

2 month hackathon on a remote tropical island - mopoke
http://comehackwithus.com/

======
JoeCortopassi
Besides being at the top of HN, what sort of validation does this have as an
actual viable event. I mean, can I get a tropical picture with some water,
make a simple one page website, and just start harvesting your guys emails to?

I'm not trying to be overly negative, it just seems like there is sooo little
information being given to be making the top of HN

~~~
walterheck
Yeah, I wasn't expecting this. It's an idea that is in my head that I want to
make a reality, but only if there is enough interest. I can promise you I
won't do anything with those emails except keep you up to date on what happens
next.

Now that it seems like there is enough interest, we can go to the next phase:
figuring out wether it would be a paid thing or a sponsored thing. Opinions
welcome...

~~~
shanemhansen
You need to go to cahuita costa rica. They have villas with wifi for crazy
cheap (less than 25 a night), and a beach that is probably where that picture
comes from. Plus if you want to recruit any ticos, intel and hp are some of
the countries biggest employers. Consider it, message me if you want help,
I've done business down there.
[http://www.google.com/search?q=cahuita&hl=en&client=...](http://www.google.com/search?q=cahuita&hl=en&client=safari&tbo=d&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=KBwSUK60Ma3MigL3v4D4BA&ved=0CDoQ_AUoAQ&biw=1024&bih=672)

~~~
walterheck
I've been to cahuita. The chances are bigger that this will take place in
Southeast Asia actually.

~~~
einhverfr
I am in SE Asia at the moment (Chris Travers-- signed up on the site). If you
need ideas regarding places let me know. I have contacts around, and there are
great places like Lombok. The question becomes though how remote is remote.

There are nice islands near Padang, Sumatra too (and Padang is famous for its
food). In terms of SE Asia, Indonesia and Malaysia both have lots of tropical
islands, but there is always the Maldives and the Philippines too.

~~~
walterheck
Remote is not in a village, but with decent internet (microwave FTW!) and an
escape route for the weekends or off-days when you need them..

~~~
einhverfr
Again, feel free to email me. I will look around. Last time I was in Lombok
the internet connections weren't so good, but that was 8 years ago, and I
would expect that there are major improvements.

------
lukego
I've done some tropical island hacking (solo) and it worked really well for
me. The longest I did was 3 weeks on Koh Phi Phi in Thailand. I had a nice
discrete problem: write Forth drivers for all the interesting hardware in a
little ARM SoC. Blog at the time: <http://goo.gl/V9qGx> I can say that:
Finding a place to sleep, entertainment (snorkel, scuba, etc), and food were
all easy problems. Finding a place to work can be harder: power, internet,
quiet, table/desk all in one place. (Maybe you need to borrow a house?) Three
weeks was enough for me: then I wanted a dose of civilization and city life,
hard though this was to imagine on day #1. Maybe it's different with more
people.

Can you start simple, with just a few people and lasting until they get bored,
and scale it up gradually perhaps?

~~~
walterheck
We'll see. I did a three month thing like this, and was sad when it ended.
That was all about the people we were with though, that made the world of
difference. And we had time during the weekends to get away.

------
kahfei
Have you consider Penang island, it is not really isolated or exotic, but we
have beautiful beaches here, and when you need a dose of civilization, it is
just within 30 minutes driving distance, there are quite a few big companies
here like Dell, Intel, Motolora. Standard of living is cheap. The island been
ranked by Yahoo! Travel as one of the "10 Islands to Explore Before You Die".
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penang>

Hope I didn't sound too much like a salesman already.

~~~
deepGem
Penang is definitely a good option. Though I haven't been there heard a ton of
good things and it's just a stone's throw from the mainland. +1. Accommodation
and food is relatively inexpensive in Malaysia.

~~~
kahfei
Thanks for the +1. And I haven't mentioned the great food in Penang, Penang
Laksa ranked 7th in the 50 most delicious foods in the
world...[http://www.cnngo.com/explorations/eat/worlds-50-most-
delicio...](http://www.cnngo.com/explorations/eat/worlds-50-most-delicious-
foods-067535?page=0,1).

------
crdoconnor
I've did this (alone) for a while. The things I discovered:

* Mosquitoes really, really suck the fun and productivity out of sitting on a tropical beach coding. * To a lesser extent, so does sunburn. * Finding somewhere comfortable to sit in shade is crucial, and harder than you'd think, and lying is out (appealing though it may be). * The ideal place to work was a beachside bar, without standing pools of water close by (attracting mosquitoes), that was quiet, serving coffee and wifi. Often hard to find, though. * Lack of wifi was sometimes a plus, provided it was never too far away. It's easier to focus on coding without Internet access.

In the end, my favorite tropical location to write code in was Singapore. The
beach is overrated :)

------
davewasthere
Wow. You guys made the news here in the UK.

<http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-19018930>

------
mr12
12 weeks on a remote tropical island, luxurious villa, 12 geniuses... a cook
and housekeeper.. airfare.. time away from current projects... that sounds
like a pretty hefty price tag per genius if it's a paid event. I think you may
have trouble finding hackers to sign up when the reality sets in. I'd
recommend you get to work finding serious sponsors because right now it sounds
like a nice dream. Good luck good sir.

~~~
TimJRobinson
I was thinking it'd be just like a startup incubator but instead of getting
paid $20k for 5 to 10% you get to go here and get paid $10k

~~~
walterheck
I want to try to stay away from the incubator model. Find a way to get there,
hack, go home with good memories.

------
tedunangst
Sad. OpenBSD popularized the term hackathon, but OS developers aren't
invited...

~~~
walterheck
_everyone_ is invited, as long as you can make it clear that you won't be
slacking off, and you are a nice person :)

------
wasd
What's the catch? Equity? Price? There isn't such a thing as a free lunch.

~~~
walterheck
We're looking into either getting the whole thing sponsored or charging a fee
that will cover cost. Our target is not to make a profit, it is to have a
great time working with inspiring people.

~~~
bilbobaggie
What's your selection algorithm?

~~~
walterheck
It will be partly personal interviews, partly skills. In my previous
experiences with communal living i have learned that even the most skilled
people can be a total pain in the butt to live with. I wanna avoid that at all
cost :)

~~~
reustle
I'm looking forward to it :)

------
milep
Is this only for singles and those who are willing to be apart from spouses
for 2 months? I'd love to go to some remote location to work for few months,
but I need to take my better half with me.

~~~
walterheck
If he/she can make themselves useful, you're welcome to sign up both of you.
But rest assured that competition for this will be tough, so it might not be
easy. Just that it's not excluded from being an option, that's all :)

------
bieh
Hey, I'm also trying to hire coders to work on a remote tropical island [1],
although for a little longer term than you. Where is this located? I can
recommend some places in the Seychelles if you haven't yet decided on a spot
:)

[1]
[http://www.reddit.com/r/jobbit/comments/x2x1w/hiring_mobile_...](http://www.reddit.com/r/jobbit/comments/x2x1w/hiring_mobile_app_developer_in_the_tropical/)

~~~
walterheck
Most likely it will be in the Phillipines, but right now that is just a first
idea..

~~~
rlocke
My company is based in the Philippines. I won't be applying but I'd love to
take you and the crew out if you're laid over in Manila for any stretch of
time.

~~~
walterheck
Thanks for the invite. We might come to PH to explore our options soon...

------
jwuphysics
You spelled "hackathon" wrong in the title.

EDIT: unless it's meant to convey that you "hack a ton" but I'm really not so
sure...

~~~
walterheck
ouch! Correcting asap :)

EDIT: if only I could get a hold of the guy who has the logo source..

~~~
BlackJack
That's a really obvious thing. Did you guys proofread? It's the little slips
that make people doubt an organization i.e. "if they missed this tiny detail,
then how will they perform on the big things?"

I don't mean to be a jerk. Best of luck with your event and everything, but if
you're going to plan a 12 week hack vacation for people, then details matter.

~~~
walterheck
Agreed, and it's pretty dumb. Then again, we weren't aiming for big exposure
like this. Also, both of the people involved in this are not native English
speakers, can I put that up for a valid excuse? :P

------
willish
Due to the level of publicity around this, a crowd-funded approach could be
pretty successful. Backers could also help vote on project ideas etc.

What is the goal, to have everyone hack on a single project? or just provide a
space for people to work on their own stuff?

All in all a very cool idea, hope you can make it happen!

------
maebert
I'm actually very intrigued, I just booked a flight to Indonesia to spent a
month or so hacking / designing for myself in Bali, but doing this with others
sounds like a much better plan. Any details on the schedule yet?

------
keithpowers
Great to see the interest. If anyone is interested in hacking and joining a
start up incubator on MAUI, please sign up here. <http://www.startupmaui.com>

------
renas
Similar concept here but for a business model instead of a hackathon:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4306223>

------
i_s
Sounds like a great idea. What is your timeline?

~~~
walterheck
Most likely we'll aim for late 2012, early 2013. Depends on how things develop
from here..

------
AdamTReineke
Besides being excessive, why?

~~~
walterheck
Well, I decided to organise this because I have loads of experience in
location independent living and communal living. I have experienced how great
it is when you are in a place that makes you feel good, surrounded by people
that are smart and motivating. In a luxurious villa on a tropical island,
there is no distraction. By having a cook and housekeepers as well, you really
don't have to worry about anything but getting shit done :)

~~~
danielharan
Given your experience, what locations do you have in mind?

~~~
walterheck
Looking at Phillipines for now, but any SEA country is in the running. Might
end up in Bali or Thailand, who knows..

------
tferris
How is the Internet there?

~~~
walterheck
Since 'there' isn't defined yet, I don't know yet. But rest assured that it
will be one of the primary things we base our choice for a house on..

------
suyash
Who is going to take care of my day job..another idea #fail!

~~~
walterheck
or you should grow a pair, quit and follow your dreams ;)

------
Inbaraj
By the way guys, there's nothing set in stone yet. We're trying to put
together an awesome event for all of us to benefit. Please send in your
ideas/suggestions :-)

