Lotusphere 2005

I have just been walking from session to session today, unfortunately the network in the Swan is less than brilliant so not much posting going on.

The standout sessions today were the panel with Esther Dyson and Ray Ozzie, and the OpenNTF BOF.

The panel took a while to get going, I am not sure everyone quite understood what was meant to happen and so were being polite but eventually there was a really good discussion about the future of computing and the divergence between the corporate and personal needs which people are going to have and how, possibly, they may converge or collide in their requirements. I hope that this sort of thing is tried again in future, inevitably it will be a hit and miss affair but if the panel is of the quality that we had today then the chances of a valuable discussion are greatly improved.

The OpenNTF BOF was just entertainment from start to finish. Bruce and all of the guys who devote so much time to this non-profit effort deserve all of the plaudits they get. I am always on the lookout for something which I can add to the party, I just have not yet come up with a good enough idea. Still I will keep trying.

Tuesday night is always the toughie for what to do, there is no big official gathering so people fragment. I am heading down to the Dolphin bars now to see what’s going on but after all of the walking of the last few days I am not sure how long I’ll last.

After a day packed with sessions and feeling reinvigorated about the future we went out for dinner at Hooters last night. A classy establishment with no doubts, it was pretty good fun. Next door we found a pool hall so stopped in there for a few games (I lost yet again, but only 4-3 this time). The pool tables were so fast and the pockets so big that it made even me feel as though I knew what I was doing!

Today is going to be just as busy as yesterday. Looking at the schedule there is something I want to go and see during every slot which has rarely happened on one day let alone two in previous years. For this we have to thank the planners of the ‘fear for taking comments from last year to heart.

Even the wireless network is better, I am sat waiting for the Innovators Panel to start. Not sure what to expect but a lot of people have said it will be good. I believe Ray Ozzie is one of the people on the panel, not sure who else but I will give an update later.

The coolest thing I have seen so far today is that views in R7 can be written using SQL – leading us to joining data, and finally the prospect of relational Domino databases. I can’t overstate how huge this is. At a stroke it will solve some of the biggest problems which the large applications I write experience.

Also in the cool stakes, I was just in the IBM Research session and am very excited about Kontiki a wiki on steroids.

So far this Lotusphere has met and far exceeded my expectations. The general feeling which I am picking up is one that Lotus is back in a big way.

So John Cleese was, indeed, the celebrity. But the real entertainment was in the very cool new products coming out over the next few months. There will be loads more over the next few days but I am just sat in a more in depth demo of the Workplace Designer client – this is the way forward.

The rumour which I have heard about the celebrity in the opening session is that it will be John Cleese. This has the possibility to be superb or toe cringingly bad, we’ll see tomorrow morning I suppose.

My plan of getting a few iPod Shuffles to sell on eBay when I got home has been blown, the Apple store was out of stock and didn’t know when more would arrive. Probably just as well. I did manage to get Virtual PC 7 which is still impossible to get in the UK so at least it wasn’t a wasted trip.

After the lovely weather yesterday it’s disctinclty nippy for the opening party this evening, jumpers and jackets required for everyone. And that is where I’m off to now, I’ll post again tomorrow after the opening session.

So much for it being chilly here (which is what a few people had claimed). We were outside after midnight last night and I was still just in shirtsleeves; it was lovely.

A very lazy start this morning, catching up on mail and reading and then I am off to Millenia Mall to see what’s going on at the Apple Store. Note sure what I am going to do this afternoon, but obviously this evening we have the opening beach party.

This is exactly what was needed 🙂

I forgot to add that my room is 12117 in the Dolphin. For some reason they have put me in a room with a sofa and a bed rather than 2 double beds which suite me rather well. And I have a great view over the Swan, I am right on top of the big fountain stuck to the outside of the Dolphin!

After a couple of bad days (hence the lack of posts here) I am now successfully in Florida. In double quick time I managed to get from sitting on the plane into my room within an hour. Stunning.

It’s a pleasant change from home – about 20 degrees although a little cloudy.

The plan this evening is just to relax and then, if I don’t fall asleep, to head over to the ESPN bar to meet up with some of the Gonzo gang, but after the last few days it’s not going to be a big night, there’s a whole week to get through still!

Just received the online information email from Lotus. Unfortunately the link in it has a typo, so the correct link is http://www.online2005.net. So far the site seems a lot faster than last year although the rest of the design is pretty much the same (as far as I can remember).

It looks like a few people have the same idea to stock up on Apple products on the Sunday at Lotusphere.

I think most of the people going will be at the Gonzo party at ESPN on Saturday night, judging by the numbers it could either be a convoy or Bill’s idea of a stretch limo will be necessary. Anyway it can be sorted out then when the beer consumption will define the start time no doubt.