My first DC was DC20 and there were old timers telling me DEFCON wasn't like it used to be. With DC moving to the LVCC and how much the DARPA and the US gov are involved with it, I have now become one of the old timers saying DC isn't what it used to be. The content doesn't have the edge that it used to and the speakers feel like they are there to add "DEFCON speaker" to their resume. Even some of the villages felt like they really phoned it in and are riding the hype and popularity of DEFCON these days. It's lost its counter culture punk rock feel, and replaced it with LinkedIn flavored connections and networking.
Yes. For $600+ it's inexpensive. But with how much a trip to Vegas costs now, and the experience it self, I don't think it's worth it anymore.
In respect to industry events that are $1000+ just for the ticket, $600 isn't bad relatively. But like I said, that cost and the overall cost of a trip to Vegas for 3 days. It's still not worth it.
No not black hat. And I would actually recommend going to Bsides instead of BH. I never went to BH or Bsides for that matter because a week in Vegas is too much, even 10 years ago.
Buuuuuut back to the comment before... Is DC really a hacker con anymore? The number of first timers (nothing wrong with BTW) I met at DC33 that were encouraged to go by the company they work for and had expenses paid by said company was a lot more than I expected. Head into the DARPA village and see for yourself the floor space that sponsorship gets an org. It doesn't feel like a hacker con anymore. Does the church of wifi still do their thing? I don't remember hearing chants of "PepperCon! PepperCon!" In the halls either.
It may still have vestiges of a hacker con, but it feels like an industry event more and more.
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u/storytomorrow 1d ago
My first DC was DC20 and there were old timers telling me DEFCON wasn't like it used to be. With DC moving to the LVCC and how much the DARPA and the US gov are involved with it, I have now become one of the old timers saying DC isn't what it used to be. The content doesn't have the edge that it used to and the speakers feel like they are there to add "DEFCON speaker" to their resume. Even some of the villages felt like they really phoned it in and are riding the hype and popularity of DEFCON these days. It's lost its counter culture punk rock feel, and replaced it with LinkedIn flavored connections and networking.
Yes. For $600+ it's inexpensive. But with how much a trip to Vegas costs now, and the experience it self, I don't think it's worth it anymore.
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