Fellow IOpener hackers,
It is my pleasure to announce there will be a conference dedicated to the IOpener this Sunday, April 7th, 2001 in the Seattle area.
Microsoft has kindly permitted me to use the Olympic conference room located on their main campus in building 27N from 3pm to 7pm. Exact directions at the end of this message.
Officially the topic of the conference is "Running Windows on the IOpener"
The subjects I will be discussing are:
--The necessary modifications to run Windows (or your OS of choice) on the IOpener
--Other cool things the IOpener is capable of
--Anything else we want to talk about!
I will be presenting a tutorial demonstrating what has to be done to get Windows on the IOpener (during the tutorial we will actually modify an IOpener):
--Getting past the Torx Security screws
--The BIOS
--The "flipped" IDE cable
--Installing/attaching the 2.5" laptop IDE HD
I will followup with further modifications that may be made to the IOpener, including:
--Demonstrating a USB->Ethernet networking solution
--Demonstrating a Wireless USB->Ethernet networking solution
--Adding the 2nd serial (with audio line-out)
--Adding the 2nd USB port
--The touchscreen mod (yes, there will be a touchscreen IOpener for you to see--courtesy of r_fl_z--Thanks!)
--The Global Positioning System mod
--Available CPU upgrades (Pentium 200 MMX, AMD K6-2+/K6-3+)
I will also talk about:
--Tuning the IOpener (e.g. resolving IRQ conflicts)
--The latest news on the IOpener/Netpliance front (if there is any to share)
--IOpener materials resources (i.e. where to get an IOpener, where to get the BIOS, flipped IDE cable, memory, CPUs, networking parts, 2nd serial/USB mods, touchscreen, etc). If you've been reading this board for awhile you probably already know most of this
Feel free to ask questions during the presentation but we will also have a question and answer session afterwards.
If you have already modded your IOpener please bring it along. If you have one that is giving you problems, I will try to help diagnose whatever the blocking issue may be (time permitting--maybe 4 hours will be long enough, maybe not 
)
The conference room is equipped with an AV projector. A camcorder will be used to cover the modification from beginning to end, so you can enjoy it from the comfort of your own seat.
Bring you own food and drink. I am not going to cover a catering bill, sorry 
I know this is kind of last-minute notice (please spread the word), but I hope some people can show up so we can have some fun!
Directions:
You may not believe it, but MS has no "Directions to Microsoft" ANY-FRIGGIN-WHERE on their website--I searched for over an hour before I gave up.
Here are MY-FRIGGIN-DIRECTIONS (take note MS!) to get to Microsoft Building 27N:
--Get onto 520 headed east.
--Take the NE 40th exit (kind of new)
--Right at the end of the offramp.
--Right at 156th Ave NE
--Left onto NE 28th St
--Immediate left down into parking garage
--Immediate left and then right up ramp (and out of) parking garage
--Right at top of ramp
--Through stop sign
--Immediate left and then right (you're now inside a small parking lot between two buildings)
--Through stop sign
--Immediate right
--Find parking anywhere here in this parking lot (or any of the others you passed through, I guess)
When you get to Building 27N, you should see signs to the conference. Follow the directions on the signs as to how to be let into the building.
Sorry if those directions seem to be confusing. If you get lost, drive around and follow the signs to Building 27. Hopefully you'll see some cars near it when you get there.
Building 27 is in the SW corner of the campus (if that helps?).
Finally, in case you're wondering, this is totally free.
Kevin
