23C3: Who can you trust? (2006)

If you want to receive the 23C3 lectures live via TCP/IP, consult the Streams page in the 23C3 Wiki. It always reflects the current status and provides the necessary streaming URLs.

We are, as usual, expecting a really big run for entry tickets on the morning of the 27th – you had to wait about an hour last year. However, the ticket counter will open already on 26th in the evening. It is scheduled to open at 20:00, probably earlier. So if you are already in Berlin, please buy your ticket on the 26th in the evening. It will be a lot easier and faster for you and us – and will save you a lot of time standing in some cold ugly weather condition.

Everything else right now seems to work out quite smooth, no bigger fuckups, internet connectivity is already running. Oh, and just in case you have some old CPUs or Ram collecting dust somewhere in your room: Bring them to the Congress, we are collecting them for some kind of a benefit project.

Sometimes, while hacking, suddenly questions pop up:

What happens if I 0wn that box now?
Is it ethically justifiable to do this or that?
How much stress will happen if things go wrong?
What is the most efficient way to handle an interesting piece of information?
The Hacker Ethics Hotline offers fast and anonymous counseling on this and related topics.
Simply dial 1042 on the DECT phone next to you and make an appointment (real life, chat or phone). The Hacker Ethics Hotline is run by FX of Phenoelit, Ron, 46halbe and Frank Rieger.

[basic info]
The POC will provide the telephone system (Alcatel OmniPCX 4400) combined with an asterisk system for VoIP which is fully integrated into the PBX System.

Additionally the POC will also provide cable bound phones
which will be connected via the structured cabling system of the BCC.

Everybody can bring his own DECT/GAP compatible phone, which will be registered into the system.

[payoff] “a cellphone is so much more useful – why bring a DECT phone, too?”

you should bring a DECT phone for the following four reasons:

1. you can talk to other DECT phone users locally at the congress for FREE.
2. when you sit on one of the sofas in front of TV sets showing the talks then you can also LISTEN to the live audio streams, too.
   you can also listen in to the audio stream of the current talks while
   sitting in another talk room to check what is happening elsewhere.
3. you can be reached from the outside world via your SIP number, too!
4. you can reach all German and (some) international destinations, too. and for FREE.
5. you have access to funny services like the phone-maze or the community system formerly known as “Die Villa”.

[purchase]
Q: “do you sell any DECT phones on the congress?”
A: “NO. but there are several stores near the BCC which sell them,
e.g. Mediamarkt and Saturn.”

[warning on bad phones]
There is both a list of phones which are known to be
*incompatible* with the POC-Network in the Eventphone-Wiki
as well as a list of phones which are known to work.
Please check these in advance so you won’t bring an
incompatible one and then have to buy a usable one.
DECT Phone Compatibility List

[registration]
Please *register* your DECT analog and ISDN extensions
online in *advance* by using the
GenericUserRegistrationUtility (Guru).
This will speed up the registration progress at the congress *considerably*. This helps both you and us – and the people waiting in line behind you.

All registered extensions will automatically show up in the
phonebook:

[podphone]
Podphone is a multi-user phone to podcast platform.
Now – everyone can create his own podcast for free – by using a phone. Share situations with your friends or simply audio-blog your whole day.

“Broadcast” whenever and wherever you want to – with your very own personal podcast. It’s just a phone call away.

[phone numbers] Browse online Phonebook

[operators]
Sascha Ludwig and Martin Assenmacher are responsible for the POC.

PoC Group Call: 2000
PoCSascha: 2001
PoCMartin: 2002

Today was the “kickoff” day at the bcc, our very first day getting everything set up for the congress in the building. As every year, it was mostly a delivery day. Shirts, the proceedings and a lot of other stuff we need for the organization arrived – all the stuff we need quite early in our congress setup.

Most of the hardware used for the congress network is already in the building, huge stacks full of switches and routers were delivered today. Quite a lot of paperwork and unpacking to do – checking for any transportation damage and verifying the serial numbers of the hardware.

One of the rather weird issues this year is that we had to learn we will be affected by the current bad weather situation in the UK. Parts of the hardware which is provided by Force 10 Networks is used in their lab in the UK – and the plane scheduled to deliver this hardware was unable to take off due to foggy weather conditions. However, we are quite confident that the stuff will arrive in time. Everything else worked out quite well until now, even the uplinks to the bcc are already set up.

But: Tomorrow (23.) is our first “real” buildup day. We need a lot of volunteers to set up the whole building, so come and bring your friends – the bcc will be open from 08:00 to 18:00, we take care for food and drinks. See you there!

Lightning Talks give you up to ten short talks each day – between 4pm and 5pm.
Each talk is limited to five minutes.

Usually the topic is some cool program
or project – but it can also be a good rant.
So this year’s motto is “The good *and* the bad”.

You can still add your own praise or rant
by adding it to the page within the wiki.
Enter the title, language (DE/EN),
your name, contact address, and a short description.

But whatever the topic – dive right in, and make it count!
One “word” of introduction should suffice, and then
give us as many info as you can within four minutes;
when your hear the gong tell us again
what we should keep in mind about the topic.
And when you hear the buzzer, leave the stage.

Lightning Talks will be hosted by
Jennifer b9punk Gergen and Sven Guckes.
Sven has written a page with more info
including the rules for speakers and the audience,
and tips both for preparation and for presentation.
http://www.guckes.net/cccc2006/lightning_talks.html

and whenever you hear about
strange things – remember:
“who can you trust?”

The congress fahrplan is nearing completion, and we’re starting to plan the details. One important part of this is finding Heralds: volunteers who for a couple of hours are willing to be the main spokesperson in a conference room, who announce the individual sessions, and help out when something goes wrong.

Photo by smallcaps.

This year we would like to have a Herald for every single talk, not just the big ones in Saal 1. That’s quite an ambitious goal (our Herald schedule is comprised of 44 shifts), so we need lots of volunteers!

The job of a Herald is quite simple — main barrier of entry is that you don’t get shy when you introduce a lecture in English in front of a potentially huge crowd… And of course it’s an incredible opportunity to meet some really interesting people at Europe’s largest hacker conference!

For details and a schedule see the Heralds Wiki page. We’re going to have a preliminary meeting to brief our Heralds, so watch this blog for updates.

If you’re interested you can claim a shift by entering your name in the Heralds schedule on our wiki page — and feel free to contact me in case there are questions.