Manifold User Meetings 

Manifold user meetings provide an opportunity for Manifold users to get together to hear the latest news from manifold.net representatives, to discuss their activities and Manifold applications and to provide feedback to manifold.net to guide the continued development of Manifold System. 

(left and right) Presenters at Manifold user meetings include focus group leaders who report back to the main assembly the discussions in their respective focus groups.  This allows users to meet others with the same special interests while taking advantage of the experience of the entire group as well.

US / Canada East Coast User Meeting - November, 2004

The US and Canadian East Coast Manifold User Meeting was held at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, in November, 2004.  A two day session attended by users from throughout the US East Coast and Eastern Canada, the sessions featured detailed engineering presentations from manifold.net staff on upcoming product plans as well as user presentations on IMS and use of spatial SQL within Manifold.   The Cornell sessions provided detailed user feedback for final course corrections on the upcoming 6.50 edition of Manifold.  manifold.net would like to thank Cornell University for hosting this meeting.

Central European User Meeting - June, 2005

A Manifold user meeting for Central European users was held on June 10, 2005,  in Lausanne, Switzerland, at EPFL (Ecole Polytecnique Federale Lausanne), one of Switzerland's most prestigious technical universities.  The one-day session was attended by Manifold users from Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Germany and France and included focus groups that met on a variety of Manifold System functional areas with reports back to the combined group.  manifold.net would like to thank EPFL for hosting this meeting.

(right) The Lausanne meeting  took advantage of the superb facilities provided by EPFL with the university's collegial, academic environment encouraging bidirectional strategizing by Manifold users and manifold.net technical staff.

United Kingdom User Meeting - June, 2005

A second European user meeting was held on June 13, 2005, in London at the Waldorf Hilton conference center to provide a convenient venue for UK users.  Attended by users from throughout the UK, the meeting also attracted attendees from France, Germany, South Africa, Portugal and Australia.  Manifold.net staff reprised their Lausanne presentations on Manifold System 6.50 and future Manifold editions and worked with focus groups assigned topics in CAD/drawings, Surfaces/Images, IMS/scripting and other Manifold functional areas.  

(above and below) Manifold focus groups in action.  After detailed presentations by manifold.net technical staff, smaller focus groups are formed to discuss specific topics for one hour to one and a half hours.  Focus group leaders then report back the conclusions of their groups for discussion by the entire meeting. 

Eclipse User Meeting -  March 2006

Manifold representatives will be on the South coast of Turkey on March 29 for the total eclipse of the sun, one of the greatest and best eclipses (see the Manifold Eclipse Planning Map) in decades. The path of totality crosses right over the center of Turkey's fabulous resort region on the Med. Weather should be cloudless and perfect for what will be the longest duration total eclipse that is easy to get to from Europe in the next 40 years. This is a rare coincidence of a very long-duration total eclipse occurring in a civilized place with great viewing weather that features plenty of inexpensive resorts with low travel costs. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.   If you are interested in attending a user meeting with other Manifold users who come to bask on the coast and view the eclipse, please send email to sales@manifold.net expressing your interest in attending.

(right) Screenshot of part of the eclipse planning map in Manifold 6.50 format.  This is it for the next 16 years near Europe!  Right click onto the image and download as to download the .map file.

Australasia User Meeting -  Summer 2006

A Manifold user meeting for Australian, New Zealand, Pacific and Southeast Asian Manifold users will be held in Sydney, Australia, in the summer of 2006.  Dates and location will be announced later this summer. 

(left) Abram Pointet helped organize the Manifold session at EPFL and served as a focus group leader.

About User Group Meetings

 The main objective of Manifold user meetings is to help the Manifold user community steer the development of Manifold System.  With over 800 items issued in new releases and service packs each year it is essential that Manifold users play a key role in defining the focus of each new edition.  User meetings are held under Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) so that manifold.net marketing and technical personnel can discuss plans and possible new features with attendees and provide training on internal product planning and development methodologies.  User meeting attendees can then apply their expertise and interest to help define the future of Manifold System.  It's hard work applied within intense sessions but the result is terrific productivity and a key role in defining a series of Manifold System releases that deliver exactly what users want.

(right) Mike Sumner of Australia was farthest from home when attending the London user meeting in June, 2005.  Mike served as a focus group leader for the London focus group on scripting and IMS.

If you would like to attend a Manifold user meeting, please keep an eye on this space for announcements of meetings in your area.  Contact sales@manifold.net to attend a user meeting in your area when the dates and times are announced.  User meeting attendees must be licensees of the current edition and must be familiar with Manifold System.   Because much pre-meeting planning for user meetings goes on at the georeference.org Internet forum, users are highly encouraged to participate at http://www.georeference.org to learn of upcoming meeting times and locations.