As I write these words, there are only a few days remaining until
the annual GENTECH conference. I expect to be there and will be writing much
of next week’s newsletter while I am at the conference. The GENTECH conference
usually sees announcements and demos of new genealogy products and services.
I expect this year’s tenth anniversary will continue with that tradition. If
you cannot attend in person, I would suggest you read next week’s edition of
my newsletter to see "what’s new."
I have heard that one new product to be shown for the first time
at GENTECH will be the Family History Library’s 1881 Canadian Census CD-ROM
disks. These reportedly are in late beta test right now. The disks apparently
will not be available for sale at the conference although the expected ship
date isn’t too far away.
For anyone thinking of making last-minute plans to attend the
conference in Boston, I can report that all but one of the conference hotels
are sold out of the lower-priced conference rate rooms. The one exception is
the Hilton Back Bay. As I write these words, the Hilton still has a few rooms
available at the conference rate of $119 a night. This hotel is across Dalton
Street from the convention center. Unlike the other participating hotels, you
do have to go outside to get from the hotel to the GENTECH conference. However,
Dalton Street is very narrow, and you won’t be exposed to the elements for more
than 20 or 30 seconds. Conference Chairperson Sandy Hewlett also reports that
Hilton’s restaurant, called Boodles, is an excellent choice; she recommends
the scallops. To reserve your room now, call the Hilton Back Bay at 617-236-1100
and ask for the GENTECH rate.
One of the advantages of holding a conference at the Hynes Convention
Center in Boston is the convenience of hotels and restaurants. Two of the three
conference hotels and a large number of restaurants and shopping malls are connected
to the conference center by indoor walkways. The third hotel, as mentioned,
is across the street and a very narrow street at that. Several other hotels
are less than a five-minute walk away. There certainly will be no need for shuttle
buses at GENTECH2002!
If you already have reservations at the Sheraton Boston Hotel,
note that the hotel offers high-speed Internet access from selected Club Level
rooms. If you would like a room with fast Internet access, you should call them
now to reserve a room. There may be a surcharge for Club Level rooms; I suspect
those deluxe rooms are not available at the discounted conference rate.
I normally join a number of newsletter readers at a "Dutch
Treat" dinner on Saturday evening after the conference closes. This year
will be no exception; I already have tables booked at a local restaurant. The
restaurant is a five-minute indoor walk from the convention center; you can
leave your jackets in your hotel room. If you would like to join this usually
raucous group of genealogists for Saturday dinner, please see me at the conference
so that I can add your name to the list. We do have a limited number of seats
available, so I’d suggest that you get your name on the list early at the conference.
Even better, send me an e-mail now: richard@eastman.net
I’ll see you at GENTECH2002!
Dick Eastman Online
