Speakers Darrin Bulik, Kerry Brock and Barbara Murphy interface with the crowd.

While this has been an overview of the Keynote addresses at the Making Hardware Pay In 2004 conference and exhibition, these were by no means the only participants in the events. Other learning experiences included panels, Q&A sessions and in-depth information from a number of vendors about their products and how they fit into the future of the white box market. Participants and speakers included Scott Baker from Nvidia, Kerry Brock from ExaByte; Darrin Bulik from Western Digital, Eugene Chang from FIC, Michel Chin from Seasonic, Rhett Dillingham from AMD, Barbara Murphy from 3Ware Andy Thompson from ATI and other participants - including the attendees. Much was learned and many fresh ideas and opportunities are now in the minds of those who build machines and supply components.

Exhibitors Strut Their Stuff

Shiny boxes everywhere. The computers and peripherals on view in the exhibitor area of the conference showed off everything from lighted power supplies to translucent cases and metallic plated graphics cards.

One of the most enjoyable parts of going to a conference is cruising the show floor to see everyone's latest and greatest products. The Making Hardware Pay In 2004 conference was no exception. Computers and peripherals designed for white box machines ranged from the utilitarian-looking components of workstations and storage equipment to the highly customized colored and flashing machines and peripherals targeted at the gaming market. Here's a rundown of what we witnessed on the show floor.