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The Office 2.0 Conference 2008 is just two months away, and it’s time for us to start working on it again. In pure IT|Redux fashion, the whole event will again be organized in 9 short weeks, with no staff, and in a paperless manner. Granted, we have two editions under our belt, and we pretty much know what works and what does not. So let’s do it again, and learn as much as we can along the way.
The conference will take place at the St. Regis Hotel, San Francisco on September 3-5. The format will be similar to the one used for the two previous editions, improved based lessons learned last year. Participants should expect a bit more users, a bit less vendors, a bit more fireside chats, a bit less panels, and the usual débauche of sleek high-tech gadgets that is our gathering’s trademark.
Our registration system is now live, powered by RegOnline, and integrated with Salesforce.com. It’s not very pretty right now, but we’ll add a nicer looking stylesheet when we find some time. Due to the fairly high cost of the mobile device we selected, the regular attendee pass has been set at $1,495, with an early bird pass available for $1,195 until July 31st, 2008. We also added a group discount of $100 per attendee for groups of 3 or more, and allocated 50 free media passes.
On the mobile device side, we worked hard to develop the Redux Model 1 concept, and went pretty far down the path of actually building it. Nevertheless, our ambitions far exceeded the realm of practicality, and late changes in the overall form factor forced us to consider a partnership instead of attempting a custom development from scratch. At present time, it looks like the Redux Model 1 will be used for our 2009 event, and might be developed as a custom jacket for the upcoming modu platform.
Left with off-the-shelf options only, we had the difficult task of selecting a device that delivers on the Office 2.0 vision, without being one that most attendees already own. Last year’s iPhone was pretty much a no-brainer, but this year’s in-store only activation process makes it a non-starter. Beside, the iPhone 3G only offers incremental improvements over its predecessor, without fundamentally changing the user interface and possible usage patterns. In searching for the next Office 2.0 device, we looked for innovative form-factors that will push the envelope, and take users out of their comfort zone, albeit in the plush environment of San Francisco’s best hotel facility.
With that in mind, it all came down to two options: the HP 2133 Mini-Note PC sub-notebook, and the Gigabyte MID M528 Mobile Internet Device (MID). The first is a high-end alternative to the widly popular Eee PC, while the second is the first commercially-available implementation of Intel’s vision for the MID.
While we would rather go for the Gigabyte MID M528, price and availability are unknown at this point, therefore you should expect an HP 2133 Mini-Note PC to be waiting for you at the conference’s registration desk. And we reserve the right to switch to another device at the last minute if we can get our hands on something ever more cutting edge. In any case, you’ll get something really cool to play with, and test all these new Office 2.0 applications that are being released on a daily basis now.
Our call for speakers is also formally open now, and we will use some user feedback mechanism to proceed to the final selection. My good friend Susan Scrupski will assist me again in the process, and submissions should be made by email as soon as possible.
Last but not least, future plans for the Monolab|Workspace network of open work places will be unveiled at the conference, while our first location in Palo Alto, CA will be presented in details (all the infrastructure should be completed by then). So if you work for a Micro Global Business, or like the idea of a better traveling experience, make sure to register today.
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