Starting Monday May 18, 2009 fun begins at Indianapolis. No, not the car race; its 360 Flex! 360 Flex is a unique and special event for many reasons, namely:

• Its the one and only event dedicated completely to Flex (and AIR).
• Its an informal event that is run for the community, by the community. Till this edition, there wasn’t much of a formal call-for-participation process either. Interested folks contacted Tom and John and if the topic was interesting and there was enough enthusiasm and originality, you presented your wondeful idea at the conference. This time the submission overwhelmed the nice mom-and-pop process and forced one to have some sense of formalism. Yet, it was still a comfortable process, full of open dialogues and community participation. No big wordy contracts and no restrictions on how you can share your material.
• Most, if not all, sessions cover advanced stuff. Hardly any 101(s) and Introductions. This is a huge plus for serious Flex developers.
• No big executive pretending his or her creation as the new wonder of the world. Aren’t we sick of the demo gods?
• A very affordable conference. Tell me how many $500 something tickets get you three days of intense sessions, lots of free meals, evening parties and more!
• Lots of opportunity to mingle and mix with all members of the community. Some of the best names in Flex (developers, authors, service providers, evangelists and the product makers themselves) gather at every 360 Flex. This is one of the best ways to get to know people who are deep into Flex.

So for all these reasons and more, I have been speaking at 360 Flex over the last few editions. This time I will be there again!

On Wednesday (May 19, 2009), I speak on “Flex in a PDF”. (You can check the schedule out for all the sessions and their timings) I am going to talk about the relationship between Flex and PDF and explain how not only Flex data but its entire rich experience can be housed inside of a PDF. PDF is a universally liked portable document format. With inclusion of Flex inside it, you have yet another access point covered; thereby getting your application closer to the universal access goal. In addition, this harmonious existence of “Flex in a PDF” opens up many newer forms of collaboration that bolster effectiveness and productivity enhancement. Stop by my talk to learn more.

I will write about the session and put up the presentation material after the show.