Southwest Fox 2007 Conference

My pager is off. My telephone has been disconnected. The cell phone is on mute. E-mail is shut down. Why? So I won’t have to confront those of you who will claim I am wasting precious “blog space” (I thought it was unlimited) with what might be perceived as a blatant commercial. Oh, I am not denying that it IS a blatant commercial, but like the politicians in Washington say, “I am sorry, but I will not be taking any questions today.” Such an easy way out - not taking questions. Where was that approach when I was in high school? Mr. Aring, please explain the oedipal relationship that Hamlet had with his mother and step-father. “Sorry, teach. I am not taking questions today.” Jeeesch!.

We are halfway through 2007, and yet, several Visual FoxPro conferences loom on the horizon. FoxForward will be held in the Atlanta, GA area. Two European conferences are available (they are excellent or so I have been told since I have never actually been to them) in Frankfurt, Germany and in Prague in the Czech Republic. Of course, there is OzFest in Australia also. However, the one conference for whom I am currently beating the drums is the Southwest Fox 2007 conference ( www.swfox.net ). Time is running out to get the early bird discount of $75 (you can also snag a FREE $99 pre-conference session); you must register by July 6, 2007, but even at the full price, this conference looks like it is going to be a winner.

Established in 2004 by Bob Kocher and Jeff Johnson, and very capably run by Bob for the last couple of years, this conference (held in the Phoenix, AZ area) has taken on a new life this year when it was announced that three of the VFP community’s guruiest gurus, Tamar E. Granor, Doug Hennig, and Rich Schummer have taken over the reins. Unlike other conferences, the subject matter is almost entirely FoxPro “stuff” for FoxPro developers. If you happen to actually learn something (and you will!)about .NET, Agile development, Sedna, or any other technology, consider it a bonus. Newbies, as well as seasoned developers, will encounter a number of topics of interest. There will be five, count-em, folks, FIVE separate session tracks. Extending VFP, Integrating VFP, the Software Business, Sedna and VFP SP2, and some no-spin Fundamental basics. A veritable morgishboard, er, smorga, arg, FEAST for the FoxPro developer who KNOWS (and cares in their heart of hearts) that FoxPro will be around for the next 10-20 years.

If you have never been to a developer conference, you can not imagine how intense they are and how draining on your body. It is no wonder many developers spend that later part of the evening refueling their system with their favorite adult beverage in preparation for the next day’s assault on the learning curve. I have never gone to a conference where I didn’t learn something that I could put to use immediately upon my return to work. I urge you to visit the conference website and consider attending. Believe me, I mean it when I say, “What happens in Mesa, AZ, stays in Mesa, AZ”, unless, of course, you go back home and start showing off all of the cool things you just learned.