Space for Arduino Miniconf

[Jonathan Oxer]

Hi Francois,

We're in the final stages now of working out how we're going to run the
hardware assembly section of the miniconf, and an important
consideration is the capacity of the room. Before lunch (and maybe
briefly afterwards) we'll have people working on soldering parts to
PCBs, and then the rest of the day will be more traditional
presentation-style sessions.

Do you have any idea how many people we will be able to fit:

a) in a work-bench style format for assembly, and
b) with people watching presentations?

Cheers :-)

--
Jonathan Oxer
Ph +61 4 3851 6600
Practical Arduino <www.practicalarduino.com>
SuperHouse Automation <www.superhouse.tv>
Geek My Ride! <www.geekmyride.org>

[Francois Marier]

On 2009-11-17 at 13:52:44, Jonathan Oxer wrote:
> Do you have any idea how many people we will be able to fit:
>
> a) in a work-bench style format for assembly, and
> b) with people watching presentations?

I'll defer to Susanne for that one as she knows everything about the venue:)

Cheers,
Francois

--
Francois Marier identi.ca/fmarier
LCA2010 Miniconf Coordinator twitter.com/fmarier
http://feeding.cloud.geek.nz http://lca2010.blogspot.com

[Jonathan Oxer]

Hi Susanne,

> Do you mean classroom layout or banquet style?

For now I think we'll have to go with a classroom layout with tables
facing the front. That provides the smallest number of seating spots but
it'll be the most practical for people doing hardware assembly while
also being able to see presentations from the front of the room.

We're probably going to need to split the miniconf into two distinct
halves: the first with restricted entry based on people who pre-purchase
the hardware necessary to do the assembly tutorial, and then once that
is done (probably transitioning over the lunch break) switch to
presentations and allow in as many people as will fit.

If we could switch from classroom layout to lecture layout (remove the
tables and bring in more chairs) during the lunch break that would be
ideal, but I don't think it will be practical in terms of time since
assembly will almost certainly run into the lunch break.

[Mitch Davis]

On Fri, Dec 4, 2009 at 11:03 AM, Jonathan Oxer <j...@oxer.com.au> wrote:
>
> If we could switch from classroom layout to lecture layout (remove the
> tables and bring in more chairs) during the lunch break that would be
> ideal, but I don't think it will be practical in terms of time since
> assembly will almost certainly run into the lunch break.

If we're doing software in the afternoon, I'm assuming people will
want to run software on their Arduinos. Do people need extra space
because they have hardware to mind, or do you think people will be ok
just hanging their LCD/Pebble/Arduino combo off their laptop by the
USB cord?

Mitch.

[Jonathan Oxer]

On Fri, 2009-12-04 at 13:04 +1100, Mitch Davis wrote:

> If we're doing software in the afternoon, I'm assuming people will
> want to run software on their Arduinos. Do people need extra space
> because they have hardware to mind, or do you think people will be ok
> just hanging their LCD/Pebble/Arduino combo off their laptop by the
> USB cord?

Yes, that's the other factor against switching layouts part way through.
If we're expecting people to use laptops and try things out on their
Arduino / Pebble (which I assume will be the case for at least a session
or two after lunch) then it would be best to keep the classroom layout
with desks in place.

Cheers :-)
--
Jonathan Oxer
Ph +61 4 3851 6600

* Internet Vision Technologies <www.ivt.com.au>
* Practical Arduino <www.practicalarduino.com>
* SuperHouse Automation <www.superhouse.tv>
* Geek My Ride! <www.geekmyride.org>

[Mitch Davis]

Hello,

The person I was going to share a room with at LCA may not be able to
get there (poor guy).

Anyone here interested in sharing a studio twin/deluxe twin at UStay?

http://www.lca2010.org.nz/register/accommodation

Mitch.

[Jonathan Oxer]

Hi Susanne,

I've just had a look at the floorplan for the Frank Taplin room that has
been assigned to the Arduino Miniconf:

http://wellingtonconventioncentre.com/venues/michael-fowler-centre/frank-taplin-room

It's always hard to tell from pics because perspective ends up being
skewed, but it looks like a really awkward space for presentations.
There's no obvious location for the presenter and screen to be located
so that they can be seen clearly by everyone in the room. The only
feasible location is with the screen directly across the center corner
on the left wall in that floorplan, but that will mean the screen will
be hard to read for people not located directly in front of it in the
central area. It will also mean the presenter has the audience divided
to the left and right rather than directly in front of them.

Since you've seen the room personally, do you think we'll have any
problems with screen visibility?

Cheers :-)
--
Jonathan Oxer
Ph +61 4 3851 6600

* Internet Vision Technologies (www.ivt.com.au)
* Practical Arduino (www.practicalarduino.com)
* SuperHouse Automation (www.superhouse.tv)
* Geek My Ride! (www.geekmyride.org)

[Jonathan Oxer]

Hi Susanne,

Thanks for the room layouts, that's really helpful.

Rather than disrupt everything during the break I think it would be
better to just leave it in a classroom-style layout for the whole day.
We'll probably have people continuing to do hardware work through the
lunch break and through the first couple of talks (which are
explanations of how to do things with the hardware) anyway.

Cheers :-)

Jon