Southwest Fox 2019 Registration is Open!

Tamar Granor Uncategorized

Registration for Southwest Fox (http://www.swfox.net/register.aspx) is now available. See http://www.swfox.net/speakers.aspx for a list of speakers and http://www.swfox.net/sessionsswfox.aspx for a list of sessions. Super-Saver Registration, which saves you $125, is available only through June 30th, so don’t wait.

Putting on a conference is a risky endeavor. Conference centers require a guaranteed minimum income to block the dates of a conference; for a conference like Southwest Fox, that minimum is in the tens of thousands of dollars. We have to commit to the conference center by July 2nd and need your support by July 1st to make that commitment. We will not send out any “We need your help” appeals so please do not wait; register by June 30th! We know most of you like to wait until the last minute to avoid the credit card bill arriving too soon. We will not charge any attendee credit cards or cash any checks until we have committed to going forward (sometime after July 2), so this is not is a reason to wait.

We look forward to seeing you in October!

Southwest Fox blog rises from the ashes

Rick Schummer Blog

Like the name of the major metropolitan area we host Southwest Fox, Phoenix rise from the ashes to start another cycle of life, so has our blog that was reduced to hot dust a couple of weeks ago by events unknown to us or the hosting company where the blog resides.

Thanks to all who were patient during this time as we worked with professionals who know the inner workings of the blogging engine.

If you have ideas you would like to see presented in October, leave a comment on our “What do you want to learn, 2019 edition?” post.

If you have session topics you want to present at Southwest Fox 2019, head over to the Call for Speakers page for the document we posted with all the details. Doug, Tamar and I look forward to reviewing lots of session topics again this year.

We also look forward to seeing everyone this October in Phoenix.

What do you want to learn, 2019 edition?

Tamar Granor Conference 2019, Sessions

Every year about this time, we post a list of topics attendees from the previous year suggested for future conferences, so that prospective speakers can consider them. (Here’s the 2018 list, as well as the 2017 and 2016 versions.)

Here’s the list from the Southwest Fox 2018 evaluations. We’ve organized it a little and eliminated duplicates. We also recognize that Southwest Fox attendees represent only a fraction of the VFP community (though they’re a significantly larger fraction of those willing and able to come to a conference).

If there’s something you’re hoping will be covered at Southwest Fox 2019, please add it in the comments. If you’re thinking of submitting sessions for this year’s conference, this list may give you some ideas what to propose.

  • More VFPX
  • Role of open source in VFP development and extension
  • Broken VFP components and core functions and their viable replacements
  • Working with external APIs
  • Tips and tricks on various VFP tools and utilities
  • Using or creating report listeners in VFP
  • Report layout or design rules for better looking reports
  • SQL Server
  • SQL Server-related topics (e.g., SSIS, SSRS, T-SQL)
  • Case study of setting up (or converting) a VFP app using one of the SQL backends
  • Which backend to use for networked enterprise vs single-user, one-computer scenario
  • In-depth training on SQL Server tools, tuning, optimization, etc.
  • Swift
  • Xojo
  • Python
  • Xbase++
  • C#
  • .Net
  • Entity Framework
  • Interacting with .NET controls from VFP
  • Tying VFP, Python, .Net together and playing off each other’s strengths
  • Web Development
  • Angular
  • JavaScript-based frameworks
  • Blockchain
  • AWS and TSPlus
  • HTML 5

A few people wrote more general comments about what they’d like to see, including more advanced topics, more soft topics and more extensive business topics.

Southwest Fox 2018 Early-Bird Deadline approaches

Rick Schummer Uncategorized

Simple quick reminder: save $50 by registering before the early-bird registration deadline next Tuesday, July 31st.

If you still need to register, please head over to the registration Web site today: http://geekgatherings.com/Registration

Every registered attendee gets admission and white papers to all regular conference sessions. Don’t miss this chance to learn from the best and mix with your peers.

See you in October!

Southwest Fox 2018 is a GO!

Tamar Granor Conference 2018, Registration

We have some good news to share today. Thanks to the support of the Visual FoxPro community, a very generous supporter who made a large donation, and our many sponsors, Southwest Fox 2018 will proceed as planned October 18-21, 2018 in Gilbert, AZ.

We really appreciate all the support people have shown for the conference with early registrations! That said, the decision comes with a serious calculated risk because we are still many registrations short of the break-even point. Please continue to spread the word to your colleagues, clients, user groups and anywhere else Visual FoxPro is spoken.

If you haven’t yet registered, there’s still room for you. Register before August 1st for a $50 early-bird discount.

Southwest Fox 2018 Super-Saver Deadline is days away

Tamar Granor Conference 2018, Registration

Registration for Southwest Fox 2018 has been open for a few weeks and there are just a few days left until the Super-Saver Registration deadline. If you register before the end of June, you save $125 and we’ll throw in a pre-conference session worth $99. Not only that, but you’ll be entered in the drawings for a scholarship that will reduce your cost even more and a license of Stonefield Query SDK, a $2,500 value. Check out the speakers and topics on the conference website.

Please beat the rush so we still have some fingernails left when July begins! No need to wait, we won’t charge your card or cash your check until the middle of July!

Southwest Fox 2018 Registration is open!

Tamar Granor Conference 2018, Registration

Registration for Southwest Fox (http://www.swfox.net/register.aspx) is now available. See http://www.swfox.net/speakers.aspx for a list of speakers and http://www.swfox.net/sessionsswfox.aspx for a list of sessions. Super-Saver Registration, which saves you $125, is available only through June 30th, so don’t wait.

Putting on a conference is a risky endeavor. Conference centers require a guaranteed minimum income to block the dates of a conference; for a conference like Southwest Fox, that minimum is in the tens of thousands of dollars. We have to commit to the conference center by July 2nd and need your support by July 1st to make that commitment. We will not send out any “We need your help” appeals so please do not wait; register by June 30th! We know most of you like to wait until the last minute to avoid the credit card bill arriving too soon. We will not charge any attendee credit cards or cash any checks until we have committed to going forward (sometime after July 2), so this is not is a reason to wait.

We look forward to seeing you in October!