Today is the first day of CHI 2006 in Montréal, Québec and my first time at a CHI conference.
First impression – Who would have imagined that so many people are into Human-Computer Interaction! (In practical terms, this means that there no way to get to the coffee and food without hurting somebody or faking an emergency).
Good stuff – CHI Madness: each paper in 40 seconds, the entire day in a few minutes. Really clever and useful. Microphones in the rooms to ask questions. Ice cream at the coffee breaks!
Annoying stuff – It seems that conference organizers have not figured out yet how to get wireless internet connection to work properly, and CHI is no exception: wireless connections are sluggish and unrealiable, especially inside the conference rooms. Second usual annoyance for laptop users: no power outlets in the conference rooms (but the Palais De Congrès does have a lot of lovely seats with power outlets along the hallways that I highly recommend).
Later I’ll post my blog report on Scott Cook’s talk on innovation.
Tags: CHI2006, computer-human interaction, conference, Montreal