ShmooCon. 2005. No moose. We swear.

[R. A. Hettinga]

<http://www.shmoocon.org/about.html>

ShmooCon.  2005.  No moose.  We swear.

 ShmooCon will be an all-new, annual East coast hacker convention hell-bent
on offering an interesting and new atmosphere for demonstrating technology
exploitation, inventive software & hardware solutions, as well as open
discussion of critical information security issues.  The first annual
ShmooCon will be held February 4-6 2005, at the Wardman Park Marriott
Hotel, in Washington, D.C., just minutes from your choice of overly-curious
3-letter agencies.  So register early to keep the feds from taking up all
the space.

ShmooCon will be a different breed of security convention.

 In a nutshell, over three days, there are three tracks:

 "Break It!" - a track dedicated to the demonstration of  techniques,
software, and devices devised with only one purpose in mind--technology
exploitation.  You will bear witness to some of the most devious minds,
source code, and gadgets on the planet that focus their energies on
breaking the technology we mindless sheep keep on buying.  Baaaaa.

 "Build It!" - a track that showcases inventive software & hardware
solutions--from distributed computing or stealth p2p networks to miniature
form-factor community wireless network node hardware or robotics even.  Let
loose your inner geek, and feel free to gawk.  With all the neat stuff,
it's important to take notes--that way we all have evidence to shoot down
some sleazeball patents 5 years from now.

 "BoF It!" - a track that promotes the open discussion of critical
information security issues in a "birds of a feather" format.  From
lightning open source code audits or wireless insecurity discussion panels
to DRM rants or anonymity & privacy strategies--it's down and dirty, with
plenty of controversy for folks who like hashing it out with fellow
hackers.  Feel free to throw your Shmooball here, but no fisticuffs,
please.  Settle your differences at Hack-or-Halo in the evening, instead.

ShmooCon will be thought provoking.

 Naturally, with one entire track dedicated to getting similar minds in one
room to openly discuss interesting topics, and with each topic discussion
being chaired by one or more intensely involved experts in that particular
field, people who attend ShmooCon are bound to give the muscle between
their ears a good workout.  You see, that's a key goal of this
conference--to get people thinking.  Whether it's thinking about the
future, thinking outside the box, thinking about where some of your freedom
has run off to, or perhaps rethinking that uber-secure .gov architecture
you just paid 5 million dollars to deploy that actually blows some serious
swiss-cheese chunks--it's high time you contributed some CPU cycles to your
own cause and future existence.  And once you start thinking, or hell,
maybe even before you start thinking, you can open your mouth and start
gabbing with people that have the same concerns and interests as you.  Get
your two cents in, and pick up a lifetime's worth of experience and
knowledge in return from the people around you.

ShmooCon will be entertaining.

 We might not have DefCon debauchery, but we heavily stress the might part
of that.  Damn near anything could happen when nearly a thousand hackers
descend upon the nation's capital.  While the Winter chill is sure to keep
most folks clothing on, the bar-crawls, club dancing, Hack-or-Halo
tournament, WLAN Bash 4 Cash, Shmooball violence, and unsanctioned attempts
at penetrating the 100+ .gov or Beltway Bandit wireless networks within 5
miles should make for quite an interesting time.  We've even convinced the
NFL to have the big game that weekend, so you and your buds can immediately
follow up the convention watching terribly expensive and mind-numbing
commercials while you try compiling all the cool code that was presented
earlier in the day.

ShmooCon will be affordable.

 As you can see, we're certainly not spending money on a web developer, but
don't be fooled by our l33t html Fu, ShmooCon is about high-quality without
the high price.  If you wait to register until the last minute, oh yeah,
you're going to pay out the ass--$250, in fact.  However, if you're not a
fed that has to wait until next fiscal year to get permission from your
mommy, daddy, and Uncle Sam, and you positively know that you are going to
ShmooCon, then we're down with that, as it were.  And so is the
cost--ShmooCon is $99 for anyone who registers before September 30, 2004! 
Aww, just shy of the new fiscal year, see?  No, we're not sorry for the
feds.  They can afford full price--have you seen your paycheck lately? 
Uncle Sam and cousin FICA could pay for ALL of us to go to ShmooCon, but
nooooooo.  Regardless, space IS limited, so register before the feds do.

 Can't afford $99?  Check out the call for papers!  Selected speakers AND
alternates get free admission to ShmooCon!

ShmooCon will be accessible.

 Well, except for our West coast friends.  Doh.  ShmooCon will be at the
Wardman Park Marriott Hotel in Washington, D.C., just a few steps from a
Metro stop.  That means you can catch a train from New York, Boston, or
Philadelphia to Union Station, hop on the D.C. Metro, and voila, you're
there.  Or, if you intend to fly, you can land at Reagan National, wave to
the good guys in uniform manning the mobile rocket launchers, grab a cab OR
hop on the D.C. Metro, and you'll be at ShmooCon before you know it.

 Can't afford to fly?  Submit your own !  The overall winner gets free
admission AND airfare from anywhere in the continental U.S. to ShmooCon
2005!

 So check out the site, keep visiting for news and schedule updates, and
tell your friends to register their asses for ShmooCon ASAP.  It's going to
be a blast, and we can't wait to see you there!


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 )2004, The Shmoo Group




-- 
-----------------
R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'