a strong user community
> then it is easier to get Cognos's attention.

And John Pickering continued:
>
> If Cognos feels there is a need or a desire for an ADT conference
> then hold an ADT-only conference, obviously on a smaller scale.
> We're techies -- we don't need glitzy destinations and loud
> expensive parties -- most of us would be happier sitting in a
> cheap bar discussing PH and the system from hell (read that as
> shooting the bull). Personally I'd vote for Ottawa so we'd be
> close to "the lab" but I'd travel further if such a conference
> existed. But the content has to be there.

---------------------------------------------
This sounds promising!
(except for the not needing the party part!)
---------------------------------------------

And Brian Schalme voted:
>
> I would go for something like that! (An ADT-specific conference
> in Ottawa or anywhere that would justify the content.)

And so did Oran Shapitka:
>
> Two conferences would be great, one for application designers/
> developers, and one for people who like building reports all
> day, (BI).  Not everyone is adding reporting to a large ERP
> implementation.
>
> I'd come to Ottawa for a ADT conference.

Then Bill Michael:
>
> If there was an "all PowerHouse" conference, even if my employer
> wouldn't pay for me to attend, if they'd give me the time off I'd
> pay my own way! (Um. Assuming the cost was reasonable, and not
> the utterly ridiculous $950. Maybe $250. Which should be plenty
> for a much smaller conference, needing less space...)
>
> <snip>
>
> A $250 ADT-only conference at a Holiday Inn in Chicago or Ottawa
> will get a _lot_ more attendance than a $950 mostly-irrelevant
> conference at a fancy hotel in L.A.! A little publicity other
> than on the listserv would help, too - I haven't seen anything
> about this year _except_ what I've read here.

And Bob Deskin, too!
>
> Actually, the bar idea sounds good to me ;-)
>
> What do other people think? And don't get excited about this
> because I doubt there's much chance, but I'm curious. How much
> content would justify attendance? As I write this there's
> already a message from Brian Schalme expressing interest.

---------------------------------------------------------------

WOW!

This sounds a *lot* like the SIG3000 meetings that happen near
HP's Cupertino office (the MotherShip for the HPe3000).  These
are held every year (originally called Iprof) and the 2 to 3 
days are divided into meetings for each of the Special Interest
Groups (SIGs), and a couple combined meetings.  Various 'ballots'
are developed by each SIG, and the top vote-getters from these
ballots are combined into one 'System Improvement Ballot', which
is submitted to HP for further study, and usually implementation!
(I *am* simplifying here).

Low Cost.  Focused.  People of like interest.  No glitzy parties.
(well, there *is* a bar in the hotel!)

I can imagine a 'PowerHouse Improvement Ballot'.  What the *users*
think should be done to Quiz, Qtp, Quick, etc.  Maybe for each
platform/OS as well - like the B-Trees in MPE/iX.

I see this as an opportunity for Cognos *as well as* the users
to do something that just might make us all feel a little better!
Open up the lines of communication, etc.

Maybe those that *do* go to this year's conference can get
together informally (I'm thinking of going - hell, I'd even be
the chairperson for a SIG like this!)  If so, maybe we can talk
about another get-together the following spring - providing
there's enough interest, and Cognos supports the idea!

Okay, I've stuck my neck out - So what's the consensus?

 +-------------------------------------------------------------------+
  My mind is my own, as are my ideas and opinions.
  My heart, body, and soul, however, all belong to others.       Tim.
 +-------------------------------------------------------------------+
  Tim Ericson            tericson      DenKor Dental Management Corp.
  Sr. Systems Analyst     at denkor    503-526-4440 (my direct number)
    (& Systems Manager)     dot com         http://www.denkor.com
  Programming HP3000s since 1983!      Quality dental care since 1970!
 +-------------------------------------------------------------------+
  UDCs and Command Files:  http://www.denkor.com/hp3000/command_files
 +-------------------------------------------------------------------+

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