Other Stuff

New in 2010 | Cost | Technology | FAQs

What's New in 2010?

Each year BFusion/BFlex adds something new to its repertoire. It makes it seem like we are cutting edge, risk takers. Let's just say we are gluttons for punishment.

The Combine

This year we are cozying up with The Combine, a conference on creativity and entrepreneurship in technology in Bloomington. It is a collaborative effort of our local technology sector, city government and business leaders. It takes place in the days preceding BFusion/BFlex. They have some amazing speakers and very cool events, including Ignite Bloomington 3.

Dev Derby

Our love child with the Combine is Dev Derby, an "iron dev language" competition between five languages - PHP, C#, Ruby, ColdFusion, and Java. It will take place on-site at BFusion on Saturday. If you think you've got the right stuff, the chops, the right...je ne sais quoi in your favorite coding language (assuming it's one of the five) then get right on over and apply to be on a team. Do not delay. Team selection ends August 27. If you don't make it in time you can still come to BFusion and cheer on your own team.

But Wait! There's More...

In case you thought we only had these couple of extra goodies for you, don't forget we are talking about Bloomington, Indiana here. There is a whole lot going on. Bring your family and turn them loose!

Event Costs

In the early years BFusion/BFlex was free. That created a lot of tech love, but it also meant a lot of leftover food and wasted sponsorship dollars when we had a nearly 20% no-show rate. We love our sponsors for helping us keep this event so affordable for everyone and are committed to making the best use of their support.

In 2009 we added a nominal charge of $10 per day. Happily it was widely supported by our attendees, both new and old. Sadly, we still had a large no-show rate. We have raised the rate this year for three reasons:

  1. We are looking to move a little more upscale on the food. Pizza and Roly Poly was getting a bit old for us, too. We are not going extravagant, but not dorm food.
  2. A new policy has been instituted this year that requires us to use the university's conference services to handle our registration. This adds nearly $15 to the cost of every registration. BELIEVE ME it makes me as unhappy as I am sure it does you. We fought the law and the law won. We'll see about next year.
  3. We still need to deal with the no-show issue. Research shows that people do not value what is priced low. We bust our butts to keep the cost of this as low as possible. Many of our instructors share rooms or stay in private homes (I have 4 in my house this year!) to keep your costs low. We want to maximize the value for you and for the sponsors.

Our highest priority remains making this top-notch, hands-on training available to the greatest number of people with the least barrier possible. We hope you'll agree that it is still an amazing value for your professional development dollar.

Technology

This year we will be running virtual desktops in order to avoid the configuration nightmares of the past. We are working on both server-side a local virtual images. We will post more details as we get closer to the event.

There will be both wired and wireless network connections. We will prefer wireless, but please bring a standard Ethernet cable with you if you have one. Now don't go tisk-tisking about how old-fashioned wired Ethernet is. This building was just upgraded to Gigabit to the desktop. It's smokin' fast!

FAQs

  1. Is it absolutely necessary for me to have my own laptop?
    • Yes, this is a hands-on training event and you are required to bring your own laptop. We will be supplying the necessary materials / programs that needs to be installed. Please do not register if you are unable to bring your own laptop.
  2. Is there an internet connection at this event?
    • Yes we do have wireless internet that is available although we do not guarantee the connection (speed or availability). A wireless guest account will be created for those not affiliated with IU and the login and password with be handed out when you arrive.
  3. Can I download the class materials/programs before the event?
    • Yes and no. It will depend on the event and track. You can and should download and install the software we will be using. Due to copyright restrictions we may not be able to distribute the all the exercise files online. You will receive details prior to the event.
  4. Are any refreshments/food provided at this event?
    • We are providing lunch for the attendees. We do advise the attendees to bring their own water bottles as we want to avoid the waste of bottled water. There will also be coffee and soft drinks.
  5. Are the classes available to non-attendees after the event?
    • We are investigating recording the sessions. Stay tuned.
  6. Will it really run the full day?
    • Yes, we want to fit in at least 4 hands-on sessions for each track and a keynote. That is six contact hours of hands-on training. We slip in the keynote while you eat lunch. We know your time, especially on a weekend, is valuable to you and we’ve kept it as tight as we could. We hope you’ll think it was worth it.
  7. Are all of the sessions really hands-on?
    • Yes, all tracks on both days are hands-on.