Hi! Since I called for the meeting, I realized that it would be nice to give you a status update on how things are looking for DebConf8.
Venue ----- For a while we entertained the possibility of finding a suitable venue in Buenos Aires. But it's already obvious that we won't get what we want in BA. So, we are sticking with what was proposed for the bid. Hotel 13 de Julio [1], in Mar del Plata (MDQ). The people at the hotel are very nice, and very accomodating to our needs. [1]: http://www.hotel13dejuliomdq.com.ar/ (the site has been changed lately, and it does not work well with Firefox, I'm already asking them to fix this) Internet -------- The only drawback that we found in the last visit is that due to the architecture of the building, we can't connect the sleeping-rooms to the conference-rooms via LAN. All the sleeping-rooms have Internet through wireless. It's an ADSL connection (currently 2M per 3 floors of rooms, this can be taken to 5M), but it won't be connected to the main connection (that goes to where the hacklabs will be). However we think that this is a small problem. During DC7 we didn't even have internet at the sleeping quarters, so, having _SOME_ internet is always better than not having it. You will be able to chat and read email from your room, if you want to do something that requires LAN, then you should be in the hacklab. Regarding the main Internet connection, we haven't yet decided on the ISP that we will hire. We can use the hotel's connection as backup (again: currently 2M for the conference-rooms, can be taken to 5M), but we will obviously hire a bigger, more reliable connection. The wireless coverage is quite good, in the conference area they have some extra spots where additional APs can be installed in case it's needed (with power and lan connection already there). Dates ----- We haven't yet settled on the dates. It will be in August, that's for sure, but which weeks in August is yet to decide. We would like to decide this in the IRC meeting of the 17th. I created a wiki page [2] with the advantages and disadvantages of each pair of weeks. [2]: http://wiki.debconf.org/wiki/DebConf8/Dates Finances -------- There are two groups that are willing to help us with this part. A foundation called "Fundación Vía Libre" and a cooperative, called "GCoop". Currently, Fundación Vía Libre is going to open up an account for "the DebConf8 project", and we want to try to receive the money that was left in UK as soon as possible, so that we can test how long it takes to get any money in. We will probably need to sign a "contract" or something like that between Fundación Vía Libre and who ever is sending us the money from the outside. Budget ------ The economy in Argentina is not faring as well as we would like. Prices for food and lodging are going up _in dollars_ (i.e, prices go up, dollar stays put). The amount is not yet so much that it would go out of budget, but this is one of our main fears. If both went up, then it wouldn't make such a difference budget wise, but we have no real certainty as what is to happen in the near future. Our country is electing President by the end of next month. Maybe after that, we will have a more clear idea of the 2008 economy. Unfortunately, the hotel can't freeze the prices for food or lodging till after March 2008. The prices for the conference rooms can be freezed when we make a deposit (which will be: when we receive the money from UK), but the conference rooms are not such a big part of our budget this year. Audio & Video ------------- There is a knowledgeable group of people in MDQ that has equipment that can be rented for use during the conference. We asked for a budget, we are waiting for it. This includes all types of equipment that we might need: projectors, PAs, microfones, video cameras, mixing consoles, etc. These people work with most of the conferences that take place in the hotel, and are thus quite reliable. Also, for bringing equipment from outside Argentina, we are studying a legal figure called "temporary importing", which allows you to bring in expensive equipment and then send it back, without having to pay any taxes. Logo & Website -------------- We have decided that the logo will be the one that won at the DebianArt Contest [3]. We made some small changes over that logo, Marcela has the final version (and she will send it to this list, any day now). The website is currently under construction. We decided to go without cms or the like. It uses sever-side-includes for headers/footers/menus, and editors will edit directly in html. [3]: http://www.debianart.org/cchost/?ccm=/media/files/mlt/227 -- Besos, Marga _______________________________________________ Debconf-team mailing list [email protected] http://lists.debconf.org/mailman/listinfo/debconf-team
