HOPE in jeopardy.
A message from Emmanuel Goldstein of 2600 Magazine yesterday afternoon brings mixed news: Due to the scheduled demolition of the Hotel Pensylvania, the HOPE Conference is in jeopardy. The Hotel Penn, love it or hate it, was really the only hotel in New York City that 2600 could afford to hold HOPE in; it was also one of the few hotels that most of the attendees could afford to stay in... New York City isn't a cheap place, let's be honest here. They are probably looking at moving it to a different city, but it's too soon to tell, or even guess where that could be. To help get things straightened out, they've set up a web forum so that everyone can get together and hash things out. I really hope that the HOPE conferences keep going. HOPE is one of the few hacker cons on the east coast that the folks at home in the basement can afford to go to; most of them require corporate sponsorship because they run several thousand dollars American per day, which is well out of the reach of most hobbyists. Also, HOPE is always a lot of fun, and it's a good place to meet people and maybe pick up a few stories to tell at one's favourite watering hole.