About the Digital Schedule

We're doing something a little different this year. In addition to the Pocket Programming Guide, we're trying out Google's Calendar facilities to make our programming guide available on your mobile phone, iPod Touch, iPad, or pretty much anything that can support this -- including your web browser. Optimally, all you need is a Google account, but you don't even necessarily need that to make this work.

There are a few ways to do this.

SYNC - This will work on pretty much any device that is a smartphone -- Blackberry, Windows Mobile (with possible restrictions), Android, Symbian, Apple handhelds, and Palm WebOS, for all intents. PalmOS, as well, has some limited support (Treo 680 and newer, as a general rule, support this -- see Palm's support site for details). This is the most powerful interface available, and is typically configured using a Microsoft Exchange configuration. (Android devices do this natively; Blackberry devices have an app for this. Apple, as well, has an app for that.) All this information can be found at the Google Sync Site.

CalDAV - This is a protocol that allows someone to simply sync calendar information to another program. In a nutshell, you're subscribing to a calendar. Apple handhelds such as the iPhone support this, however this is most commonly done through a calendar program such as Apple iCal or Mozilla Sunbird. All this information can be found at the Google Sync Site.

TEXT MESSAGE/SMS NOTIFICATION - The simplest way to go. Don't have a smartphone, and just operating a simple flip phone? Have a smartphone, and don't want to potentially rack up data charges? Even with the sync set up, you also want that text notification just to put the icing on the cake. This is the way to go, and it's simple to do: in your calendar, click on Settings, and select Mobile Setup. Fill in the blanks as appropriate, and follow the instructions.

URL's and other Important Info.

TERMS OF SERVICE

Executive Summary

Rainfurrest is providing this to you at no charge to anyone who wants to view it, and so is Google. However, your cell service has certain cost requirements, and you, the user of this service, are solely responsible for those charges, including any overage charges -- it's your phone, after all. (Tip: make sure your carrier has you set up for all applicable requirements -- unlimited text, unlimited data, roaming plans, that sort of thing -- so you don't get a nasty surprise on your next cell phone bill.)

If you configure this for your use per the instructions provided, everything should work just fine, but we may not have the ability to make it work if it is not configured correctly. If something breaks beyond this, we aren't responsible -- we can't fix your mobile carrier's towers if they fall over, for instance. If there's a mistake in a URL somewhere (and we are making sure there aren't), please tell us so we can fix it -- but if you can't fix it, you should refer to Google's forums and help files for their Calendar service. In fact, read those help files -- there is a lot of good information in there that helps you learn to use this if you're unfamiliar with the environment. If you just can't get internet on your cell network, you should call your mobile carrier for help. If you can't get internet on the hotel wi-fi, contact the hotel's front desk for assistance.

If you don't like this service, there is no refund. You pay us nothing to use it, so we give you nothing back. Just stop using it and you'll be fine, and enjoy the con. Finally, make sure you back up your phone before doing this, and maintain that backup -- because if you skip a step and lose your data, that's on your head, not ours. If you don't know how to back up your phone, call your service provider or search out on Google.

Detailed Information

1. "You", "Your", "User", and all variants thereunto pertaining shall be defined as the party using the digital calendar service as configured by Rainfurrest on Google's servers -- presumably, this is you. "Rainfurrest" shall be defined as encompassing not only the convention Rainfurrest, but also its staff and its board of directors. "Mobile service" shall be defined as the cellular phone service provider of the user's choice. "Wi-fi", "wireless internet", and all variants thereof shall refer to any available wireless networking service as specified by IEEE 802.11, and is distinguishable from cell service. "Hardware" shall be defined as any equipment which is used for the purposes outlined herein. "Hardware manufacturer" shall be defined as the maker of said hardware. "Google" shall refer to Google, Inc., of Mountain View, California, USA, and shall encompass any service provided by them that is not specifically stated. "Google Calendar" and its abbreviated forms such as "G/Cal" shall collectively refer to the calendar service as provided by Google. "Google Sync" and its abbreviated short forms such as "G/Sync" shall refer to the remote synchronization service as provided by Google. "Service" shall refer to the digital calendar that has been set up using Google's services.
2. Rainfurrest provides this schedule to any party interested in reviewing it for the purpose of displaying and distributing a convention schedule, with specific interest in its volunteer staff, attending members, and guests of the convention.
3. This is a service provided by Rainfurrest, using Google's tools. If you use this, in addition to our terms, you must adhere to and abide by Google's terms of service, as well as your mobile provider's terms of service and, if applicable, your hardware provider's terms of use.
4. This is a service provided at no cost to you, the user, to the public by Rainfurrest. Rainfurrest will not require a user to pay money for this service.
5. Rainfurrest is not responsible for any overage charges on the bill you receive from your mobile service provider. You are solely responsible for making sure that your account with your mobile provider is properly provisioned with any messaging, roaming, and/or internet plans available so as to avoid overages.
6. Rainfurrest does not provide any technical support for this service. All support for Google based services shall be provided entirely by Google. Mobile network failures and hardware failures are to be addressed with your mobile carrier or your hardware's maker respectively. Wi-fi failures shall be addressed by the provider of the wi-fi connection you are utilizing. Rainfurrest is not responsible if this malfunctions due to network failure.
7. You agree to back up your phone before proceeding to prevent data loss, and to seek support through your mobile carrier and/or hardware maker, or seek information on the internet, for assistance if you are unsure how to proceed with backing up your phone. Rainfurrest is not responsible if you lose data on your phone as a result of using this.
8. This is a service provided as-is with no warranty to your personal data or your hardware. Rainfurrest is reasonably sure that this will not destroy your phone or your data, however maintains no responsibility.