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You know, why the fuck is DEFCON in August, in Vegas? Like, you know a nice place to visit in August? Kodiak, Alaska. Portsmouth, Maine. Sydney. List of places
by killjoywashere 3y ago
You know, why the fuck is DEFCON in August, in Vegas? Like, you know a nice place to visit in August? Kodiak, Alaska. Portsmouth, Maine. Sydney. List of places I would never want to visit in August? Vegas. Houston. Vegas. New Orleans. Vegas. Mumbai? Maybe. Baghdad? Definitely not. Also, Vegas. My friends in Christ, why, does anyone, think Vegas is a good idea in August?
- busterarm 3y agoVegas is great in August. It might be super hot but it's also dry. Whenever I go out to DEF CON, I take a day to go out quadding around the desert and shoot some guns outdoors. The whole damn strip is air conditioned and misted so it's not really a problem. A few years back I participated in a scavenger hunt during DEF CON and it was taxing but I would do it again. New Orleans is hell on earth that time of year though -- never again.
- jstarfish 3y ago> New Orleans is hell on earth that time of year though -- never again. I thought the same until visiting Kyoto and Rome in August.
- ramraj07 3y agoI can stay in an acceptable room for two digit dollars a night in Vegas. That’s not true even in Mumbai. Cheap flights too.
- wkat4242 3y agoSydney is pretty cold in August. Definitely not the time of year to be there.
- rekoil 3y agoPretty sure that was the entire point.
- toast0 3y agoI don't care to go to Las Vegas, and I don't care to go to DEFCON, but you can easily fly from anywhere to Las Vegas, any time of year. (Subject to US visa issues, of course) Others have said August is off-peak for Vegas (perhaps because of the weather), which means its a good time for a conference as space should be less expensive.
- prmoustache 3y agoWhy Vegas in the first place really. This city should not even exist.
- euroderf 3y ago"Follow the money."
- nxkeksbfbe 3y agobut it does exist
- mp05 3y agoHumans shouldn't be flying 600mph at 30,000 feet yet here we are.
- nebula8804 3y agoWe might as well enjoy it while it lasts. At least we will have the memories once the desert claims its land back.
- johnnyanmac 3y agoIf we wanna be frank: lotta tech is in silicon valley and Vegas is probably the closest "large" hub to travel to (Maybe Los Angeles is closer, but not by much). It's the cheapest option without simply staying in SV.
- raverbashing 3y agoCorrect. Do not underestimate these aspects I'm sure the other places suggested would have been nice, but you turn one flight into 2, maybe even 3, have to search for a venue and accommodation for 100s/1000s persons (even if they self book), etc Conference tourism is big business and the big conferences want friendly places that fit their budget and make it possible for people to attend it
- Eji1700 3y agoWe also believe in constant air conditioning unlike the East coast and defcon is probably not the group walking around outside the hotels much. The heat sucks but it’s not like it’s that hard to avoid on a conference trip. It’s when you live here and have to hop in your plasma generating car that makes you wonder what the fuck is wrong with you
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- Onewildgamer 3y agoMumbai will be raining buckets in August, I'd avoid that city like a plague
- user_7832 3y agoSeconded, as a Mumbaiker the rains are bad-annoying even for locals. Definitely not good for inexperienced tourists.
- huytersd 3y agoThat’s the stupidest thing I’ve heard. It’s nice and hot in Vegas in August. Alaska? At best it’s fucking 50F, that’s deeply uncomfortable. Walking around in that feels like I’m dying inside. Also, it’s a goddamn convention not a business meeting. People want to drink, watch some shows, gamble a little bit, walk around on the strip. Have a good time in general. What the fuck are you gonna do in Alaska?
- SideburnsOfDoom 3y ago> It’s nice and hot in Vegas in August A high of 40C / 104F is not generally considered "nice".
- huytersd 3y agoThat’s subjective. I love being in 100F weather. Makes me feel alive.
- SideburnsOfDoom 3y agoOne's personal opinion on 40C of dry heat may vary subjectively, that is true. But that is beside the point; is it "generally considered nice" ? - emphasis added to the words that I chose with care above. It is not.
- huytersd 3y agoWell, tropical beaches are generally considered nice and those approach 100F pretty much around the year.
- SideburnsOfDoom 3y ago> tropical beaches approach 100F pretty much around the year. Checking climate for Barbados, I rate that as factually incorrect. And of little relevance.
- masteruvpuppetz 3y agoDef Con in Dubai.. in August.. that'll be fun :D
- rhinoceraptor 3y agoThe heat is really not that bad. I absolutely hate the heat, living in the midwest the summers are unbearable to me. Yes, it's hot, but you can still walk outside without becoming a sweaty mess because it's so dry. And you're probably not going to be walking outside very far, it's a very unfriendly place to walk outside of the prescribed separated paths on the strip.
- sylens 3y agoThe problem is that the con was now spread out over multiple casinos/hotels so the odds of having to walk outside at some point have increased, even with some of the hotels connected internally. The fact that it js now at the convention center and likely all under one roof is an improvement, IMO
- raldi 3y agoCheck out https://www.flightsfrom.com/explorer/LAS https://www.flightsfrom.com/explorer/LAS — particularly comparing its direct flights from all over the continental US to the same for other American cities.
- _cenw 3y agoThat settles it, DEF CON in Dubai, London or Amsterdam. I vote for Amsterdam. Frankfurt also has the most international destinations (just not volume). (Probably not Dubai, considering a few speakers would be thrown out at the border - or worse if they get though. It's also artificially inflated because it's almost all transit traffic). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_busiest_airports_by_international_passenger_traffic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_busiest_airports_by_in...
- wodenokoto 3y ago> It's also artificially inflated because it's almost all transit traffic Dubai is a center for large conferences and Expos. The row of High rise hotels along Sheik Zayed Road across from Dubai World Trade Center (the largest exhibition hall in Dubai) is astounding. Gitex, Gulfood and Arab Health are all conference that are largest in their class world wide. And while A lot of DXBs traffic is transfers, the city does see 15 million international visitors a year, putting it in the top 5 most visited cities. They can easily accommodate Def Con. There’s a lot to criticize Dubai for, but they literally built the city to be a center for international conferences.
- pbhjpbhj 3y ago>but they literally built the city to be a center for international conferences. // Well, they literally enslaved foreign men to work as indentured workers, stripping their human rights, in order to build the city...
- alephnerd 3y ago> center for large conferences and Expos Aimed largely at the MENA, SAARC, and a bit of the APJ market. Most DefCon attendees are in North America, which makes the flight to the UAE hellishly long and expensive. Most attendees are also expensing the trip, so a $700-900 round trip ticket plus an additional $500-700 for hotels makes Managers balk, as that's a major expense coming out of your yearly budget. Also, DefCon sponsors largely showed up because it was occuring around the same time and same location as BlackHat Source: travelled a lot for corporate tech conferences in my PM days.
- TulliusCicero 3y agoVegas is probably cheap in August, both for the con to reserve space and also for the attendees to get hotels.
- ChatGTP 3y agoPlease, for the sake of your own health, calm down.
- fragmede 3y agoHow about Denver?
- mikeflynn 3y agoIt started there initially because a bunch of hackers wanted to hang out together and the cheapest way to do that was to all fly in the Vegas in August. It’s tradition but also still somewhat true for the reasons you articulate.
- apapapa 3y agoI would rather avoid Vegas all year long.
- alephnerd 3y agoConvention space and room blocks are fairly cheap to rent in Las Vegas. No other city in North America has a similar amount of space or options for low cost block booking. Also, plenty of DefCon attendees and sponsors are also attending BlackHat at around the same time, so it makes it easier to justify expensing most of the cost as an employee.
- tempaccount420 3y ago> No other city in North America has a similar amount of space or options for low cost block booking Not even in Mexico? You know, the country that's part of North America? Why not just say America?
- alephnerd 3y ago> Not even in Mexico Yep. Not even in Mexico. The largest expo center in Mexico is Expo Guadalajara, which is smaller than Salt Lake City's Salt Palace Expo Center. > You know, the country that's part of North America Ik it is. I'm usually the one who reminds people about that on HN
- jvanderbot 3y agoAlso, why go outside? Vegas is very comfortable inside the buildings.
- wds 3y agoNow you're thinking like a hacker!
- helpfulContrib 3y ago[dead]
- EricE 3y ago"...why, does anyone, think Vegas is a good idea in August?" And that is precisely why DEFCON is there in August - demand is weak so prices are low. They even state as much in their FAQ.