I was really excited when my PASS DVDs arrived last week. I had purchased the DVDs (or maybe CDs) back in 2003 or 2004, and the quality was just not very good. So, this is the first time since then that I actually decided to buy the DVDs in addition to attending the conference. The only bad thing is that you can't ask the speaker any questions. You can send them an email question, however, and I did just that after watching Jimmy May's presentation on Partition Alignment.

So far I have watched three presentations, and I am just thrilled with the quality of the recording and with the content. This fits nicely with my goal of improving Aunt Kathi in 2010, not just spending all my time trying to write and present on what I already know.

Even though I have been to the PASS Summit every year since 2003, I find that I am attending less sessions each year. Even with the best intentions of making it to the sessions, I often find that someone, usually someone I have just met for the first time, will want to chat with me as I am heading to the session room and never get there. That is the kind of interaction and networking that you can't get from the DVD, and it's one of the reasons I love attending PASS. 

So, whether or not you were lucky enough to attend PASS, I encourage you to order the DVDs. http://summit2009.sqlpass.org/SummitDVDs.aspx It is a great investment in yourself and your career!