RunRevLive.09 Conference Round-up
How it all went down, the people, the Rev apps, the experience and the photos

by Heather Nagey

Wow. I have to say, RunRevLive.09 exceeded my expectations, in all directions. There really is no substitute for face to face contact with the people actually using Revolution, day to day, in their businesses.

What made it such a great experience? Of course, the speakers and talks they gave, shared by more people than ever before both in the room and remotely via the Simulcast link:

Ready to begin.

The venue was excellent and the staff at Dynamic Earth could not have been more helpful. But most of all, you, the attendees, who came and talked with me, and shared your experiences with Revolution:

Upstairs in the "Ozone". Please take the hot seat and talk to me! Me on left, Olaf Odlind on the right.

Day Zero was a fascinating insight into on-rev, as well as Rev project basics and a whirlwind tour of database integration. Devin Asay and Jacque Landman Gay both did a fabulous job presenting their material, and I for one learned a lot.

From the left, Jacqueline Landman Gay (presenter), Andre Garzia (presenter) and David Alexander (attendee). In the background Dave McLean (RR Filming Crew) is operating the Simulcast equiment

Getting everyone set up and working on the course materials was a great way to meet many of you for the first time, and our staff were kept busy around the hall, with one on one assistance wherever needed.

How may we assist you? RunRev staff waiting at the back of the hall to help out attendees. From the right, Oliver Kenyon, Ben Beaumont, James Cant, Michael McCreary and Ian Macphail.

The venue really came into its own for the evening reception, which also took place in Dynamic Earth. We experienced some of the exhibits, including a fantastic huge block of sculpted ice, and the rainforest experience. Talking Rev with people such as Mark Wieder, Bjoernke von Gierke, longstanding Rev Gurus, and Robert Cailliau, co-developer of the World Wide Web in a setting of semi dark tropical rainforest complete with thunder and lightning at unexpected intervals was a truly surreal experience.

Robert Cailliau (on right) deep in conversation with Edward Asiedu (on left) during the cocktail reception

Some highlights in the following days included watching our youngest attendee, Alex Melville, really get stuck into Rev. He spent an entire day working in the kitchens with staff members Elanor Buchanan and Ben Beaumont, creating a game which he kindly allowed us to show off briefly in the final session of the conference. Way to go Alex!

Alex with dad Colin Melville during a session

Chatting to people about Rev, and what they used it for, was fascinating and revealed some startling stories. Meet Charlie Faddis, who estimates Rev has saved him 1/4 million dollars, at least... His story of how he is using Rev on a tiny chip to replace what would otherwise be a radio antenna the size of Dynamic Earth just blew me away. Thierry Douez' Perl to Rev converter was another eye opener. Ian Wood caused uproar in our offices on the final day, with his amazing Rev controlled Lego robot, on which he mounted a camera. If you have been wondering whether Rev can be used to remotely control apparatus, the answer is a definitive yes.

Ian Wood presenting his session

Organising the conference, including the food, hotel, venue, schedules etc was a huge amount of work. A special mention goes to Jo Hernandez, without whom nothing would have happened.

Jo Hernandez, possibly considering the preparations for the next conference?

Some feedback we have received on this conference from you, the attendees. Asked if you would attend another conference in the future, an overwhelming 91% of you said yes. Asked what was the best thing about this conference you said:

"solving problems I needed to solve, learning things I needed to learn, meeting people, gaining enthusiasm"

"The RunRev community is a fantastic bunch of people. All seemed very enthusiastic about the future prospects for RunRev."

"Finding out that Runtime Revolution developers were not weird anoraks who lurk in garages"

Richmond Mathewson, centre in kilt

I'll let Kevin Miller, CEO, have the last word.

"Its meeting all these people and seeing the genuine difference Rev makes in their lives that makes it all worthwhile."

Kevin Miller CEO, facing center, in our offices during Day 4. This great picture courtesy of Ian Wood, photographer and Lego Mechanic extraordinaire.

Many thanks go to Wendy Asay, who spent so much time and dedication photographing the entire conference, and took all these photos for us except for the one by Ian Wood, above.

About the Author Heather Nagey is the Customer Services Manager for Runtime Revolution Ltd.