Interop has been a staple amidst the trade show schedule for me for as far back as I can remember. At least, as far back as I can remember doing trade shows. There were some formative years on the NES after school during which I wasn't so Interop-aware. I've probably been six or seven times now, but this year was my first time attending as part of the ExtraHop army.
It was an interesting mix of the new and the palpably familiar. The role of the familiar played by visions of Interops past, weaving my way through the slots or waiting in that (ridiculously long) Starbucks line before finding the "secret" one all the cool kids used. The sounds and smells of the Mandalay Bay, at times uncomfortably familiar, coercing to the surface memories of walking those halls many years prior. The part of the new, of course, was played to great effect by my ExtraHop compatriots and the demos I was slinging at this year's event. As it was my first time giving live demos for ExtraHop I found myself ever so slightly nervous during the moments leading up to the opening of the show.
Would the laptop hold out? Would the demo go as planned? Would there be questions that would stump me? After all, I didn't have 10 years of experience with this tech to lean on. As it turns out, all concern was for naught. The show was a wickedly good time, I had tons of fun preaching the good word about wire data, and couldn't have asked for a better squad with which to man the front lines. There were so many good moments and memories, from geek to gambling to making true believers out of would be haters that I couldn't possibly meander my way through all of them. At least not without more time than you'd likely care to spend here (and a couple of drams). I will, however, regale you with my favorite handful of moments from this year's show.
Let's check out my favorite moments from this year's Interop.

5. Robots are real! ExtraBot rocks the booth, and the crowd goes wild
If you haven't yet met ExtraBot, you are missing out. He is a sentient, technologically advanced mechanical being sent back from the future to enlighten the doubtful and uninitiated about the beauty of Wire Data. I mean, it's either that, or he's a guy on a segway in a pretty top-notch custom robot suit. One of the two.
Regardless, he was a blast to have at the booth. The crowd loved him, he had the act down cold, complete with audio and video cues, working the audience, and driving traffic. It's nice to have a fun gimmick during beer hour at the show, but when that results in cranking out a half dozen extra demos because he's handing people off to you once he gets them curious, it's even better.