Dangerous Prototypes Open Source Hardware

Re: Hacker Camp Shenzhen April 2014 Participants thread

Reply #60 – April 30, 2014, 02:30:37 pm

Hey Ian

July is too soon for me (to save up) and yes I cannot stand the heat !

The reason I would be interested in going in halloween time is it gives me more value out from the air ticket from Australia (any one event alone is not enough to justify the cost but a hackercamp and halloween/getwasted night would)

I would also agree with having a day or two in the middle to tour the markets (otherwise I would get distracted by the shinny things)

I would be thinking the week before halloween.  arrive on monday, hackercamp, mail shiny things before crossing the border into HK then spend fri/sat/sun rocking on and assuming I don't go down with the ship, I would fly back home

if I can plan well in advance then I can pay off the hotels, flights etc

food for thought....

Re: Hacker Camp Shenzhen April 2014 Participants thread

Reply #61 – May 29, 2014, 06:21:17 pm

I had a really interesting experience with Susie shipper.  I've thought about this a lot - there is a culture clash that occurs when hobbyists meet professionals.  A professional shipper thinks "he wants to ship this anyway so I will do everything I can to get his business".  The hobbyist thinks, "ok, so I think I can justify spending x on shipping".  The problem is that the first leads to under quoting and that makes the second blow their budget (like 2x in my case).

A second culture clash occurs with time.  The shipper thinks, "no one wants slow services and the margins on them are terrible".  The hobbyist thinks, "I'm buying 2 years supply of stuff, I can wait a month or even two for this stuff".  I had this weird experience where I was asking for a slow service, was told it wasn't possible, ended up being undercharged and my goods went a slower route (8 days instead of 6) that I would have chosen.

All of this is a mixture of language and cultural misunderstanding, China really is a challenge for those without language skills.  You just have to expect things to go wrong and learn from them, this was an interesting experience.

Re: Hacker Camp Shenzhen April 2014 Participants thread

Reply #62 – August 01, 2014, 06:06:48 pm

Any idea on a new Hacker Camp? I want to go to Shenzhen this fall and this would be a great start of it.

Re: Hacker Camp Shenzhen April 2014 Participants thread

Reply #63 – August 02, 2014, 05:12:27 am

Mid september I think. Wanted to do one this week after maker faire singapore, but honestly just never sat down and wrote the post. Also, too, its freaking hot here and nobody wants to go out in that.

I'm thinking we do it the weekend after maker villa in penang. That way if you want, we can fly into singapore for cheap and take the trains up to KL and penanag the week before the camp. Then either fly back, or come home by sleeper train and bus for 4-5 days through thailand, cambodia, and vietnam :) Or if you don't want all that, maker villa is still an option for a side trip.

Re: Hacker Camp Shenzhen April 2014 Participants thread

Reply #64 – August 06, 2014, 04:40:23 pm

Ah ok. Mid september might work for me (Assuming I get my visa fast enough, I live in EU right now).
October (as shadowtec prefers) would also be my preference.

The weekend after maker villa (https://www.facebook.com/events/1444789412449183/) would be the 29th of august though.

Re: Hacker Camp Shenzhen April 2014 Participants thread

Reply #65 – August 07, 2014, 01:44:10 am

China visa is 4 days if you do in person and a few more if you use an agency. A formality only. I'd worry more about getting reasonably priced air tickets.

The problem for us is a) too many people and b) we're otherwise busy, and planning and execution sucks up a ton of time (about two people 3 months full time for the last one). ITs so hard to plan a date months in advance, we've passed several dates we set already. I guess our plan is just give a shorter notice and see who comes. I hope a MUCH smaller group this time. 5-10 would be ideal.

Re: Hacker Camp Shenzhen April 2014 Participants thread

Reply #66 – August 07, 2014, 07:21:26 am

Date is set.... Thursday 23 September to Saturday 25 September. Optional activities two days prior. If you want to join us in phuket we will be there the week before.

Prices went up because we took such a hit last time.

Tickets and announcement go up today.

Re: Hacker Camp Shenzhen April 2014 Participants thread

Reply #67 – August 11, 2014, 02:28:32 pm

I jumped in and bought the ticket, now I have to worry about getting up there. Whats the deal with accomodation in the area too? Im guessing booking via expeida isnt a viable option.

Re: Hacker Camp Shenzhen April 2014 Participants thread

Reply #68 – August 11, 2014, 02:42:32 pm

You can check out the hotels on the hacker camp site at hackercampshenzhen.com, or the visiting shenzhen page:

http://dangerousprototypes.com/docs/Visit_Shenzhen

We tell everyone to stay in City Inn, it's right in the middle of everything, bookable on Expedia, and $30-$60/night. Of dozens staying there, nobody has had a terrible horror story or anything.

Hacker Camp Shenzhen April 2014 Participants thread

Reply #69 – August 11, 2014, 06:55:27 pm

[quote author="ian"]Of dozens staying there, nobody has had a terrible horror story or anything.[/quote]

I would avoid the top floor.  Lots of buckets down the hall catching the leaks from the roof and my room had a horrific sewer gas smell.  I've spent enough time in India to be fairly immune to these issues but avoid it if you can.

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Re: Hacker Camp Shenzhen April 2014 Participants thread

Reply #70 – August 12, 2014, 04:07:26 am

Tom! you need to tell us. We assume if you don't complain... :) Hackers have to be about the most tolerant, easy going people in the world.

Hacker Camp Shenzhen April 2014 Participants thread

Reply #71 – August 13, 2014, 02:25:41 am

[quote author="ian"]Tom! you need to tell us. We assume if you don't complain... :) Hackers have to be about the most tolerant, easy going people in the world.[/quote]

Oh come on Ian, you were way too busy/drunk for crap like this!


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Re: Hacker Camp Shenzhen April 2014 Participants thread

Reply #72 – August 13, 2014, 12:23:52 pm

Lol, true that :P

Re: Hacker Camp Shenzhen April 2014 Participants thread

Reply #73 – September 07, 2014, 09:57:33 am

One of the fields on the visa form is information of inviter in china. What to put in there?

Re: Hacker Camp Shenzhen April 2014 Participants thread

Reply #74 – September 07, 2014, 01:26:28 pm

if you're doing a tourist visa you don't need to fill that in. If you have a letter from a business, then you put the business info there.