BrainShare attendance preparation tips

From CoolSolutionsWiki

The better and earlier you prepare for your BrainShare attendance, the more you can get out of this wonderfully packed conference

  • Register and book as early as you can. Registration is typically November 1st. Useful early birds spifs are typically given to those who register before New Years day. Discounts typically apply until about a month before BrainShare. The close hotels do get booked up fast (do you really want to spend much time commuting, or sharing brains?)
  • Hotel booking: Safest bet is to book via the BrainShare registration. Hotels sometimes over book and then it is typically those who booked outside the BrainShare registration that are the ones that get bumped to other locations often quite a distance away. Beware of letting a travel agent book your room as their view of what is close to the conference facilities are often not the same as yours will be. A recommendation is to read the BrainShare community forum (currently(2007) part of novell.community.chat at support-forums.novell.com) for recent hotel experiences.
  • Key dates: (typical dates, may fluctuate from year to year)
    • Nov 1st: registration opens
    • Dec 31st: last day for registration that qualifies you to get an interesting gift (2005-jacket, 2006-5GB USB drive)
    • mid February: last day for most discounts to registration
    • mid February: session registration opens. check your GroupWise Webaccess account daily as this approaches in case they open early.
    • mid/late March: BrainShare!
      • BrainShare 2007 - March 18 - 23
      • BrainShare 2008 - March 16 - 21
      • BrainShare 2009 - March 8 - 13
      • BrainShare 2010 - March 21 - 26
      • BrainShare 2011 - March 20 - 25
      • BrainShare 2012 - March 18 - 23


Contents

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packing/what to bring

  • Daily carry sack: It has been tradition to receive a useful bag of some sort, but each year the style does vary. There are always those who love it, those who hate it, and the whole range in between.

Many just aim to use what they are given, but there are reasons for bringing your own for your day to day carrying of stuff

    • Because you (should) never know ahead of time which style it is, you are better served to bring one you with you that you find useful for carrying around your gear that you feel you need during the day.
    • Easier to not mix yours up with others in the sea of identical bags.
    • You can always switch if you find the new one a better fit for you.

Bags from previous years will generally be seen around.

  • Clothes
    • T-Shirts: Generally don't bother except for the first day or so as they are a typical give away item (that is, as long as you are close to an average size)
    • People generally just wear what is comfortable with jeans and t-shirts/gold shirt being common


  • notebooks: to bring or not to bring, that is the question. If you do, install a current version of OpenOffice so that can read any of the files that do become available during the show
  • Business cards: always good as a way of accurately establishing good connections. if you don't have any for work you might consider getting some basic cheap ones for your personal self at the local print shop.


  • BrainShare network access: BrainShare has a substantial network, but with so many actively using it that we are usually pushing the limits. The pipe to the internet connection is a good size one and many years it is used enough that the ISP has issues keeping up. There is WiFi access, but please, please, please make sure that your system is not acting as an AP or peer as that does have a negative impact on the network and some burly men may arrive to help 'adjust' your system so that it no longer is a problem.
  • Surviving the BrainShare network:
    • If you can switch to WiFi A, you might find it less trafficed than B/G
    • make sure your WiFi nic is set to only connect to APs and ignore Peer points
    • make sure you aren't a Peer point or you do become a target to those fresh out of a Laura Chappell session.
    • practice safe networking, there are a high number of attendees equipped with NetWare diagnostic tools and who want to see what is running on this network just to learn the tools.

Encrypted sessions are mandatory.

  • Other WiFi survival tips
    • fragmentation-tolerance setting. Setting that to a low number, rather than 'off' like it was, would allow data to squeeze through the traffic of a hideously crowded network.
    • The other was the RTS preamble. This works similarly by prepending an "are you clear" signal before transmission. As with the fragmentation-tolerance setting, it has a packet-size where it will start issuing RTS preambles.
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Rookie Tips(by 3 year 'veteran' Skipthompson81)

  • bring nothing to the Salt Palace on day 1, since you'll get a bag and all the stuff you can carry at registration and vendor booths
  • don't bring a hat, you'll get plenty of chances at a free baseball style caps.
  • DO bring good shoes (perhaps 2 pair to alternate), the Salt Palace is big! and so are SLC city blocks!
  • check the BrainShare portal & your BrainShare GroupWise account daily for contests/prizes only announced there (like survey give-aways)
  • use shipping counter to avoid carrying all your free stuff and heavy books through security at the airport (just don't forget to take out the fruit you put in your bag! ;-))
  • consider shipping dirty clothes to avoid uncomfortable TSA discussion.
  • remember to call your hotel if your flight is delayed, so they don't give your room away.
  • Pressure vendors to eliminate "must be present to win" contests (cost me an ipod this year)
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Rookie Tips(by 6+ year 'veteran' ([User:Mary Matthews - "The Queen of Mooches"])

  • Arrive on Saturday, it will eliminate headaches with hotel rooms and flight delays
  • If you're taking a hotel shuttle from the airport bring the hotel number with you; just in case the shuttle passes you full a couple of times
  • Don't rent a car if you're in a BrainShare hotel - shuttles are available and most everything is within walking distance
  • The Trax light-rail system is free of charge around downtown and is another avenue of transportation
  • Connect with a local NUI or become a "virtual" member of another group to gain additional insights and perhaps a tour of the Salt Palace
  • Ask the vendors NICELY for spiffs...they're people too!
  • Don't bring extra suitcases for hauling your spiffs home - it's far easier and less expensive to use the DHL shipping service that Novell provides at the Salt Palace - and after a few years they remember you! :)
  • Go through your materials throughly - lots of coupons and spiff alerts are in there
  • Give yourself plenty of breaks in your schedule and have "back up" classes identified in case the one you're in isn't what you thought it was or is too full
  • Don't forget to schedule time for lunch and breakfast
  • Carry a light jacket or sweater with you...it's hard to keep the temperature ideal for everyone
  • Thank the BrainShare crew and vendors when you have a chance - this event takes a lot more work than you realize
  • Give yourself plenty of time to hit the vendor area, the Novell labs are there all week, the vendors aren't
  • Don't worry about food, there's plenty of it around, the only night we're not fed is Friday, the last day
  • If you're certified, hit the certification lounge, it's quiet and has computers available - there's also ice cream, candy and special prize drawings
  • Become familiar with where the bathrooms and first aid station are...never know when you'll need either one
  • Bring something to put on your new bag to easily identify it - there are mix-ups every year
  • Have fun and make some new friends!
  • Visit the Novell Forums experts - they're a good resource for help with "cranky" servers
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Main BrainShare Wiki

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