enterpriseGeeks

So I am in Berlin this week attending SAP TechEd Berlin 2008.  This was my first time traveling to Europe, so there was some adjustment, like having no alarm clock in my hotel room, and never getting any ice in my glass when asking for a coke or sprite.  On Monday, we did the Mentor's Hands-On track again, and it went pretty well I think, the turnout was more than I expected since no one signed up on the wiki.   On Tuesday was Demo Jam, which was really a repeat of the Las Vegas Demo Jam, but the only one that was new, ended up being the winner, and they did a good job.  They did a code-less application builder for the iPhone.  The ESME team presented well, and we cheered for them, but unfortunately, they didn't make the top three.  Good job and congratulations to them anyway.  They should be very proud of what they have accomplished in the past 4 months or so.  After that was RIA Hacker night, where Dan McWeeney, from Adobe Systems,  presented Adobe's project Genesis, and came baring gifts, free Flex Builder 3 licenses, and books!  Thomas Jung, from SAP NetWeaver Product Management,  presented what SAP is doing in the RIA space, and showed the Flash Islands technology in Web Dynpro ABAP which is delivered with NetWeaver 7.0 Enhancement Pack 1.  The rest of the evening was spent sitting around chatting about technologies, SDN, and doing Jager shots.  Craig Cmehil taught Mike Prosceno, from SAP Global Communications, how to code an iPhone application. Mike is responsible for the "Blogger's Corner" at the various SAP events, he and Stacey Fish really do a great job with it.  This afternoon, the SAP Mentor's had a meeting with the new head of NetWeaver development at SAP, Herve Couturier. He really seemed to understand where the Mentor's were coming from with their issues and concerns.  Tonight, is the Steve Winwood concert, and I have to say I am not really a fan, but its entertainment none the less, and much better than watching German television.  Tomorrow evening, I plan to actually explore the city a bit, and take in some of the historical sites, like the Holocaust Memorial, and the Brandenburg Gate which are right down the street from my hotel.  When walking to the train station from the hotel each morning, I could just feel the history around me, you can feel it in your feet as you walk on the stone-like streets, and look at the architecture.  Really amazing city, I must say.

So as I said before, we did a mentor hands-on track at the Community Day in Las Vegas a couple weeks ago and it was a complete success.  The room was overflowing, and we could not accommodate everyone, which for me is one of the key factors when measuring success. :)  It was still undetermined if we would repeat the track in Berlin as well, but I know that a few people showed interest via Twitter.  So now I am pleased to announce that we will be doing the mentor hands-on track at Community Day in Berlin, on October 13th, the day before TechEd Berlin.  Unfortunately, one of us, Ed Herrmann, will not be able to make it to Berlin due to a major project go-live that week.  Good luck Eddie!  We'll miss ya.  Thomas Jung has graciously accepted the task of taking over Eddie's session, so that the track content can stay intact.  If you haven't seen the track content yet, go to the wiki page and  check it out(sessions 18-21). Thomas, Dan McWeeney, and myself, are all doing sessions in this track.  You may also download the session materials ahead of time from the google code site.  If you haven't signed up for Community Day yet, you can add it as a pre-conference session on your TechEd registration at any time. Then make sure to sign up for the mentor hands-on track by adding your name next to the sessions in the space provided on the wiki.  This is the only way to guarantee your spot in the sessions.  We are really excited about doing the track, and hope to see you at the Berlin Community Day. 

So I just got home late last night from TechEd in Las Vegas.  After having some time to reflect,  I think this TechEd was pretty good compared to previous events.  On Tuesday, I attended a couple sessions and ended up hanging out in the Community Clubhouse a little.  I sat in on an Speaker-meets-Mentor roundtable discussion on ABAP, and actually got a chance to meet Horst Keller for the first time.  I had know of him for years from his best selling ABAP Objects books, and had hoped to meet the man who had opened my eyes to the world of ABAP.  I thanked him for what he has done over the years in ABAP, and mentioned that he is a hero to many, including me.  He then exclaimed, "I'm just a documentation writer!!".  I said, "I don't care what they call you, you're awesome".   He is truly a great, and humble man.  Glad that I had a chance to shake his hand.

On Wednesday, Thomas Jung and I did the first COMP277 session.  It is always nice to see a huge line waiting outside the door to get into a hands-on session.  I understand that we had to turn people away.  Basically I was there to simply help people with their exercises, Thomas presented all of the material.  Even though I was just helping out, I realized that these sessions do really give tremendous value to the attendees.  I overheard one person telling Thomas, that the session was recommended to him from another colleague, and that this session alone was worth the price of the entire TechEd.  I was really taken back by that statement.  Others told me that they really liked the session and would recommend to others for next year.  So I guess we will be doing an updated version of this session again next year as well.  :)   That night, we all went to the RIA Hacker Night sponsored by Adobe.  Pretty good pizza and ice cream, but was a little disappointed that there was no rum, only beer. :( That's alright though, we had a good time anyway.  After the presentations, we broke out, and some talked tech, some updated their ABAP sneak preview systems, and some played Rock Band.  By the end of the night, I was exhausted and had laid down for a nap while Gregor Wolf was finishing up his NSP update. 

On Thursday, Thomas and I did two instances of the COMP277, again both were sold out and had very long stand-by lines.  That night, we had to follow tradition, and have a group dinner at an "All-you-can-eat" buffet.  I was charged with finding one for all of us to go to, and quickly decided to choose the buffet at the Wynn hotel.  It came highly recommended from the concierge desk at the Palazzo, and she mentioned that they have the best seafood, so I was sold.  So the eleven of us had a great meal, and a lot of laughs. Some of us had too much to eat, including me.  Then we were off to the Black Crows concert, which again, was lacking in rum, but had a good time anyway.  Most of us had special seating, which put me about 8-10 rows back from the stage.  After the concert we walked up/down the strip for a while and then called it a night, bringing this years TechEd to a close.

So to summarize, the community day sessions were a complete success, the COMP277 sessions were a complete success, managed to meet Horst Keller, hung out with a lot of friends, lost only 20 bucks, and now have some great memories.  As for the Berlin TechEd, I am still looking into ways to get myself there, so that we can do the Mentor Hands-On track at Community Day, and I can meet up with online friends from across the pond.  We shall see.....