That was my first experience at a Voxxed Days event. Obviously I like Oracle-focussed events, but that can give you a blinkered view of the world. There’s a lot of Java devs out there, and finding out what they are doing, how they are working etc I think is exceptionally valuable.
It was a well run event. Not in the “oh look, hologram raspberry pi lanyards” sense, but in the ways that matter – things run smoothly, or, things are resolved quickly if something goes wrong. In this case, there were a couple of wifi and microphone issues during the day, but the organisers got it sorted quickly and efficiently. It just makes it easy for speakers and attendees to do their thing.
The conference made use of cinema theatres for the larger sessions. Besides comfy seats 
the real benefit becomes apparent once the demos start, especially for a coding-heavy event like this. Big screens let code demos be readable by everyone in the room without any of the usual “Hey, can you read this?” questions we normally see.
the real benefit becomes apparent once the demos start, especially for a coding-heavy event like this. Big screens let code demos be readable by everyone in the room without any of the usual “Hey, can you read this?” questions we normally see.
Cinema venues I think could be really useful for user group events, especially APEX ones where the browser generally is a core part of any and all demos. Maybe APEXLang will change all that but I think the font size won’t be much different One cool thing was a “tweet board” (well, Bluesky) where you could see posts about the event between sessions on the big screens.
One cool thing was a “tweet board” (well, Bluesky) where you could see posts about the event between sessions on the big screens.
The other thing that stood out was the atmosphere. Friendly and welcoming for a newbie like myself. Not the forced “networking event” – just people who like tech, like learning, and like chatting about both.
Being a very Java-focused conference for someone who is a database bigot I did wonder if my session would have an echo in the cinema :-). But I was pleased to see a nice attendance, and some decent engagement and Q&A. There’s still a healthy scepticism of a database-centric approach; that’s a battle I hope to make some ground in, but time will tell. Certainly the appeal of assertions seem to pique the interest of the audience.
I also got to catch up with my friend Jasmin. It’s nice to see a familiar face when you’re somewhat anonymous in a non-Oracle event.
Overall, great event, nice people.
Hopefully I’ll get the chance to head back again in the future. Even if just for the amazing food in Zurich
And to the organisers – thanks for selecting my presentation and letting be part of a new (for me) community. If you to want my session, you can find it here