Mitch Altman is a Berlin-based hacker and inventor of TV-B-Gone. He is a featured speaker at hacker conferences, an international expert on the hackerspace movement, and teaches introductory electronics workshops. He is also Chief Scientist and CEO of Cornfield Electronics.

Rogers Park is the first of Chicago's 77 community areas. Located 9 miles (14 km) from the Loop, it is on the city's far north side on the shore of Lake Michigan. The neighborhood is culturally diverse and features green spaces, early 20th century architecture, live theater, bars, restaurants, and beaches. It is bounded by the city of Evanston along Juneway Terrace and Howard Street to the north, Ridge Boulevard to the west, Devon Avenue and the Edgewater neighborhood to the south, and Lake Michigan to the east. The neighborhood just to the west, West Ridge, was part of Rogers Park until the 1890s and is still sometimes referred to as West Rogers Park. In the early 1900s, what is now Loyola University Chicago became established at the south eastern end of the community area along the lake.