> I couldn't make it to DesignCon this year, so I'm curious: if you went,
> what did you see there?  Was attendance up?  Down?  Flat?  What EDA
> vendors showed?  Who didn't show who normally would show?  Any good
> panels or talks?  Any exceptionally lame panels or talks?  Email what
> you know and I'll add it inside this Wiretap.
> 
>     - John Cooley
>       DeepChip.com


From: [ Uncle Fester ]

Hi, John,

I attended DesignCon.  I walked the whole floor, stopped in and talked with
the people I wanted to and it only took less than 2 hours.  There were also
not many giveaways at the booths, pens and candy were the most common.
Many of the companies were notably absent.

The booth where you could get your picture taken with the voluptuous "Bunny"
on the couch in front of the fireplace was a bit over the top.

Please keep me anon.

    - [ Uncle Fester ]

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From: Dave Chapman <dave=user domain=goldmountain not calm>

Hi, John,

Saw your request for reviews of DesignCon.  Here's my take.

Best Booth Babe: Altium.

I mean, when I first saw her, I thought she was a display or something.
I did a double-take when I realized that she was actually human.  Um,
what product does this company sell, again?

Best New Product: none

Most interesting factoid: HDL stuff.

Plain old Verilog is still around 50% market share, for both design and
verification.  VHDL is around 30%.  Nothing else is in double digits.
System Verilog is gaining market share, but slowly.

Overall impression:

EDA is looking like an industry which has kind of given up on innovation.
There were an awful lot of connector companies at the show, but no sign of
the sort of venture-backed ideas which we once saw.

    - David Chapman
      Chapman Consulting                         Santa Clara, CA

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From: [ Papa Smurf ]

Hi, John,

From what I saw, the exhibit floor was packed.  The sessions were thinly
attended.  I walked into one tutorial that had only 4 people in it.   

A lot of people on the exhibit floor were running around looking for work
and trying to float their own resumes.  We're in a recession.

Wally's keynote was different for what he normally does.  I didn't see the
Denali keynote.

I saw the Altium lady, too.  She was dressed in gold leggings.  She sat on
a big leather couch in front of a fake cardboard "fireplace" with hunting
trophies next to it.  You could sit next to her on the couch and have your
picture taken with her.  She really stood out.  Her name was "Bunny".

I couldn't figure out what this all had to do with Altium.

    - [ Papa Smurf ]

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From: [ Cousin It ]

Hi, John,

Here's Bunny, the Altium lady at DesignCon whom your male readers seem to be
so enthralled with:

       

I think the guy grinning on the couch with a beer in his hand might be a US
district Altium salesman, but I'm not exactly sure.

    - [ Cousin It ]