Actually, I haven't missed a CUG conference since 1992, but more recently I have had a difficult time being free to attend the technical sessions. (I'm not complaining! I've been honored to be a CUG officer and program planner, and I know that often those folks are forced to skip many sessions in order to fix problems or handle last-minute changes--this is as it should be, because someone has to do it.)
But as a free person at the San Jose CUG, I saw again what it is we offer our attendees. I moved through the conference sessions and breaks and lunches as a regular CUGer and realized the tremendous quality and information shared in the various sessions and functions.
As I sat back, I observed the SGI/Cray leaders, developers, and technical specialists who came to present information and receive feedback; I also saw all the sharp people from computer centers, universities, industries, and research labs.
The key element was that everyone had something in common: we all work on a Cray system or a high-end SGI system; we are familiar with the kinds of problems solved on these types of systems; we are aware of the challenging future we face with new architectures and programming paradigms; and we generally understand--and can pronounce--most of the acronyms! (Oh yes, and we're all dealing with less budget and more projects--but that's another article ...)
One more thing: At this CUG I took notes! Lots of notes! I will spare you the summarized versions of all the sessions I attended (trust me, you are grateful), but I want to prove to my old friends that I indeed listened during this CUG. Here's proof: my offering of a string of phrases and ideas as I fly through some notes....
- Don't hide good ideas in technical journals--call Oprah!
- Stick Figure Death Theater: 50K hits per day--and we laughed at this!
- Emerging information-management technologies (I contributed!).
- UNICOS/IRIX convergence--and we laughed at this! (just kidding)
- If bandwidth doesn't scale, applications won't scale.
- There is no single architecture that is best for all applications.
- We are "knowledge atheletes."
- Vector performance is not moving forward at Moore's Law rate.
- Geographically distributed team members through virtual reality.
- The recentralization of technical computing.
- Winchester Mystery House: It's not the destination, it's the journey.
- More than 2,000 hours MTTI for the T94.
- Increase the level/salary of call center personnel.
- Everything converges at SN2.
- This hotel has its own sushi bar! (OK, so I said this one, too).
- Use the PAT tool first.
- "Unleashing the power of human creativity and insight."
- Golden Gate: 50th anniverary people stress-tested to 1.5 capacity.
- "CUG '99: Fish and Chips" (you had to be there!)
- Visual computing--moving forward with data vision and interaction.
- CUG plays major role on technical issues.
- Synthetic diamonds and fluorinert spray cooling--without plumbing!
- Stuttgart in '98!
- And so much more ...
