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Uploading Files
This is the first year that the SIGGRAPH Sketches program is accepting
submissions entirely electronically, including supporting images and
video. We expect electronic submission to make the process easier for
everyone, and less expensive, too.
However, uploading is not always perfectly smooth. To make
sure that all submissions will get to us with minimal frustration, please follow these guidelines:
Don't wait until the last minute
The electronic submission system uses a robust server with
high-bandwidth access to the internet, but everything has a limit.
Earlier this year, for a different program, last-minute submitters
tried to upload 5GB of data in the final half-hour before the
deadline. This didn't work well. Don't get yourself in that
situation.
Upload early and often
Once your submission is complete, you are still allowed to edit it and
add to or modify the supplementary materials right up to the
deadline. This means you can upload some materials early as soon
as they are ready and upload the remainder later, avoiding the
need to upload everything at once. This also means you can upload
a rough draft of your materials early, and replace them with more
polished versions later. Upload drafts that are roughly the same
size as your final material. This will allow you to get a feel
for the upload process and the time it takes to upload files of
those sizes, and give you time to diagnose problems. Then, as
your draft gets refined, upload revisions. This way if the last
polish or final render encounters problems, you only lose the polish, not
the entire submission.
We do not control the internet
In our tests, we have found upload speeds of anywhere from 20
megabit/sec to five kilobit/sec. We have tested uploads from two
gigabytes to 10 lilobytes. We have seen upload times from one second to 24
hours. If you are traversing a path to our server that is through
congested nodes, your upload may fail, and you will have to retry.
You may even have to do the upload from work, school, home, or the
local Kinko's. Don't wait until the last minute to find out.
The progress bar says you're done, but then nothing happens
The progress bar in Internet Explorer lies. It will show a completed upload a
few minutes into what could be a 10-hour upload. Ignore it. Go
have lunch.
Don't try to upload too much
Remember, each Sketch submission should have no more than
40Mb of data total for all uploaded materials.
Don't wait until the last minute
Yes, we said this already, but it's worth repeating! The
deadline, 7 April 2004, 5pm Pacific Time, is the time by which the
entire submission, including all supporting images and video, must
be completely uploaded. The deadline must remain firm: we're on a
tight schedule and won't be able to extend the deadline to
accommodate straggling uploads.
Despite all these dire warnings, we are happy to report that the
all-electronic submission process has so far been a great success with
the programs that have already been through it this year. We don't
anticipate major problems. Just don't wait until the
last minute!
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