Powered By Detroit: ColdFusion and Flash Goodness
By Judith Dinowitz
When I first met Cornel Ivanescu at CFun-04, what impressed me most was his passion for everything he takes on. That's especially evident with the conference that he is organizing in Michigan, Powered by Detroit (
http://poweredbydetroit.org). Unlike most regional conferences, Powered by Detroit is a hybrid, focusing on both ColdFusion and Flash, and the use of the two technologies together to create powerful applications. The conference is scheduled for the weekend of April 9 - 10, 2005, at the Hyatt Regency Dearborn in Dearborn, Michigan, with an expected attendance of 300-500.
I wondered why Cornel would take on the challenge of putting together a conference. After all, we already have a conference for ColdFusion in Maryland (CFUnited) and FlashForward on the west coast. So what was the impetus for Powered by Detroit?
The origin of the conference, as Cornel relates, began with a summit meeting of all the regional Macromedia user group managers from the Michigan and Cleveland areas. "The objective of the meeting was to figure out how to cooperate between us to increase awareness of the local user groups," he said, "and to increase attendance and share speakers." The group decided that one obvious solution was to invite well-known, talented speakers. To have a big enough audience to attract the speakers, they then considered a common meeting location for the groups. The notion of a conference was born, and Cornel offered to organize it with the idea of building it into an annual event. The other local managers have been supportive and have helped in the organizing as well.
Conference organizer Cornel Ivanescu (center) with Ben
Forta (left) and Michael Dinowitz (right).
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But why ColdFusion and Flash? Why not either ColdFusion or Flash? At this, Cornel answers with a smile. "In my opinion the two technologies, Coldfusion and Flash are complimentary. They're great on their own, but when used together the end product can be so much better. Macromedia has long talked about Flash and ColdFusion as the platform for the next evolution of the net, to create the so-called Rich Internet Applications (RIAs). Even looking at ColdFusion MX 7 and the start of the integration of Flash elements into ColdFusion gives us an idea of where the technology will evolve next."
That idea is what Cornel says he wants to bring to participants. Powered by Detroit will have advanced sessions for the purists, a beginner track tackling both sides, and a lot of talk around creating better applications with new technologies. In fact, Cornel has started the talk now, with the 'Powered by Detroit Flash CF Contest' for the best work combining ColdFusion and Flash. The awards ceremony will take place at the conference itself (
http://poweredbydetroit.org/nominate.cfm).
Cornel would also like to see more communication between ColdFusion and Flash developers. "Traditionally, Flash and ColdFusion have been two separate technologies appealing to two very different types of people: programmers and designers. With the Powered by Detroit Conference, we are hoping to help developers of both sorts bridge this gap." Cornel notes that to create RIAs, you need a basic understanding of both technologies. "Also, understanding another new technology will only benefit developer by helping us to create better applications."
With its dual emphasis on ColdFusion and Flash, the conference's name seems puzzling. I asked Cornel why he didn't call it something like CF-Flash?
"Initially, I had thought of calling it Powered by ColdFusion (and even registered that domain name)," said Cornel, "but that would have been restrictive and misleading, since the topics the conference will cover go beyond ColdFusion. As a professional developer myself, I realize a developer's need to understand how to integrate different technologies and keep abreast with the evolving ones. That is why we'll have speakers on Flex, RIAs and other complementary technologies."
Cornel also wanted the conference tied to the Detroit metropolitan area. He said that there are no other conferences like this in the Northern United States that developers can take advantage of. "Michigan is generally not known as a high tech state, but it is, and it's becoming even more so. The metro area has quite a large concentration of high tech companies and it is also host to
Automation Alley, the fastest growing technological consortium in the U.S., comprised of over 500 companies." Beware, Silicon Valley and Silicon Alley - You've got competition!
The speakers at Powered by Detroit include ColdFusion and Flash heavy hitters, such as Ben Forta, Hal Helms, Kevin Hoyt, Simon Horwith, Michael Dinowitz, Jeff Tapper, Jeffrey Houser, Angela Buraglia, Dan Short, Alexandru Costin, Brajeshwar Oinam, Shlomy Gantz, and many more.
Cornel says that this conference is strong because of its broad approach. "Instead of focusing on just one technology, it will feature different related technologies and focus on how developers and designers can use them together in novel ways to create cutting edge applications. In general people attend conferences not only to further their understanding of one certain product, but also to find out what's new and exciting in their field and how they can benefit from these new advances."
They will get a mix of what the future will bring, Cornel says. "The Flash programmer has the opportunity to broaden his understanding of ColdFusion and learn how to use the technology to his advantage in creating RIAs. At the same time the ColdFusion programmer will learn how easy the transition can be to Flash."
The conference is more than just education; Cornel wants it to be fun as well. Besides the Powered by Detroit CF Flash Contest award ceremony, conference-goers will enjoy a 'Flash Party in the Rotunda Lounge,' a rotating bar on top of the hotel with a panoramic view of the area, on Saturday night. Between sessions at the conference, they can visit House of Fusion's Community Suite, a room with refreshments, a library, and the traditional Fight Club head-to-head video game competition. Participants will also receive a DVD post-conference, giving them access to most of the sessions at the conference. The cost for all of this to attendees? Only $299 until February 20th, breakfast and lunch included for both days.
One may ask how so much is being fit into a conference for such a small amount. Cornel's response was very simply, "As long as I break even, I'm happy. I'm not looking to make money off of this. I'm only interested in creating a conference that will give its attendees something useful and will grow from year to year." From the looks of it, this is a good start, and he's on the right track.
You'll find more information about Powered By Detroit on their website,
http://www.poweredbydetroit.org.
