Who is invited to The Conference?
Prior
attendees suggest people to invite who will bring something to the
conference:
some idea, contribution, energy, or whatever it is that makes the conference
succeed. We believe that the attendees are 
:
people who enjoy pushing the envelope, bypassing limits, discovering
knowledge,
inventing solutions, and adventuring into uncharted areas. We try to
find people from all domains / professions, from around the world, who
are
the tinkerers, who take a hands-on approach to actually creating and
doing what everyone else thinks is the impossible. We actively encourage
diversity in our attendees, in who they are, where they are from, and
what they do. If
you're an artist, musician, designer of prestidigitational effects, bio-engineer,
etc., then you are
appropriate for this conference and this conference is appropriate for
you.
What's
a 
?
An expert in their field who tries to do the impossible... who pushes the envelope of technology. They are not the people who break into computer systems. These are the people who created the Personal Computer industry and who actually built the Internet.
Even 15 years ago there was one meaning for this word... it was a very complimentary, very positive word. Sadly, there's now another definition, with quite the opposite meaning. The definition created by the media means something very negative. Many people still use the term as a compliment while some news reports and governments use the term to mean a criminal.
The
original meaning of the word was a very positive one, someone who is excited
(intrigued, interested) by the challenge of doing things that other people
say are nearly impossible; someone who has great fun finding the way to
succeed by inventing an interesting solution; someone who enjoys just
trying to find a way to do the impossible even if they don't actually
succeed. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology these people were
referred to as and
this is the term that has survived.
Computer
find
it challenging to figure out how operating systems and networks work,
and to make them do things not thought possible. The telephone system
became the challenge for a few who discovered undocumented features. Even
though very few people broke into the phone system, they caught the attention
of the news media and the police. Unfortunately, the media began using
the term when referring to virtually all such crimes, totally ignoring
the original positive meaning of the word and the fact that very few real
in the original sense of the word were involved.
About The conference: Who | What | Where | When | Why you should attend | Thank You
Registration | Application Form | The Sessions | The Agenda | Speaking at the Conference
This page last updated 2005-11-28