StarTechConf in Santiago

Fellow geeks on a coffee break in Santiago (image from here)

One of the advantages of living here this year is that we're only a two-hour bus ride from Santiago, one of the biggest cities in South America.  Big tech conferences don't often come to Minneapolis, but two weeks ago Santiago played host to famous software geeks from all over the world.  I was one of the lucky 1000 people to get a ticket.

There were the usual talks about new techniques and new technologies, and a few interesting forums on Chile-specific projects.  The coolest thing from my perspective was the international flavor of it.  There were 3 series of talks going on simultaneously, with one track mostly in English with simultaneous translation to Spanish.  It was like the United Nations, everyone with an electronic gadget hanging around their neck and an earpiece in their ear.  Other than the delayed reaction of the audience when the speaker told a joke or asked a question, it all went remarkably smoothly.  I met some cool people and learned a lot, including a bunch of new Spanish vocabulary having to do with computers and technology.

Thanks to all the hard-working volunteers who organized the conference!