About QuahogCon

QuahogCon is a new regional conference for the hacker culture in all forms. Hardware, Software, Security, Social, Eco Hacking, Zero Impact Living. Like most hacker cons, it will run Friday to Sunday. We'll have two tracks: one for InfoSec topics and the other track will be a mix of all the other topics with a bit of an emphasis on hardware hacking and DIY electronics. Besides our perennial InfoSec favorites, we want to hear from some new voices on a wider range of topics. If it's a good hack, we want to hear what you're doing.

QuahogCon will be held April 23rd-25th, 2010 at Hotel Providence in Providence, RI

Call for Papers Opens today!

Come one, come all! Screw up your courage and get up to talk in front of a room full of folks at QuahogCon! We're a new conference in Providence, RI, looking to give you a place in the Northeast to present your ideas on Information Security and Maker Culture. We're here to encourage the hacker ethic in all its forms.

Conference Format

QuahogCon has two tracks:

* Information Security
* Maker Culture

Some topics may fit into both tracks, such as a hardware hack that exposes a security vulnerability. Choose one or both tracks when submitting your proposal and we'll figure it out when we make the schedule.

Information Security Track

We're looking for interesting presentations on new, original security research. It would be best to debut a whole new talk, but updates to existing recent work are perfectly acceptable, too. We're looking to hear from both new voices and the usual suspects. A minor amount of preference will be given to folks from the Northeast who have never presented at a con before, for whatever reason.

Maker Culture

Here's where things will get really crazy. This is a pretty inclusive track, so just about anything goes. Made a difference engine out of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Pixie Stix? We want to hear about it. Living in a commune with some friends, composting humanure and using it to grow the most incredible vegetables ever? We want to hear about it. Got a microcontroller project monitoring your personal methane production? We want to hear about it. We're expecting a lot of new voices in this track. Make yours one of them.

Talk Length

Some folks have a lot to say, others not so much. While we'll probably be tweaking the schedule right up to the wire, we'd like to give folks the option to do either 30 or 60 minute talks. If you can expand or compress your talk, feel free to choose both, as it will allow us more flexibility in scheduling. It is most likely that Sunday will be the 30 minute talk day, but we make no promises.

What we need from you

* Speaker name(s) and contact information.
* Presentation Title.
* Track preference and length (InfoSec or Maker, 30 or 60 minutes.)
* Keywords and 2-3 sentence abstract.
* Document in Text or PDF format which contains the following, preferably in order:
 o Presenter(s) Name.
 o Bio limited to 100 words for you OR your group (not 100 words per person.)
 o Abstract of your presentation limited to 200 words or less.
 o Detailed outline/description of your topic.
 o List of other conferences at which submission has been presented.
 o List of resources requested beyond what is already provided (power, projector with VGA input, sound projection, and internet connectivity.)

What you'll get for speaking

Accepted speakers will receive free admission to the conference. Since we're a brand new con, we don't have the funds for honorariums this year. We hope to be able to pull that off in the future. Alternates will be selected and will also receive free admission. Alternates should come prepared to speak.

Schedule and Updates

Please watch the website for updates: http://quahogcon.org/news/

November 2nd, 2009 - QuahogCon Call for Papers opens
December 15th, 2009 - Papers due for first round of selections
December 31st, 2009 - Final due date for submissions
January 24th, 2010 - Speaker selection announced

Submit your talk here: http://quahogcon.org/cfp/