Deductible Junkets
June 21-24 1998 World Congress Fairfax, Virginia
Mikhail Gorbachev and Margaret Thatcher offer a privileged perspective on the technology needs of the global marketplace at the 11th annual World Congress on Information Technology. On the second day Gorbachev will speak about "The Effect of Information Technology on the Reemergence of Russia," and Thatcher is slated to discuss "Challenges Facing the 21st Century." This event usually consists solely of senior-level IT executives lecturing each other on strategies and solutions, but this year conference organizers plan to focus primarily on the demand side of the equation. "It's only on the last day that the techies get to talk, and we've structured it so that the third day is a response to marketplace needs," explains conference chair and EDS vice president George Newstrom. With Michael Dell and Larry Ellison on the bill, the show should go out with a bang.
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June 14-19 Nano '98 Stockholm
More than 500 chemists, physicists, biologists, and materials scientists will meet at the fourth annual International Conference of Nanostructured Materials to consider how to make tiny biological and chemical structures smaller, better, and cheaper than current technology permits. Much of the discussion is on the theoretical level, with Nobel laureates Ivar Giaever from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Leo Esaki of Japan's University of Tsukuba discussing developments in lab research. But a few applications of this much-hyped science are sure to be displayed. "You won't see robots swimming in a bloodstream curing cancer, but the latest photos of nanomachines at the conference should be a blast," says David Grier, an associate professor of physics at the University of Chicago.
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June 15-19 Usenix '98 New Orleans
It's no surprise that the members of Usenix – an organization for administrators, developers, and users of Unix – have chosen a magician and professional skeptic to keynote their annual meeting. Sysadmins everywhere know how to steer clear of marketing sleight of hand, and The Amazing Randi makes it his business to debunk "nonsense that presently passes for science." By day Usenix attendees sign up to learn new skills in more than two dozen tutorials; by night they help each other out by troubleshooting new-product bugs over beers. This year a bonus track called Freenix will focus on freely redistributed operating systems such as Linux and OpenBSD.
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June 24-26 WITI Santa Clara, California
The annual summit of Women in Technology International reads like a who's who of female techsters – among the speakers are Hummer Winblad partner Ann Winblad, Autodesk CEO Carol Bartz, EDventure Holdings chair Esther Dyson, and Donna Shirley, manager of NASA's Mars Exploration Program. But the keynote speakers aren't just talking heads; conference organizers promise that the stars will stick around through the meeting and take part in discussions with attendees. The goal here is to increase the role of women in technology. Toward that end, a professional-development session will cover topics such as "Building a Consulting Practice" and "Positioning Yourself within Your Company."
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June 30-July 2 TiLE 1998 Strasbourg, France
As GameWorks, Sony, and Disney open flashy new videogame centers and multiplexes, it's clear that entertainment companies are looking for innovative ways to get families out of the house to spend money. TiLE (Trends and Technology in Leisure and Entertainment) is a strategy meeting to gauge the latest ideas in theme parks, cinemas, museums – even zoos (speaker Joe Rohde was executive designer of Disney's Animal Kingdom, which recently opened in Orlando, Florida). Some topics are at the forefront of entertainment technology – companies such as Silicon Graphics and Imax will weigh in – while others aim straight for the bottom line. "One theme is the cross between attractions and retail," says conference managing director Richard Curtis. "You know – go to the show, eat the food, buy the T-shirt."
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