RailsConf 2007 registration is finally open, after months of waiting, submitting proposals and anxious waiting to see if we'll be able to snag a registration. This year, under the stewardship of O'Reilly, availability runs to 1200 seats, and registration opened a week ago. The show hasn't quite sold out yet, in contrast to last year when all tickets were gone in four hours. DHH is excited: being over half sold - "This makes RailsConf '07 the fastest selling conference that O' Reilly have been involved with".
This year's conference will be held from May 17th to May 20th in the spacious upper halls of the Oregon Conference in downtown Portland. The schedule is packed: expect to be entertained and meet all the names you've come to know from the mailing lists. The usual suspects will be keynoting, but look out for great talks from some of last year's favorites such as Ezra's Xen Deployment and Amy's Designer guide along with a whole host of first-time talks.
Our highlights include topics such as exploring rails in business, interaction with other libs and products. Of course, solid code discussion will not overlooked. Don't miss the rails way by Rails expert Jamis Buck. For those of you willing to remix and help improve this year's conference, O'Reilly are hosting a wiki for feedback and ad-hoc planning.
Current pricing (until March 19th) sets the registration fee at $745 with the tutorial day included, however there are a number of discounts available, including for alumni. The price rises to $995 if you register on the day of the conference, but don't expect there to be any tickets left!
In contrast to last year, many sponsorship opportunities are available too, up to $35,000 for the top spot. If this is a bit pricey for you, there are lower-cost options for vendors wishing to present in the exhibitor hall. A good amount of the profits will end up in the warchest of Ruby Central, a non-profit organization that helps to coordinate Ruby conferences.
Finally, if you didn't get accepted for a speaker slot this time around, don't worry: RejectConf will be back in full swing with InfoQ's own Obie Fernandez supplying cases of beer like last year.