Castellers

I've gone to many JavaOne conferences at the Moscone Center but today was my first experience of a Oracle OpenWorld. I was very curious and I found the experience very interesting. Although the two conferences are in the same physical space, the two experiences are very different.

I only have an "exhibitor" pass, so I've not been able to attend any of the technical sessions but, with those caveats, below are some observations; feel free to add additional observations as comments to this entry. Also check my Flickr set.

• OOW is significantly larger in attendance. I've heard about 40K-45K; J1 was, at its peak, 20-25K (afair).
• OOW uses not just Moscone North and South, but also West, and they close Howard street.
• The tent is an integral part of the event, used for lunches, drinks and as a lounge.
• The dress code at OOW are suits... and very few body piercings :-)
• Most attendees at OOW seem to use (smart)phones to stay connected (to their admin assistants?).
• The (internet cafe-like) area with stations to check email / browse at OOW is much smaller than at J1
• The expo and keynote areas are reversed between Moscone South and North.
• The Expo at OOW is very busy, with all the big names in SIs, hardware, software, etc.
• No more bean bags at the bottom of the stairs.
• The developer track is 6 blocks away, at the San Francisco Hilton.

Really, the two conferences can't be more different. Also check out some pictures I took.