We recently received an email from Sandro Paganotti (website, @sandropaganotti) saying:

"Just to let you know I've just published a small webpage that tries to summarize all the resources (slides, transcripts, etc..) available for each EuRuKo 2010 talk. You can have a look here: http://euruko2010.heroku.com"

Apparently, Sandro's girlfriend made all the great sketches of speakers! The page will be updated with all missing sketches and materials as they become available. It also links to fantastic transcripts from EuRuKo Day 1 and Day 2 by Markus Prinz/@cypher on Twitter.

What can we say? You guys absolutely rock. In the name of EuRuKo community - thank you for all your efforts!

At long last, we have the video from EuRuKo 2010 and we will begin posting it here, starting with the Keynote by Matz!

Many people told me they thought EuRuKo 2010 logo was beautiful. In fact, they were asking if we had any free T-shirts to give away as they liked how the white ethnic pattern looked on a red T-shirt. That’s exactly why I thought I should share the design process we went through.

So what’s the story?

When we first announced the competition for EuRuKo 2010 logo, we only got few designs. We chose what we thought was the best one… but we still didn’t love it. Luckily, the designer – Aneta from Krakow-based web design agency Manto – agreed to work with me until everyone was happy with the final look & feel (huge THANKS Aneta!).

Designing a logo should be a quick one, right?

Wrong. Especially considering the fact that organizing EuRuKo was not really our full-time job and rather an after-work activity.

To be honest, the bar was set high:

EuRuKo 2009 logo was really beautiful and we liked the idea of mixing local inspirations with ‘good old’ ruby. Hopefully Berlin 2011 (congratulations guys!) team can continue this short-lived tradition!

Design decisions are always tough – they depend much on personal preferences and perspectives. We needed probably something like 3 months (!!) to produce EuRuKo vivid-yet-simple logo. That’s a long time when you think that the designer actually never got paid – the initial competition just like all EuRuKo-related tasks was considered ‘community effort’.

Someone should be in charge (get ready for long hours!)

Having on a team people with different tastes is great.. but it makes things complicated, too. And – excuse my personal observation – men & tech people are rather conservative about design ;-). A good tip for next year’s team – choose one person among you who ‘feels’ design and let them work with the designer. In our case that was me. An important thing to realize – in the beginning it seems that you only need logo but you will really need tons of stuff: website design, sponsorship pdf design, brochures, tickets, posters and all print stuff you can think of (including badges and drink coupons!). Make sure you work with a patient designer!

Final decisions…

In the end you ‘just’ have to reach that point when everyone accepts the final logo in one or another variation. In a bigger team (3+ people) a consensus of ‘liking it‘ or ‘loving it at first sight’ is very unlikely. People usually need time to get used to what they’ve just chosen and accept that they can’t mix ‘all the best things from every option’. That’s the paradox of choice, too. Before reaching that point of approval there will be moments when everyone just stares at all different logos… not feeling good about any of them. Or – hating every single one – because if you care about something (and boy did we care about EuRuKo!), things get emotional. Such dead-end is a good moment to ask for outsider’s advice. We asked just a few people and it really helped us speed up the process. We personally decided not to do ‘community voting’ because we didn’t think it was a good idea. Hope this helps!

Here’s how the logo evolved in a chronological order:

In the end – we’re all happy with the end result Which one do you like the most? @ us on Twitter: @euruko or @elamadej

Hello everyone, it's Ela again. We have quickly looked at the feedback forms and it does seem EuRuKo was a success (hurray!). Guys - we're really happy you liked it! Here's some feedback if you're ever going to organize any community tech event - hopefully a Ruby conference:

* speakers are the most important factor for success!!
* WiFi to some extent will always be an issue
* ...so will air-conditioning ;-)
* free food and coffee will be well-appreciated
* floods are stressful, try to avoid floods if you can
* everyone loves lightninig talks!
* if you you're good at sinigng, dancing etc - you can easily organize next year's EuRuKo (ask the EuRuKo 2011 Berlin team!)
* if it's possible, chairs with little tables for computers would be great

* life coding during presentations is generally a bad idea (difficult to follow)
* if you're going to have wireless microphones, make sure 280+ devices in the room won't interrupt them
* if you have coffee area next to the lecture hall, there will be noise (or no air if you keep all doors closed)
* speakers dinner before the event (Friday) and speakers lunch (last day) are a great idea if you can afford it
* maybe it's a good idea to have the "after-party" on Sunday - people went partying anyway. Make sure the music is not too loud, people want to talk!

Any questions? Contact me here: twitter.com/elamadej

PS. We'll pass the detailed feedback to EuRuKo Berlin team & probably publish it, too.

Here are the links to EuRuKo official photo coverage by Marcin Bajer (Marcin's Twitter and Flickr accounts).

Day One: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rrrodrigo/sets/72157624038319437/

Day Two: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rrrodrigo/sets/72157624191692430/

On top of that, try searching for "euruko" on Flickr - there are many more great photos there.

If you have any great pictures or videos that are not on Flickr, let me know: ela@euruko2010.org.

Also, the videos are almost done, we will be publishing them very soon so stay tuned.

New updated agenda here

Today's Party location is CK Browar (6 Podwale Street).
See you there at 8:30 pm!

View Larger Map

Hurray! We'll celebrate at the official EuRuKo 2010 afterparty in Pauza club on Floriańska street 18/3 (in the basement). We think it's reasonable to meet there around 20:00 and stay until dawn ;-)

Check Pauza's Facebook page and Last.fm profiles.

Facebook Last.fm

It's 5 mins from Andel's hotel, see the directions.

Pictures:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fakeplasticgirl/4048484676/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fakeplasticgirl/4047729781/

We have observed that city guides in conference packages often go unused and so while we are going to have some available at the event, we will not put one into every conference bag. Instead, we'd like to direct your attention to this site where you can download one of the best city guides to Krakow in tree-friendly pdf format. If you have questions about what to do in your free time in the city, you can ask on the EuRuKo2010 Google group and friendly natives will surely be happy to help.

There are some changes to EuRuKo agenda.

It's nicely htmlized, the breaks are longer and overall we hope you'll love it.

There will be an unofficial pre-EuRuKo meetup on Friday May 28th. We're thinking of meeting around 21:00 in Colorspot for a beer or two. Colorspot is a bar run by a tech entrepreneur so hopefully you'll like it! Come and join us here.

Feel free to spread the word over Twitter! Make sure you use the official #euruko hashtag.

If you're curious about what will happen next, an unofficial** Saturday mid-party (I just came up with that word, btw) as well as Sunday afterparty will be announced later this week. We'll make sure y'all love Krakow!

** it only means that we're not to blame if anyone is too tired on Sunday, the official (what does it mean anyway?) afterparty is on Sunday.

Hurray, we finally managed to put together the final agenda.

And it's packed, see for yourself!

We've created Euruko Google Group.

Please feel free to visit it for any questions and discussions related to upcoming EuRuKo 2010.

The story of Centre of Japanese Art and Technology that was flooded..

When we first heard about the flood, we didn't think it might have any impact on EuRuKo. Then our hearts stopped beating for a while when we learned that the concert hall/conference room in Manggha was filling with water. We feel very sorry for them (and they did feel sorry for us too and were eager to help us make EuRuKo happen).

It's all good now (they got rid of the water) but today we jointly made a decision that it's too risky to have EuRuKo there. And - though I hate delivering bad news - it's supposed to be raining over the next few days, which makes Manggha even less likely to be ready by Friday.

New EuRuKo venue
As we promised last week, we quickly found a backup venue (and believe me, it wasn't that obvious that EuRuKo is going to happen for few hours!). The event is going to take place in Andel's hotel in Krakow. It might not be as cool as Manggha (yeah... Manggha was pretty cool) but we're super happy anyway.

Andel's hotel:
* will be, well, cosy (which can be a good thing, too)
* is nice and dry ;-)
* is very comfortable with a nice foyer
* and it could not be located any better - it's in the very city center, just by the Main Train Station.

See where it is (Google Map) and learn how to get to Andel's here.
What do you think? @euruko on Twitter with your comments ;-)

Another post on Agenda will be published today, we also have some party locations to share. Stay tuned.

Hello Ruby fellows! Here's your weekly round of updates.

The flood and the venue ;-)
You might have heard that there was flooding in Krakow - by far the biggest we all remember and it's a personal tragedy for many people. And yes, the gossip on Twitter was right - unfortunately our venue which is just next to Vistula river was flooded, too.

We're speaking with the venue to determine whether they will be able to handle all the damage on time. Weather is playing tricks on us and it might be raining next week, too. Grrr.

But worry not!
We all know backups are a must and we do have one. We have booked another great venue (Ela's new nickname is 'Wonder Woman') in Krakow city center and we will let you know around Monday where the conference is going to take place.

Agenda & more

Expect it around this weekend.
For all other updates, please follow this blog. We have closed the final round of ticket sales today so we can start emailing you with the updates. Stay tuned to this blog and our twitter feed, too!

That was yet another busy day!

We emailed 29 people from the waiting list with exciting news that they will be able to attend EuRuKo! That's right - if you haven't received such email, it means there isn't a ticket waiting for you...
We'll keep handling cancellations and ticket resell throughout this and next week so if there are more tickets, we will make sure someone takes good care of them ;-)

Also, we have few more fantastic sponsors who will make EuRuKo an unforgettable event, see who they are here. See you in Kraków!

And here's a small preview:

Hotel Park Inn
Monte Cassino Street no. 2
Tel. (+48)12-375-55-85
Website: http://www.krakow.parkinnhotel.pl/
* price range: single room EUR 105–135
* very close to the conference venue, 3 mins walking
* few speakers will be staying here
 

Hotel Novotel Centrum
T. Kościuszki Street no. 5
Tel. (+48)12-299-29-00
Website: http://www.novotel.com
* price range: single room EUR 160–180
* 4-star hotel
* Kraków city center located, a few minutes' walk from the conference venue
 

Hotel Poleski
Sandomierska Street no. 6
Tel. (+48)12-260-54-05
Website: http://www.hotelpoleski.pl/
* price range: single room 80-105 EUR
* the nearest hotel to the conference venue
 

Hotel Kazimierz
Miodowa Street no. 16
Tel. (+48)12-421-66-29
Website: http://www.hk.com.pl/
* price range: single room EUR 60–80
* situated in the heart of Kazimierz - former Jewish district, within walking distance to the Old Town and the conference venue (15 mins walking)
 

Hostels:

Kadetus Hostel
Zwierzyniecka Street no. 25
Tel. (+48)12-422-36-17
Website: http://www.kadetus.com/
* price range: single room EUR 45–55
* located in the heart of Krakow, very close to the Wawel Castle and the conference venue
 

Mama’s Hostel
Bracka Street no.4

Tel. (+48)12-429-59-40
Website: http://www.mamashostel.com.pl/
* price range: single room EUR 40-45, dorm EUR 12-15
* great location next to The Main Market Square
* won few international awards ;-)
* 10 mins walking distance from the venue
 

Hostel The Secret Garden
Skawińska Street no. 7
Tel. (+48)12-430-54-45
Website: http://www.thesecretgarden.pl/
* price range: single room EUR 25–30
* very nice location on the Vistula River embankment;
* walking distance from the conference venue (5 mins)

Thanks for your enthusiasm and willingness to help.
We're virtually flooded with emails - here's some information many of you are asking for:

1. EuRuKo Kraków waiting list

We're overwhelmed by the the fact that we sold out within few hours (250 seats) and the waiting list is long - 70 people so far. It's just a shame that we'll only have a few more tickets... For those of you who are still waiting to hear from us, we will be sending out emails around next week. Thank you for your patience!

2. Can't come? Sell your ticket to someone who didn't make it!

That's right, if for some reason you know you won't be able to attend EuRuKo, make sure you send an email to ela@euruko2010.org. We will happily send you a refund and pass your ticket to a happy soul from the waiting list.

3. Hotel Information

Many of you are asking about the hotels & hostels to stay. We will be publishing this information very soon.

4. Invoices

Please be patient. Our (external ;-) invoicing system is playing tricks on us so this might take a bit longer than expected. Needless to add, everyone who needs an invoice for their bookkeeping (employer) will get an invoice for their bookkeeping (employer).

5 . Sponsor EuRuKo!

Yes, the exciting news is that you can still become a sponsor ;-) Details in the sponsorship pdf here. For more questions email ela@euruko2010.org.

Watch out for more news and see you in Kraków!

Wow! Tickets has been sold out within 20 hours since we opened registration. Thank you!

For those that are late:
There are around 20 blocked reservations remaining which will be released (if left unpayed) within 48 hours.

We are looking for a way to get more people on board.

Register now!

On Monday (12th of April) at 12:00 we will open registration. Get your credit cards ready!

We will announce speakers as they are confirmed by the program committee.
So far, the lineup is off to a great start:

A full speaker lineup is available

It's February, a perfect time to decide to participate in EuRuKo, the largest European Ruby Conference, this year in Krakow, 29th-30th May.

It's also THE time to send your talk proposal!

Have you developed a gem, library, plugin or other tool you think could be useful and needs some exposure to fellow Ruby programmers?
Or maybe you've learned something, be it a tool, technique or any other thing worth telling other rubyists about?

If yes, EuRuKo is the perfect event for that.
Submit your talk proposal to talks@euruko2010.org
with a short description of what you'd like to present during the conference.

Based on experiences from previous EuRuKos, while still wanting to remain single-track and pack in as many awesome talks as possible, we're going to experiment a bit with the format this year.

We're introducing two sizes of talks.
The standard one, for showing and talking about something new to present and attract attention, is 20-30 minutes (Q&A included).
The second one, "double" as we call it, is 40-50 minutes, intended for talks that will include some kind of workshop / group hacking. We're programmers and we love to have something working on our laptop.

Please include information about the intended size of your talk: can you fit it within "standard", "double" or (and we strongly encourage that!) both types.

The deadline for the call for speakers is 28 February, 2010. 

We have a date and a location for EuRuKo2010, so mark your calendars! The conference will take place in Krakow, Poland on the 22nd and 23rd 29th and 30th of May, 2010.

The venue will be the very lovely and modern Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology,  located on the Wisła river near the heart of historic Kraków and with a view of the Wawel Castle.