In this issue of ColdFusion conference and training news: * New Sponsors * Early Bird rates * Interview with Simon Horwith's view on CFUNITED
Also tell me how to improve our newsletters - the best suggestion will win a Gig Memory stick. Just Reply to this email with your ideas by Friday 1/6/06. CFUNITED is the premier ColdFusion Conference near Washington DC 6/28-7/1/05 (Four whole days!) Check out speakers and topics at http://www.cfunited.com/ - Michael Smith TeraTech, Inc PS The first 100 people to register will receive the CFUNITED-05 audio DVD with the Thursday and Friday audio (a $300 value) for free when it ships in January. TeraTech is hiring a senior developer to join our growing team http://www.teratech.com/index.cfm?go=About.JobDetail&JobID=7 Conference and training news **************************** * Upcoming classes CF101 - Welcome to ColdFusion Jan 10 2006 MS01 - Internet, Intranet and Portals Jan 18 2006 CF102 - Intro to ColdFusion Jan 24 2006 CF201 - Intermediate ColdFusion Jan 31 2006 CF202 - Web Accessibility and 508 Feb 21 2006 FB101 - Intro to Fusebox Feb 28 2006 FB201 - Intermediate Fusebox Mar 7 2006 CF206 - ColdFusion SQL Skills Mar 14 2006 See http://www.teratech.com/training/ for more details and registration CFUNITED NEWS! 1. We have some new sponsors already this year. Gold Sponsors, New Atlanta and TeraTech; Silver Sponsors, CFDynamics and AboutWeb; Bronze Sponsor, Figleaf Software. 2. The early bird price of $649 for FOUR days of CFUNITED-06 ends 1/31/06. The THREE day price is $549 and Saturday only is just $249! Plus, don't forget to ask about discounts for Alumni, User Group members, User Group mangers, and more! Save upto $400 by registering now! Register today at http://www.cfunited.com/ 3. Pre-conference special classes are being planned for CFUNITED-06 details coming soon. 4. New topics have been added to the agenda. More to come! ****************************** And now our CFUNITED spotlight interview with Simon Horwith, Editor of ColdFusion Developer Journal and CTO of AboutWeb. Michael: Simon, you were a presenter at CFUNITED 2005 last year, and were a presenter at many of the CFUN conferences prior to that. What can you tell people about the evolution of the conference to its current state? Simon: In the past, CFUN was always a great conference it was a small grassroots event that was run by and for developers, which is a nice change of pace from the larger corporate events. Last year, CFUN was renamed CFUNITED, but thats not all that changed. The number of attendees got dangerously close to 1,000, an extra day was added (it had been a 2 day event in prior years), the number and quality of the sessions and speakers was better than ever, 2 days of hands-on full-day classes preempted the conference, there were BOFs and other vents going late every night, and there was a much larger number of sponsors including large corporations like Macromedia and Microsoft. This year promises to be bigger and better than ever. The format is still relatively the same as last year but an optional 4th day has been added. Michael: It sounds like CFUNITED is no longer the grassroots event that it used to be? Why should developers attend CFUNITED 2006 this year? Simon: Well, no its really not a grassroots event anymore but I say that with hesitation. Though the conference has grown, its still very much run by and for developers. There isnt that marketing event agenda or feel that you expect at corporate conferences. Many of the attendees and speakers have been attending the conference for at least the past 3 or 4 years and, though there are a lot of new faces each year, bring a terrific grassroots feel to the social aspects of the conference. There are many other reasons developers should attend CFUNITED, though. For one thing, it is the only conference of its size that is devoted to addressing the needs of the ColdFusion development community. Even at the last minute full-price cost of entry, its a steal of a deal for developers to be able to attend so many sessions about such a wide range of topics and to have these sessions presented by some of the most reputable and knowledgeable developers in the community. Though the conference has grown, the speakers are still extremely accessible and social at CFUNITED. Its a great chance not only to attend sessions and social events, but to pick the brains of the best CF developers on the planet. If youre a serious ColdFusion developer, or serious about becoming a ColdFusion developer, this is the one event above all others that you cannot afford to miss. Michael: Thats a good point: the conference isnt just for seasoned developers is it? Is this something you would recommend to ColdFusion newbies? Simon: Definitely. Dont get me wrong, there are some sessions that address very advanced topics, but CFUNITED offers something for everyone. Not only newbies, but project managers and development managers as well. CFUNITED sessions are grouped into tracks, and there are 7 of them: Accessibility / Usability, Advanced, CF Boot Camp, Deployment/Platform, Flex, Manager/Empowered Programming, and MX Integration. Attendees can go to any sessions in any tracks, they arent limited to sticking only to one, but someone new to CF will most likely want to attend more Boot Camp sessions a PM may want to attend more Manager/Empowered Programming sessions, etc. Michael: You said that theres an optional 4th day this year that may make the conference awfully long for some people. What is the point of that extra optional day? Simon: The extra day will feature repeats of the most popular sessions from the conference. This is great for anyone who missed some topics that they wanted to attend in order to attend another. Also, CFUNITED is being held during the business week (Wed 6/28 Fri 6/30). The optional 4th day is on the Saturday (7/1), which is great for those people who cant attend during the week. Michael: One last question: Simon, what are you looking forward to most at CFUNITED this year? Simon: Thats a tough question theres so much that I love about this conference. There are a few things that immediately come to mind that Im personally looking forward to. My employer, AboutWeb, not only sponsors the conference but also the community area at the conference. Ive got some ideas for really crazy and fun games and prizes for the community area, so Im looking forward to organizing that. In one of the Birds of a Feather sessions in the evening, Hal Helms and I are going to have a debate about Frameworks and Methodologies. I have a feeling that thats going to be a ton of fun not only for Hal and Myself but for everyone in attendance. What Im looking forward to most is meeting the developers. Whenever Im not on stage giving a presentation, I am talking with attendees about sessions, projects theyre working on, the magazine (ColdFusion Developers Journal), and about technology in general. For me, conferences are all about spending time with the people in the ColdFusion community. Theyre a great bunch of guys and gals, and I always welcome the opportunity to chat about things, answer questions, and to get to know them. In fact, if I had to tell you what I dont like about CFUNITED, I can only think of one thing: theres never enough time for me to meet and talk with everybody . but I try; boy do I try. * Speakers include top names like Simon Horwith, Charlie Arehart, Hal Helms, Michael Dinowitz, Ray Camden and many more respected CF authors and presenters. * Great tracks: * Bootcamp - Basic ColdFusion and Flash topics * Advanced - Advanced ColdFusion topics * Manager/Empowered - Fusebox and Project management topics * Flex/RIA - Flash, Flex and other technologies integrated with CF topics * Accessibility / usability - section 508, CSS and disabled access * Deployment/Platform - tuning, install issues, OS, picking a database * Included in your full conference registration is the following: * Attendence for 4 days (6/28/2006-7/1/2006) * Keynote and General Sessions * All conference sessions including repeat sessions on Saturday * Entrance to Expo Area * Networking Events * Badge and Badge holder with bar scan code * Free Lunch for each show day (Dinner is not included) * Access to all presentations after the event, including all the recordings. * Promotional bag with materials including show guide, CD, coupons, etc. * Opportunity to participate in all raffle drawings * Can't stay 4 days Wed - Sat? Optional 3-day and Saturday only packages available too. Saturday will consist of repeats the most popular sessions from the week - something many attendees asked for last year! * The early bird price of $649 for CFUNITED-06 ends 1/31/06. Price expires 4-day 3-day Saturday-only Early Bird 01/31/2006 $649 $549 $249 Timely Bird 03/31/2006 $749 $649 $299 Regular 06/16/2006 $849 $749 $349 Late 06/28/2006 $949 $849 $399 Door 06/29/2006 $1049 $949 $449 Save upto $500 by registering now! * Plus the first 100 people to register will receive the CFUNITED-05 audio DVD (a $300 value) for free when it ships in January. Register today at http://www.cfunited.com/ -- Michael Smith, TeraTech Inc - Tools for Programmers(tm) TeraTech voted Best Consulting Service by CFDJ readers! CF/ASP Web, VB, Math, Access programming tools and consulting 405 E Gude Dr Ste 207, Rockville MD 20850 USA Please check out http://www.teratech.com/ - email mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED], or call us for more information; in the USA at 1-800-447-9120, +1-301-424-3903 International, Fax 301-762-8185 Thanks! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Logware (www.logware.us): a new and convenient web-based time tracking application. Start tracking and documenting hours spent on a project or with a client with Logware today. Try it for free with a 15 day trial account. http://www.houseoffusion.com/banners/view.cfm?bannerid=67 Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:4:227964 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/4 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:4 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.4 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
