I did it because there's just something special about Lotus Advisor DevCon. No, it's not Lotusphere, nor is it Lotus DevCon/IBM developerWorks Live!, but that's part of its charm and value. It doesn't pretend to be anything more than it is, a warm and inviting place where developers can learn the latest techniques for developing applications and Web sites with Lotus and IBM products. It's hard to explain, but a Lotus Advisor DevCon just has a different pace and feel that really lends itself to absorbing as much information as you can in the shortest amount of time.

Advisor DevCon is actually two conferences in one. For the single conference fee, you get access to both Lotus Advisor DevCon and WebSphere Advisor DevCon. I won't be talking about the WebSphere part of the conference in this article. However, I'm coming to the same realization that so many other Notes and Domino developers have, which is that I'm going to have to start splitting my time between Domino and WebSphere-related sessions. Knowing that, I will say that I appreciate the fact that the conference offers sessions on both Domino and WebSphere, as well as other technologies like Sametime, QuickPlace, etc.

The latest Lotus Advisor DevCon took place in Palm Springs (Rancho Mirage to be specific) at the Marriott Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa. Yes, it was absolutely gorgeous, as you can see in Figure A.

FIGURE A


Lotus Advisor DevCon took place at the Marriott Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa. Roll over picture for a larger image.

It's just been announced that the next Lotus Advisor DevCon will take place in Baltimore, Maryland from September 8-12, 2002. Go to http://Advisor.com/DevCon to find out more.

What makes Lotus Advisor DevCon special
Below is a description of some of the things that I think make Lotus Advisor DevCon a special event:

Expert speakers
The speakers are among some of the best experts available anywhere. These are real professionals working with Lotus and IBM technologies, day in and day out, just like you. These are the type of people you'd call if you had a really tough question you needed answered quickly, eloquently, and correctly. This is not a conference where you get a lot of marketing-speak. It's a conference where you get a lot of real world information and learn some hands-on skills. The speakers give you tactics and techniques they learned in battle doing real world projects with real world customers, not just theoretical stuff. A lot of the speakers are members of Penumbra (a group of Lotus Business Partners), and they are the creme de la crème of a cream of the crop group.