NSConference 2009

oops! Missed a couple of blog posts but I've been away for a couple of days.

Well the MacBook Air is now sold via eBay but I won't be able to wipe and rebuild it until the weekend. So it's made the journey with me down to Hatfield in Hertfordshire for the very first (but probably not the last) NSConference 2009 - a tech conference for Mac developers run by MacDevNet

One minor point before talking about the conference, is the fact that I'd left my USB ethernet adapter at home resulting in my not being able to access the internet from my room at the conference. Instead, I've had to rely on WiFi in the main conference room for internet access. No big deal but another barrier thrown up by the lack of standard ports on the MBA, much as it irks me to point that out!

But anyway, back to the conference.....

Whilst not a Mac developer, I decided to invest two days of my time by supporting the efforts of the MacDevNet (or actually Scotty and Tim) by attending the very first NSConference. This two day conference has been put together as an alternative to the rather expensive proposition (well at least for us Europeans) of travelling to WWDC over in San Francisco. Whilst obviously not being able to offer the scope and breadth of sessions available in WWDC, Scotty and Tim have done a fantastic job of arranging a number of highly information sessions covering a wide range of topics and subject matter.

For this first year, the sessions have been arranged as a single stream releasing all the delegates from any problematic decision making on what sessions to see. As a non-developer, I was a bit concerned that the sessions would be pitched way over my head, resulting in frustration and possibly leaving me with an inferiority complex! However, although the majority of sessions have been techy, they've all been extremely informative and stimulating both in the range of subjects covered, but also in the way the subjects have been approached.

Of course, one of the major benefits of these sorts of events has always been the networking side and this NSConference has been no exception. It's been great to meet up with UK, European and International Mac developers, many of whom I've collaborated with in the past when producing ScreenCastsOnline shows. Obviously, I can't mention everybody but it's been great to meet up with Danny Gregg and some of the RealMac software guys, Scott Morrison from Indev Software (the creator of the invaluable MailTags and Mail Act-on, all the way from Canada), Uli from Elgato, Dave Verwer from Shiny, Mike Lee from Delicious Monster and Tapulous, Fraser Speirs from Connected Flow, the list goes on and on.

I really think that this is the start of an extremely significant annual event here in the UK, one that has the potential to expand beyond its current remit.

I will definitely be making it a permanent feature on my calendar.

Congrats to both Tim and Scotty for organising such a fantastic event.

Comments

[Jack]

Yeah.... I was starting to get worried!!

I saw that your MBA had sold... where you happy with the price?? Is that was is expected for a past gen MBA???

Thanks,
Jack

[Danny Greg]

It was fantastic to see you good sir!

Let 2010 roll on!

[DonMc]

@Jack - Sold it for £760 on ebay which I think is a pretty good price.