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The Last Comdex?
linuxwrangler writes "Key3Media Group Inc. which produces the Comdex trade show may be unable to make it's debt payments and could declare bankruptcy. No decision will be made until after Fall Comdex opening on Monday. More info is available at Google News."
I attended Comdex in Toronto for four of the last five years. Every year I noticed it was getting worse, and wondered if it was worth going to. This last summer I didn't bother going, and I didn't miss it.
During the time I attended it changed from being a show for people in the industry, to a show for anyone off the street. The first year I went there the small company I was with signed up with TechData and nearly did the same with AOpen. The next year, neither were there. The last year I went was positively lame. No one but the big guys, and not even all of them. Heck, Corel wasn't even there.
Good riddance. It was a waste of time that was eventually replaced with product info found on the Internet.
I've been to 9 of the last 10 and will attend next week. Comdex hit a lull before the dot com boom and then the last two years it's been trying to find it's way again.
This year looked extremely promising with more informative panel discussions and break out sessions.
Don't forget this also affects the other Comdex shows that happen each year. I've only been to Fall Comdex, so I can't speak to the rest, but it will be a loss to the industry if it fades away.
Many people have spoken about virtual trade shows, but you don't get to try the products out and meet the folks to help support those products.
Comdex 2001 Overview
But don't forget that It's can also mean "it has" . This is a normal contraction and those are the only two things it can mean.
Its, on the other hand, it a possessive pronoun (which is easily confused with possessive nouns, which *do* take an apostrophe, hence the confusion.)
The exhibits themselves are always free. You just show up, and register, and you are in.
They charge the exhibitors, and they also charge for the tutorials, and conferences. You can buy a flex-pass for about $3000 and the tutorials are about $800 for a 1 day class.
The keynote speeches are all also free, but you have to collect tickets beforehand.
All of this information is available here.
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