Hello, I'm a newbie to the community, and look forward to exploring this platform for use with Genetic data analysis projects, and interfacing with RDBMS. R looks like a rich arena for both! I also found the introductory Manning book - I've used other of their 'early edition' type books, and really enjoy them - this one seems quite good. There is an annual Open Source conference held by the O'Reilly group - often up in Portland, OR. I'm hoping to attend again this July. I'm not aware of any formal presentation being held on R at the conference by looking at the program, but I'm wondering if there are any informal gatherings (birds of a feather; special interest groups; user groups..) going on during the week ?? If so, I'd want to make it a point to attend.. Thanks ! Rich Pinder Los Angeles, CA OSCON: http://www.oscon.com/oscon2010