Skyboxes at Defcon 15

[Grifter]

Howdy,

I'll be handling the skyboxes at DC15 this year like I did last year, I will also be handling the smaller rooms on the main floor if you have any ideas for their use, or want one. My main post on this will replace this little rant shortly, but I wanted to let everyone know I'm on the case. I'm just waiting on a few minor details before I post.

Space is almost gone, so start asking, and tell me why you need space, and what you'll do with it.

I have received requests from 303, Church of WiFi, Hacker Pimps, Ninja Networks, i-hacked.com, LPCon, and a few others.


-G

[Deviant Ollam]

I have received requests ... LPConthis is just me worrying where there likely is no reason to. But LPCon != LPVillage. there is often a lot of overlap with staff and participation, but i was under the impression that the picking competition was down on the floor in the contest area and the village was going to be up on the skybox level, possibly with a pair of skyboxes (sort of one for LSI and the other for TOOOL so we can run separate activities and talks, etc)

just checking... or is the picking contest moved up there, too, now?

[[Syntax]]

I had contacted you about a Wetware demo & lecture.

A basic discussion of wetware gear, a demo of the "Brainwave Machine" from HackCanada's site consisting of LED pattern glasses controlled via serial. The demo will also demonstrate various modifications and their potential uses in addition to the original design.

A demo & discussion of the "Voodoo Magick Box", CES devices (cranial electronic stimulation), discussion of the IC chips, circuitry, design & theory, as well as a hands on construction table with parts for attendees to build their own wetware devices.

Presented by DC210
Aprox Time: 1 hour

[Grifter]

LPCon = Lockpick Village. I have a box set aside for the village, though there wasn't a request for two, and we probably wouldn't be able to fill that request for 2 boxes all weekend.

We have some rooms on the main floor that can be used. And, If there is enough call for 1 hour demos, perhaps we can have a skybox with one hour demos on Saturday.

[russ]

Grifter,

All the contests (including LPCon) will take place on the contest floor, period. The LPVillage and potential WiFi Village can take place in a skybox. My recommendation though is to consider moving those types of events to the hallway meeting rooms (106-110?). The space is nearly comparable and the space will be quiet enough that folks could actully learn something. The other obvious "positive" about this is that they're right across from the speaking areas and would likely get much more traffic.

That's my two cents.
-Russ

[Deviant Ollam]

All the contests (including LPCon) will take place on the contest floor, period.sweet. that's what we'd be counting on and planning for.

The LPVillage and potential WiFi Village can take place in a skybox. My recommendation though is to consider moving those types of events to the hallway meeting rooms (106-110?).are these rooms used for anything at night like the skyboxes or are they secured? (and does "secured" mean "locked with a key that the hotel gave to dozens of other people" or "locked properly and routinely patrolled by goons and/or hotel staff")

if they are not occupied at night it would be a great place for the LP village... for a number of reasons:
1. first and foremost is what Russ mentioned... foot traffic and a larger cross-section of attendees who can come, learn, and play
2. load-in / load-out... being on the ground floor will certainly help with transport, setup, etc of our massive amount of gear.
3. proximity to contest area... there is a lot of crossover with respect to staff for the LPVillage and the LPCon Competition. being just a short walk away (as opposed to involving stairs, elevators, etc) will make life easier for those running/helping contests and would even encourage a few extra hands to drop in on the games if help is needed since folk would be right next door practically.

as for the "one skybox vs. two skyboxes" issue... i was pretty happy last year with the space that we had. i think that if there's huge swells of crowds this time around we can compensate with just allowing people "playing" with some of the locks to wander outside of the room and into the public area. i'll just have a large surplus of cheap trainer locks that can get broken, lost, etc. it's just part of DefCon for public hardware to walk away or die a loud and painful death at the hands of newbies. :wink:

by allowing people who are merely "playing" or "lounging" while they pick to filter out into the common area we will free up space for those learning from a lecture or demo and also increase overall awareness of the village. i picture conversations in the public areas along the lines of "hey, are you picking that lock? i heard that DefCon folks are into that stuff." "oh yeah, this is stuff i got in the LockPick Village, just over in that room there. they are giving talks, have loads of locks for people to pop open, and have a wide sampling of tools and tricks for you to try out with your own two hands!" "spiffy, i'll be sure to check that out and bring them free drinks when i visit because they sounds like a load of really cool cats."

[Grifter]

I never meant that the Lockpick contest would be in the skybox. As I knew it, it was the same group that did the contest and the village, which is why I listed groups requesting boxes instead of what they are doing, that will come. Notice Church of WiFi having requested a skybox, but not saying WarDriving Contest. I was listing groups, not events.

Somehow the floor rooms in that hallway seemed to seep into my hands as well, so if the LP Village decides it wants to be downstairs instead of in a skybox, please let me know.

[theprez98]

Notice Church of WiFi having requested a skybox, but not saying WarDriving Contest.
This is correct, while we are planning on running the Wireless Village from the skybox, the wireless contests will be conducted in the contest areas.

[Dark Tangent]

Grifter,

Can you post an update here? I'm getting the schedule ready for the new web site.

[Abby_Normal]

So what's going on with this? Are all the boxes assigned yet? We were hoping to be able to get one for a night time chill out lounge. We thought we might bring the Wii or something.

[theprez98]

So what's going on with this? Are all the boxes assigned yet? We were hoping to be able to get one for a night time chill out lounge. We thought we might bring the Wii or something.
http://www.defcon.org/html/defcon-15/dc-15-schedule.html

Tentative skybox schedule listed at the top of the page.

[hackajar]

That's kinda jacked. Vegas 2.0 didn't even get a response back when the call for reservations was opened.

(aside from a pre-arrange thursday reserving for theSummit).

[converge]

As I knew it, it was the same group that did the contest and the village, which is why I listed groups requesting boxes instead of what they are doing, that will come. Notice Church of WiFi having requested a skybox, but not saying WarDriving Contest. I was listing groups, not events.

The Church is still deciding exactly what goes where, but the majority of contests are geared toward the contest area; the complementing breakouts will likely be held in the noted skybox, amoung other really cool things. We would like to retain the allotted skybox if possible, it is _exactly_ what we were looking for (particularly overlooking the contest/chill and right next to the LP Village cats. We will annex additional spaces in true hacker stylee as needed .. we're only going to request space for what we *know* we can fill.

Grifter: Do folks work with you on acquiring tables/chairs like the LP Village folks had arranged last year, or is that adhoc ninja stealth table stealing when the LP folks aren't looking?

[LosT]

If there is interest again this year, I may do another impromptu breakout on bot building- it seemed well received last year-

In the even that I do this, what are the chances on getting a skybox on-the-fly for a breakout that would last, say an hour?

LosT

[Thorn]

If there is interest again this year, I may do another impromptu breakout on bot building- it seemed well received last year-

In the even that I do this, what are the chances on getting a skybox on-the-fly for a breakout that would last, say an hour?

LosT

LosT,
If you can't get a skybox or one of the other rooms, we can give you a corner in the Wireless Village. We'd be happy to have you!

[renderman]

LosT,
If you can't get a skybox or one of the other rooms, we can give you a corner in the Wireless Village. We'd be happy to have you!

Psst, careful, we're running out of corners!

[dr.kaos]

Space is almost gone, so start asking, and tell me why you need space, and what you'll do with it.

I have received requests from 303, Church of WiFi, Hacker Pimps, Ninja Networks, i-hacked.com, LPCon, and a few others.


Grifter,

So I'm a bit late to make a request (hell, I apparently haven't logged in to the Forums since last August), but DC404 is gearing up for a 404 party Friday night. Looks like the boxes are all pretty much reserved, but we're looking for somewhere to congregate, as we'll have about 30 DC404 attendees in Vegas this year.

If we can't finagle a skybox, we're open to ideas... and would welcome attendees from other DC Groups if that helps our cause...

Whaddya think? Ideas?

-dr.k