Getting to MeeGo Conference May 2011

Yet another post before getting into actual MeeGo Conference coverage.  I’ll share some logistics lessons in the hope that some will find them helpful,  along with some related details.  I’ve written on this subject before but there’s more and newer stuff to cover now.  

Packing for Maemo

No, that’s not a typo– I don’t mean packaging.  I’m getting ready for the Maemo Summit 2009 in Amsterdam and thought I’d share some experiences and ideas for fellow travelers.

I learned a lot from my last boss at Nokia, who was constantly jetting off here and there.  But I also gained hard-earned wisdom from embarassing experiences as well.

On my first trip to Helsinki (my first overseas) I unpacked in my hotel room to discover my laptop was missing.  I realized I did not remember checking it anywhere along the route– which meant it had apparently been left behind.  A colleague back in Irving confirmed it with a chuckle at my expense.  I had taken everything but the computer.

Fortunately I had prepared my N800 with a trial enterprise solution some Maemo guys had put together as a side project.  This meant I had a VPN client with which I could reach Nokia’s intranet resources, and was able to perform about 80% of what I needed to do there… albeit with some squinting.

Lesson 1: keep your wits about you, slow down, and make a checklist.