HOPE Number Six

Speakers List & Schedule Posted

We’ve posted the list and schedule of sessions at HOPE Number Six to our website. We have a lot of really exciting talks this year — check it out!

17 comments June 30th, 2006

Preregistration Ending Soon - Euros, Credit Cards Will Be Accepted

As HOPE Number Six draws closer, so does the date when we have to close preregistration to ensure that everyone gets their tickets in time. In the United States and Canada, preregistration will end on Monday, July 10. For all other parts of the world, preregistration ends on Friday, June 30.

Preregistration is $60 for the entire weekend. The price at the door will be $75.

To make things easier for everyone, we will be accepting credit cards and euros at the door. Yes, that’s right, the European currency will be legal tender at HOPE. We expect many attendees from foreign lands and we want to do everything we can to make things convenient. The admission price in euros will be determined when we see what the conversion rates are like at the time of the conference.

We also expect the full HOPE schedule to be released in a day or two. Stay tuned.

12 comments June 28th, 2006

HOPE Numbers Station Mystery Solved

Listeners of 2600’s radio program Off the Hook know that we’ve been fascinated recently by some numbers stations which appear to have been popping up on the telephone network recently. These recordings, which sound eerily similar to the numbers stations which appear on shortwave and are purported to be operated by various governments’ intelligence services, have been announced by cryptic advertisements addressed to “Mein Fraulein” and appearing in the “Missed Connections” section of Craigslist.

Inspired by these phone numbers stations, the air of mystery surrounding them, and the apparent ease which with they can be created, I decided to create one of my own. …

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Continue Reading 10 comments June 22nd, 2006

HOPE Ride Board Now Available

Are you looking for a way to get to HOPE this summer? We’ve just launched our HOPE Ride Board on the HOPE Wiki. Using it is very simple - just look for people in your state or province to share rides with. If your location is empty, be the first to fill it in with your details. It’s a great way to save money, meet people, and make the ride go a lot faster.

Note: We’ve left Hawaii off the list as we doubt anyone will be able to offer a ride from there. If someone proves us wrong we will gladly add it.

The HOPE Ride Board can be found at http://wiki.hopenumbersix.net/Ride_Board.

June 20th, 2006

HOPE Vendor Table Registration

We’re making available a number of tables for folks who want to be able to display or sell their wares. These tables will be located in a highly-trafficked area of the second floor. We hope that a variety of groups will be able to take advantage of this opportunity to reach our attendees, and that our attendees will be able to see some neat products they might not otherwise get to know about.

Tables cost $250 each for commercial organizations; discounted rates are available for non-profit or personal projects. The commercial rate includes admission to the conference. We will provide tables, chairs, and tablecloths if you want them. To register for a table, or for more information, please email vendors@2600.com. Let us know who you are, what you are planning to sell or show, and if you will need electricity or a connection to the Internet (wireless or ethernet).

1 comment June 17th, 2006

Reminder: HOPE Planning Meeting NYC Tonight

Just a reminder: today, Friday, June 16, will be a HOPE planning meeting at the Citigroup Center in Manhattan. See you there!

3 comments June 16th, 2006

HOPE Network To Be Biggest Ever — How You Can Help

We’re happy to announce that the connectivity at this year’s HOPE conference will be the fastest we’ve ever had - and likely the fastest of any hacker conference ever in the States. Our network team has been hard at work making all of this possible. Your help at this stage can help to seal the deal.

We’ve already gotten one hell of a bandwidth donation but we still need to cover some other equipment and installation expenses to make it actually happen. If we can raise $5000 in the next two weeks, we will be assured of connectivity equivalent to an OC3 connection for the entire weekend. That’s more than 30 times what we had for The Fifth HOPE! This will make all sorts of projects possible as well as make it much simpler for HOPE attendees to stay connected.

Those interested in contributing to the cause will find a donation button on our main page which works through PayPal. Anyone who helps make this possible will be listed in the HOPE Conference Program. Donations of $1000 or more will get you listed as a benefactor, $200 or more as a contributor, $50 or more as a supporter.

This is something above and beyond what we were anticipating for this year’s conference which is why it wasn’t factored in to our original budget. This is a way for those of you who can afford it to pitch in and ensure that we have something truly spectacular and memorable this year.

Anyone who wishes to make a donation via a method other than PayPal, please contact us.

5 comments June 15th, 2006

Getting to NYC without Spending a Fortune

2600 staff has heard from an inordinate number of past HOPE attendees who have expressed financial concerns about the high cost of airfare this year. Well, move over, Rick Steves! Europe is lovely, but HOPE is in North America. While Edmonds is nice, they don’t make 737’s there! It’s time for a little domestic travel advice coming to you from scenic Renton, on the south side of Lake Washington.

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Continue Reading 18 comments June 12th, 2006

An Invitation to All 2600 Meetings

Friday is once again the day of our monthly 2600 meetings all around the world. To see if there’s a meeting in your area, check out http://www.2600.com/meetings/mtg.html.

We’re less than two months away from HOPE Number Six (July 21, 22, 23, 2006) and we’d like to get a record amount of participation from 2600 meetings all around the world.

What does this mean? On any given “meeting day,” there are thousands of people throughout the world gathering, trading information, planning projects, and in general really getting the authorities in their respective locales into an uproar. This is what we’re all about and it’s inspired everything from Hollywood blockbuster movies to security systems, as well as all kinds of cool software, art projects, and hardware design. (It may have also helped to inspire the Patriot Act but we can’t take credit for everything.)

So among all of you meeting attendees there are some really cool things going on. We think it’s about time this was shared in a bigger arena than just your local meeting space. Assuming you will be at HOPE this summer, why not also let the rest of us in on some of the cool stuff your local 2600 gathering has been up to?

We’ll be providing free table space to any 2600 group that is currently listed in our meeting section. You can use that space to show off some of your projects, reach out to the public, and meet a whole lot of people from other 2600 meetings all around the world.

If this is something you’d be interested in, let us know by emailing vendors@2600.com and telling us which group you represent, how many of you there are, and what kinds of cool things we can expect from you.

NOTE: This is NOT vendor space despite the email address - we will be making an announcement shortly for people interested in selling stuff at the conference.

We have a lot of space but even that will eventually be limited so let us know as soon as possible. And don’t forget to register for HOPE while preregistration is still open. It’s only $60 for the weekend if you do it now. Those who wait will pay $75 at the door. Visit http://www.hope.net for more info on the conference, how to get rooms, etc.

3 comments June 1st, 2006