Defcon 17 suggestions

[jur1st]

Re: Defcon 17 suggestions

Some kind of noticeboard would be great saying when things have been moved or changed. Sometimes you don't know something has changed so you don't know to ask, for example the minibosses playing on Sunday.

In addition to the Info Booth we were updating the official Twitter feed all weekend right from the dispatch office. Even if you don't want to join the throngs of people eating up the social it's a good way to get real time updates throughout the conference.

[fallout]

Re: Defcon 17 suggestions

i have a new suggestion
check this out
http://www.amazingunderground.com/

[Rover]

Re: Defcon 17 suggestions

well... if the badge had more of the "open ended" functionality but less of the actual base components it would be cheaper and easier in the end to produce badges, no? that way, anyone who wants to can buy the parts needed (as opposed to DT and crew designing and funding them) and the rest of the crowd can just have wicked cool circuit board badges but not spend time or money on them if that's not their thing.

That's a good point. As someone who is a software jock with no hardware experience, it was enough of a hurdle to just get the USB connector soldered onto the badge and working. That said, I had a great time in the HHV and appreciate all the effort that LosT, Joe, and others put in to making it a success. I'm looking forward to spending more time there next year, hopefully with a little more elbow room.

[faye]

Re: Defcon 17 suggestions

I am one of those people who is completely LOST when I get a badge and don't know what to do with this giant plastic and metal thing around my neck.

Same here. I dont know jack sqwat about hardware (or hacking in general for that matter)... So I shouldnt even be allowed an opinion on this matter, but I have to say that the tv-be-gone feature was really neat. The concept was simple enough for even me to understand. And the thought of wreaking havoc at the console video game competition down the street made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Of course I didnt go around turning off tv's everywhere during finals like I fantasized about, but at least I could dream. ...besides, discovering a vulnerability in a system that the masses arent aware of, coming up with an evil scheme to exploit the weakness, and actually having the ability to do it...is what hacking is all about, right? I know its wrong to take credit for something I didnt do, but I wont deny the fact that it made me feel somewhat empowered. Even though I only used it once, and it was in a hotel room showing a friend from the gaming competition, it still made me feel really cool when he flipped out thinking I was going to use it at Evo. I just thought the person responsible for coming up with the tv-be-gone idea and those who worked to bring it to life should know how much joy they brought to my weekend.

IThe HHV was originally designed to target people who consider themselves "newbies" and attract a crossover interest.

The fact that I actually understood a feature built into the badge made me curious to check out the hardware hacking village to see what other neat stuff people were making the badge do. As welcome as I felt there, I think it had a lot more to do with my being a female, rather than the room's eagerness to school newbies... everyone there seemed to know exactly what they were doing and were busy doing it, so there was no way I was going to interrupt someone working diligently on their badge to ask questions about what was what. Not to mention there was barely room to stand, let alone sit. I wouldnt know what to suggest, or I would definitely do so in the HHV area, but I hope someone comes up with something to help steer the event in the direction of targeting newbies.


btw, maybe I just didnt see it, but I dont recall there being a social engineering event. now that would be cool to see...if theres already one out there, feel free to point out my oversight.

[afterburn188]

Re: Defcon 17 suggestions

The fact that I actually understood a feature built into the badge made me curious to check out the hardware hacking village to see what other neat stuff people were making the badge do. As welcome as I felt there, I think it had a lot more to do with my being a female, rather than the room's eagerness to school newbies... everyone there seemed to know exactly what they were doing and were busy doing it, so there was no way I was going to interrupt someone working diligently on their badge to ask questions about what was what. Not to mention there was barely room to stand, let alone sit. I wouldnt know what to suggest, or I would definitely do so in the HHV area, but I hope someone comes up with something to help steer the event in the direction of targeting newbies.

If you had wandered up to the main table there were many volunteers who were helping people get started. They were hooking people up with USB connectors and aiding in their little projects. There were also random presentations given by other volunteers. I know that many people such as my friend TekNick sat down and started soldering their badges and ended up helping random people. There was a huge effort on the part of the volunteers and I hope that people realize that.

The confusion came from the overwhelming numbers who flooded the HHV. It was not expected to be as much of a hit as it was. It might be good for next year to somehow designate volunteers/the people running it. This way if someone needs assistance they can easily get in contact with someone in charge. I'll take that idea over to the HHV thread though...

I feel as though if you had just sat down and asked questions you could easily have found people willing to help you regardless of your sex. I know that I benefited from the knowledge of those who got the bootloader working (Software/IT) and I was able to assist them in boosting the power to their IR LED without blowing it or making it glow the deathly red(Hardware). This was the idea of the HHV from my perspective. I know that I am not the only one who felt this way. I feel the HHV greatly embodied and exemplified the DEF CON spirit. I recall that in "Hackers Are People Too", Deviant, Mouse, and Renderman all discussed how, at DEF CON, you could just have a project and people would jump to help you out and contribute. I feel this described the HHV perfectly in my opinion.

As I've said before, if you have any specific ideas on how to improve the HHV, there is a thread where those ideas can be contributed.

[faye]

Re: Defcon 17 suggestions

I feel as though if you had just sat down and asked question ...

and I feel if I had just sat down, I'd be in someone's lap and HE would be the one asking questions! ^_^

but seriously, you're probably right about people being socialable and eager to help, but the room was so packed I didnt stay long...I guess Im just bothered by the idea of being in an uber cramped room where everyone has a sautering iron...

But I do get what you mean by "the defcon spirit". I wandered into the lock-picking village, where I bought my first set, and sat down to attempt to learn. I was having trouble and getting frustrated, and to my surprise, a random bystander jumped right in and showed me what I needed to do. Not only did I make a few friends, but I also learned a few things and picked my first lock. <3

anyway, I'll take your comments as advice and make a point to do as you say next year with a couple of simple goals in mind... I promise to ask too many questions if you promise not to laugh while I try to learn to sauter with acryllic nails... ; )

[YenTheFirst]

Re: Defcon 17 suggestions

I try not to be a grammar/spelling nitpick, but it's "Soldering Iron", if you care to know. Next year, there needs to be quite a few more of them! People were waiting around, and inexperienced people (like me) took a long time to get that tiny USB connector on there.

[DCFluX]

Re: Defcon 17 suggestions

Based on what I saw just with people hacking their badges, I was thinking about doing a talk on how to solder for next year. But I am not sure if it would be accepted into a speaker track. Ideally one would place that right after the intro to the DEFCON badge talk.

Soldering seems to be becoming a lost art, ever since electronics stores started becoming scarce and kids have only been interested in playing WoW after school. I think it would be a handy skill for someone to pick up that is more software oriented.

[Voltage Spike]

Re: Defcon 17 suggestions

I try not to be a grammar/spelling nitpick, but it's "Soldering Iron", if you care to know. Next year, there needs to be quite a few more of them! People were waiting around, and inexperienced people (like me) took a long time to get that tiny USB connector on there.

It wasn't simply lack of supply, but I found it difficult to set up irons because of the lack of power outlets. And at 40--50W apiece, I'm not sure how many we wish to plug in anyway. (What's an easy manner of determining on site which outlets are on separate circuits? They may beeen labelled...)

The battery-powered soldering irons are very cheap and get moderate reviews. Does anyone have any experience with them (especially with respect to tiny parts in case we see something like the USB header again)? I can pick up a handful and some NiMH batteries. If every volunteer were to do the same, we could easily get 30 to 40 mobile irons on the floor.

There are also cold irons, but they seem to be limited in what they can do and are harder to learn. They are cheap and require even less power (and thus require less battery cycling), though.

[YenTheFirst]

Re: Defcon 17 suggestions

the other thing with the irons - I suspect they suited the defcon BASIC boards perfectly, but it would have been nice to have a finer tip for those USB pads. That may be something to consider, if next years badge will have similar small joints.

[DCFluX]

Re: Defcon 17 suggestions

The Weller portable that runs on 3 AA's and is 6W is just plain bad. It would be okay for surface mount work provided you could change the tip to something more suited to actual soldering. On everything else like through hole components and cables it usually gets hot enough to melt the solder to the work but once the union forms it cools to the point where the tip becomes one with the solder joint and it can't generate enough heat to free its self.

If your looking at electric and portable go straight for the ISO-Tip brand. There new model has field changeable batteries and it has a decent heater that is the equivalent of 25W

I wish it had a better assortment of tips for it, but for in the field portable work I recommend the small Bernz-O-Matic pencil torch kit with the soldering iron sleve. It's butane powered, so it has a fair amount of heat behind it and you can run the flame torch and pop metal cans off of big ground planes. I've even done some through hole soldering with just the torch thanks to the adjustable flame. The tips are a little hard to keep tinned, could be an RoHS issue. Fairly cheap at $15, but it doesn't come with fuel or a lighter so add $4. I keep my set in my DEFCON back pack.

Weller makes a nice butane iron, but it's pricey.

The cold heat iron I tried could not be adequately tested as it failed to function 30 seconds into me attempting to use it. It should be ideal for jewelry repair according to the infomercial I saw, assuming yours works. More bad product from Billy Mays.

Not portable but I once got one of those cheap $5 or so corded irons for free with an order once. For kicks and giggles I pluged it in, I knew it was wrong, but I did it anyway. It promptly started smoking, caught fire and tripped the circuit breaker.

[Olethea]

Re: Defcon 17 suggestions

I have for Defcon 17 a suggestion that has been tossed back and forth for several years, but if we're lucky... we might be able to pull it off next year!
That idea would be girlfriend con. Or significant other con. Basically, whatever the name turns out to be.
Defcon 16 was my first Defcon (yes I'm a noob) and going into the experience as a girlfriend gave me a different perspective, as I'm sure other SOs have experienced.
I have already put a lot of thought into the event, and have put some of those ideas in a blog, http://defcongirlfriends.blogspot.com, in order to have some organization before posting my ideas in here. For a quick synopsis, some of my ideas include having two (maybe three if needed) tracks, where most of the events are for SOs only. One track could be for the girls who have no interest in what is going on, and therefore would have events and contests pertaining to Vegas, such as going to the spa, a show, etc.
The other track would be for the girls who don't fully understand what is going on, but want to learn more so that they could interact with their hacker better, hack with their hacker, etc.
I have some ideas of events that I would personally like to have, but that would only get this event so far.
Therefore, I need your help! I need input of your ideas as to what you would like to see at girlfriend con (yes, I know I keep switching back and forth between the two terms mostly because both terms can be controversial - seeing as how both limit the type of attendee to that portion of the con)
All feedback would be appreciated, and I think that it would be great to finally get the idea off of the ground, so that the con can be enjoyed by all. :3

[Voltage Spike]

Re: Defcon 17 suggestions

Not portable but I once got one of those cheap $5 or so corded irons for free with an order once. For kicks and giggles I pluged it in, I knew it was wrong, but I did it anyway. It promptly started smoking, caught fire and tripped the circuit breaker.

Yeah, I bought one of the $6 cheap-os from Fry's this year after mine went missing. It also smoked, but didn't trip any circuits. Of course, once I applied pressure the tip fell out; apparently they had screwed anchored it in the plastic surrounding the heating element and the plastic became soft in the heat. Fail.

[faye]

Re: Defcon 17 suggestions

I try not to be a grammar/spelling nitpick, but it's "Soldering Iron", if you care to know. Next year, there needs to be quite a few more of them! People were waiting around, and inexperienced people (like me) took a long time to get that tiny USB connector on there.

I am a spelling/grammer nut as well, but I guess sometimes my southern-ness gets the better of me. Thanks for clueing me in.

I have for Defcon 17 a suggestion that has been tossed back and forth for several years, ......
Defcon 16 was my first Defcon (yes I'm a noob)

Umm....how can you be tossing an idea around for years if this was your first defcon? Im new here too but I've felt the wrath of the dc clan...so Im going to be nice and say its probably not going to be a well accepted idea, especially with the REAL women of dc. Somehow I just dont see them liking the idea of saying girls need things dumbed down, or that girls need a non dc related track to keep their attention....

If you arent interested, dont go, if your significant other isnt interested, dont bring them....its that easy.

[microgramme]

Re: Defcon 17 suggestions

I am a spelling/grammer nut as well, but I guess sometimes my southern-ness gets the better of me. Thanks for clueing me in.

Grammer, Indiana (39°09′10″N, 85°43′30″W)
Grammer, Kelsey