Unboxing the D9 conference swag bag
Everyone loves conference tsotchkes. But the goodie bag here at the D: All Things Digital conference is ridiculous.
PALOS VERDES, Calif.--I'm here at the ultra-luxe D9 conference (officially D: All Things Digital). The roster of speakers at this conference includes Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, Disney CEO Robert Iger, and DARPA Director Regina Dugan. Not to mention the pitchmen, like Microsoft Windows President Steven Sinofsky, who will be demoing Windows 8.
Yet they all line up for the overstuffed swag bag, literally a duffel filled with gizmos, gadgets, and strange goblets. It's a D conference tradition and this year is no exception. Check it out:
Update! The D9 hoodie has a pentagram printed inside it, with pictures of All Things D writers arrayed around it, and Walt Mossberg in the middle. There's a Latin phrase underneath: "Desisto inaniloquum et adtentus." Google Translate gives an unsatisfactory translation, but a co-worker scholar reads it as, "I cease blabbering and pay attention." If you think it's something different, let the world know in comments.
Obviously the inscription is a reference to Kara Swisher's interrogation of Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg at a previous D conference. In it, Zuckerberg worked up such a sweat he had to remove his own hoodie, revealing Facebook symbology printed in the inside.
Related link
• D9 complete coverage