OS/2 Wireless Users Mailing List <os2-wireless_users@2rosenthals.com>
Some final thoughts on all of this video conferencing stuff for Warpstock before pushing this off to either the Warpstock.org forums or warpstock-public on Yahoo! groups:
We are attempting to contract for a videographer to record John Dvorak's talk at the Saturday Banquet. If we are successful (timing is everything in life), the recording would probably be made available for a nominal fee, the proceeds of which, naturally, would go to benefit Warpstock Corp. Part of our agreement with John is that he is provided a copy of the unedited original to do with as he likes.
Speaking on behalf of Warpstock for a moment, let me say that Warpstock is the phenomenon of people coming together of like minds to collaborate on development ideas, problem solving, wishful thinking, and to share the experience of the OS/2 and eComStation computing environment (and for that matter, per our own mission statement, all alternative operating systems). While I understand the fact that a person can't physically be in two places at the same time, I think we (the Warpstock Directors) need to carefully consider the impact such a long distance (dis)connection might have on the entire Warpstock experience; i.e., by 2008, are we then to have only the speakers and a couple of the Board physically present, standing around with a bunch of streaming video hardware?
Mark and Stan have both made excellent points concerning the techniques which have been employed in the past to extend the Warpstock experience to a worldwide audience, and I applaud them for their efforts (I was present in Atlanta in '99, and witnessed firsthand the amount of energy expended on tending the video equipment for no real return on the investment, considering the difficulty in actually viewing the feed). Naturally, we are now several years out from those early attempts, most folks who view streaming video do so over broadband links and not dial-up, and the video equipment itself has become much more affordable and capable (my main wholesaler does a fair amount of video hardware, and is constantly talking to me about adding this stuff to my repertoire).
To just mention a bit of my own experience with the personal give and take at Warpstock over the years:
* In 2004, Andy and I stayed up in my hotel room until about 3am
testing firmware builds on Cisco 340 and 350 cards;
* I can't count - or place a pricetag on - the great conversation
I've had with my friends over breakfast, lunch, and dinner over
the years, including getting a chance to break bread with the guys
from Sci-Tech, IBM, Serenity, etc., and the access I've had to
"put my two cents in" and ask even inane questions (when people
are eating, they never seem to mind the dopey questions which so
many of us shy away from asking in the public forums!);
* In 1999, I met Mike Kaply, who personally - i.e., I handed him my
machine, and he played with it - fixed a problem I had with
Communicator 4 (little did Mike know that he'd made a friend - and
a fan - for life);
* In 2002, I attended Jan's DFSee session. Not only are we good
friends by now, but I use DFSee for my regular work. Would I have
gotten this far into DFSee without my personal relationship with
Jan? Probably. Is it all the more rewarding - and comforting - to
know that because of the relationship we've forged - beginning
with Warpstock and our personal meetings - that if I have a
problem, I can pick up the phone and call him thousands of miles
away, and still be able to talk about stuff other than work?
Absolutely;
* Last year, I met a consultant who was a first-timer at Warpstock.
There's nothing more satisfying than seeing the look on someone's
face, as if to say, "I never knew there were any other people like
me, who have stuck with OS/2 for so long!;"
* Last year, I met a couple other first-timers. One of them I sort
of brought in myself while visiting the Norman support forums.
Eddie was having a trap problem with a recent kernel and Norman,
and I mentioned to him that I'd be happy to look at it with him up
close and personal at Warpstock. He'd never heard of the event
before, but was elated to make the trip, and had a blast.
* Warpstock is the highlight of my year. This has been such a sad
year for me, as most of you know, and it's been difficult to get
myself motivated to do much of anything besides work and sleep;
yet somehow, I have been marking the days until Warpstock, knowing
that I will see my friends, give my schpiel, do my schtick, and
for a few days, at least, be able to leave much of the weight of
this great depression behind me.
Now, I ask you: How on g-d's Green Earth could all of the above be accomplished/achieved/enjoyed/savored if we'd had a handful of attendees and we were all sitting in our little cubicles glued to the screen, crossing our legs, waiting (praying?) for a bathroom break?
I would love to be able to see some of my good friends from across the Pond present at a North American Warpstock, and a live, interactive web feed may be the way to achieve that goal. Likewise, several gatherings of people in remote locations, over point-to-point links may be the answer we seek to broadening our audience while combating the ever growing problem of increased travel cost and the associated rigors of getting halfway 'round the globe. Likewise, a reciprocal agreement with Warpstock Europe and Warpstock Czech Republic would be fantastic. In fact, I will expound on these things at my Warpstock: What's on the Horizon presentation on Sunday, the 15th.
Meanwhile, could we please, please, please, for the sake of Warpstock and others who may have more comment on this who may not be subscribed to this list, move this to a Warpstock-related forum or mailing list?
I hope to see each and every one of you on this list (who has not said definitively that he or she cannot attend) in Windsor, and again, if there's something related to Wi-Fi you'd really like me to cover, don't be shy about starting a thread here or even emailing me off-list.
Oh, and Stan, many thanks for your compliment about paying for a recording of one of my sessions. That's the kind of thing which makes all the late nights and lost weekends of preparation worthwhile. You've made my weekend, buddy.
--
Lewis
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Lewis G Rosenthal, CNA, CLP, CLE
Rosenthal & Rosenthal, LLC
Accountants / Network Consultants
New York / Northern Virginia www.2rosenthals.com
eComStation Consultants www.ecomstation.com
Novell Users Int'l www.novell.com/openenterpriseserver
Need a managed Wi-Fi hotspot? www.hautspot.com
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