Voxxed and Loaded

The Voxxed Days Tech Conference in Thessaloniki

The Voxxed Days 2024 in Thessaloniki are probably the premier tech conference in town bringing together developers, architects, and tech enthusiasts from across Europe. I managed to attend a wide range of talks, workshops, and hands-on sessions covering topics from email, technical debt, cloud computing, and the omnipresent AI, to software architecture. Here's what I saw and did!

October 2024

The entrance of the conference building Ioannis Vellidis Convention Center
Voxxed Days 2024 in Thessaloniki on October 18 and 19, 2024.

How exciting that Thessaloniki hosts its own tech conference! I had heard of Voxxed Days before, but I had never attended one of their events. Without any hesitation, I registered and paid out of pocket because I was keen on learning... learning a lot from industry experts, and exploring the latest trends in technology. In the early morning hours of October 18, I rushed to Thessaloniki's Ioannis Vellidis Convention Center. I'd like to bring you along on my journey through Voxxed Days 2024.

So let me do it differently this time. Let me start in the abstract, not by saying what I experienced myself but what you might have experienced. You, if you were me. Like a stream of consciousness text adventure in which you are the hero.

The eleventh Doctor from Doctor Who facing the Curator, who tells him if he were him.

Confessions of a Caffeinated Yet Content Conference Camper

You are at Voxxed Days and wander through the convention center, packed full of attendees on the morning of the first day. You realize that tech conferences are a bit of a weird experience. Attending one is like walking into a hive of highly caffeinated, socially hesitant moles, nearly blind but all ready to dig deep into something.

You have all the exhibitor and vendor stalls full of beautiful people, ready to talk to you. Maybe sell you something. But what if you don't want to talk to these people representing companies you don't know or care about? It would be weird to pretend to be interested just to get a sticker. (Yeah, there is a sticker game. Damned if you knew what that's all about. Everyone else seems to know. At some point you're just too afraid to ask.)

There are crowds of other attendees spilling across the venue like erratic marbles, trying to avoid crashing into each other. You're never sure if someone you know can't see you but would want to talk to you, or if they're pretending not to see you to avoid a conversation.

There are some folks you know, those lucky ones who got their tickets paid by their respective companies instead of paying in full like yourself (and not even getting a printed badge). Some are all geared up to dive into sessions. Quickly grabbing a coffee to get the engines running. You find out that some weren't even interested in any of the talks, sessions, or workshops. They'd only come to the conference - some of them late, of course - to take the day off work. Then they bail right after lunch to start their weekend early.

A view of the vendor hall with attendees standing around having coffees and representatives of different companies at their stalls
A view of the vendor hall with folks enjoying their complementary coffee.

Meanwhile, there you are. With your crumpled, little list. The list of sessions you want to attend. Some because of genuine interest, like those by Jules May, Holly Cummins, Dylan Beattie, Mey Beisaron, Eleni Aktypi, Mete Atamel, and Devlin Duldulao. Others because you feel that they might help you in your daily work like the ones by Filippos Karailanidis and Zoe Steinkamp.

You never know whether you're in the right conference room. Why call a room "Thessaloniki" when you're literally in the city of Thessaloniki? How do you know if that is the name of the room? Isn't that confusing? Anyway, you want to time your arrival just right. You don't want to be too early and crash the previous session. You don't want to be exactly on time when all the other attendees are squeezing in through the narrow doors like peanut butter off the edge of a smooshed sandwich. And you definitely don't want to be late and become that one guy who loudly opens the door that only creaks at that very moment - and never before or after - while all eyes stare daggers into your chubby body for being so rude.

Before the keynote, the large presentation room with cinema-style seating and very few people seated
Room 1 Thessaloniki in the city of Thessaloniki before the keynote.

Finally, you get to see Dylan Beattie's email talk. First time in person, a talk you've already seen in at least two different versions on YouTube. This time, you know the general structure, but there are wildly and delightfully different parts. You love it! And some parts you loved in the other versions that are now missing. You ask yourself why. Did the Voxxed Days organizer perhaps forbid Monty Python's Spam song? Who knows? (Probably someone, but you can't be bothered to ask.)

Then there are the tech celebrities you're not aware of. Like Stephan Janssen. Sounds like someone you should know, but you don't. He is the co-founder of the Voxxed Days. Then you find out he's big in the Java world. And you understand why you don't know him - because you don't care about Java. The language itself is beautiful, elegant, well-structured, and thought-out, much better than the JavaScript and PHP you dick around with at work every day. But Java never comes alone. It's always encumbered by its frameworks - strange, unwieldy frameworks with completely foreign paradigms for someone from the web world. You realize you're not really that interested in Stephan Janssen's talk because it would just make you feel absent, even though you're physically present in the room. Absence in presence - contradictions everywhere.

Then you see Dylan Beattie standing outside the conference center, all alone to the side of the vast stairs, smiling politely under his stetson hat. (And you wonder if it really is a stetson or that is just the only name for a hat you know of.)

You think you hear someone whisper into the breeze as gently as possible, "Do you really want to meet your heroes? What if they disappoint you? What if you disappoint them?"

Wait! What if they're just hanging out in a corner because they want to be left alone to collect their thoughts? Or maybe they're lonely for a moment and would appreciate if someone tells them they did well and that their presentation was awesome. What if they're just waiting for someone, and by the time you go over, the person they're waiting for shows up and they want to cut off the conversation? Who knows? (Probably only some multiversal oracle, but when is one ever around when when you need one?)

You start to really like the conference host, David O'Regan. They're this quirky individual who carry themselves like a stage actor and look fully committed to their quirkiness. A sympathetic soul who has achieved an enviable level of self-comfort. And to top it off, they're not even a tech person. They disarmingly make jokes about themselves and attempt some developer humor demonstrably sloppily. ("How many developers does it take to change a lightbulb? None, because it's a hardware problem." Really? Let's still give him a big round of applause!) The brief interaction you have with them is warm and still awkward, like it's caught between moments of someone else's time. But it's nice to meet someone who's genuinely kind without wanting to sell you something or talking to you out of obligation.

Somewhere behind you hear two attendees compare the weight of their bags of swag they managed to collect from all the exhibitor stalls. If you can't hack the planet, I guess, hack the exhibitors? Maybe you should quit the 90s lingo.

The hall with the vendor stalls and folks representing their companies
The hall with the exhibitor and vendor stalls.

You feel bad for some of the Voxxed presenters who were less fortunate. Like the poor fellow whose demo kept crashing while he was on stage. Or the speakers who spoke so quietly that they were hard to follow. Or the announcers who introduced the sessions with the enthusiasm of someone facing an unusually high dentist's bill right after an especially painful root canal treatment.

Then you attend the talk by Mey Beiseron. This tiny figure standing behind the tall speaker's desk. Speaking with her hard-to-place accent. It is like the sun rising in 2001: A Space Odyssey to the musik of Richard Strauss. A talk that creeps in on you unsuspectingly. It grows inside your mind and you ask yourself how the speaker does it. Someone who finely crafted their talk. Like a goldsmith in the renaissance working a masterfully designed piece of bijouterie until every part enhances the whole and nothing can be taken away. A stringent narrative. Beautiful presentation visuals. Thought-provoking points that touch you because you learn from them as if you had always known them but hadn't realized it until now. Interlocking Lego blocks made of pure thought. Your precious little heart is overwhelmed with gratitude.

And you wonder how many complementary coffees and caffeinated sugary beverages you can indulge before your nervous system has had it with you and runs off to freedom. And by "freedom", you mean that of a painter or street musician in Barcelona. It's always Barcelona...

The reception desk where attendees register on arrival
The kind folks at reception were always helpful.

You listen to so many talks that resonate with you. Deeply. About technical debt - you want to run onto the stage and shake the speaker's hand. About building apps using Tauri - you proudly take a selfie to show you have your own Tauri app up and running. And about C4 architectural diagrams - so many of the issues with typical architectural diagrams that the presenter talks about ring so true that you want to jump up and salute them, hoping to look as cool as Captain America while doing it (but ultimately refraining because you'd probably end up looking more like Captain Carrot).

You are following session after session. And during the talk by Holly Cummins remember how young Julia Stiles asked "Can you jam with the console cowboys in cyberspace?" and wonder what that even means, except that you know now that it is a form of gatekeeping. Only Julia Stiles can mansplain convincingly using 90s techno-babble and withstand the test of time. Contradictions everywhere. You let go of preconceptions and roll with it.

On the very last day, during the very last session, there's the awkward moment when bouncy host David O'Regan asks the audience what their favorite talk was - and the room remains silent. No one dares speak up. Crickets, as the host would say. (Not calling the audience crickets. That would be hilarious. Just implying that the room is so silent, you could hear crickets. In the center of Thessaloniki. In a building. Crickets.)

You want to stand up and yell, "Dylan Beattie! Mey Beiseron! Jules May!" But then you can't remember the names. And you realize you have no idea how to pronounce "Beiseron". And you don't. The moment is gone. Never to return. Reality has no cheat code...

The conference closes out. The marbles spill out of the building and get lost in the city of Alexander the Great. (Well, probably not really, but it sounds cool. Alexander is cool. You think he might have liked you to call him Xandy.)

Well, that was odd.

I'm glad I got that out of your system... I mean out of my system. I think I'm ready to put on my big-boy pants and recap some of the sessions I attended. (I am only covering the memorable talks. I attended many more. And I definitely don't want to say anything bad about the ones I didn't particularly like.)

Come with me if you want to live! Or at least live through the experience of some of the sessions at Voxxed Days 2024.

Marin in front of the entrance of the conference center holding up his handwritten badge
Happy to be at Voxxed days 2024!

Day One: Friday, October 18

Email vs Capitalism, or, Why We Can't Have Nice Things

Dylan Beattie

Dylan Beattie on stage during his presentation
Dylan Beattie's presentation about the weird and whacky world of email.

Dylan Beattie is just awesome! He is one of those illustrious tech celebrities and a software engineer, speaker, and musician. He has the unique ability to mix technical topics with creativity and humor. He is also the creator of the Rockstar programming language. This was a joke language designed to allow developers to write code that looks like lyrics to a rock song (and to call themselves Rockstar developers, of course). This playful experiment blending music and coding was turned into an actual implementation!

In his talk Dylan Beattie spoke of the chaotic world of email, exploring why one of the oldest internet technologies remains so wonderful yet frustrating to this day. He explained how early design choices and technical constraints around protocols like SMTP, and POP3 have resulted in a system riddled with issues like spam, deliverability failures, and inconsistent formatting.

Dylan Beattie demonstrated how different email services deal with edge cases like spaces and punctuation in email addresses, even though handling them correctly is part of the original email specs. He humorously and poignantly described the struggles of maintaining and modernizing email. He showed how historical decisions, commercial interests, and technical limitations have shaped the flawed but essential tool we rely on today.

Building Next-Gen Cross-Platform Apps with Tauri 2.0

Devlin Duldulao (inmeta)

Devlin Duldulao on stage showing how to develop an app using Tauri
Devlin Duldulao demonstrating how to build a desktop app with Tauri.

Devlin Duldulao's talk covered Tauri's ability to create lightweight, secure desktop apps using web technologies and Rust. He highlighted Tauri 2.0's new features, cross-platform support (Windows, macOS, Linux), improved performance, smaller app sizes, and strong security. I his talk Devlin Duldulao demonstrated Tauri's seamless integration with modern JavaScript frameworks and its efficiency for building next-gen desktop apps.

I particuarly liked that I could follow along and spin up my own Tauri app on my laptop. I am not sure if I will ever use Tauri in a real project, but it was fun to see how easy it is to create a desktop app with web technologies. It certainly is a much more sympathetic framework than Electron.

Marin happily showing his first Tauri app running on his laptop
My first app in Tauri 2.0

Columnar Storage: Redefining Data Management for the Modern Era

Zoe Steinkamp (ClickHouse)

This was a tough one. I liked the presentation style. Zoe Steinkamp is a great public speaker. She did occasionally breeze through some material so quickly that I had trouble following along. Also I could not really grasp the real advantages of columnar storage over row-based storage. I mean, I get that columnar storage is supposed to be more efficient for certain types of queries, but I didn't really understand why. The talk sounded more like a sales pitch than a technical explanation. Zoe Steinkamp told us that one of the organizations that use columnar DBs for their massive datasets is the streaming service Disney+.

I certainly learned that this kind of DB offers distinct advantages over traditional row-based relational databases, especially for analytical workloads. The key benefit is performance: columnar databases are optimized for read-heavy queries because they store data by columns rather than rows, allowing for faster access to relevant data. They also compress data more efficiently, reducing storage needs and improving cache utilization. This makes them perfect for large-scale data processing, such as in data warehousing or big data environments, where operations like aggregations and filtering are common. In contrast, row-based databases are better suited for transactional applications that involve frequent inserts and updates across entire rows. After the talk I read up on columnar databases.

(On the second day, I addended Zoe Steinkamp's workshop on ClickHouse Fundamentals.)

Mete Atamel on stage presenting about AI
Mete Atamel (Google) during his presentation about "Techniques to Avoid Common LLM Pitfalls".

Discover Allyship - Taking Action for a World Where Everyone Feels Safe, Valued, and Empowered

Eleni Aktypi (WE LEAD)

This is a topic that had only recently come to my attention. Thanks to Eleni Aktypi, I learned about allyship in the workplace. It really opened my eyes to how much more we can do to create inclusive environments. It's about people with privilege stepping up to support and advocate for colleagues from marginalized groups. And just because you're privileged does not automatically mean that you haven't had your struggles. I used to think inclusion just meant being polite and welcoming, but now I see it is more about being active.

Allyship means learning about the struggles others face, amplifying their voices, and taking real action to make sure everyone has a fair chance. It's not just about calling out unfair behavior, but also making sure that diverse voices are heard and valued, especially in decision-making. It really makes me think about how we all have a role in creating a work culture where everyone feels like they belong, and how I can do more to support that.

The Cash Value of Technical Debt - How to Scare Your Boss Into Doing the Right Thing

Jules May (22 Consulting)

Jules May on stage describing how you can make management understand the true cost of technical debt
Jules May talking about technical debt. I think I saw some calculus clouds squirm and swivel above his head there for a moment while he was presenting.

Saying that this was the topic of technical debt close to my heart is quite an understatement! When we build software, we only do it the way we do because we have to make trade-offs. We have to make decisions that are not ideal because of time constraints, budget limitations, or other factors. These decisions accumulate over time and create technical debt.

In his talk, Jules May addressed the complexities of technical debt. He explained that technical debt isn't just an aesthetic issue for developers but a critical aspect of software quality that impacts business outcomes directly.

One of the key points in his talk was that technical debt must be communicated to business stakeholders in financial terms, likening it to an "interest rate" that a business pays over time if technical debt is not addressed. He argues that this "debt" grows and compounds, ultimately slowing down productivity and increasing the costs of future development efforts . If not addressed at all, it can even lead to a complete standstill of development.

May said that non-technical managers often fail to grasp the long-term risks and costs associated with technical debt because they focus on short-term gains, such as implementing new features quickly.

To avoid this pitfall, you need constant refactoring and a clear financial justification for tackling technical debt, allowing developers to convey its importance in a way that resonates with business priorities.

The conference badge with a sticker and my name in handwriting
I paid full price and probably more than most and only got a badge with a crooked sticker. Most folks paid less yet received a printed badge.

Day Two: Saturday, October 19

The C4 Model for Visualising Software Architecture

Simon Brown

Simon Brown on stage explaining his C4 model
Simon Brown presenting about the C4 model and its use for visualising software architecture

Simon Brown's C4 Model is a way to visualize and describe the architecture of a software system in a structured and understandable manner. The four different "C" break down a system into four levels of detail:

  1. Context (C1): This is the highest-level view, showing how the system interacts with users and other systems. It provides a big-picture understanding of where the system fits in the larger environment.
  2. Container (C2): Containers represent the major pieces that make up the system, such as applications, databases, or services. It focuses on how these parts communicate with each other and what technologies are used. ("Container" here does not refer to Docker. Apparently, C4's use of the term "container" predates Docker.)
  3. Component (C3): Within each container, there are components, which are smaller, more specific parts of the system that handle particular functions. The Component diagram shows how these work together within a container.
  4. Code (C4): The most detailed view, focusing on how the code itself is structured, such as classes, modules, and methods. This level is often more technical and relevant for developers.

There is a whole lot more on Simon Brown's site c4model.com. C4 is independent of notation. In general, the idea is that by visualizing a system at different levels of abstraction, it becomes easier to understand.

Simon Brown's comparison between abstractions in architecture diagrams and geographic maps was fabulous. Two different maps of the same city reference the same geography but do so using different abstractions or symbols. To help readers orient themselves, there is a key or legend on the map explaining how the abstractions can be applied to reality.

The Future of Development: Are Our Jobs Getting Harder or Easier?

Holly Cummins (Red Hat)

Holly Cummins took us on quite a ride in her talk! She described how there has always been gatekeeping in tech. In the early days of Java, some developers considered those who use garbage collection as "not real developers" or worse still, they might be "too stupid". This pattern continued through the generations of tech and new layers over the years.

The last fashion in gatekeeping was how some folks think that using a framework like Spring Boot in Java or web frameworks like React or Vue means that you are "not a real developer". These days it is all about the use of AI assistants. If you use AI to write code, you are "not a real developer". (Though the speaker didn't specifically reference this, the whole sentiment reminded me of the article Real Programmers Don't Use Pascal from the 1980s.)

The talk went into some of the reasons for this sentiment. Computers used to be simpler, systems used to be closer to the actual hardware. Each new layer of technology like a high-level language, a framework or the cloud might solve individual problems much more effectively but adds complexity to the overall system. Over the years so much complexity has been added that it is hard for individuals to keep up with all the layers of abstraction. This leads to cognitive overload.

Holly Cummins demonstrated how AI is not a great solution to code for you. It is error prone and can deliver convoluted results. Though she did made a strong case that there are better ways to benefit from AI in development by helping with understanding existing code. She argued that senior developers spend a lot more time reading existing code in a project than actually writing new code. This is where AI can help by providing insights into the codebase to help developers understand the code better so that they can make better decisions.

She argued that the future of development is about using the right tools for the job, not about gatekeeping. Holly Cummins does not share the opinion that AI will outright replace developers. She believes that AI can help developers perhaps in ways we haven't even figured out yet. And that is something we can all get behind.

From a Backend Developer to DevOps - The Force Awakens

Mey Beisaron (Forter)

Mey Beisaron on stage during her presentation
Mey Beisaron presenting about strategy, communication and follow-through to get a cloud migration done.

This talk was amazing. Mey Beisaron let us join her on her journey from being a backend developer to becoming a DevOps engineer. She shared her experiences, challenges, and insights into the transition using the three key areas: learn, listen, be the force!

She explained how she learned new tools, technologies, and practices to become a more well-rounded developer. She also discussed the benefits of DevOps, such as faster deployment, better collaboration, and improved quality. But most of all she explained how she successfully managed to engage with the teams in the organization to learn from them, listen to their DevOps needs and expectations, and bring them along to make the transition a success.

It might have been the most inspiring talk I attended at Voxxed Days 2024. Was it the many Star Wars references? Or was it Mey Beisaron's enthusiasm and passion for DevOps? Might have been both! As a person who moved from graphic design and concept work to software development I could relate to her journey.

(And "Mey" sounds a bit like Rey... I guess that is my Star Wars reference. Lame!)

ClickHouse Fundamentals Workshop

Zoe Steinkamp (ClickHouse)

Zoe Steinkamp during the Clickhouse workshop with tables in a classroom setting and attendees seated at them
Zoe Steinkamp during the Clickhouse workshop.

ClickHouse is the open-source columnar DB engine designed for high-performance analytics and data processing, with a focus on speed and scalability. The workshop covered the basics of ClickHouse, including installation, configuration, and querying data.

The workshop was interesting and informative. I learned a lot about ClickHouse and its capabilities. I also got to see some practical examples of how to use it. Zoe Steinkamp engaged with the audience with a quiz about aspects of Clickhouse. But man, I must be getting old or might have been really tired because I found it hard to keep up with the pace of the workshop and the machine-gun style of the presentation.

My main take-away was that I do not want to go down this rabbit-hole and stick with reguar relational DBs and document-based ones like my favorite MongoDB.

Cracking the Code Review: From Guesswork to Automated Guidance

Paco Van Beckhoven (Hexagon)

A great talk to close out the second day. Paco Van Beckhoven discussed the financial cost of buggy code on production and the importance of code reviews in catching bugs early. He explained how to improve code reviews by providing useful comments to the reviewers and the author. He also talked about the benefits of automated code review tools that can help identify common issues and provide guidance on how to fix them.

Fast Food Frenzy, After the Closing Ceremony

Oddly enough, so few people attended the second day that a lot of the lunch packages had been left over. Some of us remaining attendees managed to grab a second and even a third lunch from the left-over bags, just like hobbits... It was great!

One of the lunch packages at Voxxed Days
My second or third lunch on the second day. I don't know... I lost count.

The swell host David O'Regan together with one of the main Voxxed Days organizer charmingly and officially announced this year's conference as over. As an addendum, they let the folks from Deloitte draw the winners in their little competition. (Only Zeus knows how that worked.)

After the event was officially closed out, two sponsors officially opened up! Goody's and Pizza Fan. They provided burgers and pizza for everyone in the entrance hall. That was a very welcome surprise and a fantastic end to an event that certainly did not lack in the food department. Even hobbit-like folks like who had already had a third lunch, dug into the fast food. Albeit, I dig in slowly and carefully... like a socially hesitant mole.

Stacks of Pizzas and a big pile of burgers from Goody's on two large tables in the entrance hall
Everyone was quite disciplined and waited their turn to get a delicious burger or pizza sponsored by local businesses in Thessaloniki.

Darn! Voxxed Days 2024 in Thessaloniki were a great little tech conference. TLDR; They were filled with many deep-dive sessions and so so much more! Wonderful presentations while navigating the usual awkwardness of networking, caffeine overloads, and quirky tech interactions. (The end of the article is probably the worst place to put a TLDR.)

If I had to pick a random letter of the alphabet to describe Voxxed Days then it would be the letter "L": These two days were loaded with Lively Learning, Logical Levity, and Lush and Lazy Luncheons!

A long row of beverage cans and bottles
No sponsored meal can be complete without the refreshing beverages. These were also provided by sponsors.