Hmmm, I always say I'll write "Jax Conference Remix" if anyone asks about
it, so here goes....
(you asked for it)
Maybe it was the fact that my flight was cancelled and I arrived an entire
day late and then spent the next day with Top Gun so the conference was half
over before I even caught my breath, but things just didn't seem the same
this year.
It was a joy to see old friends, and it really does feel like a family
reunion every March, but there was something about it... maybe I shouldn't
even try to describe it.
(Now I'm nervous, because I don't really want to say anything negative about
something I love and truly look forward to every year) but I guess I could
start by asking:
"Why Do Designers Attend the Design Conference?"
First and foremost, they probably justify it for technical reasons. There's
a lot happening in our industry, its difficult to keep up, and PCBWest is
one place where a Designer at ANY LEVEL of competence can find good
instructive classes. So, we go to LEARN.
Well, the classes I attended were top-notch, the speakers UPMedia finds for
these lectures are incredibly competent, and although I couldn't attend all
of them, the ones I heard were GREAT! But that being said, the proceedings
disk has only 18 papers. I looked back in my archives for previous years,
and I think this is the first time that there was ever less than 20, and
2003 had a whopping 53! Is that a bad sign? Maybe not, if you are getting
what you need to keep up. Quality over Quantity, right?
Speaking of learning, for quite a number of years I have been one of the
judges for the Top Gun Competition, and part of that is an interview. One of
the questions I ALWAYS ask is "Where do you go to learn new design
techniques? If you are being asked to design something using a technology
you are not familiar with, where do you go to learn about it?". Would you
believe, no one ever says " I look for it in an IPC guideline", or "I ask
the Designer's Coucil", or "I learn in classes right here at the
Conference".
Nope.
No one in my memory has ever answered like I would expect. Its always
something more like "I ask the guy who sits next to me" or "I call a friend"
or "I call a vendor", or "I look for an application note". Maybe one in
twenty ever mentions IPC or a Conference. Isn't that strange? Maybe not, but
I thought it was worth mentioning. Speaking of Top Gun, this is the first
time that I have ever judged a design that got a PERFECT SCORE in every
category! Randy Holt from ODA submitted a gorgeous design, and fully
deserved the title. Congratulations, Randy!
http://www.pcbwest.com/topgun/
Secondly, I think its important to get away from the daily grind every once
in awhile, get a fresh perspective, see what everyone else is up to, and
just relax for a moment. I don't even bring my laptop to the Design
Conference, because its "me time" and I almost treat it like a vacation
(hope my boss isn't reading this) But hey, I want to immerse myself in what
is there at the conference, not sit in my hotel room answering email, right?
So I got nothing to say but good stuff about that, except to wish that more
people would attend, or that we could ALL get together in one HUGE
conference that no one in their right mind would ever miss. Ok, so I'm a
dreamer. Here's some pics: http://www.pcbwest.com/gallery/
But the networking is invaluable, and you get to see and hear about new
things (like did you know one of the Mentor Technology Award winners board
had over 2.2km of traces? WOW!) Here's more about that:
http://www.mentor.com/company/news/pcbtechawards07.cfm
One of the highlights for me was getting to hear a live rendition of
"Designer's Lament" by Off-Grid CID
http://www.pcbwest.com/song/ and I was fascinated to see one of the
instruments being played at the Porch Dawgs concert was designed and created
by the musician, who is a board designer. It was an electronic marimba type
thing that used alot of complicated coils and serpentine routing, I wish I
could show you a link to it but I lost his card. (and what a surprise to
learn that Andy's awesome Hawaiian shirts cost $10 at Krogers) I could go
on, but this is already gonna be the longest post Ive ever written here (can
you top this one, Bill?) so...
Thirdly, we like to feel like we're part of something. Many companies don't
design enough new products to support more than one circuit board designer,
and quite often a single designer ends up supporting more than one company.
The end result is that MANY of us work ALONE. Year in, year out, mouse in
one hand, coffee in the other, interacting with the world through hi-res
displays. So this is a chance to walk away from that environment and gather
together, and realize that there other people like us, and for a couple of
days feel some comradship (is that a word? dunno, but its a feeling). I just
didn't feel that this year, and maybe its because we are getting splintered
into more and more little conferences instead of one big one. Now IPC has
gone off doing their own thing (which I haven't ever heard another designer
say they really like), now I hear about NEW conferences in Chicago and maybe
other places. IPC didn't even bother to have a booth at PCBWest so I
couldn't even cash my annual "$50 Designer Council Coupon" like I used to,
it just doesn't feel like we are all on the same page anymore.
I never thought I would be one of those OLD guys who talk about "the good
ol' days", but does anyone remember Ken Gilleo's presentation of "The 100
Year History of the PCB"? or the display on the exhibit floor of "The
History of PCBS"? or the panel discussion with Happy and Joe and Phil about
"what PCBs will be like in 100 years"? or Pork Chops' rendition of a train
wreck on harmonica? There wasn't anything like that this year. Maybe I'm
just feeling nostalgic, or maybe the glory year of The Design Conference
really was 2003.
Finally, I heard something this year that really got me thinking. (Uh-Oh!)
Maybe the math isn't perfect, but I think the Mentor Graphics User Group
Conference had more designers attending than IPC, PCBWest and PCBEast
COMBINED! Wha?
And here's what I was thinking about THAT:
About ten years ago, I published and article in which I stated "User Groups
are Dead". I won't try to repeat the whole thing (sigh), but the point of it
was that when I first started in this industry, there weren't many places to
learn about PCB layout, so I attended every single PCAD User Group meeting
and read every issue of PCDesign mag cover to cover. Then The Internet and
The Design Conference came along, and my philosophy changed to this, "You
know, its pretty easy to learn software, and its a lot more difficult to
learn good design practices". So ever since, I have avoided the software
conferences and concentrated on the design stuff. NOw I'm wondering if a
shift in perception is warranted. The whole PCB design world has pretty much
polarized into "Cadence People" and "Mentor People" (and kudos to the
renegades who are cranking out freeware and open source tools, highest
respect to YOU), but maybe people already know which umbrella they are going
to stand under, and it makes more sense to concentrate on that umbrella.
What I mean is, I know we are gonna be on Mentor's leash forever (here at
Caterpillar, anyway), I know I'm already a pretty good designer, and I know
where to go if I get stuck, so maybe what I DON'T know is how Mentor is
going to influence my life.
So maybe User Groups have come back to life, because that software IS our
life. Maybe that's why a huge majority are attending the two big software
conferences rather than design conferences? I'm thinking Mentor is feeling
pretty confident now, and when you notice that their booth is smaller than
the CAM350 booth, that says something. (confidence.) So the last user group
conference I attended was VeriBest in Boulder, a LONG time ago. Maybe its
time I check in with MUG.
So, How was IPCWest? Was anyone there?
Love ya,
Jbro (aka "Helter Skelter")
-=-=-=-
On 4/11/07, Stout.Jean <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> So Jack, since there are no answers to this email, how was PCB West?
>
> Jean
>
>
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