Here's some special words from some people who have experienced many DevCons all round the world.

Bruce Johnson

"I confess, before the event I was somewhat skeptical, particularly about the venue. I wasn't sure that Aussies would travel to an out-of-the-way place like Eden.

I did expect the Eden venue to be good, after all you live there and were able to hand-pick the venue and accommodation. (A luxury not always afforded an out-of-town organizer.)

But let me be the first to say that not only was the turnout higher than I expected, but the venue was fantastic. I spent some time afterwards trying to identify why the venue was so good, and while it is a hard thing to put a finger on, there's no doubt it got a tick in all the important boxes. The food was outstanding (and that's hard to do at a conference, but it matters more than one realizes.) The accommodation I was in was beyond good. The conference room was well laid out. In all everything was in it's place.

But there's something more, some X-factor that's always hard to describe. The only other venue that comes close is Gatlinburg. It's something about the friendliness of the staff, the feeling that they're really glad you're there, the fact that the same people are looking after us all week.

There was also a level of profesionalism displayed by the staff that I didn't expect. Everything seemed to run smoothly, without any major hiccups. Even the way they dealt with the power cut was simple, effective and most of all "right". I know these things can be like a duck, all calm on the surface, but with legs going frantically under the water, but from the surface it _looked_ calm, and that's how it should be.

You know a venue has done well, when a lot of the attendees are talking about visiting with their wives as a holiday later in the year.

I know it's traditional to move the Devcon in Australia around a bit - it's a big place and travel is expensive - but I hope future venues can match the combination you had in Eden.

Well done! "

Bruce Johnson
CapeSoft

Robert Zaunere