linuxword update

[epsasnova]

Okay, here's my attack strategy - 

Juggling - I'll get several stuffed penguins and start juggling them in
front of the Debian booth.  If that fails to bring in those mindless
drones, we can do a performance art funeral procession.  Get some
cardboard, spraypaint it black with red letters "Proprietary Software",
wear bright clothing and carry the coffin down the aisles singing "Amazing
Grace" or some other uplifting chant.  This of course, is the emergency
plan and we should only do this on the last day, in case we get kicked
out/for the best publicity.

Hacking Geeks - The "Huddled around the computer, leave me alone I'm
chomping on some tasty code" attitude that we exhibited at the ALS did
good to foster our image as genuine hackers as opposed to the marketing
drones at the other booths - One difference this year being that we should
open up our booth entrance, to allow the public to wander in and ask
questions.

Quickcams - Somebody can probably code a small, free and fast program to
manipulate/distort the individual frames coming from a quickcam. - Once
distorted we can broadcast (multicast!!!) the video stream to every
workstation.  If we can't get the system complete in time we can always
work on it while we're at the show --> that way we'll have something to
talk about as they pass us by.

The Big Shot Factor - Coffee - we'll have coffee and get some
cheap/free/fatty pastries from the "stale" section of a bakery/Safeway
Dumpster.  Set up folding chairs, put on some relaxing muzac and watch as
the dino-hackers come out of their slumber and gravitate to our spot.  If
we make our space comfortable enough, sooner or later Alan Cox, Linus,
RMS, Jesus Christ or whoever is going to chill out with us to shoot the
shit.  This, naturally, will bring their followers/adorers too.  This
happened last year, it will happen again - I'll bring the throw rug.

Uniforms - Suits, Ties, and Bahama Shorts (color coordinated) on the First
Day, Smoking Jackets/Bathrobes on the Second Day, etc...  something to
catch their eyes.

Let's find out who has the booth next to ours so we can leech their
bandwdth or something - we'll build a router to throttle it if they want
- I'll bring some extra ne2k cards.

Have Fun, this will be a long, joyless event if we don't - The most
important part.

Percolate this for a moment.

-----------------
Charles Esteban Paul
http://www.bluelight.net

       The Revolution Will Be Multicast

On Mon, 22 Feb 1999, G. Crimp wrote:

> On Mon, Feb 22, 1999 at 06:29:23PM -0800, David Bristel wrote:
> > Ok, now that the time is close, I'm wondering what sort of a display we want to
> > have there.  I'd personally like to see a solid demonstration of what makes
> > Debian better than the other distributions.  YOU know, and _I_ know, but to
> > those who have never seen Debian, they may want to see for themselves.
> > Depending on stations, perhaps showing off the installation process, and package
> > management would be good.  I've not tried the fresh setup of 2.1 yet, but it's
> > something that might attract some attention(hopefully good).  Any thoughts?
> > 
> > 						Dave Bristel
> > 
> 	I think it would be good to have a machine available to show an
> installation, but I don't think we can count on doing a demo.  My experience
> from a couple of shows up here is that it is next to impossible to do demos
> for even a small group.  Too much noise, too many distractions especially on
> a monitor that is crowded as soon as you get two heads in front of it.  Most
> people are going to want to talk and hear why they should use what we're
> offering.
> 
> 	Some really catchy stuff running on X couldn't hurt, but likely will
> serve more to show after the passer-by has been hooked in.  I think we will
> attract more people by being open and welcoming than from anything we might
> have showing on a monitor (except maybe for the geeks who can figure out its
> significance immediately).  Apparently passers-by decide in some
> ridiculously short interval (I think it is less than three seconds), from
> the moment they set eyes on a booth, if they are going to stop and talk.
> 
> 	In the overall sea of colour from fancy booths and back drops,
> monitors are pretty insignificant.  We should probably be thinking as much
> about how we present ourselves and what we will promote about Debian, as
> much as what we will have on the boxes.  Might seem rather silly, but we
> have found that something as simple (and backbreak tireing at the end of a
> long day) as making sure not to have our backs turned to the aisle and
> making eye contact got us more people than fancy stuff on boxes.
> 
> 	As for what to have on the glass once they are in, I will defer to
> the rest of you.  I am as yet only a wanna-be-geek, and not bleeding edge. 
> You people probably know much more cool stuff than I.
> 
> 	Gerald
>