Def Con 14 Location Discussion

[enigma]

"You can't come in here unless...you're wearing....a....uh....necktie!"

a polka dotted necktie with pink EL lighting to be specific, it must blink 2600 cycles every second...

[kallahar]

From the faq @ : https://forum.defcon.org/showthread.php?p=73053

Will the Riviera broadcast the speeches on their cable system?
No. There will be two DEFCON channels that will provide ‘extra’ content (short clips, hacker related videos, etc). It is our intention that everyone who wishes to attend a speech will be able to - this was a primary motivation for moving hotels.

[mage2]

DC tv

I will miss the DC TV much. but with 2 channels there will still a chance for some good content. Is there a chance to expand from 2 channels in the future? I would think there would be. As from what i have read we have the option to take over the hotel later on.

Im really looking forward to the change. Room partys can be broadcast over low power FM, FRS, or posted on forums/ even flyers would be a way to spread the word. I have some questions about how the pool partys are going to work out. but we are good at problem solving.

[big chopper]

I will miss the DC TV much.

Why can't the talks be streamed over the Internet, with only attendees getting the credentials to view them?

You could still watch them in yout room if you like.
--BC,

[TheCotMan]

Why can't the talks be streamed over the Internet, with only attendees getting the credentials to view them?

You could still watch them in yout room if you like.

I know there are people that might use this but here are some problems that would need to be addressed:
1) Credentials might be shared, since this is defcon. How would this be addressed? (Maybe limit by IP/Netmask to be con private IP address ranges?)
2) If limited to con network, is there enough reliability for wireless? If not, then wired might work, but if you are using wired, then you are probably close enough to the presentations to attend them anyway.
3) Cost (Post processing of captured data is different from live data broadcast)

Though being able to watch from the room was conveinient for changing channels if you did not like a presentation and to quickly follow room changes, being able to see presentations in-person allowed for better tracking of content (slides vs speaker) and questions/answers were easier to hear and ask.

[big chopper]

I thought the biggest reason for watching talks in the room was because AP made it impossible to stroll from talk to talk--or for that matter, to get into a talk without having to wait in line.

Hopefully the Riv's rooms will be big enough to allow people to move from talk to talk, and many of the "Fire Marshall" restrictions will go bye-bye.
--BC,

[TheCotMan]

I thought the biggest reason for watching talks in the room was because AP made it impossible to stroll from talk to talk--or for that matter, to get into a talk without having to wait in line.

Hopefully the Riv's rooms will be big enough to allow people to move from talk to talk, and many of the "Fire Marshall" restrictions will go bye-bye.
--BC,

Here is a history of overcrowing at the AP as I remember it:
People started overflowing rooms for popular presentations.
One year the organizers did not immediately add the partition for a large room, but had some time for speakers in this "mega room." Then they added the partition to make that one room into two. (IIRC, some years has only 2 tracks on Friday, and 3 tracks on Saturday/Sunday.)
Another year, a tent was added on the roof too allow for more space.
Tent on roof was a no-no and was eventually moved to the parking lot.
Con became super-populated (DC10?) and lines formed to gain access to popular presentations with fire marshal rule/law enforcement on room capacity. This lead to people "camping" in a presentation room, one or two talks before the one they wanted to see, and a long line of people outside who were denied access. There was a lot of complaining over this by those who were denied access.
The next year, there was a decision to empty rooms after each talk to avoid the "camping" issues, but this created issues with multiple lines, and people waiting out in the heat. "Which presentation are you in line for?" " The one in 2 hours." "Oh, that line is over here."

I seem to recall that video broadcast of the presentations in the rooms started around the time they had the tent on the roof. (Maybe the second year of the roof tent.) The first year of video broadcast really sucked. Only one or two presentation-rooms were covered, their coverage was unreliable, and my room had poor reception.

IIRC, video-broadcast started before there was a fire marshal presence threatening to close down the con due to overcrowding. If this is true, it probably started as an experiment in new services and was later expanded to mitigate overcrowding complaints.

[big chopper]

Here is a history of overcrowing at the AP as I remember <snip>

Remember when CDC made their presentation for BO2000? That was about as crowded as a room can get. The person I came with got freaked-out by the crowd and left. I stayed and had a great time.

I miss the old days when all presentations were in one big room (like 1997 DC5 at the old Aladdin). There was a greater sense of community then--with more shared experiences.

I still think that a single track in a big room--with fewer but higher quality talks, is the way to go.
--BC,

[TheCotMan]

Remember when CDC made their presentation for BO2000? That was about as crowded as a room can get. The person I came with got freaked-out by the crowd and left. I stayed and had a great time.

I remember that. I think that was before the fire marshal comaplints lead to enforcement on room occupancy.

It was loud, and entertaining. I did not make it into the room. I listened to it from the chill-out space while sniffing (and watching people's telnet sessions in) the CTF network that had somehow been leaked to a switch on the table for non CTF users.

I miss the old days when all presentations were in one big room (like 1997 DC5 at the old Aladdin). There was a greater sense of community then-- with more shared experiences.

Things I miss from DefCon 5:
* The kind of energy that people brought to the con.
* The average level of knowledge in the room
* How black shirts were the majority and many feds didn't camoflage themselves by wearing them. (It was almost comical... "Army of hackers wearing black shirts" or "Media/Feds in plain-clothes")
* The level of sophistication required to pull some of the early pranks and some of the pranks

Things I don't miss from DefCon 5:
* So many people smoking indoors that I (as a non-smoker) coughed up grey phlegm for a week after the con was over, and other phlegm for 2-3 weeks more.
* The super-long lines to buy a badge and the long wait due to a small number of people taking money for badges.
* My lack of involvement with others

[kallahar]

Food update:

Within easy walking distance of the hotel is the Pepermill restaunt which serves a wide variety of good food 24h, a 7-11, and a huge liquer store. Across the street at the ... frontier? there is also a variety of small places to eat.

To get to the monorail you have to walk about a half mile to the convention center stop, I think, and it's about $5 each way per person, which is really expensive if you're used to the NYC subways.

[Hardware]

Also like last year I plan to bring some food and drink to sell for less than the hotel wants to charge you.
last year at the ACTF booth i only had rockstar and Dr.Pepper because my group raded all my other stuff! but I'll try to distribute Bawls, Rock star, any other caffeinated drink you want. along with real food like pop tarts... and.....*scratches head* yeah pop tarts it is

[loki151]

Also like last year I plan to bring some food and drink to sell for less than the hotel wants to charge you.
last year at the ACTF booth i only had rockstar and Dr.Pepper because my group raded all my other stuff! but I'll try to distribute Bawls, Rock star, any other caffeinated drink you want. along with real food like pop tarts... and.....*scratches head* yeah pop tarts it is

Dont Forget the Monsters

[xwred1]

The lazy person in me likes having the presentations on TV because I could maintain my pig-form in the room and do things that would normally be rude if I were in the audience, like discussing the presentation right there with friends.

On the other hand, I'm better off being there in person and it sounds like the Riviera will let them accomodate as everyone who wants to attend a given talk.

[entr0py]

thanks, DT, for making DefCon what it is, for keeping it going, and for always rolling with what comes along. the AP was a real mixed bag, especially this most recent year under the new management... for all the things that aggravated some of us, there are certain nostalgic aspects over which i will shed a tear or so when we move to our new space.

two things i will miss a lot about the AP are...

1. ability to jack into the TV network for feeds, movie channel, etc.

2. sprawl nature of the grounds that allowed for casual socializing, DJ action poolside, and roaming parties at sundown

... care to reassure us at all with indications that our new hotel may offer similar features?

thanks again for everything,

- dev

Last year was my first Defcon. I wanted to say that I had a great time, and having the ability to wander around and meet people was great, but sometimes a little overwhelming.

I liked the fact that I could stay in the room and watch the talks on the TV.

Since the new hotel will not have such a setup that will allow us to do that, has an consideration been put to doing it ourselves?

We could use something like Amateur TV to broadcast. All that would be required would be a TV tuner card that would have the ability to receive on the frequency that was being broadcasted.

This could also generate revenue for Defcon. Just sell the tuner cards!

Just a thought.

[Abby_Normal]

Food update:

Within easy walking distance of the hotel is the Pepermill restaunt which serves a wide variety of good food 24h

The Peppermill rocks! We were thrilled that the new location was so close. The food is good, and portions are large. Get the nachos, you won't be sorry! Penn Jillette says they serve "Flintstone Food".

Also, the lounge is not to be missed. It's so old vegas tacky. It must be seen!

http://www.vegas.com/nightlife/bars/peppermill.html