So… I have finally unpacked my (bulging) suitcases and recovered from my jetlag. After tidying my Inbox and making a nice cup of Lemon Tea, I was able to drift off and reflect upon my time in Monterey.

The first thing that struck me, apart from all the facial hair, was the varied range of attendees. Young ‘whipper-snappers’ and more mature ‘owls’ mixed in with ‘Newbie’s’ and life-time signed ‘Revolutionaries’ - No one was excluded. Being one of the few non-technical attendees was a little daunting, but I was welcomed into the fold with open arms by all and sundry. In fact, I think some of them were just passers-by!

I quietly sat at the back of each auditorium; the beauty of this was in now being able to look at everything from a completely different view point. Watching each stage - from basic applications through to end products - allowed me to understand our customer base on a whole new level. I was able to see HOW you all use Revolution, WHAT you use it for (and most importantly), WHY you use Revolution in the first place. Believe me, if I can understand how Revolution allows people to go about their lives and jobs, from a complete non-programmer mind, those of you who do understand, must find it phenomenal!

Each day individuals attended a range of ‘lesson classes’. Debugging became a doddle under the tutelage of Jeanne De Voto & Jacqueline Landman Gay. Complex Reports were dealt with by Jan Schenkel who explained to us why ‘What goes in, must come out’ and Ken Ray hosted the (very) aptly named ‘More cool things you can do with Revolution’. Of course, the sessions would not have been complete without the ‘Golden Boy of Graphics’, Scott Rossi and his Graphics & Interface Magic!

The final hour left time for the Sponsors to shine. The Daniels’ & Mara presentation supplied their latest product and although cut short, enabled us to sample the comedic wit of Jerry Daniels. David Simpson at .COM showed us why we all we all need multi-platform graphical applications whilst Paradigma displayed why they are the leaders in post relational data management.

Obviously no conference can be held without its organisers. Both Chipp Walters & Dan Shafer can hold their heads high and be proud of their achievement. The smoothness of the event combined with the fabulous food and superb setting, made for a week well worth leaving my Edinburgh Office for!