BETT 2008 a load of rubbish and a waste of Time

[Grommit]

Anybody else feel that they had been conned..

 

Nothing new apart from the "Future Schools" and the new little laptop from RM and A N Other companies..

 

Freebies sucked...

 

I think BETT is a great place for Teachers that really know nothing.. as then it would blow ones mind...

 

And for Head Teachers and ICT Heads on how to outsource your entire Support Department.. (courtesy of the BSF)

 

It also felt that the BSF had killed innovation as most people (smaller companies) I spoke to were trying to figure out their future within the BSF schools and how they would sell their products as in most BSF schools only the Managed Service Company can sell products to the school....

 

But for us Professional ICT Managers I feel that the BETT was same ol same ol...

 

?????

Edited January 14, 2008 by Grommit

[Geoff]

Go to CES next year instead then?

[Grommit]

Go to CES next year instead then?

 

Geoff i really would love too... lets make an Edugeek pilgramage

[GrumbleDook]

You mean you didn't find information out so that when $HoD comes to see you about some all singing and all dancing software you can tell them exactly what it does and doesn't do, and why it would be a waste of money when there are free alternatives?

 

Then again ... I was a bit busy most days to have a sit down and play with the software I wanted to look at.

 

Strange thing is about BETT ... it is an Educational Technology show ... you would expect to see stuff there to do with education or maybe I am just being cynical about it. Have you spoken with your staff that went down yet? We have a debriefing session this evening where each of the staff who went down will talk about key things they found and see if it might be useful to others and discuss how it fits into the ICT at school as well as the curriculum.

[GrumbleDook]

Geoff i really would love too... lets make an Edugeek pilgramage

 

Well ... if you are paying ... who am I to object. I prefer business class though.

[ICTNUT]

I will disagree here for a number of reasons:

 

- The edugeek stand this year was spot on, well done guys, I am eager to see whats planned for next year and how you plan to top this year.

 

- Freebies where top notch:

3 x 512mb usb memory sticks from IDNS

1 x 2gb usb memory stick from BECTA

1 x 512 memory stick from forensic software

300 x IWB lanyards from Promethian

3 x Windows Live "One Care" from Microsoft

2 x free AV software from ebuyer

2 x free Office software from ebuyer

5 x free t-shirts from IDNS

4 x free t-shirts from Microsoft

1 x free KS1 - KS3 Spelling software set (not a demo)

1 x free KS1 - KS3 Maths software set (not a demo)

2 x powered mouse mat with intergrated 4 port USB hub that glows blue

4 x BBC mugs and Embosed BBC oranges.

5 x Mouse mats, coaster, notepad sets from IDNS

There was some other stuff but I don't have the hoard with me at the mo :-)

 

- There is some good technology coming out but to get to it you will need to sit through some of the seminars, Microsoft have some good FREE stuff as well as some of the special needs stuff too.

 

I am in my 3rd year and think it comes down to planning you cannot expect to see it all at the show unless you are going to do three days there, I plan to see my suppliers have a chat with them, take in some seminars and go on a blag fest

 

A good day all round I would say.

[bizzel]

I missed the free mousemats?! There's always next year I guess...

[HodgeHi]

@ ICT Nut

 

No wonder i couldn't find many freebies, you had them all.

 

I honestly i don't really think the show is all about the freebies. Especially the bags they give you to lug them around in. God they killed my hands

 

I thought some of the hardware was quite good. looking at the Hitachi stuff, you can see where IWB will get to with the advances in Multi-touch surfaces. I thought those were really good and the plasma with the multi touch surface. Any one had any experiences with the Hitachi boards?

[alexknight]

Any chance of details of any outcomes from your debriefing tonight?

 

Alex

[spc-rocket]

I think they need to limit the no. of exhibitors because it can me overwhelming with so many people trying to grab your attention and tell you about their products.

 

I think many people regard going to the BETT show as a bit of jolly and there is nothing wrong with this but the amoung of things one comes out at end is very little and this is probably as i said because of too many exhibitors and the rush of people trying to target everything.

 

Ash.

[Grommit]

I will disagree here for a number of reasons:

 

- The edugeek stand this year was spot on, well done guys, I am eager to see whats planned for next year and how you plan to top this year.

 

- Freebies where top notch:

3 x 512mb usb memory sticks from IDNS

1 x 2gb usb memory stick from BECTA

1 x 512 memory stick from forensic software

300 x IWB lanyards from Promethian

3 x Windows Live "One Care" from Microsoft

2 x free AV software from ebuyer

2 x free Office software from ebuyer

5 x free t-shirts from IDNS

4 x free t-shirts from Microsoft

1 x free KS1 - KS3 Spelling software set (not a demo)

1 x free KS1 - KS3 Maths software set (not a demo)

2 x powered mouse mat with intergrated 4 port USB hub that glows blue

4 x BBC mugs and Embosed BBC oranges.

5 x Mouse mats, coaster, notepad sets from IDNS

There was some other stuff but I don't have the hoard with me at the mo :-)

 

- There is some good technology coming out but to get to it you will need to sit through some of the seminars, Microsoft have some good FREE stuff as well as some of the special needs stuff too.

 

I am in my 3rd year and think it comes down to planning you cannot expect to see it all at the show unless you are going to do three days there, I plan to see my suppliers have a chat with them, take in some seminars and go on a blag fest

 

A good day all round I would say.

 

I take it you dig in Trash Cans as a hobby ? ;-)

[chalkwellstu]

I will disagree here for a number of reasons:

 

- The edugeek stand this year was spot on, well done guys, I am eager to see whats planned for next year and how you plan to top this year.

 

- Freebies where top notch:

3 x 512mb usb memory sticks from IDNS

1 x 2gb usb memory stick from BECTA

1 x 512 memory stick from forensic software

300 x IWB lanyards from Promethian

3 x Windows Live "One Care" from Microsoft

2 x free AV software from ebuyer

2 x free Office software from ebuyer

5 x free t-shirts from IDNS

4 x free t-shirts from Microsoft

1 x free KS1 - KS3 Spelling software set (not a demo)

1 x free KS1 - KS3 Maths software set (not a demo)

2 x powered mouse mat with intergrated 4 port USB hub that glows blue

4 x BBC mugs and Embosed BBC oranges.

5 x Mouse mats, coaster, notepad sets from IDNS

There was some other stuff but I don't have the hoard with me at the mo :-)

 

- There is some good technology coming out but to get to it you will need to sit through some of the seminars, Microsoft have some good FREE stuff as well as some of the special needs stuff too.

 

I am in my 3rd year and think it comes down to planning you cannot expect to see it all at the show unless you are going to do three days there, I plan to see my suppliers have a chat with them, take in some seminars and go on a blag fest

 

A good day all round I would say.

 

what did you do sell your soul?

[Domino]

@ ashok: you should try going on a saturday then - far more leisurely! (and everyones trying to offload their freebies!)

[GrumbleDook]

@ICTnut : you have sold your sold and will never win that TV whilst I am there to try and win it instead. I will ask Ben to make sure you get hardly anything next year! ;-)

 

@Grommit : you old cynic. Some people just have a gift. Ozan's is scrounging! (and coding!) I would love to see a scrounging competition between him and Ric!

 

@ashok : Yep, EMAP know that the size is a problem and have tried to make it easier for people to target what they do at the show. The complaint this year is that too many companies put *every* service, software or type of hardware in their description so that it came up whenever you searched using MyBETT. This will be raised at the Visitors Advisory Group. After chatting with a few companies they admitted that they were in a hard situation. One year they had something big to push ... so they get a larger stand. The next year they could not be seen to go back to a smaller stand as people might think they are in trouble ... the year after that it was expected for them to go a bit bigger ... and some are now in the situation where they have massive stands, are costly, they are expected to give out lots of freebies and put on fantastic shows!

 

There is a danger that some will pull out all together for a year.

 

Someone commented that the show organisers have a wonderful sense of humour ... Apple next to Microsoft ... Serco, Bromcom and Capita all in a line ... Serif back to back with Adobe.

 

Heck .. they even put Parago next to us and Smoothwall.

[webman]

It was unfortunate that there was a lack of stands from open source bodies/projects such as Schoolforge UK and Karoshi, but I guess funding is always an issue. Come to think of it, the only one I saw was Zimbra (and Smoothwall I suppose but they're there just to push their commercial paid-for products) ...

 

With Becta's recent advisories it would be nice to see people like Ubuntu, Schoolforge, Novell et al have stands (possibly next to Microsoft, Apple, and Capita! ) to show people that there are alternatives to the crap the other lot are pushing out.

 

Couldn't believe how big the MS stand was too - microsofties in black tops crawling all over the place like ants

[torledo]

I will disagree here for a number of reasons:

 

- The edugeek stand this year was spot on, well done guys, I am eager to see whats planned for next year and how you plan to top this year.

 

- Freebies where top notch:

3 x 512mb usb memory sticks from IDNS

1 x 2gb usb memory stick from BECTA

1 x 512 memory stick from forensic software

300 x IWB lanyards from Promethian

3 x Windows Live "One Care" from Microsoft

2 x free AV software from ebuyer

2 x free Office software from ebuyer

5 x free t-shirts from IDNS

4 x free t-shirts from Microsoft

1 x free KS1 - KS3 Spelling software set (not a demo)

1 x free KS1 - KS3 Maths software set (not a demo)

2 x powered mouse mat with intergrated 4 port USB hub that glows blue

4 x BBC mugs and Embosed BBC oranges.

5 x Mouse mats, coaster, notepad sets from IDNS

There was some other stuff but I don't have the hoard with me at the mo :-)

 

- There is some good technology coming out but to get to it you will need to sit through some of the seminars, Microsoft have some good FREE stuff as well as some of the special needs stuff too.

 

I am in my 3rd year and think it comes down to planning you cannot expect to see it all at the show unless you are going to do three days there, I plan to see my suppliers have a chat with them, take in some seminars and go on a blag fest

 

A good day all round I would say.

 

 

The bit i love best is the part where you say KS3 maths spelling set (Not a Demo) LOL!!! It's not as if they gave you a full (not a demo ) version of Adobe CS3 Production Premium...it's KS3 maths for crying out loud. And most of the other stuff (no, all of the stuff on you're list) is just not worth the effort of attending..Microsoft t-shirts in particular are a big no no.

 

I am intrigued by the embossed BBC oranges though.

[webman]

BBC Oranges

[Edu-IT]

300 x IWB lanyards from Promethian

What do you plan to do with all those?

[john]

Thats a fair haul of freebies you got there ICTNUT, I knew I should have gone to the IDNS Stand as I deal with them but got waylayed and missed them out whilst rushing round stands.

[torledo]

BBC Oranges

 

They should incorporate those into the BBC 1 idents.

 

You heard it here first.

[Nexus-6]

I think that the BETT show would be better if it had a day specifically for IT staff, with knowledgeable people on the stands (some exhibitors just had hired staff who knew nothing about the products), another day for teaching staff, and finally another day for everyone.

 

In my previous field of work (electronics), we would never put staff on an exhibition stand without an understanding of the product(s).

 

It was my first attendance at BETT, and it will have to improve to be compared in an equal light to many other trade shows.

[ZeroHour]

Anybody else feel that they had been conned..

 

Nothing new apart from the "Future Schools" and the new little laptop from RM and A N Other companies..

 

Freebies sucked...

 

I think BETT is a great place for Teachers that really know nothing.. as then it would blow ones mind...

 

And for Head Teachers and ICT Heads on how to outsource your entire Support Department.. (courtesy of the BSF)

 

It also felt that the BSF had killed innovation as most people (smaller companies) I spoke to were trying to figure out their future within the BSF schools and how they would sell their products as in most BSF schools only the Managed Service Company can sell products to the school....

 

But for us Professional ICT Managers I feel that the BETT was same ol same ol...

 

?????

 

You did all that walking around and never even said hello to us, what gives?

Do we smell or something? lol

Edited January 15, 2008 by ZeroHour

[sahmeepee]

I think that the BETT show would be better if it had a day specifically for IT staff, with knowledgeable people on the stands (some exhibitors just had hired staff who knew nothing about the products), another day for teaching staff, and finally another day for everyone.

 

In my previous field of work (electronics), we would never put staff on an exhibition stand without an understanding of the product(s).

 

It was my first attendance at BETT, and it will have to improve to be compared in an equal light to many other trade shows.

 

That situation improved greatly this year actually. In the past there have been millions of those unhelpful types as well as women dressed as:

 

Chickens

Saucy coppers

Saucy schoolgirls (nope, not kidding)

 

This year was definitely better.

[linuxgirlie]

ugh, I would liked to have gone, let alone have a stall, but I was rushed to A&E, only just out. Had to have gallbladder removed

 

Oh well maybe if we start saving now we will have enough money by next year.....

[russdev]

@linuxgirlie

 

Well hope get better soon and as for stand you know you and hubby are always welcome on edugeek stand

 

Russ