NYC Vs. Vegas: 10 Fun Interop Differences
Which city has enough neon light to circle the entire continental United States? Learn the answer and other funky facts about Vegas and NYC -- site of the next Interop conference.
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Every year, Interop graces both the Vegas Strip and the streets of Manhattan with two of the best IT conventions and expos around. And now that football season and the baseball playoffs are right around the corner, it's also time to register for Interop New York. Why would you register for the New York show, you ask? You were already at Interop Vegas, of course, so what's the difference?
First, let's cover the similarities. More of a good thing is never enough. Interop New York will have more of the great sessions you've come to expect from Interop. It features more of the insightful speakers and keynoters you want to see. And, of course, it has the same giant expo floor you've come to know and love. There will be networking events and the chance to meet your colleagues face-to-face, and the chance to visit one of the best cities in the world for IT professionals.
In other words, the only thing better than one Interop in the US is two. (We've actually got five Interops with additional shows in London, India, and Tokyo.) Interop New York is from September 30 to October 3.
But we'd be lying if we didn't say the two shows were different. For one, we didn't have Seth Meyers as a keynote in Vegas, but we do for New York. It won't be 100 degrees in New York like it can be in Vegas. There will be fewer (we hope) Elvis impersonators. New York in autumn is spectacular, and you'll be there just in time to see the leaves change. As far as I know, the Vegas cacti don't change much in autumn.
We really want to you to register for and visit both shows. Vegas and New York each have their own flair and so do the shows. Shows often take on the personality of their host city and Interop is no exception. But if you can only make it to one, or if you really want to know what to expect when you get to both, we've compiled a list of the 10 funniest differences between Las Vegas and New York. Well, the 10 funniest we could print anyway. This is a family website.
Check out the list. Add your own differences in the comments section. And most importantly, don't forget to register for Interop New York, and mark your calendar for Las Vegas April 27 through May 1, 2015, so you can check out the differences in person.
Mandalay Bay, home of Interop Vegas, actually has a whole water park. Not to be outdone, floating on the Hudson is just an aircraft carrier with a freakin' space shuttle on it.
OK, I admit it. The story that alligators roam the sewers of New York is probably just an urban legend -- an unstoppably cool urban legend. In Vegas, they've got white tigers, lions, and sharks among other animals. All it will take is a few escapes until there is a legend that white tigers roam the sewers of Vegas.
The New York - New York Hotel & Casino in Vegas has a roller coaster that roams in and out of the resort and through a half-size replica of the New York skyline. The world's tallest roller coaster, Kingda Ka, is 456 feet tall, the New York - New York coaster is 203 feet tall, and the Empire State Building is 1,454 feet tall. So if someone was going to make a roller coaster go through the real New York skyline, it would be quite the ride.
To be fair, my worst cab experiences happened in Baltimore and San Francisco (I'd tell them, but this is a family website). But New York cabs have a reputation, not to mention an odor, that make them an experience to be had.
The Hangover and The Avengers have a surprisingly similar plot. In both cases a team of heroes discovers a mysterious object (a baby in one case, a cosmic artifact in the other) and find themselves beat up by teams of bad guys until they band together to solve a mystery.
Some of the best movies in the world have been set in New York. None of them starred Nicolas Cage. You don't believe me? Cage won an Oscar for Leaving Las Vegas. He gloriously wrecked the Strip in Con Air. And we witnessed the wonder of dozens of Elvis impersonators falling from the sky in Honeymoon in Vegas. On the other hand, the best movie Cage did that was primarily set in New York is probably It Could Happen to You, about a New York city cop winning the lottery, or possibly Bringing out the Dead, which is quite interesting but has a dubious distinction. Bringing out the Dead was the last movie to ever come out on laser disc. If it kills a format, it can't be that good. Las Vegas and a Nicolas Cage movie have the same quality: You don't really want other people to know what you are doing when you are there.
Another urban legend. The terminal velocity of the penny keeps it from being lethal. Funny enough, if you have the guts to look straight down from the observation deck you can see, several floors below where the building widens, a landing filled with gum and coins. Presumably this is from people testing out the legend and not getting their weapons out far enough. Come on, people. It would still hurt. Keep your pennies in your pocket.
Times Square was once the capital of neon, but new LEDs and other technologies are making the most visited spot on Earth as green as possible, considering it is lit up like, well, like Times Square. Vegas has no such qualms. The four-mile long Vegas strip is lit with more than 15,000 miles of neon tubing. That's enough neon light to circle the entire continental United States.
Hell's Kitchen in New York was once a poor neighborhood with enough crime it inspired Marvel Comics to set a comic there starring Daredevil. That's pretty cool. Now that the Javitz Center is there, you can feel like a super hero. But if you are in Vegas for Interop, you can get married and then play mini golf at a wedding chapel owned by Kiss. Yes, Kiss, the masked rockers who spit fire and claim to come from outer space. Frankly, I can't think of anything I'd rather do after I get married than play mini golf.
If I have to explain this, you are doing Vegas wrong. And possibly New York as well.
I hope this inspired you to try both flavors of Interop. They're both worth your time. Post your own differences in the comments section and then register for Interop New York, just around the corner from September 30 to October 3.
I hope this inspired you to try both flavors of Interop. They're both worth your time. Post your own differences in the comments section and then register for Interop New York, just around the corner from September 30 to October 3.
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