Google I/O is coming, now with a new, horrible registration system!

Here’s your link for registering for Google I/O, Google’s annual developer conference. Unlike in years past, it’s not going to sell out in a few minutes with technical glitches aplenty. No, this time, they’ve devised a new means of torture.

From the site:

There’s no rush this year. Just apply to attend any time during the two-day registration window, and we’ll randomly select who gets to come. [More below.]

Gee. Great. I love having no idea whether or not I get to come to my favorite tech conference. I also love that there’s no actual criteria or merit-based system for who gets to buy a $900 ticket.

This is going to be the best I/O ever.*

Registration begins April 8 and runs through April 10. The conference will take place in San Francisco at the Moscone Center, as per usual, on June 25 and 26.

If you can’t be there in person, we’ll once again do our damndest to make sure you get a front-seat view of the proceedings here on VentureBeat. And there will also be live streams from Google, as well.

*It actually will probably be a really great I/O. We’re just momentarily bummed by the anticlimactic and somehow unfair registration system.

Here’s a bit more about the goofy/crying-shame registration process for 2014:

The window to submit a registration application will remain open from 5:00am PDT on April 8th until 5:00pm PDT on April 10th, so you’ll have plenty of time to apply. We’ll randomly select applicants after the window closes on the 10th and notify those selected with their ticket purchase confirmations via email. Qualified registration applicants will be selected at random for ticket assignments. The order in which registration applications are received has no bearing on the final outcome.

You will need to sign into Google+ to begin the registration application.

You will then complete the required registration fields and continue on to authorize the purchase of your ticket via Google Wallet. At this time, Google Wallet will not complete the charge, but a pre-authorization will be placed to ensure the funds are available.

Your credit card will only be charged if you are assigned a ticket. By completing the registration application, you are authorizing Google Wallet to complete the charge at the conclusion of the application window, should you be randomly selected to receive a ticket.