Retrospective on DAC and EDA

Ditchin' DAC is a long-time DAC veteran's take on the evolution of the Design Automation Conference, from the beginnings as a clearinghouse of Corporate CAD developments, through the booming tradeshow of the 1990s, to now, where some question whether DAC is worth the cost and time. I'm on the fence. I'd go to DAC if it were local, but usually can't justify the time and expense to travel there. DAC hasn't been in the Bay Area in several years, although we probably have the greatest number of industry customers.