Dc 12 Swag [Archive] - Defcon Forums

blackbeetle

08-08-2004, 08:52 PM

What was hot and what was not?

We sold out of most of the clothing items this year and were wondering if we should reorder any of the designs to be sold post con?

Jinx (www.jinxhackwear.com) should have remaining merchandise available for sale from their website in the coming weeks.

Send in your comments...good, bad, indifferent.

Thanks for supporting the con.

astcell

08-08-2004, 10:56 PM

Hot:
The courtesy of the vendors
NEW vendors like boblbee!
Lots of room to move around
Quality over quantity

Not:
Wish they were open longer
Crowds by the door when the adjacent room had a talk coming up

I am a fan of a huge vendor area, and this year it weas very nice. Glad to see Uncle Ira, Geekwearz and Unix Surplus still there, they are a staple of the con.

Xodia

08-09-2004, 06:49 AM

The vendors were friendly, and there was plenty of selection.

The only thing that I was bummed by was how quickly Official Defcon schwag started selling out. I went back to get a hat 5 hours after I registered Friday, and they were out. Other than that, everything was great.

nasteratu

08-09-2004, 07:03 AM

I was a big fan of the Defcon 12 GI joe-esqe shirts, and was quite disappointed to see official swag sell out so quickly. But the vendor area was very nice, and definetly had a lot of great shirts/stickers/etc..

zero

08-09-2004, 07:06 AM

the biohazard design shirt - seemed the first to go.

Chris

08-09-2004, 07:08 AM

You guys are bringing a tear to my eye.

Seriously, I am glad folks liked the Vendor Area this year. I really tried to get a good selection of Vendors in rather than 100 T-Shirt vendors. I also tried to keep nice wide aisles. The past couple of years folks have been packed into the Vendor Area like lemmings into shiny metal boxes (tm).

One additional question to Black Beetle's. What type of Vendors would you guys like to see next year. I intend to have most of the Vendors from this year back next year (and most have expressed interest in coming back).

Fab-Corp had originally been given a table but had to pull out at the last minute. I think they'd be a great addition for next year though if we can work the schedules out. Having access to a good selection of wireless gear would be spiffy as a mo-fo I think.

Anyone/thing else you'd like to see? You can either post here, or preferably email me chris at defcon dot org.

Underload

08-09-2004, 05:22 PM

I thought the vendor area was great this year, but it would be nice to have more hardware vendors (after all, we're all geeks). Fab-corp would definitely be an awesome addition. I would also like to see a bigger selection of books, particularly the kind that one likes to purchase with cash so as to leave no paper trail.

converge

08-09-2004, 05:42 PM

those defcon zippos are the shiznit

murakami

08-09-2004, 06:18 PM

I liked the vendor area this year. I even bought a server. I agree that more comp hardware/ham radio/electronics (components, SBCs, etc)/surplus vendors would be nice as well as more media vendors - more foreign DVDs and somebody that sells uncommon titles like Loompanics

Chris

08-09-2004, 08:18 PM

murakami

08-09-2004, 08:44 PM

What type of hardware are you guys hoping to see? It is difficult for the HW vendors to bring out the 'right' stuff since they have to ship or drive everything down. I am going to try to get Fab-corp in next year for sure, but with the two HW vendors that we already have (Unix Surplus and MECO) are there suggestions I can get to them on what they didn't have that you wanted?

Fab-Corp would be a nice addition, but in terms of hardware I would like to see a vendor with radio equipment - scanners, ham radio type of stuff, etc. MECO is ok as far as curious military surplus, but they are kinda pricey. In addition, robotics type of electronics - motors, A/D-D/A interface boards, single board computers - PC104, that kind of stuff would be interesting and maybe stimulate more interest in the robot contest.

octalpus

08-09-2004, 08:50 PM

ah crap, and I collect zippos too..........fuck, I cant believe I missed them.

I don't think you missed them. I'm fairly certain they were gone before they were released to the general public (although I could be wrong on that)

As far as swag goes, I wouldn't mind seeing some of the baby doll tees available for order when I have cash again. I hoped to get one for my kid but ran out of fundage. I loved the biohazard design and the GI-Joe style.

spahkle

08-09-2004, 09:36 PM

The Defcon zippo is 'da bomb. As for shirts, the biohazard logo sold out before I made it over to the booth. I believe they sold out in the registration area? I would have liked to pick one of those up.

Different hardware vendors (like wireless and radio) would be great additions to the vendor area (imho).

alklloyd

08-09-2004, 09:44 PM

ah crap, and I collect zippos too..........fuck, I cant believe I missed them.
I would of bought one.
Al

Chris

08-09-2004, 10:05 PM

converge

08-09-2004, 10:06 PM

total coincidence that the biohazard symbol is found on the toxicbbq shirt too.. i had no idea it would be so incorporated into dc12 stuffs.. it just matched well with the 'toxic' theme

astcell

08-09-2004, 10:28 PM

Unix Surplus had a ton of laptops and sold them all. Ira had a bunch and sold a god chunk of them. Anyone who shows up with P200+ color screen laptops will sell a hundred of them. I would like to see more hardware myself.

Underload

08-10-2004, 06:21 AM

What type of hardware are you guys hoping to see? It is difficult for the HW vendors to bring out the 'right' stuff since they have to ship or drive everything down. I am going to try to get Fab-corp in next year for sure, but with the two HW vendors that we already have (Unix Surplus and MECO) are there suggestions I can get to them on what they didn't have that you wanted?

I would be most interested in unique/odd/surplus hardware that is hard to find. MECO is a good example of this, but Uncle Ira's stuff is often rather pricey (always interesting stuff, though). I would definitely like to see things like robot parts, strong DC motors, muscle wire kits, single board web servers, rediculously strong magnets (hmm, maybe a bad idea in the wrong hands here), 2.4GHz antennas and amps, interesting books (such as those from the aforementioned Loompanics), milsurp electronics, et cetera. More Zippos would be good too.

DJ Jackalope

08-10-2004, 11:24 AM

octalpus

08-10-2004, 11:41 AM

Let me see what I can do on HAM. AES is local to Vegas and may be willing to get a table, but they will probably require that you show a license to get most of their equipment. I can work on them though. Thanks for the suggestion.

They're more than willing to do cash sales for Defcon folks, keeping you out of their records. In fact, when I went in, the guy just said "so, I assume this is a cash sale?" when he saw we were Defcon people.

renderman

08-10-2004, 12:14 PM

dj Catharsis and I would like to get a dj coalition going to sell Black and White ball stuff and our sets and records and every one else's dj stuff who plays at DC like the pool parties and things...

how does this sound to everyone? Chris?

jackalope

I'd be more than willing to buy as much music as you can produce. I usually come home with a crapload of CD's anyways, the more the better.

Adrenaline

08-10-2004, 02:08 PM

Let me see what I can do on HAM. AES is local to Vegas and may be willing to get a table, but they will probably require that you show a license to get most of their equipment. I can work on them though. Thanks for the suggestion.

I bet they'd be cool with it, we had to run to AES during blackhat and the employees picked us up as the blackhat/defcon attendee type and mentioned it, there was also a member of DC702 in there if I recall, none the less, They seem to know defcon, so I bet they'd be proud to be a vendor.

Chris

08-11-2004, 05:04 AM

jesse

08-12-2004, 01:35 AM

any year that haxxxor is banned from the merch room is a good year. I found some great stuff at con this year, especially the Last Gasp/No Starch table which had some great underground art books.

Voltage Spike

08-12-2004, 10:16 AM

any year that haxxxor is banned from the merch room is a good year.

Just for clarification...

As I understand it, the Haxxxor folks were not banned from the merchandise room. Their company simply waited too long to request a table.

I believe there was a warning about their girls flashing people where alcohol was being served, but that had more to do with legal issues than preference on the part of the organizers.

spahkle

08-12-2004, 06:05 PM

So that's how rumours are started...

Manic Velocity

08-12-2004, 06:26 PM

I will always cherish my "DEFCON" embroidered work shirt.

Having the vendors and contests in seperate locations was great. Though I did miss getting to sit next to Grifter's wife while I worked the Scav Hunt.

Things I'd like to see: DefCon keychains, DefCon class rings, DefCon poker chips, DefCon wallets.

h0zae

08-12-2004, 08:12 PM

...and defcon gas mask.....defcon soundtracks.......

big chopper

08-12-2004, 08:43 PM

Every year I buy a couple of shirts for my kids and I hate to say it, but it's getting harder to bring home interesting shirts.

Many of this year's shirts were available since DC (fill in the blank). And there are just too many "I'm smart, your dumb" designs.

I think there are opportunities for some truly innovative designs next year.

jesse

08-16-2004, 09:37 PM

Just for clarification...

As I understand it, the Haxxxor folks were not banned from the merchandise room. Their company simply waited too long to request a table.
I recall Chris saying on here that they were as he and DarkTangent didn't want the media focusing on haxxxor yet again and i think Chris would know...

Things I'd like to see: DefCon keychains, DefCon class rings, DefCon poker chips, DefCon wallets.
Defcon cards, chips and dice would be really cool.

astcell

08-16-2004, 10:05 PM

Class ring, I love it! Start here! (http://tinyurl.com/5r2mx)

Staticwave

08-17-2004, 12:14 AM

[Syntax]

08-17-2004, 12:56 AM

Many of this year's shirts were available since DC (fill in the blank).

True, I notice every year, I see the same shirts on the racks and tables. I browsed the vendors area fairly quickly this year, each year I browse it faster.. I think I spent maybe 20 minutes in there. DC 9 I spent at least 2 hours.

Chris

08-17-2004, 03:22 AM

']True, I notice every year, I see the same shirts on the racks and tables. I browsed the vendors area fairly quickly this year, each year I browse it faster.. I think I spent maybe 20 minutes in there. DC 9 I spent at least 2 hours.

Well...what do you want to see in there? Many of the vendors do sell the same shirts that they have in the past...because they continue to sell well. If they don't bring them they get the "Aww shit man I wanted to buy <insert shirt from last year> this year....how come you didn't bring that one?" but then if they bring them, people complain about the same shit year after year. It's a no win situation for many of them.

You should also understand that many of the vendors aren't actual retailers (some are of course) but are merely trying to sell enough merch to fund parties, events, and other general fun things that they invite a large number of the attendees to.

One new thing that I have started this year is keeping basically a year round contact and update mailing list of the vendors. Let me know what you want to see and I'll let them know. Trust me, they want to sell you shit. They want to bring what you want to buy, but if they don't know what that is, there is no way they can do so.

TheBiz

08-17-2004, 09:41 AM

I vote for chips and cards too! How about CD blanks with DefCon imagery, I have also picked up some cool backpacks in the past which are always popular as gifts when I get back home (I have enough for myself).

I don't know how practical it is, but how about aligning the hardware guys with some of the conference topics? I know severl people went from the lockpicking contest to buy a lockpick set in the vendor area. If there is a cool WiFi or VoIP I bet several attendees would like to buy the necessary hardware immediately to play with.

Just out of curiosity, how does the book vendor do? I assume it must be good since I see him back every year. Personally, I buy very few technical books preferring to read technical stuff online (and not wanting to lug a 5 lb. tome back in my suitcase) Is it just me?

TheBiz

octalpus

08-17-2004, 04:46 PM

I vote for chips and cards too!

There were cards. You can now buy them at Jinx.

beachtrader

08-18-2004, 06:25 AM

Someone was selling HDTV cards for computers in the corner with a donation going to EFF. Does anyone have their link still?

Thanks,

erehwon

08-22-2004, 03:09 PM

Personally I have too many black t-shirts, poke around C4I.org you will find the link to eBay where I am trying to thin the herd a little in my closet.

What I would really like to see along with ham gear is stuff I can wear to the office, stuff like the embroidered DEFCON work shirt is what I'd like to see more of, Defcon polo shirts, and I'd pay $10+ for another DEFCON lanyard so I can have a spare for those other crappy tradeshows I have to attend and hate advertising some piss-poor IDS that bought the lanyard sponsorship for that conference. :)

renderman

08-22-2004, 04:13 PM

What I would really like to see along with ham gear is stuff I can wear to the office, stuff like the embroidered DEFCON work shirt is what I'd like to see more of, Defcon polo shirts,

Not nessecarily work shirts, but anything that can be worn so be subversive at the office. I take great glee in wearing a hackercon bit of swag when I have to be in a dress shirt and be 'presentable' (Watch, lighter, notebook case/folder,etc). Any sort of office type thing that can have Defcon on it will be bought by me I'm sure.

I'm very surprised there has'nt been and Defcon pocket protectors yet.

astcell

08-22-2004, 06:59 PM

I'm very surprised there has'nt been and Defcon pocket protectors yet.

We're geeks, not nerds. Maybe you can make Star Trek pocket protectors for the other crowd in Vegas at that time.

ndex

08-22-2004, 09:02 PM

We're geeks, not nerds. Maybe you can make Star Trek pocket protectors for the other crowd in Vegas at that time.

Excuse me? Speak for yourself. The first step is admitting you have a problem with technology and that you're transfixed by some technological sparkly thing. After that, it becomes much easier to admit that deep inside you are still that nerd you were in middle school only you have more money and better taste in clothes and food.

astcell

08-22-2004, 09:12 PM

...only you have more money and better taste in clothes and food.

Well, one out of three....

Sparky

09-05-2004, 06:56 PM

This years swag was good I got a few t's (4 I think and they are all new and different so I am happy)

I have a question, what was the name of the vendor that was to the left of jinx both. It was a women selling wallets and t-shirts one of the t-shirts had the paramount logo but it said paranoid, I wanted to get one but they where out of the color I liked if you know the name of the company that would be awsome thanks
Sparky

octalpus

09-05-2004, 07:01 PM

I have a question, what was the name of the vendor that was to the left of jinx both. It was a women selling wallets and t-shirts one of the t-shirts had the paramount logo but it said paranoid, I wanted to get one but they where out of the color I liked if you know the name of the company that would be awsome thanks
Sparky

Culture Junkie
www.culturejunkie.com

Sparky

09-05-2004, 07:16 PM

thats them thanks

alklloyd

09-05-2004, 08:55 PM

I want a Defcon Zippo. Period.

Al

LosT

09-06-2004, 08:33 PM

As far as hardware...I had quite a few people ask me about the hardware in my TCP/IP entry....along the lines of the pocket webservers (on a chip)- I even heard one guy asking Ira for some basic servos...inexpensive stuff probably wouldn't do too badly...or kits....

I really like the DefCON cards idea....

LosT

octalpus

09-07-2004, 12:35 AM

I really like the DefCON cards idea....

LosT

Buy some! http://www.jinx.com/scripts/details.asp?affid=-1&productID=315

</obligatory Jinx plug>

I really like your idea on hardware, particularly the kits. You should run with that... good way to cover your con expenses! :D

Thorn

09-07-2004, 06:26 PM

Someone was selling HDTV cards for computers in the corner with a donation going to EFF. Does anyone have their link still?

Thanks,
That was the pcHDTV HD-2000 card from www.pchdtv.com. The code was EFF-SPECIAL. They would donate $5.00 to the EFF for each card purchased.

I just checked their website; the card has sold out. The HD-3000 is coming soon.

T1nky

09-08-2004, 07:53 AM

I would like to buy some short black dresses on the next DC.
Black t-shirts and jeans don't look as good on me as dresses ;-)

astcell

09-08-2004, 07:26 PM

Tink! You need to talk to Aimskers and get that Tankini she has!

Vyrus

09-09-2004, 10:49 AM

Here's an idea... how about a defcon theamed computer...

i say we get sponsors like xoxide and maxumum PC and make the ultamate Defcon moded system...

- defcon fan grills
- h2o collent pumps with the dc logo on them
- case mods, mabe carve the symbol with plexy into an alluminum case
- perhaps a full theme contest, (instead of just the wallpaper one). could be for windows and *nix :P

just a thought, and it could be a good place to get "sponsors" :P

astcell

09-09-2004, 11:34 AM

allentrace

09-09-2004, 06:56 PM

The powers that be will not go for Sponsors, I had asked about a Defcon Visa card. :>

Then I guess Visa would truly be, "Every Where You Want To Be."

Vyrus

09-16-2004, 08:14 PM

The powers that be will not go for Sponsors, I had asked about a Defcon Visa card. :>

But I do like the idea of a Defcon themed computer. Heck, if they can make a Hello Kitty Laptop (http://www.dynamism.com/kitty/main.shtml) then we can sure make a Defcon PC!

well i guess i can see why, but if we did have a contest for the best defcon PC, who is to say that it would not be perfictly cool as an individual team to get a sponsor on your own to submit parts :P

FakeFingerPrint

10-15-2004, 01:26 PM

The items at the NinjaGear/NinjaNetworks booth kicked ass this year - I wasn't able to find the "12 days of defcon" shirt or the "how to survive defcon" shirts
anywhere on the web since defcon - does anyone know where I can get one?

noid

10-15-2004, 01:28 PM

you already posted this in another forum. Please stop.

alklloyd

10-16-2004, 01:58 PM

The powers that be will not go for Sponsors, I had asked about a Defcon Visa card.

Would that not be *asking* for trouble?

Al

neXus

11-03-2004, 07:32 PM

I liked the layout this year (not that I can gage from other years, but from other cons). I would go for more books and hardware, I like t-shirts, but that isn't what I was looking for. Both hardware boths had some neat stuff, the guy who wasn't Uncle Ira was pretty interesting when he smashed up that one-off DVR. I would have also liked to have gotten a DefCon zippo.

[Syntax]

11-04-2004, 11:20 PM

I dunno, Ive only been coming to Defcon since DC9,
so Im not sure if its been done.

How about Ink Pens, Buttons, Keychains?
Has anyone done those? I would think as little as they cost,
they would sell easily.. maybe Im wrong, maybe they would just
rot in a box.

Ninja gave out lighters at think at DC 11, or at least I got one thrown out to the audience at Hacker Jeopardy. Everyone could use a lighter with a built in bottle opener.

License plate frames with the usual qoutes, or the DC logo on top, and Defcon on the bottom? I'll keep thinking, maybe I'll come up with something innovative.

Xakep

11-10-2004, 11:58 AM

alklloyd

11-19-2004, 10:22 PM

I thought the vendors did a fairly good job.

There weren't a lot of options for us girls are far as all the shirts went, and I still want a DefCon Zippo.

Everything else was fine. NSP had a good selection with their books.

I thought they had a pretty good choice of the small sizes...I could be wrong.
But yes, next year we must have a decent supply of zippos.
I mean, I was in the line on thursday night and they were gone.

Al

blackbeetle

11-19-2004, 10:25 PM

Tell me what number zippos you think we should have made.

We made 50 and we had 14 left at the Jinx booth on Sunday afternoon (the reg area booth closed Friday night).

alklloyd

11-20-2004, 05:48 PM

Tell me what number zippos you think we should have made.

We made 50 and we had 14 left at the Jinx booth on Sunday afternoon (the reg area booth closed Friday night).

I looked back at my posts and I apologize for ragging on you BB. Must have been blind at con, I only found out about them after I got home on the forums. I'll get there bright and early DC 13.

Here's a constructive suggestion-maybe some pocket t-shirts next year?

Al

AlxRogan

11-21-2004, 06:55 PM

Here's a constructive suggestion-maybe some pocket t-shirts next year?
Al

I'd like to see something like this as well.

0.02++

[Syntax]

11-21-2004, 09:42 PM

Zippo Lighters:
I was under the assumption as well that they had sold out, at the registration booth. Thats what I was told, and I hadn't even seen one until I saw the photo on the website.

I believe someone stated they were sold out on another thread as well.

TheCotMan

11-21-2004, 10:12 PM

']Zippo Lighters...
I believe someone stated they were sold out on another thread as well.

I remember something about that too, but cannot find the thread. The closest one is on the last page of this thread (http://forum.defcon.org/showthread.php?t=4268&page=3&pp=20&highlight=zippo), but if you follow the pronouns, the pingpong balls are the item primarily being discussed.
(The vendor area != registration area.)

I could not find the thread I remember, where someone said they were sold-out; the above thread does not say this.

octalpus

11-21-2004, 11:18 PM

I think *most* of us assumed they were sold out. I didn't see them displayed anywhere and only knew of them myself because Grifter showed it to me and said to ask BlackBeetle about them.

highwizard

11-22-2004, 12:00 AM

Tell me what number zippos you think we should have made.

We made 50 and we had 14 left at the Jinx booth on Sunday afternoon (the reg area booth closed Friday night).

BlackBeetle: The majority of them could probably walk right by a sign saying "Defcon Zippo's For Sale" and they wouldn't even notice...

It's probably because they're a bunch of drunkards!

Voltage Spike

11-22-2004, 05:10 PM

I would like to see a comeback of the lighters with integrated bottle openers (Defcon 10?). Extra points if you can figure out how to cleanly integrate additional vices...

astcell

11-22-2004, 08:36 PM

The lighters should be like the t-shirts -- different for each year. Collect the whole set!

guile

11-27-2004, 04:24 PM

TheCotMan

11-27-2004, 04:51 PM

I'd like to see shirts that could be worn in a "professional" environment. Unfortunatly where I work we have a business casual dress code so button up shirts would be nice. Also,
I don't remember seeing anyone selling wardriving kits. I was looking for a card that had antenna etc... with it. I was surprised I couldn't find anything like that at the vendor area.

Heh. :-)

DefCon Business clothing for the suit-wearing business professionals looking to make an impact with their peers or superiors. From ties with hidden pockets for concealing lockpicks, to ties made with velcro straps for use as needed in bondage escapades, or to tie down your laptop! From sports vests with an embedded PDA fully 802.11x supported for war-walking the executive board room, to bluetooth sniffing devices hidden in bowler hats. We are the store for you! Se us in the WE_DO_NOT_YET_EXIST booth at DefCon 13!

/me runs and ducks for cover.

On a more serious note, ties or pen/pencil sets with a inconspicuous DefCon logo might find a niche in the vendor area. guile has a good idea IMO. I'd be a consumer for it too-- yes, and I would also be willing to buy a DefCon tie too.

SpyterM4N

12-12-2004, 10:27 PM

Well i know this message is coming quite a bit after defcon 12 but it took that long to reflect on the chaos and that long to look at all the pics to piece together the twisted memories and gaps... man i was fucked up but had a real horrorshow time :)
I came, I saw, I survived... with only one kernel panic! and thats pretty good if i might say so myself.
The talks were informative and just the nitch i needed to get going in the right direction on some of my projects. Man im suprised that i didnt even go into vegas really i was having such a good time at the con. The night life was killer and the live performance and Djs at the BW ball were to be talked about. I had a blast and contributed to much deliquency ^_^ I was quite generous with my Smirnoff 100 proof. Now thats some decient octane baby. I was so inspired that i opted to throw my own party. Trust me you will find it if you go to 13, just look for a open door and a what the fuck poster in the window.... something about save the whales for dinner!
Well incase its not totally obvious right now im kinda tipsy and my olde english is getting lonely and i got programming to do so i will fill any in on the details if they wish. If you dont feel like waiting just go check out the pre 13 board and you will get them. Even if i was sober i would say you all kick ass and even though im drunk i will say it anyway. You all kick ass and i hope to see many more faces this coming 2005 defcon. Take it easy you all and dont get too hammered before the con! Save your liver for my party :) .:Peace Out:.