This is a continuation of my previous post covering the MAX pre-conference events.
Monday:
“Is that a grouse?” – Kevin Lynch
This was the first actual day of the general conference, though it felt to me as if I’d been there for a week, already. This was the one day that I didn’t have any sessions to present and so was able to go most of the day without lugging my laptop around wherever I went. i generally was able to sit in on most of the sessions I had selected, but it was very difficult switching from a MAX session upstairs which ended at 3:00, for example; jetting down to the FITC unconference to grab a 30 minute session, only to have to run back upstairs at 3:30 to get to another MAX session. Everything was nuts that way- just running around all over the place.
I tried to balance my sessions this year across the design and develop tracks with sessions like “Flash Sneak Peek: A Glimpse at the Future” juxtaposed with “Fusing Art and Technology with Flash Professional CS5” – worked out pretty well without the massive code overload I’ve experienced in previous years. Not that code overload is bad- I’m also a designer and need to remember that!
For the evening, I had planned on doing some “Meet the Teams” stuff but ended up going to the SoDA party at the Figueroa where I briefly bumped into fellow Denverite, Amanda Johnson from RMAUG, followed by another great session at the JW Marriott bar. Actually met both Ben Forta for the first time that night. Seeing as how I’ve been going to MAX for a few years now… that’s an odd fact!
Tuesday:
Really bummed that I had to miss Lee Brimelow‘s session that morning but I just couldn’t get things together quick enough to make it on time. The rest of the day was filled up by the general session (muppets?) and a bunch of FITC Unconference presentations.
Probably the most unique event for me that day was an interview with Motorola about developing Android applications. In my specific case, AIR for Android apps for educational use. You can listen to the full interview above (it’s short!)
Immediately following the interview was my FITC Unconference session “’Emergent Collective One’ – All the Little Pieces…”. This was my third session for FITC since 2008 and I always attempt to get in on the unconference since it is such a great format. Shawn Pucknell does a great job organizing this and other FITC events around the globe over the entire year and to be a part of that is something that I find quite special :) My presentation went very well and I was able to finally meet Vicky Ryder from CodeBass after having collaborated with her on a number of related items.
Tuesday evening consisted of the Awards, Sneaks, and Bash! Quite a heavy evening schedule considering the flood of information over the course of the day. During Sneaks, I bumped into Michaël Chaize and had a brief conversation with him (be sure to check out RIAgora!) The evening ended (once again) at the JW Marriott with good Adobe and AEL friends! Had the opportunity to meet both Rachel Luxemburg and Aaron Houston at different times over the evening. Great people to chat with!
Wednesday:
Things seemed really quiet on Wednesday as a number of attendees were leaving that day. This was the final day of MAX and also the day I presented my large session on going beyond the desktop with AIR.
That morning, I attended an interesting session on Flash Platform Runtimes – then immediately had to jet over to the Westin to check out and grab my luggage. In doing so, I missed Serge Jespers session on how the MAX UnAwards widget came together, but there wasn’t much that could be done. Remind me to stay at the JW Marriott next year!!!
My session, “Progressing beyond the Desktop at Universities with Adobe AIR”, went quite well. Good attendance and they were all apparently very kind in rating me and my session :) Not enough evaluations were turned in to be considered a MAX Master… but my score is definitely up there!
During the session I was introduced to a lot of people I’d previously conversed with only through email, telephone, or Twitter: Duane Duxbury, Dan Florio, and Randy Troppmann, to name a few. The attendees seemed quite interested in the content and I stuck around for quite a bit after the session ended. This should have been followed with some time in the community lounge but that never happened.
My very final session was a lab for AIR for TV. I have to thank Liz Frederick for tipping myself and others about this great opportunity to really get in on the bleeding edge of AIR. I actually pushed my flight back just to attend this session and it was so worth it. Everyone who attended the lab got a hardware development kit and a good start on developing applications for this medium. Very cool.
With all the giveaways oh hand, it was actually difficult to cram it all into my luggage! Adobe MAX 2010 will be hard to top. Full confidence that Sandy Balzer and the MAX team will be able to make Adobe MAX 2011 truly epic :D Applause and respect to all involved!
Overview:
This was my third MAX and each time I bring back a bunch of new ideas and lessons to implement in the future. This year was no exception:
- Announce session giveaways EARLY next time!
- While the Westin is a great hotel – shuttles are a pain in the ass.
- Plan on meeting with a specific 25 people? You are lucky to get away with actually chatting with 10.
- Do not overbook yourself. MAX is insane and the schedule is grueling.
Special thanks to ActiveTuts+ for requesting that I live-tweet events throughout the conference! It was an interesting experience.
During sessions, I was able to meet with a bunch of other people I had previously only known through pre-release or Twitter. Great to see you all, even if only for a few moments!
Addendum
Upon returning to Denver, I noticed that DIA was all decked our for Hallowe’en with cobwebs, skulls, graves, and all sorts of spooky stuff all over the terminal. Not half as disturbing as the demonic stallion that guards the airport, the creepy baggage claim gargoyles, and apparently apocalyptic murals all over the terminal… just very… interesting.