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Debian "debconf" 2002 Set For Toronto in July

Posted by timothy on from the apt-get-yourself-there dept.

evil_one writes: "Debian Planet is reporting that the official announcement has gone out regarding Debconf 2002. It's going to be held July 6-8th , making it rather convenient for anyone who wants to attend the Ottawa Linux symposium this year."

13 comments

  1. Debconf. 2002 info by illusion_2K · · Score: 2, Informative

    FWIW, I happen to be the organizer at York University, which is where it's being held. I'd be happy to answer any venue-related questions that anyone has. Just post them in a reply to this message.

    Keep in mind that I don't anything about the conference proper (nor do I use Debian). Joe Drew left his e-mail in the article and I'm sure he'd be happy to answer any questions about conference content, etc...

    1. Re:Debconf. 2002 info by seann · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I have a general question, Whats this all about?

      Just a expidition type meeting?

      --
      I'm a big retard who forgot to log out of Slashdot on Mike's computer! LOOK AT ME.
    2. Re:Debconf. 2002 info by illusion_2K · · Score: 1

      Good question.

      Unfortunetly I'm not the person to ask =). But maybe this report from last year will give you a better idea of the goings-on.

    3. Re:Debconf. 2002 info by Ender_the_Xenocide · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I have a question:

      Is it 5th-7th or 6th-8th? Debian Planet says 5th-7th, Slashdot says 6th-8th, the "official announcement" email says, "Friday, July 6, to Sunday, July 8, 2002". My calendar says the 6th is a Saturday.

      So is it Fri-Sun, or the 6th-8th? (I'm guessing Fri-Sun, but I want to be sure.)

    4. Re:Debconf. 2002 info by illusion_2K · · Score: 1

      Yup, it's that Friday to Sunday.

  2. Awesome! by sinserve · · Score: 1

    I will most definetly be there, but before I fly
    to Canada, can any local residents recommend some
    geeky places for us to visit?

    Also, how is the night life there? clubs, chicks,
    beer? :-D

    Are there gonna be any lan parties?

    If debconf starts to look too formal, the fun people
    amongst us can get in touch through IRC/email, and
    arrange for our own debconf after parties and
    gatherings.

    I will be bringing some wild lads from Virginia Tech, and Duke :-D

    --

    1. Re:Awesome! by illusion_2K · · Score: 1

      Maybe I can answer some of your questions...

      can any local residents recommend some geeky places for us to visit?

      The three main things that I can think of are

      Playdium - a big arcade. There used to be one in downtown Toronto, but it doesn't seem to be listed on their web page. Either way, the Mississagua one isn't too hard to get to if you have a car.

      Canada's Wonderland - a theme park. Good for a day's worth of entertainment.

      You also might be interested in the Ontario Science Centre

      Also, how is the night life there? clubs, chicks, beer?

      All great! I usually check out toronto.com for that stuff. It's a decent website.

      Are there gonna be any lan parties?

      Maybe. I don't know. I've reserved a residence for participants who want to stay on campus and it does have ethernet, but I still have to talk to the computing people to arrange for the connectivity to be activiated. So while I can't make any promises, it's pretty likely you'll be able to arrange something.

      Drop me a line if you want to know anything else about the venue.

    2. Re:Awesome! by Ender_the_Xenocide · · Score: 1

      World's best bar: Smokeless Joe's. I used to work just down the street from it. 250 imported beers, and I worked through most of em. Well, a lot of em. Mmmm.... Belgian lambic... (Pricey, though.)

    3. Re:Awesome! by HoserHead · · Score: 2

      Playdium near the Paramount (downtown Toronto) is closed now, unfortunately. The Mississauga one is the closest afaik.

    4. Re:Awesome! by HoserHead · · Score: 2
      Yeah, I work just down the street from Joe's, too. Unfortunately it's gone down-hill recently: the old Joe was bought out by a new Joe, and the service, the ambiance -- it's just not the same.

      As well, the mystique of Joe's is kind of ruined once you've discovered that most of the beers can be bought for 1/2 the cost at the LCBO...

      And as a final addition, Joe's is quite far away from York University. :)

    5. Re:Awesome! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There is a TD place just across the street from the main entrance of York (On Keele) if that's what you want.

  3. What is Debconf? by HoserHead · · Score: 2
    I'm the organizer for the high-level Conference (Alex is the organizer for York University-related bits).

    First: Just what is Debconf?
    Debconf, or Debian Conference, is a gathering of Debian developers to talk about Debian, learn various projects that people might be working on, and to meet our fellow developers. It's very much a tech-oriented conference, but it isn't restricted to just debian developers in any way. Interested users and general well-wishers can attend too, though some of the talks may be a bit uninteresting or over their heads, depending on the user's experience level.

    Second: Why Toronto?
    The previous two debconfs have been held in Bordeaux, France. The organizer of the Bordeaux conferences wasn't interested in doing the third, and it was thrown out to go to North America somewhere. People were a bit wary of going to the United States, and I threw my hat in - Why not Toronto? And then said, "Hell, I'll do it, in Toronto." Alex offered to do some organizing on his side, at York, and here we are.

    It's going to be held from the 5th to the 7th of July, 2002 (not the 6th to the 8th - Alex and I both made a mistake as to the dates). None of the presenters are definite yet, and there is no definite schedule either. But it will likely prove to be as enlightening and interesting a technical conference as the previous 2, and I am looking forward not only to organizing it, but also to being a participant. :)

    Feel free to reply to this message and ask any Conference-specific questions. I'll do my best to answer them.

  4. Pretty good timing..... by R3 · · Score: 1

    ...considering that the World Youth Day (and Pope) will be in town around July 20th.