If you've never been to a hackathon, they are typically a 24-48 hour event during which time your team needs to build a working prototype for a product, usually a web or mobile app, but some teams build actual hardware devices. I've been to a lot of these hackathons, and have observed some patterns for what makes for a successful hackathon experience.
The instant chat window must be one of the most annoying things I've seen on a website currently. Not only do I hear a beep when opening a tab but it also takes about half of my browser space (netbook). Good content tho, too bad it's surrounded by bad design decisions.