I’m currently trying to get my flight rearranged so that I can arrive at Boston on Tuesday instead of Wednesday, which should make it easier to get the last-minute FUDCon logistics handled. Since the next couple of days will be hectic, I wanted to give a brief overview of the next couple of days here.
Fedora will have a display table at the Summit, located near the Red Hat Cool Stuff Store. (And what could be cooler than Fedora, I ask you?) We’ll have it staffed during the event by Fedora volunteers — and even though we have people signed up already, it’s not exclusive. Feel free to sign up for a slot alongside any of the names there. Meet someone you only recognize by name, and get to know them!
At the table, we’ll be making Live USB keys for people who bring us a stick. Depending on whether anything else is open, the table may be active on Tuesday night, but it will definitely be open starting Wednesday morning.
If I can arrive on Tuesday, my plan is to attend the opening Summit keynotes on Wednesday morning, then meet up at the booth with anyone who’s around. This will probably be around 10:00 a.m. or so. From there we can make plans for the rest of the day.
On Thursday at 9:00 a.m., FUDCon begins. We’ll all convene on the 3rd floor of the Hynes Center, where the signs should point the way to FUDCon. We have a large hall flanked by two smaller conference rooms. The opening of FUDCon will take place in the big hall. We’ll have people in place starting between 8:00-8:30 a.m. to give out badges. (If you’re around on Wednesday, feel free to come by the aforementioned Fedora table, since we might already have the badges at that point.)
At Thursday morning’s opening I’ll make a couple brief comments. This will likely be just a welcome message, and some organizational points of order. Then the mike will be turned over to each of the hackfest leaders — including anyone who decides to become one on the spur of the moment! — in turn, for them to brief the attendees on what they’re trying to accomplish over the next couple of days.
We have light snacks, sodas, and water available in the FUDCon space in the morning, on Thursday and Friday. We purchased roughly enough for 150 attendees, but they’re unlikely to last into the afternoon if everyone tries to subsist on just snacks. (Food service is really expensive at the Hynes Center, in case you hadn’t guessed.) The good news is that the Hynes center is within walking distance of a lot of places to eat. I’m told that there’s some sort of food court nearby, so I’ll be scoping that on Wednesday to get details. Keep in mind that the folks who have pre-registered have dibs on snacks; we don’t need snack police but, as always, let’s play nice with each other. ?
And remember, on Thursday afternoon at 4:00 p.m., Jim Whitehurst will be speaking at FUDCon in our large hall. To make things easier on Jim, we’ll move any ongoing hacking to the two additional rooms, so he can speak in the big hall without too much commotion there. I suspect his voice will be straining a bit after a couple days of continuous conversation with Red Hat customers, partners, and associates.
We’ll have plenty of announcements about Saturday’s BarCamp by Friday, and they’ll be carried here on my blog (and probably others) as well.
I look forward to seeing so many of our community members, old and new, and hope you’re as excited as I am by this FUDCon! We’ve pretty much reached the end of pre-registration at this point, with almost 150 signups as of this morning. But remember that the event is free and open to everyone, so continue to spread the word!