Check out ODTUG President, Mike Riley’s interview with Duncan Mills of Oracle at Kscope 11. This year Mills will be presenting two tracks at Kscope12: Real-World Performance Tuning for Oracle ADF and Debugging ADF Applications – a Workshop.
You still have time to register for Kscope12 at the Early Bird Rate and please remember to book your hotel room before the JW Marriott San Antonio fills up.
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Its February 21, 2012… have you registered for Kscope12 yet? This year our Content Teams have done a phenomenal job of choosing presentations that are timely, informative, and will give you an edge in the development area you specialize in. If you are having trouble deciding if this is the right conference for you to attend please read the excerpt from a post we originally ran in April 2011.
Mike Riley interviewed both Brian Spendolini, director of development services at JSA2 Solutions, who will be presenting
and Karen Cannell, Editor in Chief of the ODTUG Technical Journal who will be presenting
Q: What’s the best thing about Kscope conferences?
Brian: “The best thing by far is that the APEX community gets together with development to further the product. This unique event is the only one that I know of where there is such a tight connection between the developers of the product and the developers whom use the product. We provide the feedback and more times than not we see it in a future release. Invaluable.”
Karen: “The depth of knowledge of attendees, combined with the depth and quality of presentations makes this the best training value, hands down.”
Click Best Training Value, Hands Down AND Invaluable to read the full article.
If you haven’t registered yet make sure you do before March 25th to secure the Early Bird Rate and book your hotel room before the JW Marriott San Antonio fills up!
Posted in Kscope, ODTUG | Tagged brian spendolini, karen cannell, kscope, kscope12, odtug | Leave a Comment »
Recently the ODTUG Board and #Kscope 12 Committee spent a few days at the J.W. Marriott San Antonio.
Jerry took a picture of the onsite waterfall.
The conference location is first class all the way, from the rooms to the meeting space to the food and to the friendly staff.
I cannot tell you how perfect this hotel space is for our group. Everywhere I went there were little seating areas where we could sit and discuss/resolve issues we have in our working lives or just sit back and visit with friends. Also, you know ODTUG is well known for the good food that is always provided at our Scope conferences and on this trip we got to sample the food that will be served at Kscope12. I have to tell you, you are in for a treat. I cannot wait for each of you to go there because I know you will love it as much as I do. Just a reminder to get your hotel room reserved early because they are going to go fast.
~ Barbara Morris
This year the conference will be held at the JW Marriot Hill Country. I strongly recommend checking out the website to try and get an idea of how nice this property is, although I have to be honest, the website as nice as it is, just can’t do it justice compared to being there. The place is huge, modern, clean, with unbelievable amenities. For those of you who would consider bringing your family with you, this is the year to do it. I’m planning to bring my wife and kids and spend a few days after the conference enjoying the location with them.
~ Gary Crisci (excerpt from his blog post)
The room was very modern, complete with a port hub so that you can connect your laptop to the TV. For those that are presenting this is an excellent resource to help you practice your presentation.
~ Martin D’Souza (excerpt from Kscope 12 blog post)
The central atrium of the hotel has a large meeting area called the Crooked Branch Lobby that features a multiple fireplaces, sitting areas, games and a bar. There are also multiple fireplaces and sitting areas just outside on the patio. My guess is this area will be a prime gathering spot at Kscope12.
~ Tim Tow (excerpt from his blog post)
The first thing that struck me about the JW Marriott resort was just how big it is. Seeing this massive resort and knowing that for 5 days in June we will own this place. When you are here for Kscope, you will have something in common with every other guest you come across… this is the premier conference for Oracle developers on the planet.
Yet dispute its size, or more likely because of it, there are a large variety of gathering spaces; perfect for everything from a post session tete-a-tete to an all out party. This place was built for our group, and I hope to see you there.
Posted in Kscope, ODTUG | Tagged kscope 12, odtug, oracle conference | 2 Comments »
Guest Blogger: Kevin McGinley
My first Kscope experience was just last year, and what a Kscope it was! From presenting to attending sessions to networking to winning the Editor’s Choice award, the week was packed full of great experiences. Kscope ’11 was such a fantastic experience that when I was asked to coordinate the BI track for Kscope 12, I happily said yes.
Because BI was so popular at Kscope ’11, the planning committee expanded the number of sessions we have to cover the most interesting BI content: OBIEE, BI Applications, ODI & GG, BI Publisher, Exalytics, and BI/EPM integration are all covered this year. I’m really excited that we’re able to offer a good mix of intro sessions, advanced sessions, and customer case study sessions across many areas of Oracle BI. Since Oracle is always pushing the boundaries of BI forward (and because they keep acquiring companies!), it’s important to make sure we keep attendees abreast of what’s going on in Oracle BI while offering those ever important tips-and-tricks, how-to’s, lessons learned, and best practices on the products and versions that attendees are using today.
In addition to great sessions throughout the week, there will also be a BI Symposium on Sunday and the return of hands-on labs at two different times during the week. The hands-on labs are very popular and offer a great way for attendees to test drive modules of Oracle BI that might be new to them. In addition to the symposium and hands-on labs, we’re also planning some ‘unconference’ activities to engage attendees of the BI track in different ways. Those who register (http://kscope12.com/registration) in the BI track will hear more about these as we get closer to the conference!
I want to thank everyone who submitted abstracts to speak at Kscope ’12. While we can’t accept everyone, it’s a testament to the ODTUG community that we had a tough job selecting the best of the best for the BI track. I also want to thank my great team for the hard work they put into selecting the very best possible BI agenda we could put together. I’m looking forward to BI at Kscope ’12 and I hope to see you there!
BI Team
Posted in BI/EPM, Kscope, ODTUG | Tagged BI, business intelligence, Kevin McGinley | 2 Comments »
Guest Blogger: Eddie Awad
Hi, my name is Eddie Awad and I will be attending ODTUG Kscope this year. In case you don’t know me, here is a quick introduction: I have been developing applications using Oracle technologies and tools since 1994. I am an Oracle ACE Director and the creator of OraNA.info and OracleCommunity.net. You can find me on Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook, and my blog.
Kscope 2012 is going to be my third ODTUG conference I attend. The first one was Kaleidoscope 2009 in Monterey, California. Yes, it was named Kaleidoscope back then. The second one was Kscope 2011 in Long Beach, California. The upcoming Kscope 2012 is going to be held in San Antonio, Texas.
This year’s Kscope is a special one to me. I volunteered to lead the Developer’s Toolbox track team. My task was to build a team of volunteers from the Oracle community and then together determine appropriate sub-tracks, review and rate the submitted abstracts and create a draft schedule for the track.
More than 85 abstracts were submitted to the Developer’s Toolbox track alone. The team then engaged in a blind review, meaning that each team member rated all the abstracts without knowing the authors and rated all the authors without knowing their abstracts. The end result was the selection of 32 abstracts. It was not easy but we made it. Without further ado, I present to you the Developer’s Toolbox track team:
I was also in contact with Steven Feuerstein who offered valuable input and feedback regarding the PL/SQL related abstracts.
I would like to thank everyone for their help in putting together the best Developer’s Toolbox track ever. Also, kudos to the ODTUG Kscope12 Conference Committee for their support during the whole process.
I am not the first one and will not be the last one to tell you that Kscope is the best technical conference for Oracle professionals. You would not want to miss it this year, here is why:
One more reason to attend: I will be presenting too. My presentation will be about data caching in SQL and PL/SQL, in other words, how to make your application run faster.
I guarantee that if you attend Kscope you will come out of it full of new ideas and knowledge about tips, tricks, techniques and technologies you never even knew existed.
Hope to see you there… FYI REGISTER before March 25th to get the Early Bird Rate.
Posted in DB Dev, Kscope, ODTUG | Tagged eddie awad, kscope 12, oracle developers tool box | 1 Comment »
The ODTUG Board of Directors met on Tuesday, January 3, 2012, to elect the Executive Committee members for the ODTUG Board. My congratulations go out to the winners of this election process. The Board has once again elected me as President (my final year on the Board due to term limits – although I can re-enter the election process in the fall of 2013 – and my fourth as the President). I look forward to the challenges that the organization will undoubtably face in the next 12 months, and also serving alongside the rest of the Board and the new Executive Committee.
Elected for the first time to the ODTUG Executive Committee, Monty Latiolais will be serving as the Vice President of ODTUG. Monty is currently starting his third year as a Board Member for ODTUG, and has served in varying capacities and on various committees while on the Board and even before he became an ODTUG Board member. Monty will be a great addition to the Executive Committee, and as I spoke to Monty just after the conclusion of the election process, he is very excited about his newly expanded role within the organization. Based upon his track record of success so far within ODTUG, I expect nothing but the same type of results from him in this position.
Barbara Morris, left, and Monty Latiolais, right
The 2012 Secretary is Bambi Price. Bambi has served as Secretary for ODTUG before, and most recently, last year as the Vice President. Bambi is committed to ODTUG expanding its reach into global markets, as evedenced by our participation in the InSync conference and hosting our very own SP conference in Sydney, Australia last year. Bambi will continue to serve the organization proudly and represent you, the members as well.
Dave Schleis, Bambi Price, and husband Frederick Price
Rounding out the Executive Committee is the 2012 Treasurer, Jerry Ireland. Jerry returns to the ODTUG Board after a one year absence, and also returns to an Executive Committee position. Jerry has served as Vice President before, and is returning to another familiar slot for him on the ODTUG Board as Treasurer. Jerry brings much user group experience, and real world experience and expertise back to the Board. His financial knowledge will be well served in this role on the Board.
Jerry Ireland, pictured here at a dinner with Debra Lilley in 2009
So, what to look forward to in the next few weeks? Well, the ODTUG Board will be gathering for their winter face to face meeting in a couple of weeks. This will take place at the 2012 KScope conference location, the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country resort. We’ll be setting the direction of the organization for 2012 and beyond, all the while familiarizing the entire Board with the conference location. Look for some more information about what to expect at KScope12 to come from the ODTUG Board Members, as everyone will be spending more than 3 days at the resort.
A smaller group of the Board will then leave directly from the Board Meeting and head to Oracle HQ in Redwood Shores, CA for the annual IOUC Leaders Summit. This summit hosts the leaders from user groups across the globe. Oracle provides the conference location and setting, and the leaders talk directly with Oracle to learn things beneficial to our members for the year. In addition, perhaps the greatest benefit is that the user group leaders take advantage of this opportunity to network with other user group leaders, to learn from each other, and to work with each other for the benefit of the overall user community. Who benefits the most from this event? That’s right, it’s you, our members.
Look for more updates on these and many other ODTUG initiatives in the next few months.
Oh, have I mentioned that you really should be making your plans to attend KScope 12 in June? Find the details here. We are experiencing tremendous interest in the conference, and registration is going well. We anticipate that we will completely fill up the hotel, so make your plans and reserve your room today!
One last thing to mention as we start 2012. We want to continue to provide you with the best Oracle Content around so if you would like to present a webinar please contact Lauren lauren@odtug.com so we can get our calendar filled up.
Posted in Kscope, ODTUG, User Groups | Tagged iouc, kscope 12, odtug | 1 Comment »
Monty Latiolais, ODTUG Board Member
Guest Blogger: Monty Latiolais
The Holiday season is upon us and most of us are hard at work wrapping up year-end projects, or at least wrapping up our presents. Kscope 11 is but a memory and while it seems Kscope 12 will never arrive, trust me, it will be here in the blink of an eye. In fact, there is much to report.
Let’s talk for a minute about the content. First, we received more abstract submissions this year than ever before – over 750 in total. While it’s great to see such interest and enthusiasm for Kscope, it also means that the choice of who gets accepted just got a whole lot tougher. We made some changes to the process this year. The biggest change was implementing a blind review – meaning that the speaker and the abstract were peer reviewed separately. This really forces the speaker and the subject matter to stand on its own merit. It definitely adds more work for the content teams, but if the result is a stronger lineup of speakers and sessions, then the effort has been worthwhile. Much credit goes to David Schleis and Natalie Delemar, who chaired the non-EPM and EPM content respectively, as well as the content team leads and content teams. WELL DONE!
The recommendations from the content teams were received at the beginning of December. The Kscope Conference Committee then gave its approval. Looking at the final lineup of speakers and sessions, all I can say is WOW! You guys continue to amaze. The content is by far the strongest of any Kscope I’ve been a part of. Attendees will be faced with the impossible task of deciding between Tom Kyte, Jonathan Lewis, Edward Roske, Steven Feuerstein, Tracy McMullen, Mark Rittman, Cary Millsap, Duncan Mills, Kevin McGinley, Dr. Paul Dorsey and dozens of other must-see speakers. How you do that is up to you. My job is to make that decision as tough as possible and I assure, we succeeded.
Now that the content is in place, the Conference Committee turns its focus to the Community Service Day, the General Session, the Wednesday night Special Event, and the various receptions to be held throughout the week. Kscope11 did set the bar pretty high, but know that we are on the job, hard at work to not just meet expectations, but to shatter them.
When it comes to Kscope, there are many winners. San Antonio was announced as a winner last June. Just last week, hundreds of speakers were notified that they, too, were winners. However, the real winner at Kscope is…YOU, the attendee. If you’ve never attended a Kscope conference before, let me say, there’s nowhere else you can get this content, from these speakers, at this fabulous venue. It’s a win, win….win situation.
We’ll see you in San Antonio!
JW Marriott San Antonio
Posted in Kscope, ODTUG | Tagged kscope 12, oracle conference content | Leave a Comment »
Mark Rittman, ODTUG Treasurer 2011
Guest Blogger: Mark Rittman,
Well I’m writing this blog post just before my last ever ODTUG board meeting, after having served for the last two years following being elected in 2009. It’s been a fun two years, with a lot of hard work thrown in as well. I’ve stood down from the board this year due to family commitments, but I’ll still be working as a volunteer and co-chair (along with Kent Graziano) of the ODTUG BI&DW SIG (you can join our group on LinkedIn).
In my first year on the board, I “learned the ropes” and generally worked to represent the BI community within ODTUG. This year, I’ve continued those tasks, and also took on the responsibility of being the ODTUG treasurer, giving me responsibility for the user group’s finances, including the conference budget, which contributes the vast majority of our revenue. With my BI background, I worked with Kathleen and the YCC team to streamline and simplify the financial reports we produce each month, highlighting key ratios, changes year-on-year and month-on-month, and focusing on some key performance indicators that helps us understand, at a glance, if we’re on track for the year. I’d say this is probably my proudest achievement, and thanks also to Wendy at YCC, and to the finance committee, for their advice and help over the year.
Apart from being treasurer, my general ODTUG board duties included a monthly board meeting call, where we discuss upcoming events, initiatives to better serve the members, and any issues arising from the running of the user group. Twice a year there are face-to-face meetings, where we take a couple of days to think about the long-term goals for ODTUG, and again focus relentlessly on making sure we serve you, the members, in the most effective way possible.
So I’m saying my farewells to the board now, but I’ll still be around and definitely at KScope 12 in San Antonio, where I’m presenting a couple of papers and I’m also bringing my family to the wonderful JW Marriott hotel. Maybe in the future I’ll be able to stand again for the board, once the kids grow up, but until then, I’m sure ODTUG is in very safe hands …!
Posted in Kscope, ODTUG | Tagged mark rittman, odtug bi & dw sig | 2 Comments »
Martin Giffy D’Souza, ODTUG Board Electee
Guest Blogger: Martin Giffy D’Souza
I was first introduced to ODTUG about four and half years ago, when my manager back then recommended that I go to a conference in New Orleans called Kaleidoscope (Kscope). I didn’t know it at the time, but saying “yes” was truly a life changing experience. During the conference I felt like a kid at Disney World, full of excitement. Not only did I get to meet some of the world’s best Oracle developers but I also had a great time at all of the events that the conference had to offer.
Since New Orleans I’ve attended, and presented, at all the Kscope conferences: in Monterey, Washington D.C., and this year in Long Beach. During that time I’ve continued to grow a successful blog, spoken at other conferences, co-authored and authored several APEX books, became an Oracle ACE, co-founded my own consulting company (ClariFit), and, most importantly, met a lot of amazing people. I honestly don’t think I would have had all these opportunities had it not been for the support and exposure I’ve received from ODTUG and its members.
All this being said, I’m ecstatic to be in a position to give back to the organization that has opened so many doors for me. Thanks to your support (especially those in the APEX community); I will be sitting on the ODTUG Board of Directors starting in January. As a new member of the Board, I look forward to continuing the excellent work that the current Board is doing to help grow the community and ensure that ODTUG is the premier Oracle user group to be a part of.
Personally, I hope to bring some fresh new ideas to the table and be a strong representative for Oracle developers in the community. More specifically, I’m going to help represent the APEX developers within the ODTUG community.
I look forward to the challenges and adventures in the new year and am honored to have received the opportunity to represent you for the next two years.
– Martin
Posted in APEX, ODTUG | Tagged Martin Giffy D'Souza, odtug, ODTUG board elections | 1 Comment »
Jerry Ireland, ODTUG Board Electee
Guest Blogger: Jerry Ireland
I am honored to be returning to the board. I want to thank all of you that took the time to cast your vote for the board this year. One of my goals is to increase the participation in this important member privilege. After all, we are charged with maintaining the excellence of the organization and shaping its future and the best way for you to be sure that we are representative of our membership is to vote.
By the late 80’s I was working exclusively with Oracle at an E-Business Suite early adopter. Designer brought me to the first Oracle Case SIG (OCSIG) conference. I have utilized Designer to build everything from trivial applications to data warehouses to enterprise models. Awards include ODTUG Volunteer of the Year and Oracle Ace for Application Development. I am currently co-owner of Rightsizing Inc., a small consulting group.
I first served on the ODTUG board in 1990. I stepped down for a few years to make room for new blood and to concentrate on a new software spin off. I have served as treasurer and vice president and chaired many conferences. I am also very active in the Oracle Application User Group.
Posted in ODTUG | Tagged jerry ireland, odtug, ODTUG board elections | 1 Comment »
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