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Just returned from ØREDEV last Friday. Again, a great conference!

Not only was it extremely well organized but I also really liked the size of it (800 attendees – not too big, not too small), the location (an old car factory!), the wide range of topics, insightful speakers, real-world focus, and last, but not least, the friendly atmosphere.

Among the noteworthy topics I got a chance to learn about last week:

  • Accomplishing More by Doing Less, by Marc Lesser: An interesting approach using Zen principles to help you reduce “busyness” and focus on the really important things you’re trying to achieve – accomplishing more in the end.
  • JavaScript – The Good Parts, by Douglas Crockford: A quick overview of JavaScript and best practices in using it.
  • Comparing JRuby and Groovy, by Neal Ford: JRuby and Groovy look similar on the surface but come from different backgrounds – so use the language that’s best for the purpose.
  • The Lean Start-Up, by Eric Ries: Lessons learned by someone who has the scars to prove he’s been there – using agile methods to adapt your start-up in real-time.
  • Traditional Programming Models, by Cameron Purdy: Why traditional programming languages and traditional von-Neumann models lack concepts and semantics to efficiently support scale-out architectures and are not fit for the future.
  • Semantic Web Programming for Java Developers, Taylor Cowan: Accessing and creating semantic information on the web from your Java app.
  • How to Create a Compelling UX?, by Ben Galbraith: Some argue slick UIs are just eye-candy. But Ben makes the convincing argument that compelling applications actually make users more engaged and therefore more productive.
  • Concurrent Programming with Clojure, by Stuart Halloway: Unlike traditional programming languages Clojure has semantic support for easy and massively scalable concurrent programming.
  • Developing an Android-based Mobile Phone, by Erik Hellman: A hands-on report on bringing Android to a real-world device – strategies and pitfalls.
  • Flex and AIR Boot Camp, by Piotr Walczyszyn: Very useful, 3-hour introduction in Flash, Flex, and AIR and developing Adobe RIA applications.
  • Information Overload and Managing the Flow, by Scott Hanselman: Strategies for focusing on the essentials and being efficient with your time.
  • A hilarious and thought-provoking performance by Ze Frank: On Love, fear, and how people interact with the web and the world around them.

And don’t forget the parties, the good food, the conversations, and the excellent coffee (something I was really looking forward to!).

Thanks for having me!

Cheers,

— Terrence