FC: CFP conference pre-report from San Francisco; Politech dinner

From: Declan McCullagh (declanat_private)
Date: Tue Apr 16 2002 - 00:14:31 PDT

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    The Computers, Freedom and Privacy conference begins Tuesday in San 
    Francisco. (The pre-conference tutorials are on Tuesday, with the 
    conference itself starting Wednesday.)
    
    Last year's conference hotel was awful, and the weather was worse. I wrote 
    at the time:
    http://www.politechbot.com/p-01791.html
    >Unfortunately, the only bar in the hotel and all but one restaurant are
    >closed for repairs so there's no useful congregation area to estimate
    >attendance.
    
    This year it's in San Francisco, and the weather is fine -- sunny and 
    windy, and perhaps even warm enough for sunbathing by the pool (sheltered 
    from the wind on three sides).
    
    Some observations so far:
    * The hotel does have a bar this year -- not that large but serviceable.
    * Location is on Van Ness, in what the locals call one of the 
    less-desirable neighborhoods of San Francisco. Seems fine to me. Also it 
    probably makes the hotel a bit cheaper than downtown. It's about a 12-block 
    walk from downtown or Chinatown (head downhill on Bush st.)
    * Decide when you're checking in whether you want a room with a view of 
    downtown (sorry, the hotel isn't high enough for a view of the bay) or the 
    courtyard. The courtyard is quieter but not as interesting.
    * The hotel is shaped like a T, with one of the two ninety-degree angles 
    framing the courtyard. Of those two sides, only one has balconies. You may 
    want to ask for one when you're checking in.
    * All the conference events, including the typically off-site EFF Pioneer 
    Awards (http://www.politechbot.com/p-03378.html) are in the hotel.
    * About 450 people have registered (not all of those have paid), with a 
    maximum expected attendence of 500. This is in line with previous years. 60 
    of the registrants are journalists.
    * There should be an 802.11 wireless network.
    
    If you haven't RSVP'd for the Politech dinner on Tuesday evening, this is 
    your last chance. See:
    http://www.politechbot.com/events/cfp2002/
    
    -Declan
    
    
    
    
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