Howdy,
We're less than 3 months from the third ShmooCon.  First off, the  
important details:

When: March 23-25, 2007
Where: Washington DC
Who: about 1000 hackers, security pro's, and assorted others
What: 3 days of talks (4 tracks this year: Friday is a series of  
short talks for all attendees, Saturday and Sunday have three tracks  
similar to the last two years), contests, and parties
Who benefits: You, the attendee.  Also, we run ShmooCon on a cost  
recovery basis, so we only charge what we need to make the con happen  
for you... the leftover goes to seed next year's con and donations to  
various organizations.
More info: www.shmoocon.org 

There's a lot going on this year, so here are some of the highlights  
of the latest news:
=============== Ticket Sales
=============Tickets sales are being run differently than last year.  There are  
three sale cycles with _each cycle_ having $75, $150, and $300  
tickets for sale.  The first round of tickets went on sale Dec 1.   
The cheap tickets were sold out in about 15 hours.  The medium price  
tickets lasted a couple of days.  The next round of tickets go on  
sale Jan 1 and the final round go on sale Feb 1.  Check out the site  
for more info, and warm up your "refresh" button.

=============== CFP
=============The CFP is still open (at least for a few more weeks... Jan 15 is the  
last day CFP submissions will be accepted).  We've had a large number  
of submissions already, and have accepted a few talks.  We'll be  
doing the final round of acceptances in mid-January, so if you've got  
an idea rattling around in your head, better get it on paper and send  
it in. More info at http://www.shmoocon.org/cfp.html 

=============== ShmooCon Labs
=============Every year at Shmoocon we put a ton of work into the design and setup  
of our conference network. This year our NOC team is opening up this  
project as a pre conference event. As a participant you will get  
hands on time implementing cutting edge security tools in a real  
world environment. As a vendor you will get a chance to implement  
your gear in an untrusted, potentially hostile environment of 1000+  
hackers.

This is not your normal vendor dog and pony show. We are building a  
network that needs to be up and running in time for the conference so  
be prepared to jump in the fire. During Shmoocon various aspects of  
the network will be made available for attendees to hack on and all  
vendors should expect their products to get looked over with a fine  
tooth comb or a 20 pound hammer.

Shmoocon labs will run for the day and half prior to the start of  
Shmoocon. Shmoocon starts in earnest on the afternoon of March 23rd.  
The labs will start at the crack of dawn on the 22nd and have 36  
hours to get the network up and running.

Registration for the labs is open to conference attendees but we are  
limiting attendance to 30 people. Also, note that there will be a $50  
charge to help us cover costs. There are no hard and steadfast  
prerequisites, however we expect this event to be best suited towards  
people with background as Network Engineers, System Adminisrators and  
Security Engineers. We are looking for individuals who either are  
experts in one of the areas outlined above or people that are  
interested in learning more through hands on design, configuration,  
and deploying of these technologies.

This is not a "first come, first served" event... rather we are  
trying to find the right mix of individuals to make the network  
usable and help as many people learn from this process as possible.  
There is an application process for attending. If you are interested  
in attending, please send the following information to  
shmooconlabs@shmoocon.org: 

- Summary of work/academic experience
- Why you are interested in attending the labs
- If you feel you are able to serve as a lead in one of the  
technology areas
- If you are able to show up a day early to help stage the lab
In order to cover our costs of running the lab, there will be a $50  
fee for each attendee. This basically will pay for space, food, and  
incidentals (zipties, cables, etc). On Feb 15th, we will finalize the  
attendee list for the labs. If you have any question please email  
shmooconlabs@shmoocon.org. 

=============== Hacker Arcade
=============We will be doing the Hacker Arcade again this year.  Think of it as  
Chuck-e-Cheese, but instead of paper tickets, you get cryptographic  
tokens on a USB dongle that can be redeemed for prizes.  Hacker  
Arcade is a double-contest (if you will).  First, the games available  
in the arcade are made by con attendees.  The best games gets  
prizes... and even some of the more interesting games get prizes as  
well.  The winner last year was a Slash 'em game that utilized a home  
grown coin slot that somehow made it through airport security even  
tho it looked like a bomb.  There was also a great double sided skill  
crane that allowed both over the network and in person play.

Last year we had about 10 entries total.  We're hoping for more.  If  
you're interested in bringing a game, or have questions about the  
contest, check out http://www.shmoocon.org/arcade.html or contact 
arcade@shmoocon.org 

The other contest is the players of the arcade.  Just like Chuck-e- 
Cheese, the more you play, the more you can win.  So we will have  
prizes that you can redeem your tokens for... but some of the prizes  
will have limited quantity, so if you want one of the nicer ones, you  
better play soon and play often.

Like last year, all the proceeds from the lab will go to the EFF.

=============== Hack-or-Halo
=============
Do you have anti-social tendencies? Do you ever think "man, this  
would be a great con, if only there weren't all these feds around,  
and I could just start pwning stuff." Or maybe you've found your self  
at a conference thinking "gee, I sure would like to shoot that guy in  
the face." In the past you may have had to suppress these urges. But  
not at ShmooCon! We understand your needs to compete, demonstrate  
skills, and enjoy gratuitous violence. So, once again, we bring you  
Hack-or-Halo!

Hack-or-Halo is the premier East coast hacking-plus-gaming event.  
Bring your skills in Halo 2, or your ability to break into boxen  
faster than your competitors, and you can win impressive prizes along  
with bragging rights. Hack-or-Halo is two tournaments in one. You've  
got your pick of high-speed drag race hacking, or quick rounds of  
free-for-all slayer Halo 2.

=============== Fin
=============
That's it.  If you have questions about attending, sponsorship, or  
just random praise, please email info@shmoocon.org 

See you all in DC!

later

bruce