It’s The Final Countdown - Eps 184 - LIVE - Tech Talk Show

Speaker A: Thanks for tuning in to Tech Talk by Tech4Techs. This podcast is a direct recording of our live show. So you're getting the real unfiltered experience, complete with the occasional surprise, background noise, or technical hiccup. It's all part of the charm of going live, bringing you the same genuine conversations our viewers enjoy in real time.

Speaker B: Good evening, everyone. Uh, welcome to Tech Talk. Bill will be with you shortly. Uh, he is currently accepting a delivery. Uh, but for those of you, uh, tuning in, welcome to the show. We're going to be, uh, on here tonight talking, for the most part, about tech, uh, Max. Uh, and the star of the show is here.

Speaker A: Yeah, sorry about that, guys. Right, okay. Right. Okay, let's have a look. So where are we? So we're talking about the show tonight. Have you introduced yourself?

Speaker B: I have not introduced myself, but I'm Jenny and this is Phil. And, well, we are tech for tech.

Speaker A: That's brilliant. Okay, guys, if you can, let us know if you can hear and see us, um, because last thing we want to do is talk to ourselves for the next hour. It'll just be like a normal conversation we normally have.

Speaker B: Yeah, um, right. Um, tonight we're going to be talking about the event that we've all been waiting for all year long. At, uh, least I know I have. And that's Tech Max. And can you believe that it's Friday and we can set up on Thursday? Oh, my gosh. It's just like, finally here.

Speaker A: That's it. Right. So do you want to get to the chat and see what you're having to say?

Speaker B: So it looks like the PC guy has joined us. Good evening, everyone. Not long to go. Can't wait. Uh, Dan. Evening, guys. See you Friday. Well, Thursday, if you're there to set up. And I will be. And this is different. Change of seats. And the PC guy says loud and clear. So, yeah, yeah, I. I actually got to, ah, say the first words tonight. Dan. I can't believe it. Um, dumbfounded about it. And Dan says, high bond. Yeah, he's not really happy that, ah, Phil has put him upstairs on his, um, own. So we'll see how that plays out. I might be your host this evening, solo.

Speaker A: No, we won't. He's been an angel all day. And just, uh, literally two minutes before we went live, he decides, oh, I'm gonna play up. And. Well, that's having a dog. And regarding the chair. Yeah, we found actually, um, the reason I've got a different chair is to make me lower. Um, m. Because otherwise I look like I'm like 10 foot taller than Jen, which might be true, but I would

Speaker B: advise you go get him and let him sit next to us.

Speaker A: No, he's fine. He's fine as he is. He'll calm down. So. Right, let's get on with the show then. So it looks like everyone can see it. So, guys, do you have any questions about TechMax? We're going to go through all the common questions, what people generally ask us and talk about on the show. And, um, as we're doing that, obviously we'll show bits on the website and so forth as and when needed.

Speaker B: And it says, uh, wild video intro. We're anticipating nothing less from Tech Max says Sharon at Eurosoft. And Nick Carter Jones says, can't wait for the show. Yeah, uh, I'm not excited about it too. What do you think? I've been planning this one all year long, ever since actually checkmax last year. I was sitting there with the pencil going, do this, do this, do this.

Speaker A: So, uh, and we're already planning for next year as well on top of that. Yeah. So it's one of those things. It's a year round thing for us. Even when the event finishes, most people don't realize, obviously the next few days we've got to pack everything up and obviously bring it all back, put it all away. Then we've got to do all the photography and then do all the surveys and obviously contact with all the vendors and exhibitors and blah, blah, blah, blah. So it's not as simple. Everyone thinks, oh, it's over now. You can put your feet up for the next few weeks.

Speaker B: And on the day of, uh, Tech Max, I'm working so hard that I can't really enjoy the show like you guys can. And what I do, walk around and grade my own paper and go, I could have done this better or I should have done this. And I'm always, uh. My mom says I am my own worst critic because. Because I'm constantly grading my paper on something. Uh, Ian Harden says, evening all. Looking forward to Tech Max and seeing you. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone. Huh? Everyone. Just. I, uh, can't wait. It's gonna be absolutely vibing.

Speaker A: Yeah, it is. I'm gonna say we've got more exhibitors, more people registered to come. There's still tickets coming in. I had one just two minutes ago. We've got some big companies visiting as guests. Um, I can't say who they are because they didn't, uh, tick the marketing box. But, um, let's just say a very big UK based car manufacturer. Uh, there's a few of them coming. We've got quite a few influencers uh, coming as well. Uh, so it sounds like it's going to be a, ah, pretty good day.

Speaker B: It's going to be an awesome day. I won't spoil it for you, but there are going to be things that will astound you at TechMax this year.

Speaker A: Okay, I'm interested as well now. There we go. So what's Chat saying, Jamie?

Speaker B: Ian holding says looking forward to another year at Tech Max. Oh, I'm excited too. I'm very excited.

Speaker A: There we go. Right, uh, okay, so let's go through the questions and preset ones we've got again if you've got any as we go through. Hopefully I've covered everything in the ones what we've got what we could usually get asked every year and uh, and we get on to the run up to the show. So the first one is, is it free? Well, the basics is, is yes, it's free to attend the daytime, there's no catches in there. Uh, the parking's free, it's free for you to get in. The only thing you'll have to pay for, and that's if you want it, is food and drink within the daytime. So you just got to purchase that. There's a cafe on site. There's also a bar on site so you can purchase pretty much, well, pretty much what you'd expect from a cafe in a bar, to be honest with you. So yeah, um, next one is, do I need to book tickets in advance?

Speaker B: Yes, uh, you do. Um, but if you do drop in on the day, I can always, you know, handle that as long as there's occupancy. Uh, and I think there will be. But um, if, if you could do me the favor of going on and registering online, it will make my life a lot easier to accommodate you on the day.

Speaker A: Yeah, exactly. It means that we can get tickets and everything ready for you so when you come in it's a lot easier. And talking about tickets, if you bought tickets online, make sure you bring either a paper or digital version of the QR code that we emailed out to you that allows us to check you in quicker and check everyone else in quicker, um, because you're not holding up the queue. That's it. So, um, hopefully, um, we can go, um, go through. That was a little bit better last year, I must admit.

Speaker B: But uh, I just need to jump in right here about the queue, about the Queue, um, as it goes right now, unless something changes, we're going to have two lines. One is from ATM M and one is in Cruisette and it's my company name. So phil here from tech4text is not going to say, uh, my name is Phil Griffiths and I look under Jacob Griffiths. No, no, no, no, no. He's going to line um, up under T, uh, the N M through Z, uh, because TFT is his company and then I will look for uh, his ticket under T for tft. So that's the way it goes. Gadget, uh, Joe, he would come under Gadget, uh, instead of Joe Campbell. Uh, it would be Gadget for Gadget Joe. And he'll line up A through M. So if anyone has any questions about queuing up, I'd rather you ask me tonight than wait and queue up wrongly on the day and have to go all the way back to there.

Speaker A: And the reason we do it, company rather than name, is because obviously people are coming in groups on that company. Let's just say there was 10 people in that company. We can pick out all 10 tickets in one go rather than having to search for each individual person. So remember, when you're checking in, queue up company name. There will be signs up, but obviously people do miss them now and again. Next question is, is the event open to the public or is it trade only? Well the basics to this one is it is a trade only event. But when we say trade only, people who are techs are allowed. So we do get people who work at companies who are techs because obviously these places usually buy in bulk for whatever reason. Bit like that car company we're speaking about. They uh, buy high end machines to do design work and so forth. Uh, so there is a bit of that there. And there's also influence in influencers in there as well, or creators or whatever you want to be called. Media. Um, obviously they're there to help promote the event. Uh, so they will be there as. Ah, well, next question is. Oh God, if you want to get to church.

Speaker B: Yeah. Uh, by the way, speaking of Gadget, Joe, a minute ago. Evening all. Excited Cat talk has got you playing through the. The car didn't call to an emergency appointment. I'm pulled over now, but about to drive. Just wanted to say hi all and we're glad that you did. Uh, Carl Mitten says my ticket doesn't show which company I registered it under. Carl. Um, let me uh, get back to you tonight after the show. If you will just drop me an email at Jenny. Ah, Ah, actually the info at Tech4Techs drop me an email and I will tell you what company you have registered under.

Speaker A: Yeah, uh, send an email to the email address what you got the tickets from. Um, so just reply to it or send us an email at infoetfourtech uh.uhco.uk or infoftmax.com Cotton. Yeah and you'll be able to sort it out.

Speaker B: Yeah. Nick, um, Carter Jones says what is the evening event? Entertainment? We're going to have a, a mix of casino type games and uh, we're going to have a DJ on. Um, and of course as always me and Phil to entertain you.

Speaker A: So yeah, that's it. So casino is also like a photo booth but on the casino there are prizes as well. Yeah, one of the prizes on the casino, it's a group prize, um, several things grouped together. Um, which is a, ah, bundle. Yeah bundle. NZXT fans, um, power supply Liquid cooler is one of the, one of the main prizes. Uh, it's um, uh, uh, the N2 NZXT N2 which is like ITX, uh, based case, uh, and it's got an SFX power.

Speaker B: Isn't there a motherboard in there, was it?

Speaker A: Uh, no, the mood board you've got to sort yourself depends on what process to go for and so forth.

Speaker B: For some reason I was under the impression, no, don't listen to me, I, I, my brain is fried. I mean it's absolutely fried. Uh, from planning tech Max and changing people's tickets and doing this, that and the other and so forth.

Speaker A: There we go. So on.

Speaker B: Um, the Mr. Second Ian says do you buy chips or are they free to play? Now know it's free to play. We're not going to do gambling and stuff for reals. It's just, you know, you go up there, you, they'll sort you some chips out and everything. And this, it's dear if you've ever been to the target one when they had um, a casino set up, it's much like that.

Speaker A: Yeah, I'm gonna say we had a similar thing set up a couple of years ago if you were at that one. So uh, but basics is, is they'll give you some chips and you play and well you're either going to be good or you're going to be pretty bad. Uh, I think I wasted my chips in about three goals last time. But um, but also regarding the evening, there are also prizes going to be given out after the awards. Um, so it's going to be a raffle. Um, so everyone in the room's totally free. Uh, everyone in the room gets a raffle ticket. There's a chance to win a prize. We've got over 20 Valkyri prizes. Those potentially going to be more prizes as well. So that includes liquid coolers, mice and so forth. So there's quite a few different bits.

Speaker B: Also, another raffle taking place, uh, is going to be the Prince of Wales Trust Hospice. Uh, it is the hospice.

Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. It's all right. I get told off if I say it wrong, so.

Speaker B: Oh, okay.

Speaker A: But the Prince of Wales, there is a raffle going off of the prince.

Speaker B: Right, okay. I hate when that happens.

Speaker A: Sorry.

Speaker B: Um, I've just lost it.

Speaker A: Anyway, there's a raffle. It's going to take place all day long. Um, so that one is a, shall we say a pay to win, because you have to buy a raffle ticket, but the proceeds goes to the Prince of Wales, uh, hospice. Um, and that way, uh, obviously you've got a chance of winning and that'll be drawn in the evening along with the other evening prizes. There is still a prize giveaway at 4 o' clock as well. Well, for people who are not attending the evening. So you've still got a chance of winning then as well. Okay, so, right, so next is, um, do I need to print the ticket or can I show it on your phone?

Speaker B: Um, I'll say it like this. If you have the means to print it, please. Um, if you don't bring it on your phone, uh, and we can do that too. The reason I prefer a printed ticket is if the Internet is slow or something like that, or your battery on your phone is not playing games, you always have the printout. But I, you know, I'll accept either way.

Speaker A: Yeah, um, that's the best way. Sometimes when trying to scan the phone QR codes, if your screen's not brightest or you've got loads of smudge marks over it, it can make it a little bit difficult. Same as if you're folding your ticket up on a piece of paper. If you fold it straight through the QR code, it makes things a little more difficult thought as well.

Speaker B: Um, Carl says for the exhibitors, uh, comps, are we best off bringing business cards? Uh, yeah, Um, I would say so. I'm going to bring mine. I always bring mine to the shows. And that way if there's someone walking around that's enjoying the show or something and they want to get in touch with me, but maybe standing at the show next year, I've got a card and they always have information yeah, um,

Speaker A: but I think he's on about the competitions where they give away on the stands. So like in a bowl and so forth to collect the business cards.

Speaker B: So like I said, bring cards because they're very useful.

Speaker A: So if you've got business cards, bring them. If not, I'm pretty sure the vendors hopefully have listened to what we've told them. Uh, is having a way of them obviously writing your details down as well. Um, some of the prizes on will be on the stands. Uh, a lot of them will be at 4 o' clock and if you're in the evening, then again at roughly 8 o' clock at night of the evening. Okay, so, uh, what time does visitor entry open?

Speaker B: Right. We, it will officially open at 10am but I'm pretty sure that uh, Phil and I have been talking and we will let some in around 9:30 to avoid the bottleneck of traffic at the reception. Just, you know, to ease things in because the last thing I need at. Not at uh, 10 o' clock in the morning is a flood of people flooding reception. Me, me, me, me, me. So I'll probably ease some people in around 9:30 and.

Speaker A: Come on. Uh, that's only though if all the exhibitors are ready. So don't take that as 100%. Officially it's 10 o'. Clock. If you can, we will let you in soon.

Speaker B: Absolutely.

Speaker A: Um, but there we go. Um, is there separate tickets for the evening event?

Speaker B: Yes. Um, if you are a every, I don't want to say average ticket holder. That sounds not nice.

Speaker A: A daytime ticket.

Speaker B: A daytime. Well, a daytime ticket holder. If you want to upgrade to uh, evening meal, that's £25. And you'll have to do that on the website. Just fill it in, fill out your dietary needs and all of that. Um, I don't know how many, how many tickets are left?

Speaker A: We did free up some, but I think we're down to about seven or eight now. M. So they'll be gone probably usually

Speaker B: on the day of tech max. If you see me at reception, if they've sold out, I can put your name on a waiting list and if someone surrenders their nighttime pass, I can free up one and pass it on to you. So, um, just see me at reception if you don't get one and we'll put your name on the list for uh, anyone who turns in their nighttime ticket. Um, but for the vendors, uh, if you want an evening ticket, the vendors that are on display at TechMax, £75 for those.

Speaker A: Yeah, that's for the exit uh, for exhibitors but for everyone else, 25 quid for the evening tickets again. If you come to us on the day, if we are out and you want to stay the evening, let us know and we'll see what we can do for you.

Speaker B: And Robert McKendrick says due to family reasons I will not be able to attend. Hope things go well for all. Sorry that you won't be with us, uh, Robert, but uh, we'll drink a pint for you.

Speaker A: There we go. And wild be shamed not to see you. I think you've been to. If I'm right, all of them, maybe three of them. I can't remember now. It's there you go. Yeah, they go. I've obviously seen them at a few. But um. Right, next question. And this is the reason why I'm putting this screen on. People are asking where is it? Well the. Basically, if you haven't been before, it's a place called Magna, which is a science and adventure center. It's basically an old steel works. So it's got a huge massive um, area in there. Um, for us to do the exhibition rather than in a lot of these type events, especially in the uk you go to them and they're in several small little rooms. A little bit. Okay. This is one huge room. The room's used uh, for doing like things like launching brand new cars. They do raves and parties and stuff. Yeah, it's a huge room. Uh, we do have a couple of side rooms what we're using for the talks. Um, obviously for sound reasons we want that in a separate room. Uh, and the meal is obviously in the cafeteria area.

Speaker B: And just to address Nick's uh, uh, question, its on site parking right outside the door.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: So I mean you can park there or you can always park at your hotel and take the tram because there's a tram stop right outside the door. So either way.

Speaker A: Yeah, so it's totally free as well. And uh, talking about the parking from the car park all the way to the exhibition room and all the rooms that we're using, it's totally flat so there's no stairs. So if you're in a wheelchair or mobility issues, you shouldn't have anything. At the most there might be a slight, when I say a slight ramp,

Speaker B: it's a slight incline going.

Speaker A: Yeah. Going into the main door from the car park. But there's no steps or like big bumps to go over or anything along that line. So. Which is pretty good. M. So yeah. So is that the venue's magnet? Big still, once, as I said, there is a map on there, you can see what it looks like on the inside. There's various different rooms. Um, we have got the layout on the actual, uh, website now, so you can see how the exhibition room is going to be set out, various different areas. And we've got all the exhibitors listed there. Well, I say all, all the ones we've been told about. The reason why I say this is because what happens is some distributors will say we're coming and they'll bring, uh, along some of their vendors with them. But they don't always let us know which vendors they bring in until sometimes the last day or even on the day we actually go. So there may be, um, exhibitors there, uh, who haven't announced.

Speaker B: It's like this. If we have been told, then we have put them on the list and there are a few that got missed off, I do believe, because they've just signed up like yesterday.

Speaker A: Um, if you're on about IQ Trading, got them just managed to do it just before the show. So they are on there. So there'll be a press release coming out about IQ Trading tomorrow.

Speaker B: Enter to.

Speaker A: So I'm not sure if we've got, managed to get those ones on there yet. They're on there as well. So I think, I believe I'm up to date now. Uh, awesome. What's the chat saying?

Speaker B: Uh, the chat says, wow, that's amazing.

Speaker A: Uh, pretty good. Uh, so, right, the parking's free, as I said. There is a tram stop, it's called a tram train stop. It go straight into Rotherham and Sheffield, depending on which way you want to go. Includes, uh, Meadowhall as well. So if you've got a hotel around any of those areas, you can obviously pay for a tram ticket and get to them. The last tram stop is around about midnight, obviously. Check on the website, there is a link on there. It'll tell you, um, when all the times are going each ways. Um, but basically the after the event finishes. So you should have, um, an issue.

Speaker B: It's a sellout.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: So, um, happy days for that.

Speaker A: That's it. Um, so there are buses also available. Um, they do go past the, uh, the Magna Adventure Center. Um, so they'll obviously the main road, you just have to walk around the edge of the building to get in. Uh, trains. There are train stations in Sheffield and Rotherham, depending on where you're. Most people will go to Sheffield or go to Sheffield Meadow hall if you're coming, if you're able to, because Sheffield Meadow Hall Is then the train tram, uh, stop, sorry, or bus, which will then go to Magna, which makes it even easier for you. And it's actually just about 2, 3 minutes on the tram, uh, from Meadow hall to Magna. You could walk it probably 15, 20 minutes. But why do that when you've got a, um, tram.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: Um, especially if you've had a few to drink later in the night. There's also Ubers are available, uh, in the area, so you can get taxis, Ubers to and from as well. So that's totally fine. There's disabled parking available. And at the car park which is adjacent to the tram area, there is electric charging as well now, so obviously I'm not sure how much to charge for that, uh, and how many spaces if there'll be enough for everyone. Um, but there is electric charging.

Speaker B: I just need to move this one moment, um, because I wanted to say something about tram. Um, if you do need information about the tram, uh, schedule, um, the tram table is available. Um, let's see, I had, I had a link to it.

Speaker A: There is a link.

Speaker B: Oh, there is.

Speaker A: Okay. So if they go to the.

Speaker B: It's Travel South Yorkshire though, that you're looking for.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: And, um, there, there's a link to it on the website for your tram table. Uh, and if you're inside of, uh, the venue and you need a map or something like that to look at, I'll probably have one on reception.

Speaker A: There you go. So, yeah, so you've got the, uh, tram routes and everything on there. So under the public transport section, under the venue, uh, talking about the venue map as well as who's exhibiting, uh, as well as the time for the talks, which we'll talk about in a minute. Um, on the back of your name badges, um, which we've printed out all in house this year, we've got our own, um, system to print them all out. Um, on the back there'll be two QR codes, so you can scan the back of your QR code and it will show you the map of the venue as. So where all the exhibitors are, as well as, um, things like, uh, obviously when all the talks are taking place. And talking about the talks, um, we'll go on the schedule page. Let's just scroll down a little bit. So we've got six, um, talks that are going off again. Some events have more talks. We try and make them more interesting rather than giving you loads of talks, which are sales, sales pitches. And there's some events you go to where you're forced to Watch the talk. So everything stops while the talks are going off. This is optional. So if you don't want to watch the talk, you don't have to. If you want to, you do. But with the six we've got on, we've got, uh, um, new revenue with new line. Uh, we've also got the rise of autopilot risks for refurbishers and end users. We've also got the coppers are coming in. So you can work with policing free support for tech businesses across the supply chain. I do suggest you were, um, talk to that. I was speaking to DCI Steve and it's some very interesting stuff they're offering. And again, it's free. Um, so, hey, who can complain about free stuff? Um, then we've got game over press start on workstations. Okay, so this is going to be more people going to workstations. Would you be better you reselling those rather than doing the gaming side of things, especially both price and the gaming stuff recently. Um, the next one is the power of the distributors. Used to be called the battle of the distributors. Um, and it's a panel talk, it's a Q A. So you can ask the distributors in the room whatever you want. We've got Origin, we've got Mentor, uh, distribution, we've got Terror, we've got west coast and we've got VIP taking part in that.

Speaker B: You do know what our, uh, hits calls it because at the Battle of Britain. Yeah, well, um, I love it.

Speaker A: Battling for your customer. Anyway, so these distributors. So you can ask these, um, distributors whatever you really want, uh, and they'll basically tell you why they're the best or why things are doing whatever and what you should be focusing on in the future and what's buying and so forth.

Speaker B: Well, you need to look at chat. Uh, let's see, Richard. Uh, Creedy, I believe it is. It's great. Computer services says Evening Owl. We're stopping at Travel Lodge, Meadowhall and, uh, Nicker Nick. Nick says can we leave our car overnight if we. Yeah, yeah, you can leave it overnight. That's up to you, though. Um, they, they say, you know, leave it at your own, um, Accord kind of thing. They're not responsible.

Speaker A: They. They don't lock the gates. Something what they've actually changed this year. Sorry to interrupt, but I was speaking to them earlier on. They don't lock the gates at night at the venue. The reason being is because there's an open tram station there which people going to and from. So if you do park your car at your own risk, as Jen said.

Speaker B: Yeah, you beat me to it.

Speaker A: Sorry, I didn't know if you knew about that because when I was building. Spoke to her earlier on, so. Okay, no problem.

Speaker B: Dustin, uh, says hello and he's late tonight. Probably missed the intro. Ah, uh, you haven't missed too much. But if there's a question, ask it and we'll go over it. Um, Andy back to the office, says good evening from Crete. Don't worry, back in time for Tech Max. I'll hold you to it. Andy.

Speaker A: Yeah, he's gonna have a nice place.

Speaker B: He's rubbing it in and he's in creek.

Speaker A: He's gonna have a nice suntan there.

Speaker B: The only gate with a tan.

Speaker A: That's it. And then back to um, the uh, talks going off. We have the competitions at 4 o'. Clock. That's for people with the daytime. It's free so it doesn't cost you anything. We all gather in the conference room, uh, which is a slightly different place than where it was in previous years. It's nearer uh, um, the red hall where the cafe is. Um, so it's more, more of a direct between the exhibition and the cafe. Um, and it's air conditioned as well. So if it is a little bit warmer we can have air conditioning on. But basically at 4 o' clock as I said, everyone gets a raffle ticket who comes in the room. Ah, so everyone's got one chance of winning a prize. Well, not one chance of winning the prize, but you can only win one prize basically.

Speaker B: Yeah. Once you win your ticket is taken and it's null and void for any other entry.

Speaker A: Yes. Uh, the prizes for that we generally don't know until the day because it's down to the vendors, the exhibitors shall we say to give us these prizes throughout the day. So they usually bring. But it can be a random things. Last year we had some random mugs turn up, um, um, and things as high as something like graphics card laptops in the past, um, some refurbished stuff, networking, uh, stuff cases, all sorts.

Speaker B: One year we had a laptop, uh, gaming laptop to give away.

Speaker A: Yeah, it was, I think it was a Razer laptop actually if I remember right off the top of my head. Um, and we also get obviously like Sharon who's watching the show. She usually gives something away. It's usually something like their uh, testing equipment. So the PC check testing equipment and stuff like that. Obviously. Don't hold me to that. She might be something different this year but there's usually things like that going around there's usually, there's usually a good 40 or 50 prizes there. Um, it can vary a bit. Um, it depends on how many of the uh, exhibitors are giving prizes away on there stands. Because if they're giving away on the stands and doing their own competitions then they generally don't leave until 4 o'. Clock. So I do suggest you do go to all the stands to talk to these people because you never know who's doing competitions and you might miss out on, you know, especially go to the target area where they have got that Prince of Wales Hospice uh, um, charity event going off. I'm um, not sure how much it is for a ticket. Probably a couple of quid for a ticket.

Speaker B: It's a good cause though and it's good, it's a very good cause because I don't know you know, if you know about hospice. Hospices um, they don't just deal with critically ill patients, they deal with family and sometimes the support they can give uh family members of people who are ill is as important if not more so than what they do for the patients themselves. So I would encourage anybody to dig deeper, take what you can and get some tickets.

Speaker A: That's it. So uh, also timings, you can get breakfast before the event starts at 9 till 11 breakfast and then you've got lunch from 11 till 3 o' clock available to purchase. So basically for around about a 10 or less you should be able to get yourself like a, a main aside and a drink. So something like a burger and fries and a drink or whatever. There are other options. I think there's like jacket tapes and stuff. Yeah, it varies though depending on the day and what, what they've managed to.

Speaker B: And the ship, the shelf is new so Sharon has just said uh, it's true chance to win PC check test expert bundles. So that means more than one shirt, maybe two floating about.

Speaker A: You never know, maybe one for the day, one for the evening. I don't know. We'll have to speak to her on

Speaker B: the day and Justin says how do I get nominated for an award? Uh, Justin, when um the awards start out uh, at ah the first of the year, um, uh it'll have a um, on the website a place to be nominated or nominate people. You could nominate yourselves or ask someone to nominate you in the category of choice.

Speaker A: Yeah, it's a bit late now for this year but general for next year. So 2027 if you want to take part around about January, February time we start off the nominations uh then usually a month or so after that the nominations ends, then it changes to people to vote and then from voting goes on to obviously the finalists and so forth, which is all down to how many people have voted for them. Right.

Speaker B: Sharon says, what's for breakfast? Yum. Um, they have all sorts of things for our breakfast, Sharon. Um, I think it's probably sky is the limit, um, on what's to order for breakfast.

Speaker A: I'm guessing it's like bacon baps and stuff like that and so forth.

Speaker B: So again, they have to satisfy children. Put it like that. So the kids are coming there at Magna most of the time for um, uh, research and going with schools and field trips. So if they can satisfy kids, I'm pretty sure they got something for you.

Speaker A: You talking about purchasing stuff? Um, it is a cashless venue, so that means you have to purchase obviously meals, drinks, anything like that with a credit debit card. So they don't accept cash. The only exception to that is the raffle via Target, the Prince of Wales one. Uh, then they have uh, a means of collecting, so I've been told, a card and cash payments. So if you do want to take part in that, you can do.

Speaker B: Yeah, um, anything that you buy though, from Magna, as in like breakfast drinks and so forth. Ah, there's two ways of purchasing it. Well, three, um, you can buy it with cash, you can buy it with your credit card or debit card or if you have um, a voucher for the day which some of the um, um, stone holders will have, you can present that and that tax as um, money. But ah, on the, the vouchers, if you use it, that's it, it's taken. That's one time thing. There's no tallying up what you bought and using the rest. It's, that's that.

Speaker A: Let me reply to Justin, um, because he's ah, been a little bit Mickey taking at the moment, I think. So we're gonna take bitcoin, basically. Justin, if you want to pay by, come to me, pay me a whole bitcoin and I'll make sure you get a drink. Okay. So, uh, if you want to pay by bitcoin, come to me and I'm pretty sure I'll sort you out a bacon sandwich and a drink. Um, otherwise, uh, I'm pretty sure you can go elsewhere and probably uh, buy a. Well put a hell of a mortgage down for a house, let's put it that way. So, uh, um, right, uh, hotels on the screen. If anyone does need a hotel, there's various around the Leonardo's Travel, um, Large Premier and so forth. There's link on the website, there is a discount there for uh, Leonardo's. Please note though, sometimes it is cheaper. Um, if you're booking through one of these, like compare marketplaces, uh, for hotel rooms, um, sometimes you find when there are discounts available they generally have up the prices anyway. We've tried this with various other hotels in the past and they'll say, oh yeah, we'll give you a 50 discount for the hotel the next day. Suddenly their prices go up by 200%.

Speaker B: Yeah, we watched this. Uh, I want to say it was the first tech max. Um, we had almost put the deal in place because we looked to see how much the rooms were. And I want to say it was something like 85 per night. 85 to 100 per night, right. About which I thought was more than acceptable for what they were offering. And when Phil spoke to him, I noticed on the uh, the calendar it switched to like 250 per night. And I was like, seriously, even with a discount, I mean, come on.

Speaker A: Right. Uh, going to the next part is the sponsors. We've got several sponsors for the event. Without sponsors we can't make events like this possible. Uh, so please do make sure you visit sponsors, um, whether you use them already or you've never used them, or you may even not be interested. You never know what they've got.

Speaker B: If you uh, don't use them. Give them a try.

Speaker A: That's it. So the main uh, sponsor of the event, so the headline sponsor is Target Components. The award sponsor is Geek for me, the evening meal sponsor. So your food and the evening is on Valkyri, the evening drink sponsor. So it is a free bar in the evening. When I say bar, it's a bottle bar. So you can get bottles of uh, beer basically or wine by the glass or shots and stuff like that. Um, but we are limiting obviously shots. We don't want, uh, every single person suddenly taking shots all.

Speaker B: And also when we say bottle bar, we do not mean a bottle of wine.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: Or a bottle of whiskey or a bottle of champagne. A bottle is a bottle of beer.

Speaker A: That's it. Um, Norton is your Lanyard sponsor. So more than likely you will have a Norton around your neck at the event. The digital partner which will be providing several screens around the venue, uh, is New Line. They're also doing a talk at 11 o' clock in the morning as we mentioned. Um, so if you're into digital screens and I mean like these are big display screens, like 86 inches, 75 and so forth. Um, you can obviously, uh, set them up wirelessly and control them and so forth. Ideal for, um, obviously, uh, shop displays and stuff like that. Uh, and our silver sponsor is Kingston Technology.

Speaker B: And in the chat we have, uh, Richard Creedy. Uh, I'm not sure about J2O. Um, it's possible, but I haven't held them down, you know, uh, to the branch J2O. I asked them to make something similar available if J2 is not possible. So there will be something, you know,

Speaker A: acceptable, like a lot of bars. Oh, sorry, carry on, General.

Speaker B: No, go ahead.

Speaker A: Um, I was just going to say, like a lot of bars, they do sometimes have, uh, restrictions to what they can sell and so forth if they've got partnerships. So there'll be J2O, uh, or equivalent for students, say.

Speaker B: Okay. Um, and, uh, Dan wants to know if Guinness is going to be available for me. Um, possibly. Possibly. I know I asked for some madre to be made available for myself because it's my new hero. Would you believe it? Um, I used to be a really big Guinness girl and now I'm on the madre.

Speaker A: Oh.

Speaker B: So I may have forsaken our beloved Guinness. Dan, uh, Justin says, what time does the bottle bar open? It opens at the same time as dinner, which is 6 o'. Clock.

Speaker A: Yeah, it's roughly 6 o'. Clock. If we go in there a bit earlier and so forth, we may open it a bit earlier, but it's throughout the whole evening, um, all the way to the end. We're not some, like some events that cut it off at 8 o' clock and then you've got by your own. It's all the way through to the end of the event, which is.

Speaker B: And there will be bottles on your table when you sit down so that you don't have to get up and, you know, faff about with getting one. If you just want a, A, um, beer or something, there will be beer on the table.

Speaker A: There we go. Uh, next, I've been asked about how many brands there are. Well, basically is. There are over 110, but as I said before, a lot of these bra. Some brands, um, like, uh, the distributors will bring extra brands which they don't mention. Um, but the basics is, do you want to read these out or do you want me to do them?

Speaker B: Yeah, I can do it.

Speaker A: Okay. So today at the exhibition we've got,

Speaker B: uh, Target Components, Take Point Distribution, Valkyrie case, King Thunder X3 in game gear, APNX, Lian Li, Phantex Co Link, Haven, Nitro Concepts, Moza Racing Shrimplify, Ducky arrow. Cool. Trix, VIP Milestones, 3D. Be quiet. Dell Technologies, Adesso, uh, Iama, Mentor distribution, omada by TP link origin. I know three D. CSight, Sedaxin, Digitech, Edifier, Subsonic Volcano, ALM Wholesale, UGreen, Pixel Geek for me. Integral, Kingston, Moelcentrix, Norton, Lexar, Logix, Marvo, Genius, Adata, New Line, Prince of Wales Hospice, Target PC Build Services, Xcleo Scan, Corsair, Coaxia, Ek, Montek. You say it. Metallicon, Metallicon, Elgato, FSB Cherry XTRI, Storm Gaming, Zeus, Storm Desktop Solutions, MiniBot PC Smart as Rock, Akasa, uh, MSI, Wired to Fire, i3Connect, Fanatec, CI Distribution, Gunnar Benq, Unitech, Schooltech, Western Digital, Eurosoft, Verbatim Surefire, Prevo, Go Refurb Laptops Direct, Apacer, Vita, west coast techware, the Cyber Resilience center for Northeast Yorkshire, the Humber, CMS Distribution, HKC Trust, Eset, Winger, Terra Digi for you. Hisense, Gigabyte, Intertel. And I won't even pretend to know

Speaker A: what Ox and Super O, I think is very pronounced that.

Speaker B: Okay. And I. You're trading, so there you go.

Speaker A: Uh, and that's the last time you've got to read that whole list out, Joan.

Speaker B: Yes, it is.

Speaker A: Yes, until next year. Yeah. So there we go. So that gives you all a rough idea.

Speaker B: Justin says, is there a table planned for the evening? No, um, just go in and grab a seat where you want to. Um, I tried table plans in the past. The first year, we had someone leave because they couldn't be bothered to sit next to someone for 30 minutes to eat.

Speaker A: And, yeah, they didn't get on with each other.

Speaker B: So, um, yeah, I don't. I don't know of anyone I couldn't sit next to for 30 minutes. But, well, um. And Justin says, um, no Spire. Uh, I think we all know about that. West coast is coming.

Speaker A: So there you go. West coast is there, and Mike Botto is going to be there, and he's going to be, uh, doing his usual, uh, talks, uh, and so forth. So.

Speaker B: Right.

Speaker A: There you go. Uh, so how long should I allow to look around the event?

Speaker B: Uh, sorry, you're asking me?

Speaker A: Well, I'll answer that one. So how. They're saying, how long should I allow to look around the event? So basically, it really depends on how many vendors, exhibitors you want to actually talk to if you want to take part in the talks. So ideally, I'd say get there as soon as, uh, and spend as long as you can. So it's better to be there sooner. And if you've not got an evening ticket and you've seen everyone by 12, then you could go. But if you get there at 12 o' clock and you've still not finished seeing everyone you want by four, then you're going to be disappointed. So I always suggest get there as soon as possible. So uh, um, what's chat saying?

Speaker B: Um, no Spire, no party. Well, they're there. I mean you've got people like Mike Bato and I think Nathan from Spire is going to be there, if I'm not wrong.

Speaker A: Yeah, I think.

Speaker B: But most of your Spire guys that you've known, uh, uh, in the past that come to love, they'll probably be there. Um, Nick says I'm going to uh, I uh, I miss Sheffield, uh, before the Jonas Hotel on the evening, uh, which is only 7 miles but apparently 30 minutes to get there. If anyone else is staying at Jonas, we could share an Uber. All right, that sounds nice.

Speaker A: Yeah, there's a few people, few people are meeting up as well in oats, in the hotels the night before and so forth. Probably best if you're in the tech. Tech group is uh, asking the tepidact group. So yeah, is anyone staying here, um, uh, at the night before and then uh, obviously you could always meet up, have a drink as well and so forth.

Speaker B: Uh, Justin says no table plan is good. I got sat next to Nathan once.

Speaker A: I'm not gonna go there, so. Right, okay. So, uh, yes, um, question is, can I speak directly to vendors and distributors? Yeah, that's what they're there for. Talk as much as you want. Um, obviously don't hug them all. Hug them. I mean hog them all. It's been a long day. Um, but there we go. Uh, will there be new products on display? Yes, there will. There'll be a lot of UK firsts, um, if not firsts globally again, uh, a lot of these we can't announce until they do and some of them, they'll be, they'll be showing off products, um, sort of behind the stands in some cases, some of them because they don't want the general public or influencers taking pictures or whatever. So, you know, you never know. Um, so, uh, are there live demos?

Speaker B: Yes, we were having some live demos.

Speaker A: Yeah, so there will be uh, live demos as such in hand on in some of the areas. Um, but again that's really up to you. There are some gaming machines there, uh, like racing rigs and so forth. They're going to be There as well. Um, next question. Can I collect information from exhibitors? Yeah, they want you to, they want you to have their contact details so you can purchase stuff from them in the future. So yes.

Speaker B: Um, so I would be surprised if they didn't have point of sale of some sort, uh, on their stand.

Speaker A: Yeah. Saying will there be a special event, offers or deals with Basics is the 1B. Or they shouldn't be doing any direct sales at the event itself, but they may give you like uh, discount codes or offers and so forth which you can do after and so forth. Um, for example, I know Geek for me which is again our brand. Uh, that's going to have a 90 day free trial for anyone signing up for that if anyone wants to use it. And there will be all the offers and different things from different distributors and vendors. Um, some of them obviously got some pretty good stuff that you don't even need to get offers for to be able to get involved. But there's plenty of stuff there. Um,

Speaker B: the chat says at ah, the surgery now. Been listening to you all the way. No singing for me this time. Very much. Looking forward to it all and seeing you soon, Gadget. Uh, Joe, if you got something contagious, keep away from me. Great computer services. Last year a few uh, of us met up at one of the Asian restaurants. Oh, there you go. Uh, it might be a good idea to do that. Justin uh, says uh, our breakout sessions in a separate room. Uh, we will have some little uh, what we call chill out areas in the main room where the event is taking place. Otherwise if you wanted to just go somewhere and chill out and have a drink and some snacks, you could do that in the red hall where you go and purchase um, your food and things like that. So yeah, there's, there's plenty of areas that you can do that. Sanjay, good evening to you. I'm looking forward to seeing you on Friday as well and on Thursday when you set up.

Speaker A: So I'll be there just to clarify that for everyone who is coming to the event as a guest. It's Friday, not Thursday. Sanjay is an exhibitor.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: So he's gonna be. He's going to be setting up on the Thursday. So don't turn up on the Thursday expecting to gain because you won't.

Speaker B: No, um, that's, that's our exhibition team are saying hello to me.

Speaker A: Yeah, exactly. So, yeah, some um, pretty good points there. Um, so food, I think we've pretty much um, covered most aspects under the food. Uh, what is the evening meal? Um, at the moment.

Speaker B: Um, it is a buffet. Um, I wish that I had been prepared for this question, um, because my, this elsewhere's my notebook right there if

Speaker A: you want to get that. But in basics it's street food.

Speaker B: Don't, don't advertise at this point.

Speaker A: Okay, Right.

Speaker B: I can mean different things to different people.

Speaker A: Well, while you're going on to that, um, I'll go for the next question while you're having a look. So, uh, are toilets easy to access? Yes, there's plenty of toilets around the venue. They're pretty clean and so forth. They get checked. I think it's every 20 or 30 minutes or something like that. So yeah, so toilets. They also have a radar key system for anyone with disabilities who uses a radar key for disability access. That's available as well. Um, is the venue suitable for people who can't stand for long periods? As Jen said, there are plenty of places to sit. We've got a whole room set up, which is room six, which is right next to the exhibition hall, which is a chill out area which is just going to be seating and tables. That's where we usually have the talks. So, um, that is set aside just for seating and so forth and people to have one on ones.

Speaker B: Um, the menu, um, buttermilk Southern fried chicken, Louisiana slaw with um, some sort of dressing loaded cheesy jacket potato with sour cream and chives, mini beef cheddar cheese slider on a brush bun and barbecue potato salad, chili dogs, sour cream and crispy onions, baked macaroni and cheese and a crumb, homemade bramley, um, apple crumble, uh, custard pot, ah, a biscoff brownie. So, um, this will be done a buffet style. So when I've read out that there will be loaded potatoes and things like that, it's going to be up to you to load them. So you'll get your potato, you'll go down the line, you'll put on it what you want. So that way you don't have to send in to me that you're lactose intolerant, everything you know what you can eat. So you just go down the buffet and pick up uh, the things that I have mentioned.

Speaker A: And yeah, if you want cheese on it, you put your own cheese on it. As simple as that. We're not forcing you to have cheese. So it's basically deconstructed is probably the best way of putting it. And then you can build it yourself because, uh, some people don't like sour cream, some don't like onions, some have got allergies to certain things. And the staff are there to help you as well, so ask them. There should be plenty of signage telling you what's what as well.

Speaker B: And as for me, sour cream on a hot dog just sounds grody, um, but some people like it. I like sauerkraut on a hot dog, but sour cream to just. Just. Oh, no.

Speaker A: Everyone's different, right? What's Alan asking?

Speaker B: Alan says I'm looking forward to this event as an opportunity for meeting new suppliers, which will also keep my m. Existing supplies on their toes. Oh, that's a good idea. Technical. Um, merit says, see you y'. All. There. Um, should be a good one. Justin says I have irrational fear of buffets. I just can't help myself. Well, there's plenty at that buffet to go around. Um, if you go home hungry, it's your own fault.

Speaker A: Yeah. This one thing we've always wanted to do with the meals, we go to a lot of events where it's, let's say, posh notch, and you have it and you get a little beef cheek and a square of potato and a leaf of lettuce or, uh, whatever.

Speaker B: There's always, always three. Uh, no, excuse me. Four green beans lined up in a row on your plate. Four green beans?

Speaker A: Yeah. With a little bit of sauce around the edge. Yeah, if you're lucky. Um, but basics is we want people so they've eaten enough they're not having to order from KFC or Burger King or McDonald's, your choice afterwards. Um, and obviously you've got the drinks in there as well, which are free, um, whether it's alcoholic or non alcoholic in the evening. So, uh, obviously lunch is up to you. Or breakfast. If you have breakfast, how much you order, that's really up to you. You purchase that separately. Um, but that's basically the only thing you have to purchase at the venue is going to be if you want in breakfast or lunch or drinks in the daytime, uh, evening. If you haven't m got an evening ticket. It's all in cluster. Okay, so, um, we've spoken.

Speaker B: Sorry, I was just addressing the chat. I'm as far from Utah as you can get, Nick. Um, I. I, um, originate from Alabama, so, um, no. Um, great Computer services says you should go to the ubiquity. Ubiquity events. There's food. Their food is top dollar. Well, I'll take your word for it, Richard. I never have gone to a. An event for food. Yeah, I get what you're saying.

Speaker A: I know what you're Saying, don't get me wrong, some events are um, good, then other ones can be. Especially a lot of the award ones we've been to in the past, they can be a bit hit and miss.

Speaker B: And you think that you're gonna like Phil said that beef cheek. Oh, that sounds really nice but it's really just the toughest piece of meat you'll ever get.

Speaker A: Um, another question. Is this suitable for a small business, uh, an independent reseller or someone just starting off as uh, in the trade? The basics is a yes to all. This event is originally designed and is still aimed at independent or starter traders, uh, smaller businesses. But we do have a lot of people now who visit who are larger traders. We've had, um, again the marketing. So I can say that in the past we've had like the Dixons or DGC or whatever group or whatever the called, um, Sub Curries, basically PC World, they've been. In the past we've had other larger retailers on there. We've even got like E Tailors who actually exhibit the event, which also do a bit of distribution, like scan. Uh, I think probably most people have heard of scam before. I think they're classed as one of the biggest independent resellers in the uk, I think SCAN these days. Um, so. But yeah, so basically it's aimed at everyone who's a reseller or your little trading from home, uh, or if you've got an office or retail store or a big warehouse, basically.

Speaker B: Justin says, I heard a guy walked into the bar at Tech Max last year, he said, ouch. So if you're a dad out there, you probably got that dad joke. Oh, Nick says vendors are the main thing. So, um, at Tech Max everybody's the same. So if you're coming to Tech Max, no matter how big or small is a place for you there. And I'm pretty sure that you can collaborate amongst people and um, get some business going.

Speaker A: There we go. So, uh, with the awards, um, someone's asking about the awards here. So what happens, um, at the evening awards? Well, basically it's part of the evening meal. So six o', clock, we basically have the meal. Everyone gets full of alcohol and, um, food, you know, too full of alcohol, not too full of alcohol, hopefully. But, uh, um, and then we go on to the award. Uh, we don't stretch it out like some events that go on for hours. We basically, uh, will shout out who's a runner up, who's the winner of each category. It's 21 categories. Uh, this year we've only got one winner of each category. There's no joint first places unlike last year. Um, so basically they'll come up on the stage, they accept the award, get picture taken really quick. Uh, if they want to say a couple of words, you can. Uh, but generally I think up to the health.

Speaker B: Please don't make it the speeches like when you're accepting the, the music awards. I'd like to thank my producer, I'd like to thank my choreographer. I'd like to thank mom and dad and go on for an hour. I mean just, just thank you as a nerf.

Speaker A: You know, basically, if you know Ricky Gervais, um, do what he says about awards. I'm not going to repeat it on here, but do what he says. Okay, so keep it simple. Okay.

Speaker B: So, uh, um, technical merit says. I heard the bottle bar includes bottles of whiskey this year. Right?

Speaker A: Well, if it, if it does, I

Speaker B: heard that you're buying them.

Speaker A: If it does include bottles of whiskies, I'm gonn month before everyone else.

Speaker B: No kid.

Speaker A: Uh, let's put it that way.

Speaker B: I'll have honey jet Daniels for 200. Alex.

Speaker A: Exactly. We don't get paid for that. Um, so. Right. Is there a dress code for the day or the evening?

Speaker B: Um, not really. Just nice, clean, tidy would be what I would say.

Speaker A: Yeah, basically business clothes. And when we say business, you can wear jeans, wear a T shirt. If you want to wear a suit, you can um, trousers wear a jacket is fine. A lot of people will just wear jeans or trousers with a T shirt or a shirt.

Speaker B: What Phil is wearing for a man is more than acceptable. Um, I always say if you want to come to events like this and make a good impression on someone that you want to do business with, it's always nice to look nice, smart casual. You know, uh, maybe a logo, ah, shirt from your company m or um, like a feels got, you know, a button down front kind of thing. And for the ladies, just a nice blouse and some snacks.

Speaker A: Yeah, that's the basics to it. You don't have to dress up for the evening either, so you don't need to go away and change. Some people think they have to go away at 4 o', clock, go change into a suit or a uh, tuxedo or. No, come as basically you are from the daytime, you come to the evening. We're not, we're not gonna push, uh, anyone dressing up smart or anything like that. It's, it's not that type of an event. We're there to network and get along with everyone, it's not, uh, uh, see who's the best dressed.

Speaker B: And uh, Nick saying thanks for the chat and see you on the day. Justin, if you come in, in a mankini, um, pass me a sick bag at least.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: And that goes for your leopard skin thong as well. Nick, pass me a sick bag.

Speaker A: Yeah, we do have security on, let's just put it that way. And if they deem it unacceptable, because bear in mind in the.

Speaker B: There will be children walking around.

Speaker A: Yeah. In the daytime that our children, um, because the. It is um, obviously an adventure area. We don't use that side of the building, um, which is generally the upper floors. Um, so obviously.

Speaker B: Well, you do have to walk through the front doors and parking lot. So do bear that in mind. If you were going to come in as something, a trick, you know, uh, just keep in mind that you could be arrested because it's a family friendly place.

Speaker A: That's it. Um, next one is. Is the event loud or very busy loud? I wouldn't m. Say it was loud. Personally.

Speaker B: I will say this. If you're somebody that struggles hearing in a crowd, well, then you might struggle a little bit because I do have to get people to repeat themselves sometimes due to the background noise. Um, but, uh, as being loud on a whole is not concert loud, so.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: So, um, again, there's going to be about a thousand people there. So it's a big venue though. So. And that's not including the guests who go into the adventure areas. Um, but generally the way we space things is usually about 3 meters or more between each each of the aisles. So there's plenty of room to get round. There's plenty of room for wheelchairs, mobility scooters and all the rest.

Speaker B: Uh, and if you can't get through at the time, just be patient. People will move eventually. Yeah, uh, you got to. To think of it like this. They won't talk to the vendors and distributors just as much as you do. So it's important to have patience and wait to turn. And if you can't get through one way, just go around. There's a thousand other ways to get around.

Speaker A: Exactly. So, um, some people, someone's asking, come here, leave and come back later. So yeah, if you want to go back to your car or even leave, let's just say you wanted to have lunch or you needed to do something, come back. Yes, you can do that. That is not an issue at all.

Speaker B: You need your lanyard.

Speaker A: Yeah. Just keep holding your lanyard. I do. To have someone mention that Their wife will be coming with them, but only to the evening. Just make sure if you either pick up her ticket, or should I say name badge when you check in or if you um, make sure she's got a, ah, printout of her ticket. What she's ordered online you did on her. So the security lets her into the building.

Speaker B: Can I just say that it would be best in this situation for her to have a printout or at least a ticket on her phone because relying on someone to keep up with your ticket, uh, and all that. Yeah, no, just, I would, I would, I would have uh, at least a digital version on my phone.

Speaker A: That's it. Next, uh, question. Will the staff be available if you need help on the day? Jenny will be manning the reception most of the time I will, I will

Speaker B: be on customer service. Um, ah, for any problems or questions that should arise. Um, everybody else will be taking and giving out, um, tickets and things like that.

Speaker A: Yeah. So Jenny will be on reception. As I was saying, there will be um, a couple other people on reception with her. They may mainly be doing the check in. Uh, Ian, who you may have seen around before, will also be helping on reception or at least mainly in the morning part. Um, there will also be Magna stuff around. So they'll be at the bars, the cafeteria and you'll see them walking around with magna this, um, logos on the shirts.

Speaker B: Um, also, um, the reception. If you are a vendor and you're bringing up ah, a prize, come see me. Uh, I'm your first port of call. Um, if I'm busy, just see Ian. And we're the two to do the check ins, uh, for prizes because we know how we want things done.

Speaker A: Yeah. Okay, uh, let's finish this off then. Some basic questions. Um, should I bring business cards? We mentioned that earlier on in the show. Yes, if you can bring business cards, it's always best to have some sort of information. Some people share the um, their information via LinkedIn, sort of take pictures of the screens and do screen shares and all this, that and the other. But it's always best to have business cards, especially if the prizes and so forth sometimes are in bowls where you put your card in the bowl and they'll pick one out for a winner. So if you've got a business card. Yes. Um, so it would be advisable. I know a lot of places tend to not like them these days because environmental friendly and all this, that and the other.

Speaker B: You can get them that recycle though.

Speaker A: Yeah, most of them, well, most of them are Paper and card which are recyclable, that some won't have a plastic co it on. But most these days are generally recyclable. Uh, uh, next, um, can I bring flies or information about your own business? So the basics of this is yes you can, but don't leave them around everywhere. So if you were having a conversation with someone and you wanted to give your information to someone, fine, but don't go pile them up on the tables, chairs, bars. The reason being these exhibitors have paid to be there.

Speaker B: That's right.

Speaker A: Um, so if you're taking business away from them, they're not going to be happy with you and they're not going to be happy with us either because you're doing it for free and they're having to pay for the privilege. Um, but the catch is obviously these guys are paying for the privilege to support the event.

Speaker B: Yes. And that also goes for pulling out samples.

Speaker A: Mhm.

Speaker B: Um, I uh, had uh, an instance with that one year. Uh, please don't do that. And I'm just going to say please not bring samples to Tech Max if you're not standing because that causes no end of confusion and I have to go over there and tell you that I'm going to have to call security and I don't like doing that. I really hate having to do that because it just kills the mood of the day. And I've got people standing there that have paid good money to do what you're doing for free.

Speaker A: Mhm.

Speaker B: And that's just not right. So please keep your samples at home.

Speaker A: Um, so if anyone does come up with you, obviously offering to sell you something a bit like Del Boy with watches in his, um, coat or whatever like that is either reporter to reception, um, or if you're not sure, ask them where you stand or what distributor you're working with and go and visit them at the stand of that distributor. Reason being, it's not that we don't want you, um, not getting deals and stuff like that. Is the vendors and distributors what come to our um, event, we vet them, we know them, we've got relationships with them. Some random person coming up to you, we don't potentially know who they are and obviously they're not contributing to the event to be able to put this event on. Because you can imagine hiring a venue like this isn't cheap. So uh, uh, obviously we need to be able to get as many exhibitors in there as possible and the last thing we want is scaring them off with people selling uh, non official Things,

Speaker B: shall we say, um, great computers. Uh, Tracy asked about lunch. Are there tickets with lunch, or is there pretty purely just by your own? Oh, you have to buy your own. The way we set that up was, um, by our own because in the past, um, people supporting lunch, uh, has been a bit hit and miss, you know.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: And, uh, we thought, well, we always have to do so much dietary requirements, and there's people, oh, I can't eat this, I can't eat that. I don't like this, and they don't like that. And it's hard to cater for everybody. Uh, so we said, well, people can at least buy their own lunch. And if they're staying for the night, well, then we've got that colored. It's just a big stressful thing, catering for so many people.

Speaker A: Yeah, that's it. Obviously, um, catering, obviously. Getting sponsors in to pay for a thousand meals is not easy either. Uh, um, and on top of that, we found that a lot of people who did have vouchers weren't using them and they were still paying anyway. So they were buying vouchers to use for the launch and then not actually use them and paying for. So we thought it's just easy. Anyone who wants to buy food, they can buy food. Make, um, it nice and simple. Um, so next is, um. Is the evening any good for finding new suppliers? Personally? Um, I would suggest that evening is a. A major thing, to be honest. It's an ideal place to network. You get to talk to people one on one on your table, in a group. It's not so formal. You can. You've got that network inside.

Speaker B: Move around. And if you see, uh, Joe over there and you want to go talk to him, you see, uh, Rhonda over here, you can go talk to her. Then you can gather them all up on one table and just have the best time ever. Um, I usually go around and I try to shake hands, say hi to everybody on the night. I know I fall short of it because some people leave early and I'm busy and everything, but I do try.

Speaker A: There we go.

Speaker B: And I needed to go to chat.

Speaker A: Okay.

Speaker B: Uh, Alan says I didn't even get food at Computex. In my opinion, Tech Match is much more enjoyable. Oh, I would love to see you guys do more events like this. That means so much to me that you say that. I'm really glad that you enjoy it. I really am. That is. That makes me just really smile. Justin says, how's the weather looking for Sheffield, uh, on Friday? Um, it's touching Go right now. Um, it was going to be, um, nice and fresh. Um, but I think it has gone up a little bit. It won't be intolerable though, should we say.

Speaker A: Yeah, it keeps fluctuating the weather. One day we'll look, it'll say 16 degrees, the next it'll say 24. So. So basically last year it ended up being 26, 27. So it should be, it should be cooler than that, to be honest with you. But again, who knows with the weather? So, um. Right, okay, so last one question we've got and then we'll call it a night, guys, because we're well over an hour already. Um, and this one is, can I arrange meetings with exhibitors in advance? Obviously you can reach out to exhibitors if you want beforehand and talk to them and say, can I speak to you there, blah, blah, blah, that's fine. But actually arranging meetings like time slots, we don't do that because obviously people either, uh, don't show up and then you've got to try and get people speaking to them and then you've got a time limit of how long you can speak to them and not. And then, uh. And that causes no end.

Speaker B: I've been to events like that and in theory and on paper it looks good.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: And you. But there's so much that you want to ask people and talk about and you have like a 15 minute slot.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: And it's kind of like when you go to the, um, the gp, you have to rush in there until this is wrong with me and they want to know this. All right, go now. Here's your prescription.

Speaker A: One of the things I want to suggest you do is if there are some exhibitors you specifically want to see, have a look at the map section on the website, write down all the names and then basically tick them off on your sheet of paper. That way you know you've spoken to everyone you want to because it's easy to forget when there's so much going on. At least if you're ticking it off, you can go, oh, okay, I've gone. I've seen EK water blocks. Um, so now who do I need to see? Oh, I want to see E set. I want to see Storm Force and Smart. Uh, and then you can tick them off as you go along.

Speaker B: Or there's another way to do that. They could print out this page here that you just closed out of.

Speaker A: Sorry.

Speaker B: They could print out the page, the names on the page, and it's got the stand numbers in most cases, or at least the general uh, area of where they're going to be and you can put with a highlighter the ones you want to see and as you go you can as Bill says you could always tick it off with a pen or pencil like that. So that's another way of doing it. You don't have to write down.

Speaker A: Yeah that's what, that's one way of doing it. Obviously you can open it up on your phone and so forth as well on highlight one you've seen and stuff like that. So there's lots of different options on there for you to, to do.

Speaker B: But you're spoiled for choice this year though. I want people to go and see.

Speaker A: Yeah, there's a lot to see. So if you found you only had just enough time last night time to see everything. There's more to see this time. So obviously make sure obviously you go stuff. We've not even mentioned that there's going to be the robot dogs going to be there. Yeah. Uh, unitree go to Robo Dog or whatever it's called.

Speaker B: I can't wait to see that. You know.

Speaker A: Yeah they're pretty cool. Um, you've also got milestones, um 3D which do the 3D modeling, uh, where you can get like a 3D avatar made of yourself or uh, for playing uh, in games or um, like an actual model printed out various different sizes. Uh we've got lots of influencers who are there. Here's some uh, idea of some past. Obviously you've got like Gadget Joe, uh E. Technics, um we've got Kit Guru, they're coming up. Uh we've got quite all through Mr. Matt Lee, uh battle rigs, uh PCR and so forth have all been in the past as well. So uh, a lot of the influencers don't necessarily tell us exactly who's coming or not. But uh, there will be a good selection there uh to be hon with you. Uh, maybe one or two surprises which we've not even spoken about.

Speaker B: Uh, never know.

Speaker A: But yeah gives you, gives you a rough idea. There's plenty, plenty going off at the event. But if you've got any questions reach out to us. The website covers a lot of the stuff we've already mentioned. There's loads of exhibitors there. Um, there's not a huge amount more. We can add what we have.

Speaker B: Justin, there will be directions on Google Maps to bang. Yeah if you type in the postcode that we provided um, then it will take you straight to Magna. And uh, Richard says I tried to get Monty from Inside, Inside wire to come but he's quite busy.

Speaker A: Well that's fine if they can make it that they can. If they're not. No. Um, regarding Google Maps, obviously if they self populate it with information off of our website that's fine but we don't generally put stuff on there directly mainly because we're um, someone else's venue. So we don't want all their information or our information being on their obviously um, website for normal consumers to see shall we say, rather than the trade. Okay, so we don't put trade stuff on a consumer based platform or try not to at least as to our best of ability.

Speaker B: Right.

Speaker A: I think that pretty much covers everything. Does it Jan? Anything you need to add?

Speaker B: No, I'll just um. If, if I were to give any piece of advice to you, get there early, uh enough uh, that you can go around and see everything, talk to people, uh, don't be afraid to uh, ask questions uh with vendors and distributors, uh, approach them, make deals, have some networking time and dress comfortably because it's going to be a long day of it. As much as you may want to wear your high heels ladies, I would suggest some trainers so you can get around.

Speaker A: Yeah, comfortable, comfortable clothing is always going to be uh, good and obviously layers. So if it is cold or hot you can put extra layers on if needs. But uh, but otherwise we'll see you all on Friday guys.

Speaker B: Uh, so setting up. I'll see you on Thursday.

Speaker A: That's it. But generally everyone, most of the people are watching. We'll see you on Friday. Uh again opens at 10 o'. Clock. Get there a little bit early if you want to beat the queues. Uh and um, if you do reach out to us in the meantime we are back and forth to the venue staff training meeting obviously setting up our own equipment and stuff. So please be patient with us uh, and we'll see you on Friday. Thank you everyone for watching and we'll see you on Friday. See you at Tech Max. See you later.