The Principality of Monaco is an independent state on the French Riviera, with the capital, Monte Carlo, hosting Distree XXL 2007. Manufacturers and wholesalers in the ICT industry met in the tax haven in mild weather, with temperatures at the end of January of up to 16°C. "Think big" could easily have been the motto of the convention, with all participants being lodged in luxury hotels.

The principle behind the principality's fiscal system is based on the lack of taxes. Besides its strict banking confidentiality, it has never signed a tax agreement with another country. As a result, individuals residing in the mini-state are neither taxed on their income or capital gains. Sometimes called 'Manhattan on the Med', it has a population of 33,000 and, after Liechtenstein, the second-highest per capita income in the world.

The main venue was the Grimaldi Forum, named after the ruling family, with the inaugural address given by Apple founder and inventor of the modern PC, Steve Wozniak. His one-hour speech centred on the developments of the past years and a review of achievements to date. THG met up with Wozniak for an interview, published separately.

The event's main sponsors, chief among them its most generous patron AMD, also took advantage of the occasion to persuade the assembled resellers of the quality and profitability of their products. AMD pointed to the new synergistic effects achieved through the acquisition of ATI last year and spoke of its vision of genuine quadruple core processors in summer 2007. Production in 45-nanometre technology is due to start next year. Microsoft's commitment to DirectX10 shouldn't be forgotten either - the very area in which AMD considers itself an innovator. One major industry presence was missing from the event, however - Intel.

AMD and ATI presented themselves as a potent duo. Catchwords like DirectX10, Windows Vista and genuine quadruple core processors this coming summer.

The panel discussions, in which traders from all over Europe and Africa (EMEA) reported on their experiences, were also interesting. After all, selling is all about maintaining relationships and thus a long-term business. Many said that partnerships and relationships were decisive factors in the trade.

THG at Distree 2007 in Monte Carlo (video in WMV format for Microsoft Media Player)