At VMWorld 2005
VMWorld is just as a big event as the Citrix Iforum was, and was held last week here at the Mandalay Bay hotel. The number of VMWorld attendees is growing almost exponentially, and our guess is that VMWorld will grow like this for years to come. 3,700 attendees and 700 partners presented at this year's event, compared to 1,600 attendees last year.
Registration was straightforward; there were no problems of any kind. The VMWare presence was impressive and very professional everywhere.
Getting into the sessions was somewhat problematic, though. The most popular sessions were fully booked long before the event, and we missed some of them because we were too slow on the uptake. There was, however, a possibility to get into them in an observer role only, if you lined up early enough.
There were some really cool prizes given out to attendees by the different exhibitors. VMWare managed to give an editor an Ipod Nano, which resulted in a prompt visit to the local Apple store where their inventory was raided for a lot of accessories and an Ipod Video 60 GB (this is how Apple's business works). AMD gave away a Ferrari 3400 laptop, among other goodies. For an event that even some professionals still don't know about, this is quite some effort.
