Q1:  OK, I'm not a Lotusphere newbie.  In fact, I've been attending for the last seven years.  However, I've stayed at the Dolphin or Swan the past few years and I've never had to worry about internet access from my hotel room -- you get it AND pay for it whether you wanted it or not.  What about the other hotels (All Star Sports, et al)?  Do they have internet access in the hotel rooms?  Is there a daily charge?

 

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A1: Way back in the dark ages (when I had a computer with a modem) I did dial-up out of Port Orleans.  2 years ago there wasn't any broadband access out of the All Star, but that seems to have changed, as the Disney website says there is "High-speed Internet access (additional fee applies)" at both PO and the All Star

 

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A2: All Star Sports had wired broadband last year. It is not the fastest and the cable had a broken rj45 connector but it did work. I think it was around 7 dollars per 24 hours.

 

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 A3: I have stayed at the Boardwalk before, and also the Yacht Club for the last few years (because the speaker's rate is excellent).  Yacht club does have high speed internet and it wasn't too bad.   None are great when you get 8000 geeks on site surfing the net.  I suspect the advent of SlingBox isn't going to help matters, given that the tv offerings at the Disney hotels aren't exactly meant to cater to business travelers.  I don't recall the charges though.   One thing I did notice a while back -- they blocked DNS lookups to sites like AllofMP3.com (now AllTunes.com).   To access that I simply picked a different dns provider.  I always use opendns.org anyway now.  -- Andrew.

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A4:  In 2007 the charge in the Swan was $10 per day.

 

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 Q2:  I am a newbie to Lotusphere.  This will be my first time attending.  I have been to other conferences (COMMON for AS/400/iSeries) in the past, but it's my first time at Lotusphere.  I've found a lot of blogs concerning what to expect, but still have some questions.  What, exactly, is the dress code?  Jeans and a golf shirt?  Shorts and a T-shirt? both?  I see "casual dress" but that means different things to different people.  I understand that it does get a little chilly in the evening, so I will be prepared for that.  I, most likely, will not know a soul attending, I do not have a blog, I've just recently found a lot of Lotus blogs, and am not the most outgoing person in the world.  What else can I expect or to be on the look out for, that hasn't already been mentioned in a few of the blogs?  I'm cautiously excited about going, but almost feel overwhelmed already, and I'm not even there yet? 

 

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A1: Great Question (Q2)!   As far as clothing at Lotusphere -- you should wear some.   It should cover all parts scatological, reproductive, and oddly also podiacal.  Jeans, Sneakers, and of course a C.U.L.T. Shirt are pretty standard. 

 

 

If you're from the midwestern United States (aka flyoverland) you can identify others of your flock by their short sleeve, button down, collared shirts.  Likewise, local Floridians are most easily spotted any time the temperature drops below 60 degrees Fahrenheit as they will be wearing heavy coats.  At 50 degrees gloves and hats are often added.  Finally, those of us from Maine, Montana, Canada, etc. can be spotted wearing short sleeves and sometimes shorts.  In warmer weather, true northerners can still be distinguished by the whale-belly white color of their legs and forearms.

 

You are required to have a yellow backpack.  If you do not have a yellow backpack, one will be provided for you.   Also, if you are tempted to push the limits of required clothing, do not.  Nearly always, those who can be most appreciated wearing little or no clothing to sessions are actually wearing the most, while those who we would least like to see more of are often unfortunately those who choose to explore the boundaries of propriety.

 

 

Hope this helps. 

 

Andrew.

 

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A2:  The attire is officially "business casual".  Nobody will make you go home and change for wearing jeans, though.  Just remember, you never know who you're going to run into, so leave the message T-shirts at home.  :-)

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Q2a:  Good to know.  I guess I'll be one of the Midwesterners.  So, the yellow Lotus backpacks that I have seen a consultant or two lugging into my office, will be provided for me at check in?  I won't be landing in Orlando until about 6:00 p.m., and doubt I'll be arriving at the Swan until closer to 8:00 (depending on Mears and flight delays.)  I'm assuming that there is some kind of check-in/registration for Lotusphere... how late can I check in on Saturday?  Should I just count on wandering around the hotels for the evening, or is there some kind of gathering spot on Saturday night?

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A2a:  By 8pm registration is usually closed, I think, but Sunday Morning is plenty of time.  If it isn't a backpack, it will be something similar.  Don't hide in hotel rooms, go down to the bar and find like minded geeks.  They will not be in short supply.  If you have any shyness, check it at the door.   The more people you talk to - especially at mealtime -- the more you'll learn.  LS isn't like any other conference I've attended in terms of the sheer weight of available knowledge.

 

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A2a1: I think Registration doesn't close until 9 or 10 on Saturday, and since this year is bigger than last  (we may be back near 10K attendees again) it'll probably run late.  As for Saturday night head over to the ESPN zone on the Boardwalk -- there's been an unofficial party there for the last few years.  The Turtle used to host it, but he has been strangely quiet this Lotusphere (although I may have been looking in the wrong place)

 

 

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 In terms of what to wear (or not), you could always take your cue form Drunk Convention Guy:

http://www.lotusrockstar.com/blog/robblog.nsf/d6plinks/7APN3Q

 

 

 

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Q3: Where can one obtain these fabulous C.U.L.T. shirts?

 

A3:Find the booth of one of the sponsors -- they will have them.  Other folks will as well (for example Andrew doesn't have a booth), so if they will be handing them out duriing the conference.

 

A3+: ** Clarification by Andrew ==  I don't have a booth, but I also don't have any shirts.  I design them, organize the sponsors, collect the money, arrange the printing, proof the first run, ship the shirts, rent the truck, load 1500 pounds of shirts into the truck, distribute nearly 3000 shirts to sponsors, and return the truck.  I do not, however, keep many or pass any out.

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