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If your responsibility is to stay abreast of the latest desktop Linux
developments for your business or school, you simply must attend the
2nd Annual Desktop Linux Summit in Del Mar, CA on April 22nd and 23rd.
It's a
two day event with a wide range of speakers, as well as an exhibit hall
where you will be able to see products up close and personal. (We have
one extra special
speaker who I'm thrilled is speaking that you really won't want to miss -
more
on that below!) Registering online is quick and cheap - just $50 for
the two-day event and includes lunch both days. Registration is limited
and the price
goes up before the event, so you'll want to act quickly.
The Desktop Linux Summit is a unique event patterned after the MP3
Summit conferences which ran for 4 years and became the epicenter of
the MP3 movement. Companies such as dmusic, emusic, dimensionmusic,
and Musicmatch were bought, merged, showcased and dreamed up at the
conferences. New MP3 hardware and software products often debuted,
including Sonique, Winamp, car MP3 players, home MP3 boxes, and much
more. And there was no shortage of controversial speakers introducing
new thoughts and ideas which I learned a lot from, such as IceT, Jim
Griffin, and Ian Clarke of Freenet.
What made the MP3 Summit unique also makes the Desktop Linux Summit unique - it's not a
profit-center like most conferences. Our number one goal is to bring
together all the diverse forces and ideas, not to make money. Because
of that, registration fees are a modest $50, which includes access to all
speaking events and the exhibit hall, even lunch for 2 days, and a goodie
bag. Some events I attend cost hundreds, or over $1,000, which limits
attendance to only the well-to-do, which in turn limits the ideas.
Since Linux is in its early growth stages, many of the best ideas,
companies, and players are just being hatched, and their participation is
critical.
Similarly, companies and organizations can exhibit for as little as
$500, making the Desktop Linux Summit the most economical way for a
Linux company to reach a large audience. It also means that new
companies can attend without breaking their budget. Another unique
touch is that all exhibits are identical in size and design. No booth
towers over others, drowning out small guys. Some of the biggest
names in technology are already exhibiting, such as Novell, Red Hat, Sun,
Computer Associates, AMD, and Seagate. Equally important is the wide
range of young companies, of which we expect three times as many as last
year. (Non-profit open source companies can exhibit for free.)
Besides the exhibitors and attendees, you'll find a roster stocked with
provocative speakers. Unlike many conferences, we don't pay any of our
speakers. They come to speak because they truly want to reach out to
the audience and help shape thought and development in a new industry.
We're still preparing the final speaker list, but one speaker who has
confirmed, which I'm personally, tremendously excited about hearing
from
is Jef Raskin. Jef is the creator of Apple's Macintosh, the Canon Cat,
click-and-drag selection and other inventions. He even coined the term
and the concept of "information appliances." Wow. He's going to tell us
what's wrong with today's windowing interface and how, with Linux, we
have a chance to do it better, including a demo I'm really looking
forward
to.
I hope you'll consider registering for and attending this year's Desktop
Linux Summit April 22nd-23rd, because I'm confident that you will leave with a
great snapshot of where Desktop Linux is and where it is headed. The
entire Lindows.com team will be manning the conference and is committed
to making it a valuable event. You may even see me waving a flag in the
parking lot directing traffic!
-- Michael
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