Please take this review in the tongue-in-cheek spirit in which it was
intended...
Is there no joy in life greater than approaching a converted bus
garage in the middle of a car park on the outskirts of Birmingham at
11am on a drizzly Wednesday morning?
And so it was that I arrived at New Bingley Hall for Sight Village
2010, just in time for the 11:30am Jaws seminar in seminar room 2, and
was pointed to a room along the back wall.
Inside was a tanned American who had flown over from the states to
tell a room of 8 people about Openbook, another Freedom Scientific
product.
After a bit of low murmering and headscratching among the audience, we
finally found that it was the OTHER seminar room 2 we wanted.
You know, the one upstairs?
Silly me, of course, the other, upstairs room with the same number.
Not confusing at all, especially when it said "The exhibition will be
on one floor within a single large exhibition hall".
So myself and the other refugees all trooped back past the 150
different stands all selling identical-looking screen magnifiers, and
settled in a stiflingly hot room where another tanned American talked
11 of us through Jaws 11 and 12.
I'm beginning to see why this software costs the best part of a grand now.
Not that it didn't have some clever features I wasn't aware of, but I
quite often found the. Way it paused at random, intervals quite
annoying.
But apparently people get used to it, so I'm told. If I was paying
that much for software, I'd want ways of ironing out the Americanisms.
Period.
And how hard can it be to tell it what the symbol for centigrade is?
To be fair, it seems like they're made a good effort of tackling the
awful, wretched and universally loathed ribbon menu in recent versions
of Office.
Anyway, enough beef about that - I learnt what I needed to, which was
about the Research it API, and when the seminar ended an hour later we
all staggered out, gasping for air and haloed with sweaty-armpit
rings, and trooped downstairs from the upstairs that didn't exist.
My main reason for going was to scope the place out as a potential
exhibitor
next year. When the costs for a bit of floor slightly larger than a
folding table coming in at a smidgeon over a grand for 3 days, once
accommodation in the nearby fleapit is taken into account, I needed to
be sure it was something I wanted to do. On the plus-side, it was
neat, tidy, and well attended. On the downside, it was unpleasantly
warm and humid, even on that grey rainy day.
Most of it was large and expensive looking stands all selling
identical-looking print-magnifiers, often staffed by hired help of
miniskirted floozies. I couldn't help but think if you're going to
seduce the blind, perhaps a huskily-voiced "why don't you come on over
and show me your puppy?" would be better than a short skirt, but it
worked for me anyway.
Round the edges were the smaller independents, many of whom I talked
to, and several had concerns over how much the show was actually
promoted. I have blind friends who had never heard of it, so this is
something I'll have bear in mind.
That and the fact it was near-impossible to get anyone to give me
exhibitor details this year (note: 5 phone calls and 3 email chases is
not good!).
That said, it wasn't under-attended; in fact I had to be careful not
to knee any guide dogs in the face. They don't tend to like that.
I probably will exhibit next year. So, who's up for donning a
miniskirt and helping me man a stand? Not you, Brian. Well, not in the
miniskirt anyway.
Well, OK, not unless you shave your legs...
** To leave the list, click on the immediately-following link:-
** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe]
** If this link doesn't work then send a message to:
** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
** and in the Subject line type
** unsubscribe
** For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the
** immediately-following link:-
** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=faq]
** or send a message, to
** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the Subject:- faq
