91 lines
5 KiB
Markdown
91 lines
5 KiB
Markdown
|
---
|
||
|
title: LTX 2017
|
||
|
date: 2017-07-30
|
||
|
---
|
||
|
|
||
|
#### The first Linus Tech Tips tech conival
|
||
|
|
||
|
![Don't tell Min](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1200/1*yivY7HBqRftSIW7enKYSuA.jpeg)
|
||
|
|
||
|
Anticipation was high as we approached the Langley
|
||
|
Convention Center by bus, as my girlfriend and I eagerly awaited meeting
|
||
|
one of our role models Linus Sebastian, and the crew of personalities
|
||
|
that helped script, film, edit and perfect the seven videos a week Linus
|
||
|
Media Group create, not including their secondary channels.
|
||
|
|
||
|
![LTX map, which ended up not being quite accurate](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/600/1*m6cIdWVGNL20toPCzXRRKQ.jpeg)
|
||
|
|
||
|
We were off to a good start -- all of our transit was on time, we
|
||
|
spotted one of their newer hires on the bus there, and everyone was very
|
||
|
friendly (I made the mistake of thinking that the event started at 10AM,
|
||
|
it actually began at 11). I had a slight nagging in the back of my head
|
||
|
however. The day before, the Linus Tech Tips account had tweeted out the
|
||
|
map of the floor, and revealed the fact it was going to take place in an
|
||
|
ice hockey rink (sans ice, unfortunately). That itself is not a bad
|
||
|
thing -- hockey rinks are decently sized for such an event. However
|
||
|
upon having our tickets scanned and claiming our ticket tier swag, we
|
||
|
entered into the absolutely packed arena. And when I say packed, I mean
|
||
|
*very* packed -- Becky and I had a hard time getting from one end to
|
||
|
another.
|
||
|
|
||
|
The two primary causes that I could see include the fact that there were
|
||
|
a ridiculous number of people there for the area, and the positioning of
|
||
|
booths. The main attractions were positioned right by the door, which
|
||
|
included the virtual reality booth, Razer, and 16K gaming. The floor
|
||
|
also included a case toss (unfortunately not very well shielded), some
|
||
|
carnival-esque inflatable games, some hardware maker booths, some other
|
||
|
miscellaneous booths, and the main stage (we'll get to the stage in a
|
||
|
minute). In fairness, the booths were all pretty spot on for the kind of
|
||
|
audience Linus attracts, and the choices were very well done. The case
|
||
|
toss had a major issue, however -- it was cordoned off with just ropes,
|
||
|
with metal railings at the end to prevent too much destruction. Many
|
||
|
cases ended up outside the area when thrown, whether slipping underneath
|
||
|
the ropes or going over the top. Paranoia was high on my part on the
|
||
|
topic of getting hit.
|
||
|
|
||
|
![From the stage looking toward the entrance](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*7cnfR-74sBi0u_rwd2sswA.jpeg)
|
||
|
|
||
|
The highlight of the event was meeting Linus himself, face to face.
|
||
|
Throughout the event whenever his feet touched the floor a circle of
|
||
|
fans would appear around him, and if he moved you'd better watch out the
|
||
|
for line of people behind him. However he handled it very well, and so
|
||
|
did the cluster of fans -- nobody was pushy or overly aggressive, and
|
||
|
he took his time with each person. We asked if he could sign both my
|
||
|
girlfriend\'s laptop with the dbrand dragon skin (which he liked so much
|
||
|
on the laptop he wanted to have it) and a hat, which he happily did. We
|
||
|
also nabbed a selfie, which was awesome of him.
|
||
|
|
||
|
![Linus, Becky and I](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1200/1*O6Yfba9oeZwIb5T6KjSdxQ.jpeg)
|
||
|
|
||
|
Unfortunately because of the seemingly lack of volunteers, most of the
|
||
|
LMG (Linus Media Group) employees were running the marquee booths. This
|
||
|
meant that they had less time to roam the show floor and meet fans, and
|
||
|
while I appreciate the enthusiasm they had for their specific booth, it
|
||
|
would have been nice to be able to say hi to more of them. I managed to
|
||
|
meet Colton, Linus, Luke and Yvonne, and those meetings were somewhat
|
||
|
spontaneous. The other members of the team were usually busy, either
|
||
|
filming or helping run booths (or in the case of the sales team, making
|
||
|
sure reveals went as they should have).
|
||
|
|
||
|
In a lighter note, the stage shows were great. There were some audio
|
||
|
issues, and they did acknowledge them. The energy level was great, and
|
||
|
the performances were great, with the unboxing of the Razer toasters,
|
||
|
AMD Vega graphics card and a whole computer powered by AMD Threadripper
|
||
|
and Vega. It was a bit unfortunate there was no barrier at the edge of
|
||
|
the stage, which resulted in a lot of crowding as people tried to get
|
||
|
closer for the best view (this was probably advantageous when Linus
|
||
|
dropped a 4K Razer Blade laptop though). The raffle was a bit lackluster
|
||
|
on our end as we didn't win anything, but the winners who did came away
|
||
|
with an absolutely amazing set of prizes, ranging from headphones to a
|
||
|
Titan Xp.
|
||
|
|
||
|
By the end of the day, we were both exhausted. We had a bit of a bad
|
||
|
taste in our mouths as our expectations had been higher, or at the very
|
||
|
least different. I wouldn't say disappointed -- that isn't the right
|
||
|
word. It was a mix of eagerness for the next year and longing to work at
|
||
|
LMG and help plan (or just work). We're both glad we went to the first
|
||
|
one, so we could get a taste of what the next year could be like and
|
||
|
also so we could say we were there.
|
||
|
|
||
|
![(Bad) Panorama of the floor](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/2560/1*QnlNePBTV9XT8q9Rh_6b2w.jpeg)
|