DevDays 2.0 really seemed to be out of touch with the original DevDays concept. As Joel says in the post, $99 was a good amount for someone to be able to just

DevDays 2.0 really seemed to be out of touch with the original DevDays concept. As Joel says in the post, $99 was a good amount for someone to be able to just take a day off work and pay for the conference themselves. Had I not lost my job in mid-2009, I was seriously considering attending the one in Toronto. I could have planned a trip home at the same time, and just stopped over in Toronto rather than immediately grabbing a second - considerably smaller - plane the rest of the way. Even had there been a DevDays Toronto again this time, it would have been out of my price range to attend, and it would have meant finding accommodations for a night and all that goes with that. I couldn't have justified it to myself at all. Good on Joel, though, for straight-up admitting to the problems with the new conferences, rather than manufacturing excuses.