I agree with your comments, generally .. and I agree with the person above who posted that the "No Powerpoint" meme is baffling, as well. The point that I think some people may be missing, from time to time, in this whole widespread and wide-ranging debate, is to ask some questions about the purpose of any given conference, and then spend some time thinking about the physical space, the rhythms and dynamics likely to unfold, what kinds of outcomes are most likely to satisfy or fulfill the kinds of people who are likely to come to the conference, etc. The British have a term for this: purpose-built. I think Open Space, for example, is wonderful in certain places, for certain purposes, and yet requires (often) that some of the participants (usually those with positional power if its in an organization, who get nervous about lack of structure) must come to terms with. But I doubt highly that Open Space would be successful for a conference of engineers or scientists who are there indeed to listen to talking heads explain their latest theiories or findings, and whop then want to jawbone about the theories ofr findings ... but note that I would in such a case start thinking about different ways than the standard conference to allow participants to feel at ease whilst also looking for ways to increase and enhance the opportunities for interaction ... which would allow all the heady types to jawbone more with each other. As to PPT, I honestly think much of the bad rap has come from many people being crappy presenters who have never gotten copmfortable interacting with their props .. which can be used in many different ways and personal styles. I have seen people using PPT get standing ovations (sometimes with words, sometimes only with puictures, and sometimes a mix of both .. and of course the range has been expanded in recent years with Web access, with video clips, with mp3's etc.) .. and I have seen people with meticulously prepared, high quality visuals and content PPT slides fall flat on their face because of the way(s) they use the slides. The point is that they are a prop, and it is a presenter's responsibility to use the prop well and wisely, and not expect it to be the center of the stage and carry the play. Just my $0.02