Hangout for experimental confirmation and demonstration of software, computing, and networking. The exercises don't always work out. The professor is a bumbler and the laboratory assistant is a skanky dufus.
I am on my way to ODC2008, the conference for developers of applications for the Microsoft Office System. These are referred to as Composite Business Applications. I am definitely a fish out of water here, because my interest in Microsoft Office system is not in making Office Business Applications. I'm interested in some pretty-narrow niche efforts:
Integration with the Open Document Management API (ODMA). Microsoft Word and Microsoft PowerPoint have provided ODMA integration for some time. (I haven't checked whether current Visio releases continue the support that was once there.) I am curious to meet vendors and their developers who continue to rely on ODMA for integration of their managed-document systems with Microsoft Office. I wouldn't mind meeting Microsoft developers to see how they think ODMA integration could work better for more consistency in the context of the Microsoft Office System, but I am not counting on that.
Programmatic use of OOXML for interchange and content management functions. There's more to learn about how OOXML is being used at the OPC package level to support custom document processing and interchange/management functions. I need to charge myself up to take a closer look and hob-nob with the OOXML boosters who will be at the ODC.
Demonstrating Integration with Minimalist Tools. Lately, I've become very keen on building software that is reproducible using freely available tools such as the Visual Studio Express Editions. I'm also interested in supporting those who want to develop their own skills by operating at this level, whether enthusiasts, students, or developers who want to provide materials that can be applied by others at minimal cost. This is not exactly aligned with the promotion of Visual Studio Tools for Office and the power-developer facilities of the Visual Studio 2008 Professional and Team System editions. So as I work through the hands-on sessions, my attention is mainly going to be on how could these interesting things be done, and illustrated, without the high-end tools.
There are some topics in the provisional program that will be interesting to me, but I can't tell how the scheduling will work at this point.
I'll be there for the full duration of the conference, Sunday, February 10, through Wednesday, February 13. The detailed schedule should be in our registration packages, so I will flesh out my attendance and selection of events by Sunday evening. Here's the breakdown I'm working from at the moment.
Sunday, February 10
10:00am - 11:00am Registration. I need to register, pick up my goodies, and find out if there is a way to avoid paying $18/day (and $18/night more after 6pm?) in the Convention Center garage. I may be using my rental car to get to and from a park-and-ride for the light rail.
11:00am - 5:00pm Pre-Conference: Office-Development 101. I know some of this, but it is the closest to having topics where I have interests. And if Wouter van Vugt's OBA session is different than this one, I will be sorely disappointed.
5:00pm - 7:00pm I'll be registered and in the Connect and Register meet-up, probably blogging and looking for good WiFi. This is when I can slot sessions (client and services mainly) and any hands-on-labs that I am interested in taking a shot at. The Executive Summit track has a couple of interesting sessions that I am not eligible for. I will also be looking for Hugh MacLeod to see if I can trade one of my 3 spare DailyWTF.com stickers for a Blue Monster to grace the cover of my Tablet PC. Actually, an original MacLeod cartoon about people with stickers on their laptops (on my laptop) might be even more fun.
Monday, February 11
7:30am - 5:00pm Monday and Tuesday, you'll find me at breakfast, lunch, selected keynote speakers, in the Exhibit Hall, and in the FedEx Wireless Cafe. I don't know how session slots will go, but I will follow the plan set Sunday afternoon, with more goofing off depending on who I meet and how restless I am to put in some time on work that I will have brought with me.
6:00pm - 8:00pm I'll be in the Exhibition Hall Expo Reception seeing what the vendors and booths have to offer and looking lost, probably. I think the WiFi ends at 5pm on Monday and Tuesday.
Tuesday, February 12
7:30am - 5:00pm (see Monday)
7:00pm - 10:00pm Exclusive Attendee Party with details to be announced
Wednesday, February 13
7:30am - 1:45pm for a short day with no Expo but the prospect of a hands-on lab or two. An easy day and I may come a little late and leave early, depending on what else I can come up with before my evening flight back to Seattle.
[update 2008-02-05: Oh boy, I have to do something about that parking. Meanwhile, it is useful to know Hugh MacLeod will be wondering around the event. I have his original "Gape into the Void 25ยข" Gloop cartoon on my office wall, just above my mandatory business-license exhibition.]
