I didn't get to go in 2013, so I don't know if things changed then, but in 2012 the third day just seemed hastily bolted-on.
There were not as many talks on the third day, and they were the less-interesting ones. The demo pit had been completely dismantled and removed overnight after the second day's program had ended. There was a box lunch instead of a hot lunch like the first two days.
I wound up leaving halfway through day 3, instead spending the afternoon looking to explore SF a little and get a couple beers.
I wonder if people will be happier or more frustrated with the lottery setup.
And... I wonder if such a lottery system would help take on general ticket scalping. (I could see a lottery mechanism doing some kind of 'real person' verification.)
I know the year before last the tickets were transferable if you claimed you couldn't attend, but they weren't this past Google IO. Not that people don't register and then just sell the badge or share it anyway.
>> Conversely, not pounding F5 until I get a ticket makes me feel powerless.
Actually, last year they implemented some kind of IP-based persistence for each potential attendee: you could try to get on queue for a ticket on your smartphone or laptop and every time you access the timer did a reset.
Still can't say I'm surprised about either point. They were clearly stuck for material for that third day and I heard definite noises about them sharing the concerns some of us voiced about the attendee demographics!
Frankly the 2013 keynote was a tad embarrassing too (without the giveaway the mood in there would've been a lot more skeptical - my row were amazed by how bad a lot of the demos were), so I wonder if they're going to tone that down.
A lottery is the only sensible way they can handle the increased demand for tickets. I was saying they should have done this two years ago. It just makes so much more sense. No getting up at 6am and madly refreshing a page. It's just a much more considerate and friendly process. Similar to receiving a callback from customer support instead of sitting on hold for thirty minutes.
I welcome the change and think it is a good solution.
I'm surprised this hasn't been mentioned yet, especially for the HN crowd, but it's relatively easy for any developer to write a bot to auto-register them-self. One could even use Selenium.
There is a very popular Google Developer's MeetUp and space for 200+ runs out in less than 5 minutes of unannounced meetings opening up for registration. I am 100% sure that a lot of bots can and do register for these events.
My company pays for the trip. This makes it even more unfortunate if you don't get a ticket: It not only costs you a good conference, but also a free trip to san francisco. ;)
there is no "visa hassle" if you come from Europe, and there are no trip cost since the company pays for everything.
While the sessions are available as video streams, the sessions and discussions in between the sessions are not. I was at I/O last year and I not only had a good time, I also learned a lot during the three days.
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[ 2.1 ms ] story [ 29.4 ms ] threadThere were not as many talks on the third day, and they were the less-interesting ones. The demo pit had been completely dismantled and removed overnight after the second day's program had ended. There was a box lunch instead of a hot lunch like the first two days.
I wound up leaving halfway through day 3, instead spending the afternoon looking to explore SF a little and get a couple beers.
And... I wonder if such a lottery system would help take on general ticket scalping. (I could see a lottery mechanism doing some kind of 'real person' verification.)
1) No feeling of "I missed the 2 minute window"
2) No feeling of "I couldn't buy it because your system was down"
I mean it still sucks for people that can't make it, but want to go, but at least everyone at least gets a chance this way.
Actually, last year they implemented some kind of IP-based persistence for each potential attendee: you could try to get on queue for a ticket on your smartphone or laptop and every time you access the timer did a reset.
Still can't say I'm surprised about either point. They were clearly stuck for material for that third day and I heard definite noises about them sharing the concerns some of us voiced about the attendee demographics!
Frankly the 2013 keynote was a tad embarrassing too (without the giveaway the mood in there would've been a lot more skeptical - my row were amazed by how bad a lot of the demos were), so I wonder if they're going to tone that down.
I'm surprised this hasn't been mentioned yet, especially for the HN crowd, but it's relatively easy for any developer to write a bot to auto-register them-self. One could even use Selenium.
There is a very popular Google Developer's MeetUp and space for 200+ runs out in less than 5 minutes of unannounced meetings opening up for registration. I am 100% sure that a lot of bots can and do register for these events.
While the sessions are available as video streams, the sessions and discussions in between the sessions are not. I was at I/O last year and I not only had a good time, I also learned a lot during the three days.