On Fri, Apr 06, 2001 at 10:12:23PM -0500, Richard Rauch wrote:
>
> Ick, I assumed that TNF was helping defray the Comdex appearances.  (But,
> then, I have no idea if TNF has deep enough pockets to do that...)

TNF has ~no monetary resources.  Perhaps it should be attempting to
acquire some, but that doesn't change the current status.

> Would it be possible for TNF to set up a fund of money earmarked for
> sending people to conferences?  Would Wasabi be interested in sending
> people (or substantially helping send people) to conferences?

There's a lot more to it than just `sending people'.  Materials have to
be produced and shipped (e.g. information sheets); furniture, carpeting,
and sometimes computer equipment has to be rented; electric and network
service has to be paid for; occasionally bribes have to be paid; etc.
All of this takes time and money -- how much depends partly on one's
level of experience.  All of these things put together generally dwarf
the personal travel expenses (even when you stay at a decent hotel).

If all you want to do is have people walk around and attend sessions,
none of this is relevant, of course.  But you get essentially nothing
out of that, save perhaps penile engorgement.  You need people on the
vendor floor -- schmoozing, answering questions, and generally showing
people that there are real people and real code behind it -- to have
any useful effect.

> (What is the cube that you mentioned, which was popular also at Vegas?)

It's a Mac G4 cube (courtesy of xela and TERC).