FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 3, 2006 CONTACT: press@2600.com +1 631 474 2677 2600 Magazine - The Hacker Quarterly is pleased to announce our upcoming conference, HOPE Number Six, taking place in New York from July 21st to 23rd, 2006. HOPE stands for Hackers On Planet Earth, and these conferences have become a gathering point for thousands of computer hackers, phone phreaks, net activists, government spooks, and a whole lot of curious people from all corners of the globe. The HOPE conferences have been running since 1994. HOPE Number Six will bring thousands of hackers together in the middle of Manhattan for three complete days of speakers, demos, videos, and workshops. Conference space in the Hotel Pennsylvania (Seventh Avenue and 32nd Street, across from Penn Station) will be transformed into a nexus for learning about hacker culture and seeing what hackers have been working on lately. HOPE Number Six is open to anyone interested in learning and participating. The conference program includes three packed days of speakers with two main speaker tracks and a third track scheduled on-site. Additional space has been set aside for presentations, demonstrations, and workshops. We will have a variety of vendors at the conference, and the whole space will be connected by a huge computer network with extremely high bandwidth. Highlights include talks by free software pioneer Richard Stallman, former punk rock singer turned spoken word artist Jello Biafra, the former "most dangerous hacker in the world" Kevin Mitnick, Project Gutenberg founder Michael Hart, former CIA operative Robert Steele, and acclaimed private eye Steven Rambam. Over 100 speakers will have presentations on a variety of topics including computer hacking, phone phreaking, legal issues, wiretapping, cryptography, urban exploring, lockpicking, and spying. In addition we will present the return of a favorite panel: social engineering - or how to get sensitive information from people who really ought to know better. A live demonstration of how to do this is planned. Additional talks include how to decode New York City's MetroCard, hacker filmmaking techniques, and even a discussion of hacker cooking. A panel of famous hackers who have gone to prison is also scheduled as is a study of the European hacker scene. And, in a first, there will be a "broadcast" of the WBAI hacker radio show "Off The Hook" in "indecent mode," designed to demonstrate the absurdity of current FCC policies. The New York debut of the Geek Comedy Tour 3000 will also be showcased as will the world premiere of "Urchin," a feature length movie starring several cast members from the hacker world. "The Lost Film Festival," a three hour, culture jamming video showcase will return after being featured at our last conference in 2004. But speakers are only one part of the HOPE conference. Throughout the huge complex, there will be such activities as Segway riding games, a Capture The Flag competition, a showcase of ancient computer systems known as retrocomputing, dramatic demonstrations of what Voice over IP technology is capable of, and an Internet connection faster than any ever seen at a hacker conference in the United States (more than 30 times faster than our last conference). Public terminals will also be on hand for those who don't bring their own computers to tie into the network. Running parallel to the HOPE conference on Saturday afternoon is the Palltech Seminar, an intensive series of talks designed for investigators, private eyes, law enforcement, and anyone else who's interested. All of the speakers from this seminar will also appear at a HOPE panel entitled "Privacy Is Dead - Get Over It." Hackers are curious people who live to learn and share information with others. Periodically, hackers like to meet up with like-minded people to learn from each other. At every HOPE conference, a whole new generation of hackers has been inspired to pursue knowledge and work on creative projects. Non-hackers also come to HOPE and learn from the hackers. New friendships and alliances are formed, and the world is hopefully changed ever so slightly for the better. Each HOPE conference is unique and incorporates new themes. HOPE has changed and grown substantially since the first conference, and this one is going to be different from the previous one. But one thing remains constant: it will be a fun and memorable event. To view the conference schedule, register for the conference, or get further information, visit http://www.hopenumbersix.net *** About 2600 Magazine: 2600, The Hacker Quarterly, has been in print since 1984. With a circulation of over 80,000, it is the voice of hackers in the U.S. and beyond. 2600 Magazine has been organizing the HOPE conferences since 1994. For other information, visit http://www.2600.com