Mark Dodel is the editor of the OS/2 Voice web site's newsletter, and one of the organizers of Warpstock 2000.

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Warpstock 2000 in Philadelphia

The Time:

Warpstock 2000

For the most current list of all the sessions planned please see the Warpstock web site http://www.warpstock.org or their new mirror site at http://www.ibmforum.com/warpstock. There are presentations scheduled for Programming, Product Demonstrations, Networking, and others. Those confirmed as of writing are as follows:

• Programming
  

  Introduction to Programming - Timur Tabi
  KRFTech's WinDriver for OS/2 - Timur Tabi
  Using WarpIN to create installation archives - Ulrich Moeller
  Workplace development: Extending the Workplace Shell - Ulrich Moeller
  

• Internet
  

  The Mozilla Project - Jeffrey Kobal/Mike Kaply
  

• Networking
  

  OS/2 Roadmap to the Application Framework for e-business - Steven King
  Remote-booting Diskless Windows Workstations from OS/2 Warp Server - Micho Durdevich
  Building Domino Applications for OS/2 - Larry Finkelstein
  

• Product demonstrations
  

  Running Win32 Applications on OS/2: the Odin project - Achim Hasenmuller
  OS/2 Netlabs Demonstrations - OS/2 Netlabs
  Papyrus Office - Ulli Ramps
  Workspace On-Demand Version 3 - Oliver Mark
  Ounce of Prevention System - John J. Urbaniak
  KidStuff for OS/2 - Gwen L. Veneskey
  

• Miscellaneous
  

  OS/2 Netlabs : an overview - Adrian Gschwend
  OS/2 in Embedded Systems - Achim Hasenmuller
  OS/2 Warp for Road Warriors - Timothy F. Sipples
  OS/2 Device Drivers News - Oliver Stein
  The OS/2 Community - Where Do We Want to Go Today? - Larry Finkelstein
  

  The Place:
  

  The Holiday Inn Independence Mall in Center City Philadelphia, in the U.S. state Pennsylvania. The hotel is located on 4th Street between Market and Arch Streets. The garage has room for 300 cars. Parking costs $10/day for guests and $12/day for others. There is also some metered parking (2 hour limit) on the surrounding streets as well as several parking lots and a large underground parking garage for this heavily visited tourist area.
  
  
  The main entrance of the Holiday Inn Independence Mall
  

  The hotel has 8 floors and 364 rooms. Rooms may be either a single king size bed or two doubles. There are also a few suites (4) and junior suites(3) with wet bars and refrigerators. All rooms come with cable TV, a coffee-maker, clock radio, hairdryer and a phone with a data-port. Non-smoking rooms are available.
  

  
  A standard room with king bed.
  

  There is a rooftop outdoor pool as well as a fitness center. On the 8th floor there is a coin-operated laundry facility. On every floor there is an ice machine and vending machine. The lobby has an ATM as well as a touch screen direction/location kiosk.
  

  Besides Benton's (The Hotel Restaurant), there are several cafe type small restaurants and also a pizza place (Olde City Pizza) within a block of the hotel. For a really inexpensive meal there are a few street vendors during the day with hot dogs, chili dogs, soda and snack foods.
  

  If you are not driving, Philadelphia has a fairly extensive public transportation system called SEPTA, which includes subways, rail and buses. The Market-Frankford subway line station is a block from the hotel at 5th and Market. This subway/elevated line runs from North-east Philadelphia, through Center City and out to West Philly. This line intersects with the Broad Street Subway line under Philadelphia's City Hall. The Broad Street subway line runs from North Philadelphia all the way down to the sports complex (Veterans Stadium and the First Union Center) in South Philadelphia. A one-way Subway or bus fare is $1.60. Day passes are $5 for 24 hours of transportation.
  

  There is also a downtown shuttle bus called the Philly Phlash. For $4 it provides a day of transport on the Phlash purple buses which go on a loop through South Street and Columbus Blvd.(Penn's Landing), Center City restaurants and museums on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Look for the purple bus 7 days a week, with service every ten minutes. The current hours of operation are 10a.m. - 6p.m.
  

  Immediately surrounding the hotel are several interesting attractions starting with the Friend's Meeting House and the United States Mint across the street from the hotel's main entrance. Behind the Hotel is the Congregation Mikveh Israel Synagogue which was begun in the 1740's and is the oldest Synagogue in Philadelphia. Here you will also find the National Museum of American Jewish History. Continuing around the block you can view Benjamin Franklin's grave.
  

  Within a couple blocks of the hotel is Independence Hall (where the Declaration of Independence was signed and proclaimed by the ringing of the Liberty Bell). Nearby also is the Betsy Ross house (Betsy being the woman credited as having sewn the first American flag); The First and Second Banks of the United States; and Christ Church, an Episcopalian church still in use today, where many of the signers of the Declaration of Independence worshiped.
  

  If you have kids, there are some unique attractions in the Greater Philadelphia area that should not be missed if you have the time:
  

• Please Touch Museum. This s a hands-on museum for children ages one to seven where adults and children can learn and explore together. It is located at 210 North 21st Street in Philadelphia.
  
• Sesame Place. Just northeast of Philly in Langhorne, Pennsylvania. A theme park based on the characters from the PBS Sesame Street TV show. This is a great place for toddlers through pre-school (2 thru 5 years of age).
  
• Strasburg Railroad. For the week after Warpstock, Thomas the Tank engine, of Shining Time Station TV show fame, will be in person (a full size steam engine with cars for riding on) at the Strassburg Rail Road in Strassburg PA. This is about 2.5-3 Hours West of Philly by car in beatiful Lancaster County, the home of the Pennsylvania Dutch. Even adults who love trains would enjoy this one.
  
• Crayola factory. Located in Easton, PA, this is the home of Binney & Smith, the manufacturer of Crayola Crayons. It's about 1.5 - 2 hours North of Philadelphia, up Route 611. Take a tour of the factory and experience the colorful exhibits.
  

• The Philadelphia Zoo. In North Philadelphia, this is America's first zoo. Not as good as San Diego or some other animal parks that aren't confined in an urban setting, but if you enjoy animals, it's a great place to spend a day. See the white tigers, the African plains exhibit, and the new primate preserve among other attractions there.
  
• The Franklin Institute. This is a science museum dedicated to the legacy of it's founding benefactor, Benjamin Franklin. Located at 222 North 20th Street, in Philly. I haven't been there since I was in high school, but I still remember walking through the giant mockup of the human heart, and all the hands-on science exhibits. If you plan to go you might want to get the $1.00 off coupon online at http://www.fi.edu/tfi/coupon.html. Ticket prices for the Franklin Institute and it's associated attractions can be found at http://www.fi.edu/tfi/info/prices.html
  
  • Fels Planitarium. If the stars (and planets) are your bag, then head on over to the Fels Planitarium, which is part of the Franklin Institute.
    
  • Tuttleman IMAX Theater. This is an OMNI theater, with the film shown on a four-story, domed screen with fifty-six speakers, the films give you theexperience of being a part of the action. Several films are shown at different times throughout the week. For a current schedule of what's playing see http://www.fi.edu/tfi/info/omninow.html.
    
• The Philadelphia Museum of Art. On the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, in Philly, this is a world class art museum. Current exhibits include:
  

  The Arts of Hon'ami Koetsu, Japanese Renaissance Master
  

  When Reason Dreams: Drawings Inspired by the Visionary, the
  Fantastic, and the Unreal
  

  The Nightingale's Song: Nurses and Nursing in the Ars Medica
  Collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art
  

• Boat House Row and Fairmount Park. If you are looking for some quiet and beautiful views, Philadelphia has a park system that stretches throughout the city. One of the principal places found in Fairmount Park is Boat House Row, located along Kelly Drive and the Schuylkill River. During the day this is the perfect location for a picnic, a jog, a bike ride or just to watch the scullers in the river. At night the boat houses are outlined with strings of lights for a truly enchanting, postcard view.
  
• The Mütter Museum. Philadelphia has a long history (and present) in the field of medicine, with one of the first hospitals in the United States (Pennsylvania hospital) founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1751. If you are interested medical history and oddities, then checkout the Mütter Museum of the The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, located at 19 South 22nd Street, in of course Philadelphia, PA. The collection includes anatomical and pathological specimens as well as medical instruments.
  
• Washington's Crossing. Located in Washington Crossing, PA in beautiful Bucks County, North of Philadelphia, this is where George Washington led his ragged troops across the ice-choked Delaware and attacked the unsuspecting Hessians at Trenton New Jersey on Christmas eve, in 1776. This was a major turning point in the American Revolution.
  
• Valley Forge. Washington's winter encampment from December 19, 1777 through June 19, 1778. No battles were fought here, but it was where the Colonial Army was whipped into shape for the subsequent battles leading to victory.
  
• The New Jersey State Aquarium. Across the Delware River, in Camden, New Jersey, is the New Jersey State Aquarium. Who'd ever have thought there'd be a reason to go to Camden, New Jersey!
  
• Hershey, PA. About 2.5 hours west and North of Philly is Hershey Pennsylvania. The home of the Hershey Chocolate bar. Long ago, they used to let visitors tour the actual factory, but the crowds became overwhelming, so they opened Hershey's Chocolate World, a free ride through the world of making chocolate candy bars. And right next door is Hershey Park and ZooAmerica. If you are into Roller Coasters, then the Lightening Racer is a must ride. It's a wooden, dueling racing coaster.
  

• South Street. Five blocks South of Independence Hall is South Street. This has always been the "Hippest street in town".
  
• Reading Terminal Market. Philadelphia's Open-Air Farmer's Market. Freshest foods and home made crafts abound. Open every day but Sunday.
  
• Chinatown. A few blocks North of the Independence Mall area is Philly's Chinatown. A wide variety of Asian cuisine can be found here.
  
• Manayunk. When I lived there 15 years ago, it was just a working class residence area. Now I hear it's a great place to eat and shop. Someone from New York told me it's the Soho of Philadelphia, whatever that means. :-)
  
• King of Prussia. If you or a loved one are a hard core shopper, then this place may be worth the drive (about an hour up the Schuylkill Expressway). Just a partial list of the stores; Neiman Marcus, Lord & Taylor, Bloomingdale's, Nordstom, Macy's, Strawbridge's and over 360 specialty stores.
  
• Franklin Mills Outlet Stores. Located in Northeast Philadelphia, this place gave me a headache the few times I was there from the shear size and the huge crowds of people. But if you are looking for outlet shopping, I don't think they come much bigger with over 200 discount stores.
  
• Atlantic City, NJ. About two hours East of Philly is Atlantic City New Jersey. What used to be known primarily for it's beach, boardwalk and the annual Miss America pageant, is now known primarily for it's gambling casinos.
  

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