RebCon 2008

Dear Fellow Rebolers (of the mailist faction), There has been some interest in a virtual gathering of Rebol developers and users. These discussions have been taking place in the Rebol3 Altme World. I know there are many here that do not regularly go there but nonetheless would be interested in participating. The date and time that has been looked at is December 27th from 12:00 PM. How does that sound to you? There has been no decision on the technology to be used but you're input would be much appreciated. We are also in need of presenters and/or desired topics. To summarize, we are looking for: An agreement on the time and date Topics desired Presentors Ideas for technology to be used Other Thanks in advance, James (aka James_Nak)

I have a hosted flash media server running (already in commercial use), along with a variety of available videoconference/presentation applications that may be useful in making the presentation. I'd be willing to donate the use of that software, bandwidth, etc., if you'd like help in executing the presentation. - Nick Antonaccio Quoting Rebol <rebol-temecula-usa.com>:

Nick, You are the man. That would be great. James

12:00 on 27th December 2008 in which time zone? On 12 Dec 2008, at 02:15, Rebol wrote:

Sorry. That is 12:00 Pacific Standard Time Thanks, James

Hi James, If someone will email me personally, I can start putting together some suggestions about how to organize and manage the presentation. I need to get an idea of what sort of software components will be needed: white board, text chat, file sharing, 1-to-many/many-to-many video conferencing, etc... I'd also need to get a close estimate beforehand of the number of people attending, to make sure I prepare enough bandwidth and available connections for the live event (If you'd like, I've got a little Rebol sign-up script that I use in my business to let people sign up for events, you're welcome to use that if you'd like, to help organize things). Please let me know whenever you get a chance! - Nick Quoting Rebol <rebol-temecula-usa.com>:

How would people feel about a vote for REBOL of the Year awards at the RebCon? As far as I know, only Ashley is on the list of nominees, so it could well be a short vote. Cheers, Brian On December 11, 2008 09:08:24 pm Nick Antonaccio wrote:

James, I've got 20 rooms set up already that I use to do live online music lessons on a daily basis. I think the existing format of those rooms could work very well as they stand. I'll create a special room just for Rebol Devcon. I'd like to show you what I've got, to see if it'd work for your needs. The audio/video conference software works on PC/Mac/Linux, in any browser that has a fairly recent version of the flash plugin installed (I believe version 6 onward will work - 8+ will definitely work). Aside from flash, there's no installation required to use the system - just go to the designated web page. It will allow anyone in the room to take turns jumping onto the mic/camera to speak (admin can ban unwanted users), there's a text chat, and I've got a really simple way of sharing screen shots already installed in the existing room setup. It should take only a minute or 2 to show presenters how it works... I've being doing daily live online music lessons as a part of my commercial music lesson business for the past 4.5 years, and this system is the most stable and simple that I'm aware of. It'll work through just about any router/firewall configuration, and it's dead simple to use - visitors just go the url, and they'll hear and see the speaker. If they want to be seen on camera and speak, they just need to have a web cam and microphone installed and working. If flash is running in the browser, it'll work immediately, no download or installs to do. There's a video that I send to students which explains a little about it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sx5qI0GWig The online lesson page for my business, which has basic info about web cams, microphones, and headphones, is here: http://rockfactory.us/OnlineLessons.html Please let me know if you have any questions :) - Nick Quoting Nick Antonaccio <nick-guitarz.org>:

For anyone interested in Devcon, I made a sign up form for 3 dates/times that I'm available to do group demo/prep work. Please add your name if you'd like to meet at any of those times: http://rockfactory.us/events/devcon.html The meeting room will be http://rockfactory.us/rooms/room20 , user/pass will be devcon/devcon. I'll confirm the times/dates at the above page, once a few people have signed up. Quoting Nick Antonaccio <nick-guitarz.org>:

Thanks for doing this Nick! I hope I can make it. -- Gregg

Hi Gregg :) I'm looking forward to meeting and talking with everyone! We've already got several attendees signed up for this coming Wednesday, Dec 17th, 12pm EST, at http://rockfactory.us/events/devcon.html , so I've marked that as a confirmed event (not devcon - just a meeting to get familiar with the presentation system). To speak with me live at that time, please have headphones and a mic plugged in and ready to go on your computer. We will be in room20 ( http://rockfactory.us/rooms/room20 ), and the username/password will be devcon/devcon. ***************** IMPORTANT: Beforehand, to see how the page works, please watch the 10 minute YouTube video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sx5qI0GWig (very important if you're presenting, to avoid lots of little troubles!). I've prepared some notes about other features and options that aren't in the video, which I'll explain to everyone on Wednesday. ***************** Please let me know if there are any questions, and please sign up at http://rockfactory.us/events/devcon.html , if you'd like to attend any of the preparatory meetings, or Devcon itself. I'd appreciate head counts as soon as possible for the actual Devcon event. Thanks! - Nick Quoting Gregg Irwin <gregg-pointillistic.com>:

Hi Nick Thanks for your tremendous offer to the community. Your set up sounds fantastic. I'd love to join in but it will be the middle of the night for me. Regards Peter On 13 Dec 2008, at 15:26, Nick Antonaccio wrote:

Hi Peter, It's a shame that we won't be able to speak with you at Wednesday's prep meeting :( As far as I'm aware, the actual DevCon event date/time has not been confirmed yet. December 27th, 3pm EST is what was suggested - I prepared a sign up form for that time at http://rockfactory.us/events/devcon.html . Does that approach a better hour for you? If anyone else has input about the date/time, please let it be known... - Nick Quoting Peter W A Wood <pwawood-gmail.com>:

Anyone who would like to speak with me or others on Wednesday should have a microphone and headphones already attached to the computer. Please use headphones instead of speakers to avoid echo (echo can be a really big problem without headphones). To test your setup, including your audio/video, please use this page: http://rockfactory.us/videos/videogallery_viewer.html Basic troubleshooting info is provided on that page. Please let me know if you have any questions! - Nick Quoting Peter W A Wood <pwawood-gmail.com>:

Hi Nick

> Does that approach a better hour for you?

2008/12/16 Peter W A Wood <pwawood-gmail.com>

> > Does that approach a better hour for you? > > Sadly not. I'm in Malaysia. 3 pm EST is 3 am for me. As there are only > three Rebols in this part of the world that I know of at the moment, I > don't think it would be worth adjusting the time to fit us in. >

Peter, Thanks for the feedback - I'll try to make the best recordings possible, so that it can be watched later :) Mat, Like you, I've gotten many projects done with Rebol, where other tools wasted necessary time and effort with unwieldy environment and complex syntax... It's been my sense for a long time that Rebol is the best solution I've seen for people who don't write code full time, and I think it holds great potential to enable mainstream users to experience similar practical productive and creative successes. If only there was a way to help make Rebol more popular... :) I'll suggest 4pm as an option for the DevCon time. - Nick Quoting Mat Bettinson <mat-plothatching.com>:

I'll see everyone at noon EST today at http://rockfactory.us/rooms/room20 for the prep meeting. user/pass to use is devcon/devcon. Please have your mic and headphones ready to go! Quoting Nick Antonaccio <nick-guitarz.org>:

Hi Matt

> Four :) Time zone wise anyway.

> Hello incidentally. My interest is re-piqued from Rebol 3. And the > fact that > serious > about Rebol than I thought I was.

> As the self-confessed world's worst programmer, I'm hoping I can > bring some valuable ineptitude to the table at > some point.

Hi everyone :) We need a final list of all presenters for Devcon 2008, along with an estimate of the amount of time required for each presentation. If you're intending to present, please let me know immediately. If you want to watch, and haven't signed up yet, please do so at http://rockfactory.us/events/devcon.html (it takes less than 5 seconds - just add your name :) Thanks! - Nick

We are online live now at http://rockfactory.us/rooms/room22 user/pass is devcon/devcon. Please join us. Conversation is also taking place in AltME. I can also be emailed personally if you're having any problems...

On December 27, 2008 03:53:03 pm Nick Antonaccio wrote:

> We are online live now at http://rockfactory.us/rooms/room22 > user/pass is devcon/devcon. Please join us. Conversation is also > taking place in AltME. I can also be emailed personally if you're > having any problems...