I'm considering asking my boss about sending me to STARWest, but I'm wondering if it's valuable enough for me to justify the expense to the company to him (there is no way I could afford to go on my own). I've never been before, and I'm not sure what to expect. All I know is that I recognize a lot of the names there, and the idea of being around lots of other software testers for days sounds amazing!
Has anyone been to this particular conference or a similar conference (STAREast, etc.)? In general, is the cost of a big software-testing conference likely to be justified by the benefit of the conference? I'm guessing there is no one answer to this question, so, what factors should be a part of this decision?
Edited title to make more generic :)