ILDA Conference 2009 Amsterdam

[pelosh]

I wonder what business benefits you gain by going there....

I know you will see some nice shows, new equipment and 'famous' people, but is it worthy all that money + cost of travell and other expenses () ?

[Jem]

Ah well, it was nice to consider going.

But I think I would rather put that amount of money towards a nice high power blue laser

Maybe i'll get to go sometime in the future but for now i'll stay in dear old blighty

Jem

P.S., I don't have a problem with the price, it's just that I choose not to pay it, i've no doubt that all things considered it does represent good value for money. Speaking as a hobbyist though, i'm not sure what I would get out of it to justify the expenditure.

[JeroenVDV]

What the hell do they need EUR 175/person for??!!??!?!

And the hotel-staying rates are quite high, especially if you realize it's not even in Amsterdam...

Not sure if I'm going to spend that money to go there, even while travelling there is (almost) free for me..

[Anthony]

What the hell do they need EUR 175/person for??!!??!?!
..

Thats for keeping small guys and hobbyists like us away from an bigguys party......

The crazy hobbyists that do pay the high entrance fee is just extra cash for the ilda party piggybank...

(i know organising an event costs money, but this is just plain crazy)

[Lasermad]

disappointed in you guys ... alll soo negative .... yes prices are higher than we would always like ...who knows maybe its done to keep people out ..in other words you need to be pretty damn dedicated to go ...or maybe ... and its a LOT MORE LIKELY ..its done as the market can take it ..if the majority who are attending are commercial organisation its pennies to them ... !

Personally i see this as a one off , i dont think the ILDA comes to europe very often so im seeing it as a little holiday .

Surely we can work a cheaper hotel ? somewhere ? and share taxis back and forth ?

and anyone know anyone on the board how about petition ! to get a photonlexicon discount

PAUL

[pelosh]

I am not hobbyist, but still can't see the purpose of spending that kind of money.

UKLEM cost me usually £30 (all included) and it's good event too.
----------tipello.net - i am not referring you, i just DO recommend it.

[Zoof]

Conferences are pretty expensive to have. Just like when you organize a LEM there are costs. Those will be higher per person when you have a large commercial venue, lunches and dinners included, staff to pay, equipment to rent, etc.

Compared to academic conferences E175/$220 is cheap for a 3-day event. I believe no-one is making money of it, it is probably a largely sponsored event.

I'm in the process of organizing conference and even with a lot of sponsoring we need to charge registrants more than we would like. Well-organized events are expensive.

One option for ILDA is to be open for student-registration with a very low fee.

[JeroenVDV]

Pangolin in-depth Showtime programming, stable network-setup for advanced multiple QM.NET-projectors setup, LivePro demo/workshop, etcetera.. Demo's / sneak previews of brand new products by companies. Brainstorming with a room full of professional and hobbyist laserists about new great innovative laser-applications. Etcetera.

That would be worth double the fee for the ILDA conference. Not for 3 days of lunching, "elections", having dinner & banquets with the "elite" of the ILDA.

[JeroenVDV]

Conferences are pretty expensive to have. Just like when you organize a LEM there are costs. Those will be higher per person when you have a large commercial venue, lunches and dinners included, staff to pay, equipment to rent, etc.

- Lunches and dinners aren't expensive. Just find a good and NORMAL catering-supplier instead of the first available 5-star money-eating company
- Staff to pay?!!!?
- Equipment to rent?!?!? Beamers, computers, laserprojectors, lasercontrollers, EVERYTHING is available from ILDA members!

Is the ILDA all about spending money, having elections for "board members" and again spending money?!

[Zoof]

It sounds to me you have a problem with how ILDA organizes the event.
Fair enough, just don't go, then you shouldn't have a problem with the fee either.
Just don't rant about an event that you aren't interested in going to.

If you want a better event, then organize it.....

Really, the world IS that simple.


Sorry, I'm just starting to get fed-up with these out-of-perspective rants and drama all over PL now.
Nobody has to agree with everything said here, just chime in with the stuff you DO agree with and can positively contribute too. Leave the rest to the rest.

Like Lasermad said, don't be so negative! Start a new thread labeled 'The PL dream event' and generate positive input on that.