Slashdot Mirror
Worlds Largest Computer Party, In Progress
cyb97 writes "As I write this the worlds largest computerparty is going on in Hamar, Norway. The Gathering 2003 is in action with over 5.000 participants! Webcams and participants are live on the internet through a 1 gigabit line, so you better lock down your servers tonight!" Some of the webcam images are just surreal. Update: 04/17 01:00 GMT by T : Speaking of images, reader vvizard (currently Gathered) directs you to this directory of high-resolution images.
This looks a lot like Woodstock for computer geeks.
:-)
The Tech Group (TG) has a page explaining the differences
between a "LAN Party" and a "Computer Party", here is an
excerpt:
"But LAN party and computer party is the same thing!"
No. LAN party and computer party is NOT the same thing. At a
LAN party everything is centered around the network. Everybody
just sits there, staring at their screens whilst copying porn,
warez and playing games. A computer party is much more. There
are competitions, both in computer games and computer
art. People meet, people talk, and there is plenty to see and
experience even when away from you computer. (I didn't even
bring my computer to TG01, and I had a great time!). Sometimes
there are shows on the stage (LAN parties don't even have a
stage), and even speeches you can go to to learn more computer
stuff. How about learning something new and fun to impress your
friends when you get back home?
If you want to read the full page go here:
http://tg.nlc.no/notalan.html
We need to get one of these going in the US.
Doug Tolton
"The destruction of a value which is, will not bring value to that which isn't." -John Galt
If I wanted to watch geeks playing on computers I'd either go to work or get a mirror. Webcams...bah!
The anti-salmon
Beverages containing alcohol is not allowed inside the hall or anywhere near it
--
Well, what's the point then? 5,000 sober guys all trying to impress each other with the size of their equipment. It's like Hell.
If you aren't part of the solution, there is good money to be made prolonging the problem
I think we all slashdotted Norway...
/Me high fives everyone.
I'm not a prophet or a stone-age man,
I'm just a mortal with potential of a super man.
"As I write this the worlds largest computerparty is going on in Hamar, Norway. The Gathering 2003 is in action with over 5.000 participants!"
They'd have 10,000 participants if they brought datess!
"Derp de derp."
they use a "." instead of a "," to delimit their thousands. It's not a mistake. It's a communication deficit. Get over it.
I have both of the girl's phone numbers, if anyone is interested...
Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but copyright will always protect me.
and he's taken over 400 CDR discs with him.
;) I can't wait untill he gets back \o/ *cough*
Not that I'm emplying anything
The problem with slashdot is that most of its users were bullied and stuffed into lockers as kids!
A LOT of great stuff has come out of this event, if you follow the demoscene. I remember checking constantly to download the Amiga demo winners from this event. That stuff was cutting edge! I haven't looked at the last few years' winners, but I bet the competitions are still churning out some amazing code.
A few of the coding groups at these parties went on to form actual "money making" companies, like Team 17.
While I wouldn't characterize The Gathering as a Geek Think Tank, it most certainly ain't all about pr0n, warez, and fragging.
I am sitting at The Gathering at the moment, and I can say that there is not only gamers here. They made one section of the area a demoscene area (with a no gamers allowed banner).
It's a step in the right direction.
Note to self: get smarter troll to guard door.
Those poor geeks... that's only 200kbps per person. Even my cable modem is faster than that.
Tarsnap: Online backups for the truly paranoid
Is it me, or is the dude at the bottom center-right of this image of the gathering using a plasma tv as a monitor? If not, sure does look like a 42 inch screen. Maybe it's a new Apple flat panel ;-)
-- (Score:i, Imaginary)
'Um, hello? I'd like to get Norway installed on my PC. It's Mac compatible, right?'
Informatus Technologicus
If you are interested in what will happen here in the next few days, take a look here: Schedule.
Note to self: get smarter troll to guard door.
Just imagine the size of the pizza that they'll order for delivery...
Stop by my site where I write about ERP systems & more
this has dangerous potential for becoming diluted with no-nothings and w@nn@b3 31337 |-|@>
I think the US should do a Coding Party and show Norway how to have some REAL fun!
You can't judge a book by the way it wears its hair.
Imagine if everyone connected their computers and created a beowulf cluster!
They could then calculate the average time it's been since any one of them actually had a date (hopefully no overflow errors occur).
On their website, they link to their own Harlem-client for Windows for browsing SMB shares.
:o)
It seems to work from outside of the party too - anyone looking for a few thousand Windows boxes with shared files on might want to take a look.
Meep meep
If you see this message, you need to increase your "comment threshold."
Sdelat' Ameriku velikoy Snova!
Only on Slashdot could a blurry picture of what appears to be a few thousand computer users called surreal. Not only that, but one of the other webcams is pointing at a guys power supply. Breathtaking.
Cloud City Digital: DVD Production at its cheapest/finest
eh, so?
the gathering, the party, assemblies, and other european DEMOSCENE-parties are first, and foremost meant to be DEMOSCENE-parties, they're not meant to hell-of-a-size lan gaming parties anyways. they're about having good time, having couple of beers, shooting the breeze, checking some cool new/ancient hardware, toying around, catching up with old times. you're meant to compete with your creativy, not with your speed of wrist and accuracy in sniping.
the bigger demoscene events have been slowly turning into laning events though which is a shame.. the unity is left out, and the newer attendees don't often even know the history behind the events..
the number of attendees has nothing to do with the amount of fun, a lot of the smaller demoparties have been very funny events that have left many good memories.
if you're only a _gamer_ you take quakecon over that, if you're a demoscener, you don't even think quakecon as an option (except maybe have your own shadow party in the woods, telling legends over a camp-fire drinking beer).
btw, is it really so now that the gathering is _the_ biggest? 5000 for real? couldnt find accurate information on their webpage.
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
...just to see the result of somebody calling me a camping fag in person.
"Derp de derp."
The mass of unwashed humanity reminds me of another festive event
1. express mock confusion over European method of writing numbers
2. crack joke about the stench
3. post link to phony mirror (no, not goatse)
4. make inane soviet russia quip
5. write some "funny" source code
6. claim that hussein/bush is dead
7. submit more xbox articles
8. craft a list that ends with "PROFIT!!!"
Try to do that with a full B-net to scan, and 5000 people each doing the scanning. There was a reason why we went for the centralized model. :-)
(Oh, and I've blocked it for outside access now. :-) )
/* Steinar */
(This comment is of course GPLed.)
I went to The Gathering every year from 93 till 00 (except 95), and it just got more and more crap. That is, from the perspective of someone who is more interested in the creative aspect.
It might be me that got old and grumpy, but in the end it seemed like ~95 percent of the people didn't even realize that there were demo compos going on, they just turned their stereos louder.
The Gathering is a LAN party, even though they throw in a striptease, a DJ or a "Microsoft talks about their exciting new technology" conference in the middle of it. DO NOT GO THERE IF YOU COME FOR THE DEMO SCENE.
If you want creativity, check out Breakpoint, a party held in Germany from the 19th till the 21st of April. Yep, this weekend. I'm going, and I am from Norway.
I shall go and tell the indestructible man that someone plans to murder him.
Sales of consumer products containing a defined amount of coffeine is not permitted in Norway g..
WTF?AGENT SMITH
Can you hear me, CmdrTaco? I'm going to be honest with you.
I hate this place. This zoo. This prison. This Gathering, whatever you want to call it, I can't stand it any longer.
It's the smell, if there is such a thing. I feel saturated by it. I can taste their sweaty mice and every time I do, I fear that I've somehow been infected by it.
I must get out of here, I must get free. In this mind are the cheats. My cheats. Once the Gathering is gone, there's no need for me to be here. Do you understand? I need the cheats. I have to get some fresh air.
You have to tell me how... or you're going to die.
If Jesus wants me it knows where to find me.
Roger that! Back in the old days(hark-hark), when I first attended the Gathering(I think it was the second one staged at the time) we had no friggin' CS or RvS, and to vent our geek-rage we had to blow up an Atari in the nearby soccerfield! Heh, I guess the bastard flew some 10-15 meters into the air - and the crowd went into a frenzy(you would as well; couple the jihad of Amiga vs Atari with mamut-sized coffeine-pills and things tend to get ugly ;) )
Anyhow, the Gathering was indeed a demoscene-affair at the time, mostly emphasising the the C64 and the aforementioned Amiga. Those pesky sub-geeks who dared enter with their PC's and Atari's where quickly stuffed in a corner, only to sulk and cry vengance. Heh, weird how things have turned out..
This event must have been in 1991 if I recollect it correctly; I remember watching "T2 - Judgement Day", which was on those huuuuge fsck'in' CDROM's - pre-cinema as it was, I must admit the warez-scene was well and kicking in those days as well: Razor 1911 anyone! lol!
And there were babes as well! That's right, a crowd of exactly 2 females made it into the building. I guess there's more of these oddities now, but still marginal.
Anyone remember "Das Boot" by U-96(Alex Cristensen)? If I'm not mistaken, the dude was attending the Gathering when he made the finishing touch to the song - I can still feel the horror of trying to hold on to my speakers, coca-cola, pizza and joystick at the same time whilst this guy shook the air(and ground) with a criminally loud droning of bass and torpedo-drums! Who gave a shit for those eardrums anyway?
The Gathering '91 was: a week of hard techno and AC/DC, depraved of sleep, eating pizza and drinking coke, dropping caffeine-pills, the frequent lynching of unlucky bastards who accidently tripped on the power-cables and unplugged 50+ boxen, trying for hours to fix a mess of assembler-code only to end up with a psychedelic raster-line, admiring those hardcore Oslo-geeks in leather-jackets only to get punched in the face upon code-inquiring; Ah! Those were the days!
CS-fluffy wannabe-geeks can kiss my shiny pale ass!
"The only clear view is from atop the mountain of our dead selves." - Peter Carroll