Fun fact - Tufte's in Arlington giving a talk and we're taking a 15 minute break right now. Compelling speaker and thrilling read (he's giving away four of his books to every attendee).
Another fun fact: when he couldn't get his first book (VDQI) published the way he wanted, he mortgaged his house and published it himself. Respect.
He even brought out his iPhone & iPad and commented on the easily-navigated UI.
Normal registration was $380 per person, albeit ft students received a $180 discount.
I half-expected him to show some of Randall Munroe's hi-res graphics (such as http://xkcd.com/657/), but alas, it would have been too perfect =)