April 27-29 Internet & Electronic Commerce New York
Most analysts stop at predicting that Net commerce will reach US$6 to $8 billion by century’s turn, but the GartnerGroup is actually helping us get there. Speakers at this Gartner-sponsored strategy session – among them Jim McCann of 1-800-Flowers, Michael Dell of Dell Computer, and Halsey Minor of CNET – promise to get down to brass tacks, with real-life examples of online commerce. Case studies focus on nine industries, from retail to insurance to entertainment. Tête à Tête Potential MEDIUM Geek Factor LOW Idea Takeaway MEDIUM Star Power HIGH
Registration: US$1,395. Contact: +1 (203) 256 4700, on the Web at www.iec-expo.com/.
April 27-May 2 Tucson III Tucson, Arizona
Also known under the title Toward a Science of Consciousness, Tucson III brings together hundreds of top thinkers from fields including philosophy, computer science, and neuroscience to discuss such questions as, “Is it possible to build consciousness into a machine?” and “Would a conscious machine exist as a souped-up PC, or as some new kind of quantum computer?” For the safety of all brains involved, this event happens only every two years. Says ringleader Stuart Hameroff, a professor of anesthesiology and psychology at the University of Arizona, “There are more focused conferences, but nobody’s been able to pull off a giant circus tent like this.” Tête à Tête Potential MEDIUM Geek Factor HIGH Idea Takeaway HIGH Star Power HIGH
Registration: US$325. Contact: +1 (520) 621 7724, fax +1 (520) 621 3269, on the Web at www.consciousness.arizona.edu/.
May 4-8 CGDC ’98 Long Beach, California
“There’s an exposition floor and sessions, but I go just to find out what everyone’s up to,” says one game designer about the annual Computer Game Developers’ Conference, the biggest of its kind. The show’s session descriptions can be confusing, our industry insider notes, and its tutorials sometimes result in no more than a few software tweaks, but who cares? The real action is in the bars and hotels of sunny Long Beach, where thousands of show attendees engage in multiplayer facetime. Hot-tub topics this year should include the new mass-marketed 3-D acceleration cards and the Public PC/Open Arcade initiatives, bids to make the development platform for arcade games the same as for the PC. Enjoy fraternizing, but don’t miss the keynote presentations from Ultima creator Richard Garritt and Civilization builder Sid Meier. Between them, these two have reinvented gaming a few times, so they can certainly help you imagine your next blockbuster title. Tête à Tête Potential HIGH Geek Factor HIGH Idea Takeaway LOW Star Power HIGH
Registration: US$795 through March 27, $1,095 after. Contact: +1 (415) 905 2388, email cgdc@mfi.com, on the Web at www.cgdc.com/.
May 4-10 Africa Telecom 98 Midrand, South Africa
Because 33 of the world’s 48 least-developed countries are in Africa, any new technology that’s introduced there is bound to be state of the art. In other words, the continent is a prime candidate for telecom investment and high tech leapfrogging. (Why build circuits when you can send packets?) The International Telecommunication Union has organized this meeting of ambassadors, delegates, investors, and techies to discuss the new digital and wireless prospects under the theme “African Renaissance: Spectrum of Opportunity.” Nelson Mandela himself invited the event to South Africa. Tête à Tête Potential HIGH Geek Factor MEDIUM Idea Takeaway MEDIUM Star Power HIGH
Registration: CHF2000 (approximately US$1,400). Contact: +41 (22) 730 6161, fax +41 (22) 730 6444, email africa-telecom@itu.int.
May 10-12 ACM Policy ’98 Washington, DC
Call it CDA prevention. In this new annual conference, eminent geeks bring policymakers up to speed on technology issues. EFF board member Dave Farber leads a panel on universal Net access, and UC Berkeley professor and MacArthur Fellow Pamela Samuelson runs a program on intellectual property. Other topics include Net commerce and online learning. Because this gathering also functions as the annual meeting for the sponsoring Association for Computing Machinery, many of the organization’s technologists will be in town to learn how to inform public policy firsthand. Says Farber of his panel, “This one ain’t gonna be quiet – people don’t rally against universal access, but they do ask how the devil you fund it.” Tête à Tête Potential MEDIUM Geek Factor LOW Idea Takeaway HIGH Star Power HIGH
Registration: US$300 through April 1, $350 after. Contact: on the Web at www.acm.org /usacm/events/policy98/.
The Current Roundup (see Wired 6.02) March 14-17 SXSW Interactive ’98; Austin, Texas. March 22-25 PC Forum; Tucson, Arizona. March 25-27 Ethicomp98; Rotterdam, the Netherlands. March 25-27 Marketing on the Internet: The 1998 Conference; Phoenix. March 29-April 2 Infocom ’98; San Francisco.
This article originally appeared in the March issue of Wired magazine.
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