(This post was imported from an earlier blog. It was first published in 2008.)
I am attending the DevTeach(http://www.devteach.com) conference held in Toronto this week and I am enjoying myself and learning much. It is turning out to be the best conference bang-for-the buck I could have asked for and I am sure I will go again.
I had DevTeach on my radar for years but hadn’t attended until now. Previously, I had opted instead for other conferences (e.g. Microsoft TechEd 2006 in Boston) which happened to be more convenient at the time despite being farther away and more expensive.
DevTeach has been running in Montreal for some years. Last fall, I was surprised to see they added a show in Vancouver. Then, I was elated to learn about a show for Toronto and I signed up early.
While Toronto does see some free day-long Microsoft events for developers — with plenty of marketecture and product sales pitch thrown in! — plus various user group events, I think we need a regular conference. VSLive! came a few times, then stopped.
A conference is all about the quality of the speakers, and DevTeach 2008 Toronto has some great names presenting: experts who spoke at other good shows I attended, experts whose books or articles I’ve read and appreciated, and experts whose blogs and podcasts I consume regularly. The quality of the speakers at DevTeach made the decision easy: Go!
Before yesterday’s keynote speaker Scott Hanselman, the conference organizer Jean-René took a few moments to share with us what the conference was all about. Additionally, he mentioned that DevTeach would be back in Toronto in fall 2009. The plan for DevTeach is to have a conference about every six months, alternating between the cities of Montreal, Vancouver, and Toronto. I think that is brilliant.
My experience at the conference has been very positive, and DevTeach knows how to attract quality speakers and organize a good show. The Canadian .NET development community needs this and so does Toronto.
Thank you, DevTeach, and you’re welcome back to Toronto any time!