We have to admit that while our expectations were low for Interop this year, that the show exceeded our expectations. The show was busier than expected - not can't-get-through-the-aisles busy - but with enough breathing room for vendors to spend quality time with the people they wanted to see.

Apparently, MediaLive - the show's producer - has decided that the future of Interop looks bright enough to try an end-of-year version. The creation of Interop New York 2005 " to address the growing needs of the IT industry" was announced during the show. While the December 11-16 timing is later than Comdex' week-before-Thanksgiving timeslot, this sure looks like the genesis of a Comdex replacement. We wish MediaLive luck in their efforts!

Lining up on Tuesday morn

Although this Interop kept its enterprise focus, we still found plenty to interest SMB buyers with more modest networking needs and budgets.