FreeNetworks Conference in Las Vegas

belial writes "The FreeNetworks Conference is in less than a month (June 6-8). If you want to find out what's happening in the Community Wireless Network world, this is the place to be. Keynotes include Tim O'Reilly, Cory Doctorow from BoingBoing, and a whole gaggle of wireless geeks from the FreeNetworks community. Find out about the latest happenings from BAWUG, Consume, NoCat, NYCWireless,SeattleWireless, WirelessLeiden, and more!"

Comments

Ehem..

[CausticWindow]

Free as in beer, or speech?

Re:Ehem..

[forand]

Nope . . . $250 is not free as in beer.

Re:Ehem..

[Anonymous Coward]

beerfree wireless? that would be the day

Re:Ehem..

[Anonymous Coward]

Free as in, show up to this conference for $250. (Read the article)

cost

[DHR]

I'd like to go, but $250 is a bit steep for unemployed wireless geeks used to leeching bandwidth for free.

Oh, the irony

[Wonko42]

How ironic. I just happened to be bored at work, so I popped open my laptop and attempted to connect to a wireless network from a nearby office. Lo and behold, they aren't using WEP and they're running a DHCP server. The first thing I did after connecting was browse to Slashdot, and I find this article at the top of the page.

Hooray for free (as in beer) wireless!

Re:Oh, the irony

[jonfelder]

Perhaps you should keep reading.

Re:Oh, the irony

[evilviper]

You know, if they didn't have DHCP, you could just use TCP dump, or similar to find the newtwork addresses being used, and choose a similar one.

Maybe that is the purpose of NTOP after all.

this could be cool

[the-dude-man]

this could turn out to be quite a cool conference....I'm planning on attending..there is a few problems with wi-fi right now that need to be addressed....such as the lack of security....I have driven thru downtown boston with a laptop and a wi-fi card....and roamed thru about 30 networks, getting on all of them...and succsfully emailing the sysadmins from them too.

There are certian issues, such as security, transmitability and frequency collisions wich need to be addressed, Supposivly the conference plans on addressing these....I'm curious to see what they have.

Webcast Live with specially donated ...

[burgburgburg]

hardware/software from Microsoft.

"Hey, why are all the speakers on stage kicking those puppies? Since when is Osama Bin Laden a FreeNetworks guest speaker?!? Look! Steve Ballmer is rushing the stage! He's clotheslined everyone and he's saved the puppies! I guess the smart thing to do is stick with Microsoft-approved networks. For the sake of all of those puppies."

I want to know!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Where the hell is everybody getting this "free beer"?!!

Re:I want to know!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

If you look at the Agenda pages, you'll notice that if you stay at the same hotel as the conference, you do in fact get two free beers. Still not $250 worth, but it is technically free beer.

Re:I want to know!!!

[Subnirvana337]

The free beer quote is from Revolution OS (or was used in it) by Richard Stallman to explain the Free software movement. That was the first I heard of it...correct me if I'm wrong people

No, free as in taxes

[writertype]

I see "FreeNetworks" costs $250 to attend. I wonder if that comes with a free slot pull to allow you to try and win some of it back.

Vegas?

[_ph1ux_]

Well thats nice and all...

but considering that its about free networks and such - why vegas. I mean I just got back from interop and the whole conference thing is vegas is nothing about FREE. in fact nothing about vegas has any remote association with free.

I would prefer that a conference like this happen in SF or some such more technically dense place - maybe moscone....

I would love to go - but cant afford the price of now astronomical vegas plane fair (200 bux from bay area) and all associated costs.

The other thing about vegas is that its a city designed on a wide scale - with monolithic structures generally spaced very far apart.

Pick a more verticle venue - like SF (no bias here ;) and then provide a free wireless network for several city blocks. Build it similar to the interop demo network that vendors threw together - and let people see how products are going to work in a dense city with lots of signal obstructions...

I mean I am really into wireless but I swear - the people involved at the core of the movement have zero vision.

Let get someone whos really wanting to promote wireless and get out there and build something real-world. not just some lame ass wireless PDA support in a conference center.

Re:Vegas?

[tedtimmons]

plane fair? What, you ride planes instead of the normal fair rides?

Seriously, the advantage of Vegas is the exhibition and meeting space. There are a plethora of moderately priced hotels and convention space, so you can get a bunch of geeks together. Plus, there are easy flights from most US cities direct to Vegas, most reasonably priced. Cab rides are only a few dollars from the airport to the hotel, since everything is located close to the Strip.

Then there is SF: too many people and buildings crammed on a little peninsula, incredibly expensive hotels and conference space, inconvenient to the rest of the US- especially the East Coast, overcrowded airport and roads, need I continue?

The linux/freenetworks movement isn't about spending dot-com cash in flashy Bay Area venues. Vegas fits- tacky, but cheap and accessible.

Not to mention the geek factor of CSI.

Personally, I hate Vegas. But it's good for conventions.

Re:Vegas?

[Anonymous Coward]

This isn't about convenient or cheap. It's about being cyberpunk. These guys all have advanced Gibson/Stephenson fantasies so they're having their meeting in the cyberpunkiest place they can think of, lacking the imagination to go to Tokyo or Guangzhou.

Re:Vegas?

[_ph1ux_]

The linux/freenetworks movement isn't about spending dot-com cash in flashy Bay Area venues

You ever been to interop or comdex or other large scale conference in vegas?

seriously, you're delusional if you think there is no money wasting going on there. Do you have any idea what the conference booths cost that many companies use at large vegas conferences? MILLIONS. yes Millions.

they point about the wireless I was making was that they need to do it in a real, dense city environ - re-read my comment.

the price was just an aside. I could give a shit about the geek factor of CSI - I want to see products and services that work. Thats why I am a GEEK - because I like to think about getting shit to work!

Re:Vegas?

[malia8888]

Yes, Vegas. Where else can you find a buffet for $2.95 and shrimp cocktail for 2 cents per beady-eyed shrimp? But, more importantly, this is one place silicon valley can meet silicone valley.

Re:Vegas?

[Anonymous Coward]

There is free stuff in Vegas. Just sit by a slot machine, holding a quarter as if you're about to play, and after a few minutes a scantily-clad waitress will quickly offer you a beer or cokctail.

Re:Vegas?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes, Vegas. Where else can you find a buffet for $2.95 and shrimp cocktail for 2 cents per beady-eyed shrimp? But, more importantly, this is one place silicon valley can meet silicone valley.

Would those "beady-eyed shrimp" be the two-legged or eight-legged kind?

250 isn't too bad except

[rumpledstiltskin]

the conference is in vegas...That'll make the bill just a little bit more than 250

Re:250 isn't too bad except

[evilviper]

Yeah! Add $2 for each time you visit the all-you-can-eat buffet, and $20 for a hotel per-day. Oh, Vegas is so terribly expensive...

Re:250 isn't too bad except

[Anonymous Coward]

And like $200 in gas round trip.

your sig

[CausticWindow]

Linux-screws? Come again?

Viability

[Brett Glass]

One of the issues not often discussed by the cheerleaders for community wireless networks is how to make them viable. I founded the first wireless community network, in 1994, and we're still going strong; however, our policies are very different than that of the Johnny-come-latelies. In particular, we require accountability (to avoid drive-by spamming, which could in turn cause our upstream link to be cut off) and have dues (bandwidth and equipment are not free, and we want to be a going concern). We're thus a "cheapnet," not a "freenet." But our model works, and the members appreciate the fact that we'll be there tomorrow. I don't get the sense, from the Web site, that many of the people who are doing these projects are thinking about many of the issues we've faced....

Re:Viability

[_ph1ux_]

Exactly - (see my other post in thread)

But it even goes beyond that. There are many people that are looking at wireless services from both directions; Carrier traditional telco model, and Free community network (cheapnet as it were) model.

The problem is that nobody is looking to compbine the two. Each has its share of problems;

Carrier telco model is a rape the consumer fuck privacy - make a killing and make no attempt to actually *do something good* and begin to turn the telco model around to actually benefit the consumer.

Telco's traditionally screw over the consumer. Take a look at the Cell industsry. People who work in the cell market will want you to believe that its hard to survive and all these "features and services" cost a ton to offer. They also want the feds to beleive tha they ned federal subsudies and assistance (both financial and legislative) in order to continue to offer competitive products and services. The reality is that these people are making money hand over fist. Have you noticed how many Cingular Wireless brick and mortar stores their are? TONS. that rent, and building cost is not cheap. You are paying to much for what SHOULD be free - communication.

The Community wireless problem is differnt end of the spectrum - but still an issue..

in the community wireless version we run into problems - like I am sure you are aware, wher you have to have a responisble user base. the access to the network is free (cheap - youre not looking to grow it to a profitable business, or grow it to a nation or statewide carrier class service) - so really lets just call it a non-profit business org.

in these networks you hit constraints - specifically budget. Your network capacity and service offerings are limited by the willingess of its member to contribute self, time and money. and the energy that they put into the system to build it out and support it goes only as far as their enthusiasm.

That is all fine - but what is really needed is a little more commercially minded community network.

We definitely need to keep the telcos out of this space.

One of the things that just utterly amazes me about the wireless space - is how little vision and real understanding of the impact real ubiquitous wireless services will have on the way we compute (i dont want to say live or anything too grandiose here) - but it really is astonishing that its getting such reserved attention.

Wireless service will be the way you compute. period.

When I say *you* I mean an individuals typical interface into the world of devices around him will be over a wireless medium for a greater percentage of activities. obviously backbone services will still be hauled of lines of extremely high speed optical or otherwise. The datacenter will still be the wired nexus of big fucking boxes... but the users interface will be primarily wireless.

You may still carry high speed DSL service to home - or run a gig to the desktop for a workstation at work - but in the city, campus and home there will be the increasing use of wireless.

well where the heck is all this wireless bandwidth going to come from?

well, there are several players that are looking to own this space. but they are going after the space from a carriers perspective. The wireless packets dont stay wireless for long - generally (in a non mesh) they are only wireless for the first hop. otherwise its all traditional network equip that backhauls the stream.

So we get companies like intel, ibm and at&t funding startups like Cometa Networks. Cometa wants to be the "carriers carrier" of wireless services. meaning that the community wireless service at your local starbucks gets its bandwidth from cometa - and *more importantly* gets its physical back hauling from AT&T... This is bad.

Very bad.

The reason is that when you have a backend carrier - forget the fence that is cometa - cornering the market on the physical uplink, what happens to the cost of wireles

Re:Viability

[Saeger]

Have you noticed how many Cingular Wireless brick and mortar stores their are? TONS. that rent, and building cost is not cheap. You are paying to much for what SHOULD be free - communication.

My brother-in-law just opened a Verizon Wireless store. It's Verizon only, so he gets even better prices for being an exclusive partner. Anyway, he makes less than a dozen sales/plan-upgrades per day and he's apparently rolling in dough.

I keep telling him that his gravy train is going to be derailed by really cheap wireless meshes in a couple years, but he's confident the telcos won't allow that to happen. When I mentioned taxpayer funded Metro Area Networks he just laughed it off because the "telco could do it cheaper." :)

--