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.

The hackfest requires the following things:

• Quiet meeting space with several power outlets and reasonably fast internet access.
• WiFi is preferable, but can be provided via our own router.
• Whiteboard / blackboard for quick notes.
• Overhead projector or a big screen for demonstrations would be useful, but probably not essential.
• Accommodation which is easily reachable from the meeting space.
• Several food options near the meeting space.
• It should be possible to survive using only English.

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 low-cost meeting space
• London can be reached quickly by train (total 2-3 hours)
• Lots of nice, low-cost bars/restaurants
• Lots of options for excursions within ~1-hour travel radius:
  • The ancient city of York (http://www.visityork.org/)
  • UNESCO World Heritage village at Saltaire (http://www.saltairevillage.info/)
  • Hiking in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (http://www.yorkshiredales.org.uk/)
  • Yorkshire Sculpture Park/Hepworth gallery (http://www.ysp.co.uk/)
  • National Media Museum (http://www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/)

Cons

• Leeds-Bradford is not a major airport (but Manchester Airport is 1.5 hours away via train)
• Trains to/from London can be quite expensive ($150 if not booked in advance)

Further information

• Leeds-Bradford airport has direct flights from ~60 European airports: http://www.justtheflight.co.uk/cheap-flights-from-LBA/
• Connecting flights are available to/from outside Europe via Amsterdam Schipol and London Heathrow
• Alternatively, the closest major international airports in the UK are Manchester and London Heathrow
• Transport from Manchester Airport to Leeds: (~$30, 50 min; ~$10 if booked several weeks in advance [1])
• Transport from London: Flight to Heathrow in London means the Piccadilly line (£8/45 mins) to Kings Cross and a train ride to Leeds ($150/2 hour or ~$50 if booked several weeks in advance)

Warsaw (former proposal)

Proposed by Krzysztof Kosiński.

Unfortunately K.K. is moving to USA and so won't be local anymore. Information left for posterity.

Pros

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

Cons

• Not an English speaking country, level of English proficiency is somewhere between Germany and France
• Requires a flight to get to London for LGM (total 4-5 hours)

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. 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.

Phnom Penh

Proposed by Sirko Kemter for an event in November 2015.

Pros

• Very cheap accommodation and food
• Friendly people

Cons

• Not an English speaking country
• Far away for US-based developers

Further information

Information from Sirko's e-mail:

Cambodia sounds far but flight costs are not more expensive as an flight from US to Europe, visa is not a problem there are only few countries excluded from the arrival one, so its pay get in. The hotels in Phnom Penh are extremly cheap, you get for 40$ an 5star hotel room but prices start with just 1$ a day (including breakfast and a bottle water a day). Same is for food, you get for 3-5$ a nice all you can eat khmer bbq.

Cambodias people are extremly welcoming and open, especially the youth who really likes to learn and work to change their lifes. Inkscape has already a lot of friends now there, I was last year twice in Phnom Penh and gave a lot of workshops how to use it.