UKHA2003 - key learnings?

["mark_harrison_uk2" <mph@xxxxxxx>]

Guys,

As Graham said at the close of UKHA2003, we should make a positive
attempt to learn from what went well, and what could have been
improved at UKHA2003.

I must say that, overall, I thought that the event was very well
organised, and I much preferred the weekend format to the evening one.

However, in the spirit of making things even better next time, I have
a few things that _I_, as a presenter, would aim to do differently
next time:

- The audio/video shootous were not well arranged physically, with
most people behind the rear speakers. If equipment / people allowed,
then having a series of "mini-tests" throughout the day would
have
allowed everyone to have a listen in "poll position" and made the
comparisons more meaningful. Laser's demo of the Audiotron and the
Exstreamer seemed to go well, all weekend.

- Equipment provision - I had turned down some offers for people to
bring spare equipment (particularly MP3 players!). This was a
mistake. Key learning - it's better to have 2 players and use one of
them, than to have 1 and for it to be unavailable at the time you
need it. I brought a spare pair of speakers, that in the end weren't
needed, but don't resent that at all.

- Transport - thanks to those (Tony and Jon) who helped transport my
kit from Gatwick to the event. I'm sure that an on-list "who's going
who needs transport / who's going who can provide transport?" session
would have been useful. I know, for instance, that Ken Watt ended up
ferrying lots of stuff...

- Rehearse. Those who went to the xAP demos on both Saturday and
Sunday commented that Sunday's presentation was a lot smoother. I'd
done a couple of talk-throughs in front of friends in the weeks
leading up to UKHA2003, but nothing beats a stand-up presentation by
way of rehearsal.

Regards,

Mark