Project:Bitcoin/Bitcoin Weekend 2011: Difference between revisions

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This is the canonical page for the '''Bitcoin Weekend at the London Hackspace''' on 24/25 September 2011. We will keep updating it as our plans change.
There's an official #bitcoinweekend channel on Freenode.
Watch the talks [http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bitcoin-weekend LIVE on Ustream]
'''Register here:''' [http://bitcoinweekend.eventbrite.com/ bitcoinweekend.eventbrite.com] '''Registration is required''' to ensure we have enough space for everyone. '''We're already fully booked, but there's a waiting list''' and we'll make an attempt to invalidate unused tickets before the event.
== About ==
== About ==


A weekend of talks, discussions and workshops for Bitcoin contributors, domain experts from a wide range of fields, enthusiasts, and everyone curious about Bitcoin.  
A weekend of '''talks, discussions and workshops''' for Bitcoin contributors, domain experts from a wide range of fields, enthusiasts, and everyone curious about Bitcoin. This is a great chance for everyone to meet new people and learn new things.  


We will discuss the code, the infrastructure, the community, the legal and political implications; we will look into the mechanisms of currency systems, security concerns of running Bitcoin infrastructure, and run workshops that show you how to participate. This is a great chance for everyone to meet new people and learn new things.
We will discuss '''the code, the infrastructure, the community''', the legal and political implications; we will look into the mechanisms of currency systems, security concerns of running Bitcoin infrastructure, and run workshops that show you how to participate.  
 
As the Bitcoin community grew it has become harder to separate hype from fact, charlatans from helpful guides. We will attempt to bring clarity, and to critique the Bitcoin system and community with a sober attitude. Though it's also worth pointing out that any social experiment worth having requires a fair amount of anarchy, playfulness, and suspension of disbelief...
 
We're quite excited about this event; there have been very few Bitcoin contributor meetings so far, even outside the UK. We'll try to record the talks and will make the videos public.  


The event will happen over a weekend:
The event will happen over a weekend:
* On '''Saturday, 24 Sept 2011''' from 2pm we will have talks and discussions
* '''Saturday, 24 Sept 2011''' from 14:00-18:00 we will have talks and discussions.
* On '''Sunday, 25 Sept 2011''' from 2pm we will have workshops
* '''Sunday, 25 Sept 2011''' from 14:00-18:00 we will have workshops.
 
'''Register here:''' [http://bitcoinweekend.eventbrite.com/ bitcoinweekend.eventbrite.com]
 
Thanks to the London Hackspace the event itself is '''free to attend''', however you '''need to register''' so we know how many people to expect. Make sure to register early; we will make an attempt at managing a waiting list should that become necessary. Attendance will be in the low dozens rather than hundreds, but (as you may know) the London Hackspace draws a passionate crowd of specialists and hackers of all kinds of interesting backgrounds.
 
 
=== About Bitcoin ===


Check out [[Laboratory 24/Getting There|Getting There]] for info on how to find the London Hackspace.
'''Bitcoin''' is a peer-to-peer digital currency created in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto. Peer-to-peer means that no central authority issues new money or manages transactions—these tasks are carried out collectively by the network. It is also the name of the open source software designed in order to use this currency. The software is a community-driven open source project, released under the MIT license.
 
Learn more about it here:
* [http://www.weusecoins.com/ WeUseCoins.com]
* [http://bitcoin.org/ bitcoin.org]
 
=== About the London Hackspace ===
 
The '''London Hackspace''' is a non-profit hackerspace in North-East London. It was founded in January 2009 and grew incredibly quickly; we now have more than 300 paying members and supporters, even more people visiting casually, a highly active IRC channel and mailing list, a decent amount of manufacturing kit (3D printers, laser cutter, lathes, milling machine etc), and host frequent workshops and talks that are open to the public.
 
* [http://london.hackspace.org.uk/ http://london.hackspace.org.uk/]
* [http://flickr.com/groups/londonhackspace/pool/ Flickr Pool]
* [http://wiki.london.hackspace.org.uk/view/Laboratory_24/Getting_There Getting There]
* @londonhackspace
 
== Recordings ==
 
=== Videos ===
 
Unfortunately the production company who had offered to film the event pro bono had important last-minute client work come up and needed to cancel hours before the event. (That was the third person we had talked to who then couldn't come.) As a result we had to improvise, all you can find here is ghetto-style DIY video, many apologies for the quality...
 
* First half of Saturday: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bitcoin-weekend
* Second half of Saturday: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bitcoinweekend
* High-quality video of "The Social Impact of Privacy for Life: Bitcoin and the Dual-Use Dilemma": http://vimeo.com/29273567
 
=== Audio ===
 
* [http://mardoen.textdriven.com/temp/hackspace/bitcoinweekend2011/Bitcoin%20Weekend_%2001%20Keynote.mp3 Keynote]
* [http://mardoen.textdriven.com/temp/hackspace/bitcoinweekend2011/Bitcoin%20Weekend_%2004%20How%20Bitcoin%20Works.mp3 How Bitcoin Works]
* [http://mardoen.textdriven.com/temp/hackspace/bitcoinweekend2011/Bitcoin%20Weekend_%2005%20Discussion.mp3 Discussion]
* [http://mardoen.textdriven.com/temp/hackspace/bitcoinweekend2011/Bitcoin%20Weekend_%2006%20Mining%20Talk.mp3 Mining Talk]
* [http://mardoen.textdriven.com/temp/hackspace/bitcoinweekend2011/Bitcoin%20Weekend_%2007%20Economics%20Talk.mp3 Economics Talk] ([http://mardoen.textdriven.com/temp/hackspace/bitcoinweekend2011/BitCoinEconomics.pdf slides])
* [http://mardoen.textdriven.com/temp/hackspace/bitcoinweekend2011/Bitcoin%20Weekend_%2008%20Security%20Talk.mp3 Security Talk]
 
=== Links ===
 
* Bitcoin cake: [http://yfrog.com/hsf2whbj] [http://yfrog.com/o06i6bzj]
* Pics: [http://yfrog.com/j2r38vj] [http://t.co/339WfVXZ]
* Anish's photos on Flickr: [http://flickr.com/photos/57340887@N04/tags/bitcoin/]
 
== Schedule ==
 
(This is a draft and will change a lot.)


=== Features ===
=== Features ===
Line 19: Line 80:
* Talks, discussions, workshops
* Talks, discussions, workshops


== Schedule ==
=== Day 0 ===
 
(This is a draft and will change a lot.)


=== Day 0 ===
Talks and discussions, Saturday 24 Sept 2011, 14:00-18:00.


* 14:00 ''Keynote'' by '''Amir Taaki''' (10 mins)
* 14:00 ''Keynote'' by '''Amir Taaki''' (10 mins)
Line 29: Line 88:
* 14:20 ''"How bitcoin works" video'' by '''John Baker''' (10 mins)
* 14:20 ''"How bitcoin works" video'' by '''John Baker''' (10 mins)
* 14:35 ''Information bazaar'' by '''Jamileh Taaki''' (10 mins)
* 14:35 ''Information bazaar'' by '''Jamileh Taaki''' (10 mins)
* 14:50 ''Break'' (15 mins)
* 14:50 ''The Social Impact of Privacy for Life: Bitcoin and the Dual-Use Dilemma'' by '''Dr. Catherine Flick''' (10 mins)
* 15:05 ''Technical talk'' by '''Amir Taaki''' (15 mins)
* 15:05 ''Break'' (15 mins)
* 15:20 ''Mining talk'' by '''Vladimir Marchenko''' (15 mins)
* 15:20 ''Technical talk'' by '''Amir Taaki''' (15 mins)
* 15:40 ''Mining talk'' by '''Vladimir Marchenko''' (15 mins)
** Getting started with bitcoin mining
** Getting started with bitcoin mining
** Common mining rig designs
** Common mining rig designs
Line 37: Line 97:
** Using bitcoin mining pools (do's and dont's)
** Using bitcoin mining pools (do's and dont's)
** Bitcoin mining axioms.
** Bitcoin mining axioms.
* 15:40 ''Geek discussion'' (30 mins)
* 16:00 ''Geek discussion'' (30 mins)
* 16:10 ''Break'' (15 mins)
* 16:30 ''Break'' (15 mins)
* 16:25 ''Legal talk'' by '''Jason Chia''' (15 mins)
* 16:45 ''Legal talk'' by '''Jason Chia''' (15 mins)
* 16:45 ''Economics talk'' by '''Gary Mulder''' (15 mins)
* 17:05 ''Economics talk'' by '''Gary Mulder''' (15 mins)
** What is money?
** What is money?
** Bitcoin inflation vs. government fiat inflation.
** Bitcoin inflation vs. government fiat inflation.
** Investing in bitcoins.
** Investing in bitcoins.
** Future of bitcoins.
** Future of bitcoins.
* 17:00 ''Economics open discussion'' (30 mins)
* 17:25 ''Economics open discussion'' (30 mins)
** '''John Barrdear'''
** '''John Barrdear'''
** '''Andrew Sissons'''
** '''Andrew Sissons'''
** '''Tom Lorber'''
** '''Tom Lorber'''
* 17:30 ''Roundtable with speakers and audience'' (30 mins)
* 18:00 ''Roundtable with speakers and audience'' (30 mins)
* 18:00 ''End'' (5 mins)
* 18:10 ''End'' (5 mins)


=== Day 1 ===
=== Day 1 ===
Workshops, Sunday 25 Sept 2011, 14:00-18:00.


* 14:00 ''Security talk'' by '''Vladimir Marchenko''' (30 mins)
* 14:00 ''Security talk'' by '''Vladimir Marchenko''' (30 mins)
Line 59: Line 121:
** How to safeguard your bitcoin wallet
** How to safeguard your bitcoin wallet
** How to safely operate bitcoin mining machines.
** How to safely operate bitcoin mining machines.
* 14:30 ''Practical bitcoin workshop'' by '''TBC''' (1 hour)
* 14:30 ''Practical bitcoin workshop'' by '''Zarren Spry''' (1 hour)
* 15:30 ''Break'' (30 mins)
* 15:30 ''Break'' (30 mins)
* 16:00 ''Developer workshop - use bitcoin on a simple PHP website'' by '''Amir Taaki''' (2 hours)
* 16:00 ''Developer workshop - use bitcoin on a simple PHP website'' by '''Amir Taaki''' (2 hours)


== Speakers and Doman Experts ==
== Contributors ==


=== Vladimir Marchenko ===
In alphabetical order.


Vladimir Marchenko is a seasoned IT professional who has run a FIDO node in Russia in early 90's, worked for Russian Ministry of Defence, worked for companies such as Coca-Cola, Pipex, Ebuyer, founded and run a number of private companies in UK. He is known as an author of the p2p websites filedonkey and figator. Vladimir is currently running a private supercomputer, which is one of the largest private Bitcoin mining operations in the UK and probably the world.
=== Andrew XXX ===


* Founder and owner of bitcoin.org.uk
TODO: get bio signed off.
* Bitcoin Mining Operations Management Service under [https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Marchenko_Ltd Marchenko Ltd]
* Developed the figator.org search engine.


=== Amir Taaki ===
=== Amir Taaki ===


Another lover of all things free. Known by nickname genjix.
Amir ("genjix") is an open source software developer, co-founder of the [http://bitcoinconsultancy.com/ Bitcoin Consultancy], the author of [http://libbitcoin.org/ libbitcoin], has helped build a few Bitcoin exchanges and is running one himself ([https://britcoin.co.uk/ Britcoin], the UK's largest exchange which will soon be replaced by [https://intersango.com/ Intersango].)


* [http://libbitcoin.org/ libbitcoin] - first full-node alternative implementation of the bitcoin protocol.
Other projects:
* Co-founder of [http://bitcoinconsultancy.com/ Bitcoin Consultancy]
* Owner and operator of [https://britcoin.co.uk/ Britcoin] (largest UK exchange) and the new exchange (soon to replace Britcoin) for USD, EUR and GBP, [https://intersango.com/ Intersango].
* [https://gitorious.org/freecoin/freecoin Freecoin] bitcoin fork.
* [https://gitorious.org/freecoin/freecoin Freecoin] bitcoin fork.
* Other stuff like vibanko wallet service, bitcoin poker client, Spesmilo thin-GUI, pastecoin and others...
* Many other projects like vibanko wallet service, bitcoin poker client, Spesmilo thin-GUI, pastecoin and others...
* Been around free software fulltime for 10 years. Was into 3D before.
* Has been around free software fulltime for 10 years. Was into 3D before starting his work on Bitcoin.


Interviews:
Interviews:
Line 90: Line 148:
* [http://rt.com/programs/keiser-report/finance-politics-gold-money/ Russia Today: Keiser Report]
* [http://rt.com/programs/keiser-report/finance-politics-gold-money/ Russia Today: Keiser Report]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwNfBgwbqng This Week In Startups]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwNfBgwbqng This Week In Startups]
=== Catherine Flick ===
Catherine is a researcher in technology ethics at Middlesex University. She started investigating the potential social and ethical impact of Bitcoin, and is currently evaluating a first survey.
As Catherine is away over the weekend at a meeting, she will be joining us over video link for her talk.
=== Gary Mulder ===
Gary first encountered the Internet in 1992 and has bounced around the world and the IT industry for nearly 20 years. Realising that there was more money to be made in investing than being a wage slave, he decided to learn as much as he could about economics. In Gary's opinion, Bitcoins are both a pure artifact of the Internet and a very interesting financial experiment with many potential novel applications.
=== Jamileh Taaki ===
My project is to make all software free.
I study astrophysics.
- the bitcoin artist


=== Jason Chia ===
=== Jason Chia ===
Line 95: Line 169:
Jason Chia is a member of the Bitcoin Consultancy and a barrister in the UK specialising in corporate law.
Jason Chia is a member of the Bitcoin Consultancy and a barrister in the UK specialising in corporate law.


=== Gary Mulder ===
=== John Baker ===
 
TODO: get bio
 
=== John Barrdear ===
 
John Barrdear is an economics PhD student at the London School of Economics.  His first degree was in Computer Systems Engineering and he has a keen interest in politics.
 
=== Seth Otterstad ===
 
High stakes poker player.
 
=== Vladimir Marchenko ===
 
Vladimir is running one of the largest private Bitcoin mining operations in the UK and probably the world, is the founder of [https://bitcoin.org.uk/ bitcoin.org.uk], and a distributor and service provider for Bitcoin mining rigs.
 
Other facts:
* Runs a Bitcoin Mining Operations Management Service under [https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Marchenko_Ltd Marchenko Ltd].
* He is known as an author of the p2p websites filedonkey and figator.org (a p2p search engine.)
* Has run a FIDO node in Russia in early 90's.
* Worked for Russian Ministry of Defence, and for companies such as Coca-Cola, Pipex, Ebuyer. He founded and has run a number of private companies in the UK.
 
===  Zarren Spry ===
Zarren is currently studying computer science at the open university and has been contributing to open source projects for several years. He considers himself a bit of a jack of all trades, master of none. He is also the founder, developer of [http://www.linuxcoin.co.uk Linux Coin], a 64bit Debian based live OS with bitcoin in mind.


Gary first encountered the Internet in 1992 and has bounced around the world and the IT industry for nearly 20 years. Realising that there was more money to be made in investing than being a wage slave, he decided to learn as much as he could about economics. In Gary's opinion, Bitcoins are both a pure artifact of the Internet and a very interesting financial experiment with many potential novel applications.
== Contact Us ==


=== Other Domain Experts ===
This event is only possible thanks to many helpful collaborators, try to reach them directly if you have questions relating to their contributions. If you have particular questions about the event itself you can reach the org team in the #bitcoinweekend channel on Freenode.  
* '''John Barrdear''' is an economics graduate student at the London School of Economics. He has a first degree in Computer Systems Engineering, which is this context is a very useful combination.
* Martin Dittus (martind) of the London Hackspace is coordinating the event
* '''Andrew Sissons''' of the Work Foundation.
* Amir Taaki (genjix) of the Bitcoin Consultancy is coordinating the programme
* '''Tom Lorber''' has a BA in economics, worked on the FT's finance newsdesk during the onset of the financial crisis, and is now working as a management consultant.
* '''Catherine Flick''' is a researcher in technology ethics at Middlesex University. She started investigating the potential social and ethical impact of Bitcoin, and is currently evaluating a first survey.

Latest revision as of 20:27, 30 November 2011

This is the canonical page for the Bitcoin Weekend at the London Hackspace on 24/25 September 2011. We will keep updating it as our plans change.

There's an official #bitcoinweekend channel on Freenode.

Watch the talks LIVE on Ustream

Register here: bitcoinweekend.eventbrite.com Registration is required to ensure we have enough space for everyone. We're already fully booked, but there's a waiting list and we'll make an attempt to invalidate unused tickets before the event.

About

A weekend of talks, discussions and workshops for Bitcoin contributors, domain experts from a wide range of fields, enthusiasts, and everyone curious about Bitcoin. This is a great chance for everyone to meet new people and learn new things.

We will discuss the code, the infrastructure, the community, the legal and political implications; we will look into the mechanisms of currency systems, security concerns of running Bitcoin infrastructure, and run workshops that show you how to participate.

As the Bitcoin community grew it has become harder to separate hype from fact, charlatans from helpful guides. We will attempt to bring clarity, and to critique the Bitcoin system and community with a sober attitude. Though it's also worth pointing out that any social experiment worth having requires a fair amount of anarchy, playfulness, and suspension of disbelief...

We're quite excited about this event; there have been very few Bitcoin contributor meetings so far, even outside the UK. We'll try to record the talks and will make the videos public.

The event will happen over a weekend:

  • Saturday, 24 Sept 2011 from 14:00-18:00 we will have talks and discussions.
  • Sunday, 25 Sept 2011 from 14:00-18:00 we will have workshops.

Register here: bitcoinweekend.eventbrite.com

Thanks to the London Hackspace the event itself is free to attend, however you need to register so we know how many people to expect. Make sure to register early; we will make an attempt at managing a waiting list should that become necessary. Attendance will be in the low dozens rather than hundreds, but (as you may know) the London Hackspace draws a passionate crowd of specialists and hackers of all kinds of interesting backgrounds.


About Bitcoin

Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer digital currency created in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto. Peer-to-peer means that no central authority issues new money or manages transactions—these tasks are carried out collectively by the network. It is also the name of the open source software designed in order to use this currency. The software is a community-driven open source project, released under the MIT license.

Learn more about it here:

About the London Hackspace

The London Hackspace is a non-profit hackerspace in North-East London. It was founded in January 2009 and grew incredibly quickly; we now have more than 300 paying members and supporters, even more people visiting casually, a highly active IRC channel and mailing list, a decent amount of manufacturing kit (3D printers, laser cutter, lathes, milling machine etc), and host frequent workshops and talks that are open to the public.

Recordings

Videos

Unfortunately the production company who had offered to film the event pro bono had important last-minute client work come up and needed to cancel hours before the event. (That was the third person we had talked to who then couldn't come.) As a result we had to improvise, all you can find here is ghetto-style DIY video, many apologies for the quality...

Audio

Links

Schedule

(This is a draft and will change a lot.)

Features

  • Bitcoin cake
  • Bitcoin live song performance
  • Documentary showing
  • Domain experts from a broad range of fields: IT infrastructure, open source software, law, economics, ...
  • Talks, discussions, workshops

Day 0

Talks and discussions, Saturday 24 Sept 2011, 14:00-18:00.

  • 14:00 Keynote by Amir Taaki (10 mins)
  • 14:15 Bitcoin song (10 mins)
  • 14:20 "How bitcoin works" video by John Baker (10 mins)
  • 14:35 Information bazaar by Jamileh Taaki (10 mins)
  • 14:50 The Social Impact of Privacy for Life: Bitcoin and the Dual-Use Dilemma by Dr. Catherine Flick (10 mins)
  • 15:05 Break (15 mins)
  • 15:20 Technical talk by Amir Taaki (15 mins)
  • 15:40 Mining talk by Vladimir Marchenko (15 mins)
    • Getting started with bitcoin mining
    • Common mining rig designs
    • Common software
    • Using bitcoin mining pools (do's and dont's)
    • Bitcoin mining axioms.
  • 16:00 Geek discussion (30 mins)
  • 16:30 Break (15 mins)
  • 16:45 Legal talk by Jason Chia (15 mins)
  • 17:05 Economics talk by Gary Mulder (15 mins)
    • What is money?
    • Bitcoin inflation vs. government fiat inflation.
    • Investing in bitcoins.
    • Future of bitcoins.
  • 17:25 Economics open discussion (30 mins)
    • John Barrdear
    • Andrew Sissons
    • Tom Lorber
  • 18:00 Roundtable with speakers and audience (30 mins)
  • 18:10 End (5 mins)

Day 1

Workshops, Sunday 25 Sept 2011, 14:00-18:00.

  • 14:00 Security talk by Vladimir Marchenko (30 mins)
    • Security is not a state, it is a process.
    • How to do quick and simple risk assessment
    • How to safeguard your bitcoin wallet
    • How to safely operate bitcoin mining machines.
  • 14:30 Practical bitcoin workshop by Zarren Spry (1 hour)
  • 15:30 Break (30 mins)
  • 16:00 Developer workshop - use bitcoin on a simple PHP website by Amir Taaki (2 hours)

Contributors

In alphabetical order.

Andrew XXX

TODO: get bio signed off.

Amir Taaki

Amir ("genjix") is an open source software developer, co-founder of the Bitcoin Consultancy, the author of libbitcoin, has helped build a few Bitcoin exchanges and is running one himself (Britcoin, the UK's largest exchange which will soon be replaced by Intersango.)

Other projects:

  • Freecoin bitcoin fork.
  • Many other projects like vibanko wallet service, bitcoin poker client, Spesmilo thin-GUI, pastecoin and others...
  • Has been around free software fulltime for 10 years. Was into 3D before starting his work on Bitcoin.

Interviews:

Catherine Flick

Catherine is a researcher in technology ethics at Middlesex University. She started investigating the potential social and ethical impact of Bitcoin, and is currently evaluating a first survey.

As Catherine is away over the weekend at a meeting, she will be joining us over video link for her talk.

Gary Mulder

Gary first encountered the Internet in 1992 and has bounced around the world and the IT industry for nearly 20 years. Realising that there was more money to be made in investing than being a wage slave, he decided to learn as much as he could about economics. In Gary's opinion, Bitcoins are both a pure artifact of the Internet and a very interesting financial experiment with many potential novel applications.

Jamileh Taaki

My project is to make all software free. I study astrophysics. - the bitcoin artist

Jason Chia

Jason Chia is a member of the Bitcoin Consultancy and a barrister in the UK specialising in corporate law.

John Baker

TODO: get bio

John Barrdear

John Barrdear is an economics PhD student at the London School of Economics. His first degree was in Computer Systems Engineering and he has a keen interest in politics.

Seth Otterstad

High stakes poker player.

Vladimir Marchenko

Vladimir is running one of the largest private Bitcoin mining operations in the UK and probably the world, is the founder of bitcoin.org.uk, and a distributor and service provider for Bitcoin mining rigs.

Other facts:

  • Runs a Bitcoin Mining Operations Management Service under Marchenko Ltd.
  • He is known as an author of the p2p websites filedonkey and figator.org (a p2p search engine.)
  • Has run a FIDO node in Russia in early 90's.
  • Worked for Russian Ministry of Defence, and for companies such as Coca-Cola, Pipex, Ebuyer. He founded and has run a number of private companies in the UK.

Zarren Spry

Zarren is currently studying computer science at the open university and has been contributing to open source projects for several years. He considers himself a bit of a jack of all trades, master of none. He is also the founder, developer of Linux Coin, a 64bit Debian based live OS with bitcoin in mind.

Contact Us

This event is only possible thanks to many helpful collaborators, try to reach them directly if you have questions relating to their contributions. If you have particular questions about the event itself you can reach the org team in the #bitcoinweekend channel on Freenode.

  • Martin Dittus (martind) of the London Hackspace is coordinating the event
  • Amir Taaki (genjix) of the Bitcoin Consultancy is coordinating the programme
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