Mailman 3 January 2006 - Pycon-announce

Reminder: reserve PyCon hotel rooms today
by A.M. Kuchling 01 Feb '06

01 Feb '06

Last reminder: reserve your PyCon hotel rooms today! Go to http://us.pycon.org/Addison/Hotels for a link to the reservation page. After today, you can still try to book rooms at the conference rate. The hotel, however, doesn't guarantee that rooms will be available at that rate, and you may end up having to stay somewhere else, or pay the hotel's full price. --amk

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Open space activities at PyCon
by A.M. Kuchling 19 Jan '06

19 Jan '06

One PyCon tradition is leaving blank spaces on the schedule for attendees to fill in with their own events, such as birds-of-a-feather discussions, presentations, or brainstorming sessions. Many open space events are arranged on the spur of the moment at the conference, but you can also start setting things up now. For instructions on how to set up an event in this open space in the schedule, please see the instructions at <http://us.pycon.org/TX2006/OpenSpace>. --amk

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Sharing rooms
by A.M. Kuchling 16 Jan '06

16 Jan '06

If you're trying to reduce your hotel costs for PyCon, there's a wiki page at <http://us.pycon.org/Addison/RoomSplitting> for listing yourself as a potential roommate. (Of course, PyCon and the PSF take no responsibility for the outcome if you share a room with someone you don't know well.) A.M. Kuchling amk(a)amk.ca Chair, PyCon 2006 http://us.pycon.org

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PyCon: last day for early bird registration
by A.M. Kuchling 15 Jan '06

15 Jan '06

Sunday, January 15th, is the last day on which you can obtain the lower early-bird registration price. The cost of registration will be going up on Monday; I'm quite sure that the early bird period will *not* be extended again. Another reminder: if you're coming to PyCon and staying in the conference hotel, you *must* reserve your hotel rooms before February 1st in order to get the lower conference rate; if you reserve after the 1st, you'll be stuck paying the hotel's standard room rate. Go to http://us.pycon.org/Addison/Hotels for hotel information and a link to the reservation page for PyCon. A.M. Kuchling amk(a)amk.ca Chair, PyCon 2006 http://us.pycon.org

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PyCon: Plone, Python, BitTorrent keynotes
by A.M. Kuchling 09 Jan '06

09 Jan '06

The keynotes at PyCon 2006 can now be announced. Alan Runyan and Alexander Limi will open the conference with a keynote about Plone. I haven't received a title yet, but I expect it will provide an overview of Plone's current status, how it's developed, and where the Plone project is headed. On the middle day of the conference (Saturday), Guido van Rossum will give his traditional State of Python talk that will presumably cover the new features that were introduced in Python 2.4 and the features coming in Python 2.5. On the final day, we'll have Bram Cohen, creator of BitTorrent. The format won't be a conventional keynote; instead, Cohen has requested to be interviewed. An interviewer hasn't been chosen yet, but you can suggest questions on a wiki page at <http://wiki.python.org/moin/PyCon2006/BramCohenInterview>. A.M. Kuchling amk(a)amk.ca Chair, PyCon 2006 http://us.pycon.org

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PyCon TX 2006: Early-bird registration ends Jan. 15!
by A.M. Kuchling 09 Jan '06

09 Jan '06

Early bird registration for PyCon TX 2006 ends on January 15th, so there's only a week left. To register, please go to: http://us.pycon.org/TX2006/Registration You can still register after Jan. 15th, but the cost will go up by US$65 (US$25 for students). This year PyCon will feature a day of tutorials before the three days of regular presentations. Course outlines for all the tutorials have been posted; see http://wiki.python.org/moin/PyCon2006/Tutorials All of the PyCon tutorials are still open for new registrations, but space is limited. Don't forget to book your hotel room, too. PyCon TX 2006 is being held at a Dallas/Addison hotel, and we have negotiated a special low rate of $79 plus applicable taxes: http://us.pycon.org/Addison/Hotels We hope to see you in Texas! Regards, A.M. Kuchling amk(a)amk.ca Chair, PyCon 2006 http://us.pycon.org

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PyCon: hotel issues resolved
by A.M. Kuchling 06 Jan '06

06 Jan '06

I'm assured that the reservation issues with the hotel have now been resolved, so you can now go ahead and book your hotel room for PyCon at the conference rate. See http://us.pycon.org/Addison/Hotels for more information and a link to Marriott's reservation site. If you've already booked a hotel room at the standard rate, call the hotel back and have them change your reservation to the conference rate. A.M. Kuchling amk(a)amk.ca Chair, PyCon 2006 http://us.pycon.org

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PSF: Funding available for attending PyCon
by A.M. Kuchling 05 Jan '06

05 Jan '06

The Python Software Foundation has allocated some funds to help people attend PyCon 2006. If you'd like to come to PyCon but can't afford it, maybe the PSF can help you. The funding can cover any or all of: * Your registration for PyCon. * Your hotel room at the conference hotel * Your flight or other transportation. To apply, send an e-mail to <pycon at python.org>. Please state your name, location, and what you would like to have funded. If you want assistance with your transportation costs, please provide a rough estimate (say, to the nearest US$100) of how much a round-trip flight/train ride/etc. will cost. You should also say why you should come to PyCon, and what you'll be doing. We don't need an essay, but please provide a few sentences of explanation. Messages must be received by January 22 2006. Upon receiving your message, we'll send you a notice of receipt. The PSF's PyCon committee (David Ascher, Steve Holden, Jeremy Hylton, A.M. Kuchling) will discuss the applications and allocate funding to a subset of the applicants. You should be notified of acceptance/rejection by January 31 2006. Cost notes: PyCon registration is US$185. Hotel rooms are around $90/night ~= $300 for the duration of the conference, $700 for conference + sprints. The hotel cost can be lower if you find someone to share a room with. The PSF can't cover your meals during the conference, or registration fees for tutorials. Priority will be given to people who can contribute significantly to PyCon or to Python, e.g. students working on a task, conference speakers, sprint leaders or developers critical to a sprint, or people doing public service work with Python. We'll be trying to maximize the benefit of the funding, so the committee is more likely to fund three people who need small amounts than one person who needs a large amount. To improve your chances, please try to request the minimum amount of funding you need to attend PyCon. A.M. Kuchling amk(a)amk.ca Chair, PyCon 2006 http://us.pycon.org

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PyCon early-bird registration extended until January 15th
by A.M. Kuchling 04 Jan '06

04 Jan '06

Due to various issues with the hotel's reservation desk, the early bird registration for PyCon has been extended until January 15th. So, if you've been delaying registering for PyCon, you still have a chance to register at the lower early-bird price. The registration form is at http://www.python.org/pycon/2006/register What's going on: some sprint attendees have called the Dallas Marriott Quorum's reservation line and been told that the PyCon room rate is no longer available, and that they'll have to book at the regular hotel rate of $199/night. This is incorrect; the reservation line is confused, and we're trying to resolve the problem. Please don't be frightened away from PyCon if you've called the hotel and been told you have to pay $199/night. You can register for PyCon and book your hotel rooms later after this problem is resolved. You have until February 1st to book rooms at the PyCon rate. I'll post an announcement once the reservation issues are resolved. Regards, A.M. Kuchling amk(a)amk.ca Chair, PyCon 2006 http://us.pycon.org

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PyCon schedule available
by A.M. Kuchling 04 Jan '06

04 Jan '06

A close-to-final draft of the PyCon 2006 schedule has now been posted to the web: http://www.python.org/pycon/2006/schedule If you're a presenter, please check that your timeslot is OK for you, and let us know if there's a problem. Regards, A.M. Kuchling amk(a)amk.ca Chair, PyCon 2006 http://us.pycon.org

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