Microsoft slurs, geeks and bean bags
On Friday I was at PHP UK Conference 2009, thanks to my boss, and a charming discount from the Facebook Developer Garage. Here’s what I thought.
The biggest presence here was undoubtedly Microsoft, followed at a distance by Adobe. Zend had a very small stand and don’t appear to have been a sponsor. I found this a little odd from the outset, but I guess it’s the big corporations that have the cash, and can ensure they don’t miss a single conference. Microsoft bribed us with the usual toys: XBoxes, the magic table thing … you know the drill. I was of course there to hear about the future of PHP, particularly PHP 6, and why we’re still just a cool as Python and Ruby.
To save you skim-readers the full breakdown, here’s my conclusion up-front: All in all a good day, but I wanted more talk of PHP’s future and could have done with less of the Adobe stuff. Most of the speakers were great, even if the subject matter missed a bit in places. Also, I know we’re trying to save the planet and everything, but could Olympia please turn the heating on next time!