SAPO Codebits: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Lisbon computing conference held 2007–2014}}

[[Image:SAPO Codebits logo.jpg|thumb|Codebits logo in 2009, featuring SAPO's own official logo at the time.|250x250px]]

'''SAPO Codebits''', also known simply as '''Codebits''', was a conference held in [[Lisbon]] from 2007 to 2014, focused on computing and light-hearted [[geek|geek culture]] content for a highly technical audience. It was organized by SAPO which, besides a news media brand, was also an internet-focused [[Research and development|R&D]] division of [[Portugal Telecom]] at the time.

'''SAPO Codebits''', also known simply as '''Codebits''', was a (computing) conference held in [[Lisbon]] from 2007 to 2014. It was organized by SAPO which, besides a news media brand, was also an internet-focused [[Research and development|R&D]] division of [[Portugal Telecom]] at the time.[[File:Codebits Logo 2014.png|alt=SAPO Codebits logo in 2014|thumb|In 2014, the "bot", which had been the event's mascot since 2010, became its official logo.|180x180px]] Initially inspired by [[Yahoo! Hack Day]],<ref name="Codebits 2007 announcement by Celso Martinho">{{cite web|url=https://celso.io/portuguese/tech-stuff/2007/09/21/sapo-codebits.html|title=SAPO Codebits}} Celso Martinho, 2007</ref> the event lasted for three non-stop days, with many participants choosing to eat and sleep on site. Its core was a 48-hour [[hackathon]] but it also included dozens of talks during the day, as well as several entertainment activities in the evenings. Over the years, the number of talks and entertainment activities increased steadily, making it a reference in Portuguese [[Hacker culture|hacker]] culture{{Citation needed|date=November 2020}} and attracting an increasing number of international attendees and speakers. Codebits was free for all participants, including food and drinks, and had little commercial undertones apart from product announcements in the opening keynote. Active recruiting inside the premises was also disallowed. The number of seats was limited, so potential attendees had to apply for a ticket and undergo a screening process.[[File:Pixels Camp logo.jpeg|alt=Pixels Camp logo|thumb|180x180px|In 2016, Codebits was rebooted with a new name.]]

Codebits had a 48-hour [[hackathon]] at its core, but the number of talks and entertainment activities increased steadily over the years, along with the number of seats, attracting an increasing number of international attendees and speakers. At this point is was as much of a festival as it was a conference.[[File:Codebits Logo 2014.png|alt=SAPO Codebits logo in 2014|thumb|In 2014, the "bot" mascot replaced the organizing company's "frog" as the official Codebits logo.|180x180px]][[File:Pixels Camp logo.jpeg|alt=Pixels Camp logo|thumb|180x180px|In 2016, Codebits was rebooted with a new name: Pixels Camp.]]

In 2015, Portugal Telecom was acquired by [[Altice (company)|Altice]],<ref>{{Cite web|date=2015-06-03|title=Altice closes €5.8B PT Portugal deal|url=https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/home-banner/altice-closes-pt-portugal-deal|access-date=2021-10-20|website=Mobile World Live|language=en-GB}}</ref> SAPO's mission changed, and Codebits was discontinued. In 2016, the event format was revived by another team of organizers under the name [[#Reboot: Pixels Camp|Pixels Camp]].

In 2015, Portugal Telecom was acquired by [[Altice (company)|Altice]],<ref>{{Cite web|date=2015-06-03|title=Altice closes €5.8B PT Portugal deal|url=https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/home-banner/altice-closes-pt-portugal-deal|access-date=2021-10-20|website=Mobile World Live|language=en-GB}}</ref> SAPO's mission changed, and Codebits was discontinued after seven editions. In 2016, the eventCodebits format was revived by another team of organizers under the name [[#Reboot: Pixels Camp|Pixels Camp]]. Pixels Camp ran for three more editions until the onset of the [[COVID-19]] pandemic.

== Format ==

[[Image:SAPO Codebits project presentations.jpg|right|thumb|Participants preparing to present their projects at the very first SAPO Codebits in (2007).]]

Initially inspired by [[Yahoo! Hack Day]],<ref name="Codebits 2007 announcement by Celso Martinho">{{cite web |title=SAPO Codebits |url=https://celso.io/portuguese/tech-stuff/2007/09/21/sapo-codebits.html}} Celso Martinho, 2007</ref> the event lasted for three non-stop days and nights, with many participants choosing to eat and sleep on site. Its core was a 48-hour [[hackathon]] but it also included dozens of talks during the day, as well as several entertainment activities in the evenings.

Codebits was free for all participants, including plenty of food and drinks. Active recruiting inside the premises was disallowed and there were little commercial undertones apart from a few product announcements during the opening keynotes.

The number of seats was limited and potential attendees had to undergo a short screening process in order to secure a ticket. The screening process was meant to ensure that most, if not all, attendees had a suitable technical background or creative skills related to the event's theme. Applicants such as those in marketing and recruiting were usually rejected.

TheCodebits eventalways tookstarted placeon overa threeThursday consecutive days (and nights),had starting on a Thursday. Theits first morning was composed of general keynotes from the organizing company and its partners/sponsors, plus general information about the hackathon and satellite activities. The hackathon started in the afternoon, along with multiple tracks of talks in parallel, and lasted until Saturday morning, with Saturdaythat day's afternoon reserved for project presentations, voting, and the closing ceremony.

=== 48-hour Hackathon ===

[[File:SAPO Codebits 2014 hackathon hall.jpg|alt=SAPO Codebits 2014 hackathon hall|thumb|The hackathon hall at Codebits VII (final edition, 2014), with the teams' tables and the secondary stages (the cylindrical structures).]]

In the hackathon, teams were free to propose whatever project they wanted, software or hardware, with no themes or subject restrictions. On Saturday, teams were required to present their projects on stage. They had 90 seconds to do it and the audience voted (thumbs up/down) between each presentation. The selection of winning teams was a combination of the audience votes and the votes of a jury panel. The weighting between the audience and jury votes varied from edition to edition.

[[File:SAPO Codebits 2014 hackathon voting.jpg|alt=SAPO Codebits 2014 hackathon voting|thumb|The audience voting for hackathon projects at Codebits VII (final edition, 2014). TheThat year's voting system used computer vision to detect red/green cards on this year.]]

=== Talks ===

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=== Evening Activities ===

Satellite activities were usually held in the evenings. These activities usually combined entertainment with some element of [[geek|geek culture.]] andThey were initially meant to providerelief some reliefpressure from the hackathon, but gained a life of their own over time. Some of the most prominent activities arewere:

==== Quiz Show ====

Since 2008,<ref name="Introducing Codebits Quiz Show 2008">{{cite web|url=https://codebits.blogs.sapo.pt/14240.html|title=Codebits Quizz Show}} João Pedro Gonçalves, 2008</ref> in the four weeks before the event, participants had to solve about one challenge per-week to qualify for the quiz show. The challenges included image enigmas, treasure hunts, code golf contests, among others. They all shared a reasonably high level of difficulty and required a fair knowledge of tech-related culture and motivation. Qualified participants then went on stage on Friday nightafter dinner time for a few rounds of questions, mostly about science, technology, and [[geek]] trivia.<ref name="Codebits Quiz Show 2010">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fszoqmgQMg8 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/fszoqmgQMg8 |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=SAPO Codebits Quiz Show (2010)|website=[[YouTube]] }}{{cbignore}} Carlos Morgado, 2010</ref>

==== Security CTFCompetition ====

The security competition followed a capture-the-flag (CTF) model. whereParticipants participantswere mustasked to answer questions and solve challenges related to cyber-securitycybersecurity (such as identifying and exploiting vulnerable applications purposely built for the competition) in order to obtain a tokens (flags) that translatetranslated into points. The competition took place on Thursday nightevening and lasted over three hours. Like the quiz show, participants hadmust tofirst qualify by solving a few challenges in the weeks before the event.

==== Nuclear Tacos ====

The "nuclear" tacos competition involved eating ultra-spicy tacos as fast as possible over a few rounds of increasing [[Scoville scale|spiciness]]. It started in 2010 as just a dare to participants<ref name="Nuclear Tacos at Codebits 2010">{{cite web|url=https://codebits.blogs.sapo.pt/73933.html|title=Project Apocalypse - How we made Nuclear Tacos at Codebits IV}} Pedro Couto e Santos, 2010</ref> but eventually evolved into a proper competition. It usually took place on Friday evening before the quiz show.

Other activities included a [[PowerPoint Karaoke|Presentation Karaoke]], retro-gaming displays, and workshops on soldering, 3D printing, lockpicking, etc. In someEarlier editions therealso were alsoincluded music concerts (e.g. [[WrayGunn]] in 2007, [[Pornophonique]] in 2009).

=== Makers and Hardware ===

== Attendee selection ==

Codebits wasn't just about software, the hardware and [[maker culture]] was also a significant part of it. There were workshops on electronics from the start and, starting in 2010, there was also significant space dedicated to hardware project showcases and workshops (the "Hardware Den").

Those wanting to attend the event had to apply to attend. Applicants who did not work with technology directly, such as those in marketing and recruiting, were usually rejected. Attendees included developers, systems administrators, web designers, etc.

== Editions ==

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* 2014<ref name="Codebits 2014 in TVI">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jU0ZHo-Jve0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/jU0ZHo-Jve0 |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=TVI Reportagem @ SAPO Codebits 2014|website=[[YouTube]] }}{{cbignore}} TVI, 2014</ref> — April 10–12 at [[MEO Arena]], Lisbon — 900 attendees

In 2013, Codebits was planned to happen simultaneously in [[São Paulo]] and [[Lisbon]]<ref name="SAPO Codebits dates in Público, 2013">{{cite web|url=https://www.publico.pt/2013/08/20/tecnologia/noticia/codebits-marcado-para-abril-em-portugal-e-no-brasil-1603531|title=SAPO Codebits marcado para Abril em Portugal e no Brasil|date=20 August 2013 }} Público, 2013</ref> delaying both events due to logistics issues at the [[Latin America Memorial|Brazilian venue]]. — whichMeanwhile, meanwhile,the latter was hit by fire forcing(unrelated to Codebits), which forced an aout-of-season Lisbon-only event in April 2014.

== Reboot: as Pixels Camp ==

[[File:Pixels Camp 2016 project presentations.jpg|alt=Pixels Camp project presentations in 2016|thumb|360x360px|Participants presenting their projects on stage at the first Pixels Camp in (2016) while others queue for their turn.]]

In 2016, a team composed mostly of SAPO ex-employees rebooted the event under the name '''Pixels Camp'''<ref name="Pixels Camp in Shifter, 2016">{{cite web|url=https://shifter.sapo.pt/2016/04/codebits-pixels-camp/|title=Das cinzas do Codebits, nasce o Pixels Camp. Estás preparado?}} Shifter, 2016</ref> while keeping the format more or less the same.

Pixels Camp had three editions. In March 2020, a fourth edition was already in the very last stages of preparation when the [[COVID-19]] pandemic forced its postponement to later that year. The organization remained active and conducted several online activities, but Pixels Camp v4.0 ended up being officially canceled in mid-September<ref name="Pixels Camp v4.0 canceled, 2020">{{cite web|url=https://blog.pixels.camp/about-pixels-camp-v4-0-6fd8b91cc8f2|title=About Pixels Camp v4.0|date=14 September 2020 }} Pixels Camp Blog, 2020</ref>.

Pixels Camp was organized by [[Bright Pixel]] (a startup incubator and accelerator) and financed with the help of sponsorships. It has been informally reported that any future Pixels Camp editions, should they happen, would be organized independently with a financing model still to be defined. As of late 2023, no definite plans are known.

== Reboot: Pixels Camp ==

[[File:Pixels Camp 2016 project presentations.jpg|alt=Pixels Camp project presentations in 2016|thumb|360x360px|Participants presenting their projects at the first Pixels Camp in 2016 while others queue for their turn.]]

In 2016, a team composed mostly of SAPO ex-employees rebooted the event under the name '''Pixels Camp'''<ref name="Pixels Camp in Shifter, 2016">{{cite web|url=https://shifter.sapo.pt/2016/04/codebits-pixels-camp/|title=Das cinzas do Codebits, nasce o Pixels Camp. Estás preparado?}} Shifter, 2016</ref> while keeping the format more or less the same. Pixels Camp has had three editions so far, with the fourth edition having been canceled in 2020 due to the [[COVID-19]] pandemic.<ref name="Pixels Camp v4.0 canceled, 2020">{{cite web|url=https://blog.pixels.camp/about-pixels-camp-v4-0-6fd8b91cc8f2|title=About Pixels Camp v4.0|date=14 September 2020 }} Pixels Camp Blog, 2020</ref> These editions were organized by [[Bright Pixel]] (a startup incubator and accelerator) but future editions, if any, are planned to be organized independently with a financing model still to be defined.

=== Pixels Camp Editions ===

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* 2017<ref name="Pixels Camp 2017 in Observador">{{cite web|url=https://observador.pt/2017/09/28/pixels-camp-traz-campismo-moedas-digitais-e-mais-de-mil-participantes-a-lisboa/|title=Pixels Camp traz campismo, moedas digitais e mais de mil participantes a Lisboa}} Observador, 2017</ref> — September 28–30 at [[Pavilhão Carlos Lopes]], Lisbon — 1200 attendees

* 2019<ref name="Pixels Camp 2019 in Tek">{{cite web|url=https://tek.sapo.pt/noticias/computadores/artigos/chama-se-salazar-e-foi-o-projeto-mais-votado-no-pixels-camp|title=Chama-se Salazar e foi o projeto mais votado no Pixels Camp}} Tek, 2019</ref> — March 21–23 at [[Pavilhão Carlos Lopes]], Lisbon — 1300 attendees

* 2020 '''(canceled)''' — November 26-28 at [[Pavilhão Carlos Lopes]], Lisbon

== References ==