Hackfest2016

This page has some early planning information on a potential Inkscape hackfest in 2016.

Venue

LGM 2016 will be held in London. This means it would be the most convenient to have the hackfest in the UK or at least in Europe, to avoid long travels for developers who want to attend both the hackfest and the LGM.

London

Natural proposal due to LGM location.

Pros

• Same place as LGM
• English speaking country
• Lots of things to do after coding
• Good public transport

Cons

• Accommodation and food is very expensive

Further information

Public transport in London is one of the best in the world. Single fares are $4.47 peak / $3.54 off-peak to anywhere in Zone 1 if you have an Oyster card, available with a refundable $7.70 deposit, or $7.40 in cash. Cash fares cannot be used on buses. Transfer to/from Heathrow by tube (Piccadilly line) is $7.85 peak / $4.77 off-peak with an Oyster card or $9.24 with cash fare. Peak hours are 6:30 to 9:30 and 16:00 to 19:00.

London is a major international airline hub, and its five airports have connections to almost everywhere on Earth.

All prices after conversion to USD, using the exchange rate 1 GBP = 1.54 USD.

Leeds

Proposed by Alex Valavanis.

Pros

• Cheaper than London
• English speaking country
• Alex can arrange free meeting space

Cons

• Not a major airport

Further information

TODO

Warsaw

Proposed by Krzysztof Kosiński

Pros

• At least 50% cheaper than London
• Good public transport
• Krzysztof can probably arrange free meeting space

Cons

• Not an English-speaking country

Further information

A three-night midweek stay booked a month in advance at an aparthotel or a budget hotel will cost around $160-$200 (prices from booking.com for start of June, which is already during the tourist season; prices in April are typically lower). An equivalent five-star hotel stay will cost between $400 and $800.

Public transport has a very good navigation website and a mobile application. Single tickets valid for 60 minutes and any number of transfers are $1.25, 24 hour passes are $4.20, 30-day passes are $31 - they are contactless cards and require a photo. The fares are good for all of Zone 1, which covers the whole city limits of Warsaw.

There are flights several times daily between Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW) and major airline hubs London, Paris, Amsterdam, Vienna, Frankfurt, Brussels; there are also daily connections to Dubai. The only direct U.S. destinations are Chicago O'Hare and New York JFK. There is a second low-cost airport in Modlin (WMI), served by Ryanair. WAW is close to the city and connected by buses and trains, while WMI is accessible by a shuttle bus from a nearby train station. There is also a train you can take from Berlin Hauptbahnhof every 3 hours, it takes about 6 hours to reach the main railway station Warszawa Centralna.

Food is cheap by European standards. The most popular foreign cuisine is Italian. Two XXL pizzas, enough to feed four people, are around $16. Footlong Sub combo is $6, McMenu is $5, restaurant meals are anywhere between $8 and $20. Possible after-coding activities are as varied as in any major European city. There are several good multi-tap beer parlors, where a craft beer will cost around $3.

All prices after conversion to USD, using the exchange rate 1 PLN = 0.28 USD.