Here's a tip about a useful application from Avenza Systems... MAPublisher® LabelPro™
MAPublisher LabelPro uses map attributes, rules and styles for labelling which provides a great level of sophistication and control. Map layers may be assigned an order of priority for labelling and set as label obstacles. Check out a demo Video Here
Esri devMeetUps - locate a developer meetup taking place in a city near you
ERDAS Webinars - Register for a free, online webinar from ERDAS
ILMF 2012 - International LiDAR Mapping Forum, Denver, Colorado, Jan 23-25, 2012
Esri Dev Summit - The Esri Developer Summit (DevSummit) brings together developers and GIS professionals from all over the globe. March 26-29, 2012, Palm Springs, CA
Where2.0 - where the people working on and using location technologies come together to explore best practices and emerging trends in software development, tools, business strategies, and marketing. April 2-4, 20112, San Francisco, CA