[Linux-aus] Arduino Miniconf at LCA2014: important information for participants

[Jonathan Oxer]

WARNING: If you ticked the "Arduino Miniconf" box when registering for
LCA2014, that does NOT mean you are registered for the Arduino Miniconf!
That information is only used by the LCA team when working out room
allocations based on expected popularity of each miniconf. If you'd like to
attend the Arduino Miniconf, please keep reading.

TL;DR: See www.arduinominiconf.org

Unlike other miniconfs, the Arduino Miniconf has two distinct halves and
will take place in a physics lab, not a lecture theatre. It's designed to
be a hands-on participatory event.


*** Morning sessions: hardware assembly ***
The first part of the day is for hardware assembly. This is an opportunity
for anyone, from complete beginner to electronics guru, to spend about 90
minutes assembling an electronics project.

There will be a detailed assembly guide, plenty of soldering irons and
other tools, and instructors to help you if you've never soldered before.
If you've always wanted to try electronics but been too scared to give it a
go in case you pick up the wrong end of the soldering iron, this is your
chance. The kit has specifically been designed so that it can be assembled
by a complete beginner in the time available: an expert would probably take
10 minutes, a beginner may take 90 minutes. Even if you've never used a
soldering iron before, this should be a painless, relaxed introduction to
hardware assembly with few opportunities for catastrophe.

Space is strictly limited to 30 participants, and there is a cost of $110
to cover the hardware. You get to keep the kit at the end, so you go home
with something cool to play with. The kit this year is ArduPhone, an
Arduino based cellphone with an OLED screen, matrix keypad, and LiPo
battery with onboard charger. Check it out at
http://www.arduinominiconf.org/index.php/ArduPhone

Attention: If you want to build your own ArduPhone you MUST register at
www.arduinominiconf.org.

If you don't want to build your own ArduPhone and just want to come along
to the assembly session to watch and chat, you're welcome to do so. There's
no need to register for that, just turn up and if there's space, you can
hang around. We'd love to have you.


*** Afternoon sessions: talks ***
During the lunch break we'll clean up the lab a bit and switch to talk
mode, with a series of 20 minute presentations starting right after lunch.
Even if you aren't interested in the morning assembly session you are most
welcome to come along for the afternoon talks. There is no need to register
to attend the afternoon sessions. Just turn up! The more the merrier.

The first couple of talks will be about the ArduPhone kit assembled during
the morning session, followed by other talks about more general Arduino and
Open Hardware topics. The schedule is now just about final and will be
posted soon at www.arduinominiconf.org, so keep an eye out for it in the
next day or two.


*** Lightning Talks ***
The last talk slot has been reserved for lighting talks, which are talks
with a 5-minute time limit. Lightning talks are a great opportunity if
you've never spoken at a conference before, because it's a quick, informal
chance to just spend a couple of minutes talking about something cool
you've worked on in a casual atmosphere. The crowd is friendly and
enthusiastic, and we'd love to hear about your projects, ideas, or
commentary on Open Hardware. If you'd like to do a lightning talk please
email jon at oxer.com.au, or come and see me on the day and I'll add you to
the list.

See you there!

Jon
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