Re: M.C Conf -- MIDRANGE-L

> Has anyone on this list had any experience with the Midrange Computing AS/400
Conferences? I am contemplating going in June.  You can't beat the locale (Marco
Island, Fla.) I do not just want it to be a paid vacation however, and am
interested in how it would stack up to the other conf. offerings. IBM's or
Common. Any feedback would be appreciated.

I assume you're talking about the AS/400 iSeries connection conference, with
information at the following URL:
  http://www.as400connection.com/

I can give you a speaker's perspective on how they differ, since I have
presented at all three:

 - The connection conference is small, intimate, and leisurely . This means
things are less rushed and you'll have more time for one-on-one discussions with
the instructors.  There aren't near as many choices of sessions to attend, as
there are only 6 tracks, and not as many hours in the day.  There are a few IBM
speakers, so you'll hear a little of the IBM party line about what you *should*
be doing, but most of the sessions are focused on practical knowledge. There is
not an expo, so there isn't a chance to wander around exhibits with all the
latest products and marketing spiels...

 - COMMON has a 50/50 balance between IBM sessions and non-IBM sessions. It is
packed chock full of hundreds of education, as well as a huge expo with all the
latest products on display from both IBM and other vendors. It provides good
opportunities for networking and sharing. Choosing which sessions will give you
the most value tends to be daunting.

- IBM technical conferences are almost exclusively IBM sessions. They provide a
good overview of what you need to know to build/deploy IBM's latest releases. If
you mostly invest in things IBM feels are 'strategic', you'll get good education
on those topics. If you need information on things that are 'old' and stable,
such as printing, you'll get a bit frustrated.

All three offer great value. I'd suggest you decide what sorts of sessions you
are most in need of, and then compare your needs to the agendas for each of the
three conferences.  Don't be surprised when you notice there are some sessions
and speakers that cross all 3!

Just don't choose to stay home for the year; the AS/400 iSeries world is moving
at such an incredible pace that it is almost impossible to keep up without an
annual trek to at least one of them!

Janet Krueger
Andrews Consulting Group


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