Skyboxes...

[TheCotMan]

For those of you planning contests/events, maybe local meetings, BoaF, classes, presentations, meetings, [.*], you may want to pay attention to the DC14 page. I have no idea how they will be used, or what criteria will be deemed acceptable, but when that information is released, there will probably be an advantage to requests made earlier over requests made later.

http://www.defcon.org/html/defcon-14/dc-14-index.html

New for DEFCON 14: the Skybox. These rooms will overlook the contest, CtF and Vendor area and will be available by reservation only. More information soon on how you can get your hands on one of these spaces.

(No idea how long that has been there.)

[Kai]

How big are these? According to the map, it looks like some may have break-away walls. WOuld be a cool spot for pokercon.

[TheCotMan]

How big are these? According to the map, it looks like some may have break-away walls. WOuld be a cool spot for pokercon.

Both kallahar and tacitus have provided extensive pictures of the Riviera.
From Kallahar, we have two pictures subtitled "breakout room":
[K1, K2]

From Tacitus, we have two other similar pictures:
[T1, T2]

With the images from tacitus, you'll notice that T1 preceeded This Overhead View of an open space. If you assume order of images is by order they were taken, then this may be one of those skybox rooms.
Perhaps the view (from above in aai) is what is on the other side of the curtains.

For anyone reading, If you like the images you see, why not buy Kallahar or Tacitus a beer at the con? The time they took to take all of the pictures (from bathrooms, to rooms, to conventions space, to food and the surrounding area) they deserve some thanks. :-)

[converge]

Ohhhh... hmm.. for some reason I thought a skybox was the kickass jumboscreen hanging from the ceilings at sports events.. this changes my previous thoughts entirely I suppose...

[Kai]

Ohhhh... hmm.. for some reason I thought a skybox was the kickass jumboscreen hanging from the ceilings at sports events.. this changes my previous thoughts entirely I suppose...

hahahaha

Just had a vision of Peter Griffin at watching porn on the side of a Goodyear blimp.

"Ooooooo, Louis, look!!!! A Skyyyyyybooooooox!"

OK, sorry. Just a post-whore tonight.

[TheCotMan]

Ohhhh... hmm.. for some reason I thought a skybox was the kickass jumboscreen hanging from the ceilings at sports events.. this changes my previous thoughts entirely I suppose...

Maybe they are. Maybe there are other rooms that were locked when Kallahar and Tacitus went through the hotel convention space. ( I assumed skybox seats were like those super-expensive reserved rooms at sporting events that sometimes have catered parties with lots of food and quiet from the neighboring fans.)
Perhaps the curtains hide glass windows that overlook the floorspace? (The curtains do run to the floor.) Also, from the pictures, the walls do look like they can be removed to allow for even larger rooms.

"Ooooooo, Louis, look!!!! A Skyyyyyybooooooox!"

heh heh. :-)

[kallahar]

Ah, to clarify... There are two types of breakout rooms, one is the skyboxes, one is across the hall.

http://www.rivierahotel.com/conventions_maplarge.html - map of the convention space.

The green "Royale Pavilion" is the defcon space (as I understand it). I believe we have sections 1-4 and maybe 5 and 6, apparently there are two other con's going on in the same space. The blue rooms 111-115 across the hall are the breakout rooms shown in pictures K2, T1, and T2 above.

The skyboxes are shown in pink, rooms 201-212 (note that they are different sizes), they all have a meeting room with a bar (see picture K1 above), a glass partition separating them from the balcony, and two rows of seats on the balcony overlooking the convention floor.

Now, figuring out which skybox will overlook which part of con (speaker room, contest area, CTF, etc) is something we don't know yet...

Photos of/from the skyboxes:
Balcony: http://23b.org/gallery/RivieraRecon/aat
Bar: http://23b.org/gallery/RivieraRecon/aav
View: http://23b.org/gallery/RivieraRecon/aaw

Of course, I have no idea how "renting" these spaces works, but good luck :)

[Dark Tangent]

Sky Box Party action

So the evenings are going to be set up for some party action, and Grifter will be coordinating them.

The first sky box party goes to: Phenolit!

The way I envision it is a couple different ways. Either a groups has a box all con long, and has to do something constructive with it during the day, and can party in it at night.

Another mode is that a group does a contest or challenge during the day, and in the evening it gets turned into a lounge or party. The group that throws the party may or may not use it the next night. This way more parties can happen, and more contests or learning break outs as well.

The "top of the Riv" will be used for Black and White ball, as well as a big chill out lounge area. We, er I mean Grifter, is going to working with that space as well.

[Siviak]

sounds like you guys have a damn good plan... how would we got about aquiring "dibs" on one of said skyboxes for a group of people to do a few smaller talks, demonstrations and set up for a few things?

[Grifter]

DT and I put together a list of things that would allow priority for reserving a skybox. I will be putting a list together shortly as well as a page with a little more info that should be up on the DC site. I'm leaving London tomorrow to head back to the states and will get cracking on things then.

I will quickly say that if you are willing to provide some kind of content/workshop for a day then your chance of reserving a skybox greatly increases. If you can't wait till the nfo is posted and absolutely must start e-mailing me now, hit me at my defcon.org address.

-G

[Deviant Ollam]

barry wels, renderman, along with me and the rest of the toool-usa crew have been in discussions about how lockpicking presentations and hands-on practice could best work at the summer cons this year. recently, a model has been adopted by lots of the .eu people which seems to work really well and which we'd like to try to have here in the states...

while it's been a lot of fun in the past, we're all of a mind that there are better ways to present lockpicking than a large lecture event in one of the speaking tracks. the whole field of locks, physical security, and picking has attracted enough people that the number of complete novices has dropped to around 50% of any given crowd in a picking talk (or at least that's what i've found recently). on top of that, the kinds of locks, techniques, and new tools that are discussed nowadays are really numerous... i've had to either trim talks down a whole lot (i.e. - shmoocon, where i've managed to fit things into a two-hour slot by dropping some material) or i've talked for 3 to 4 hours (i.e. - the talk at DC13 and lectures to the cadets at west point). essentially, the whole field has grown beyond a normal speaking track.

at recent cons in europe (most notably what the hack) the idea of a "lockpick village" has cropped up... a dedicated area set aside where lots of tools, practice boards, etc etc. can be placed so people can come and learn at their own pace, walk around and experience a lot of different things, etc. barry, render, and i (along with everyone else to whom we've been talking) really like this idea.

at such cons, there are still some talks which appear in standard speaking areas, but typically these are events where people reveal just the most recent developments about a specific lock technology in a normal-length time slot.

there was a discussion in the lockpick contest area of the forums which touched on this. granted, there is merit to having the "lockpick village" in the contest room, since this can draw more interest in one event or the other, but Kai mentioned something which is sort of relevant... access to the contest space can be restricted at times. if we had a single room for lockpicking (and here i'm thinking a skybox, depending on the space) it could make for much nicer logistics. Kai and Doc could have keys in order to setup and run the contest whenever the competition rounds are happening. in addition, Render, Mouse, the others from toool and i could have keys to open the room up for frequent lectures and practice sessions. overall, however, everyone would still have the ability to close and lock the space (and thus secure all the hardware) if there are no people there and we want to go get food, etc.

with a small, controllable space like that we could have an assload of practice tools and hardware available. the biggest concern that some of us have had in the past was of things walking off when we slip out to go to the bathroom, or grab a drink etc. Kai was really really terrific about letting us add tables next to him in the contest room for a space where people could learn, and we covered for each other as needed so that there was always at least one person watching everything... but a room that the lockpicking people could open and close (with a schedule posted out on the door... i.e. "next Basic Intro session is at 13:00. next Advanced techniques session will be 16:00") would absolutely rule.

Grifter, DT... what does this plan sound like to you guys?

[Xodia]

PokerCon could DEFINITELY use this sort of a space as well. It would put our group out of the way of other people at the Con. Otherwise we would be using enough space for 80-100 people for three to five hours. With a skybox we wouldn't be stepping on anyone's toes.

Plus, it would facilitate a kickass PokerCon after party. :)

[TheCotMan]

Question that people will want answered:

What is the posted limit of people in these skybox rooms (standing/sitting) so we can plan around potential issues with the Fire Marshal?

Will there be a goon of some sort stationed on that floor?

Will Groups that have rooms be given credentials/token necessary to lock "their" space while they have it? (Deviant Ollam touched on this above.)

Does the hotel have cameras to cover these rooms? If they exist, should we assume they are part of the cycled displays being watched? What about the hallway?

If tables/chairs are wanted as additions or for removal to/from any room, who will be the contact to plan/arrange for this, and where will they be stored when not needed? How will different room events deal with adding/removing furniture if different events are scheduled that need/don't need this stuff in the room?

Audio/Video equipment? Screen? Video Projectors?

Coax to hotel TV system / CCTV?

AC Power? Amp Rating per outlet? 5, 10, 15, 20 amps? Available outles per room?

Access to control thermostat? AC? Heating?

Hotel/Casino requirements for food and drink in rooms? Restrictions to bringing trays/alcohol for people hosting parties?

Access to the "con" wired network from these rooms?

Keys to any cupboards/drawers in rooms? Private bars (if any) stocked? Can they be requested to be unstocked to avoid breakin-related fees?

How dark can the rooms get (video presentations) and do these rooms have extra, low-intensity lights that can be used while main lights are turned off?

Responsibility for (any) room/skybox damages? (Spilled drinks, food, etc.)

What information will be needed from any person who will be responsible for a room? (Real Name? Credit Card? Driver's License?) (Yes, weird question, but asked as such requirements may act as a limiting factor for who will request a room if they are required.)

Sinks in skyboxes? Water? Hot and cold?

Noise limits for music/audio? (Are there any neighboring spaces above, below or next-door to these rooms that might impose limits to noice levels in these rooms?)

Refrigerators in skyboxes? How big/small?

Phones? House-call only (room-to-room? Long distance? who would be charged?)

Questions? Answer all you want, I'll make more.

[Kai]

Deviant & Xodia - I totally agree.

That was kind of what I was hoping LPCON would one day turn into. The demo boards, the contest, the hands-on training last year could all be done so much better with a single secure space. At the same time, to share space, could have PokerCon in the same room in the evenings. I'm sure there will be enough goons at PokerCon that there will be little to worry about as far as boards/locks getting messed up. They could all be pushed to the side to make room.

heh, as an aside, I always like the "mini-con" thing. Could hang people upside down over the balcony and have people show their Houdini skills! :)

Oh yeah, as we found out, at LPCON II, there will need to be MUCHO signage for people to find there way to the contest room. It was bad enough at DC 12 when we first got a separate contest room, nobody knew where to go. I am sure this year will be even tougher with a new hotel

[TheCotMan]

Oh yeah, as we found out, at LPCON II, there will need to be MUCHO signage for people to find there way to the contest room. It was bad enough at DC 12 when we first got a separate contest room, nobody knew where to go. I am sure this year will be even tougher with a new hotel

This is where early planning can really help an event. If you know your room assignment and location 2 or 3 months before the con, you can advertise the location on a web page for the event, submit the location for inclusion in the official program, and discuss it on the forums.

This is not to replace signs, but sign have been known to, "walk off on their own," or get defaced with disinformation.