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In 10 days or so, the 3rd Annual Desktop Summit will begin. This
one will be our best event ever and I want to share what's happening behind
the scenes. You know about the great speakers
from the Summit's web page, but there
are quite a few other companies, talks, and announcements that will
make
this an informative show. Here are some of the products
and events that I'm excited about.
1 - A scout reports from the front lines
We sent a scout all over Central Europe on a Linux mission. His
goal was to understand the PC business in
countries like Poland, Hungary, Romania, and others. Where do they buy
computers? Where are they with desktop Linux? What is the piracy rate?
What price do they think is fair for software? His journey took him to
stores, back
alleys, schools, Internet cafes, government offices, and resulted in
some encounters with undercover
police officers. The results will surely surprise you,
as they did me, and you'll hear directly from the scout himself as
he'll give a debriefing at the Summit.
2 - Novell Linux Desktop 9 and Linspire Five-0
The first 500 attendees to register will receive several of the top
Linux products: Novell Linux Desktop 9 powered by Suse, Linspire 4.5,
and for the first time a Sneak Preview of the upcoming new Linspire
Five-0. This will allow them to assess the
latest, greatest desktop Linux products on their desktop or laptop
computer after the Summit has concluded and is a great added bonus
which makes the $99 registration an even better value.
3 - New VOIP company debuts
In 4
years, MP3.com amassed one of the finest engineering staffs ever
put together. As MP3.com's technology parts were sold off beginning in
2001 by its new owner, its employees have disbanded. Some are
at Napster, some at emusic, some remain at Vivendi/Universal. Some
decided to
strike out on their own and build their own venture. Two of the
sharpest engineers I had will be debuting a VOIP company they have started which I think has great
promise. They'll unveil their product at the Summit with a live
presentation. And Linspire plans on being one of their first customers!
4 - MP3beamer
After a three-year hiatus from the digital music business, I'm
announcing that I'm back with a new company called MP3tunes. At the
Summit, I'll be demoing a couple of music-related products from MP3tunes that carry on
many of the principles that encompassed my experience with MP3.com.
I'll
be demoing a new product called MP3beamer, which I'm very excited about.
5 - Linspire Little
Small computers are coming into their own, and we've got a fantastic
computer for Linux fans. On display at the Summit will be the Linspire
Little, a value-priced computer that has all the power and features of
a full desktop but is about one-third the size and - under $400.
6 - A $39 device which will energize computer-based calling
Dialing telephone numbers from your computer is a snap, but from there
things get messy. Some computers don't have a mic or they have bad pick
up, echo or bothersome feedback. Some people use headsets, but those are a hassle to
put on and take off and connect to your computer. At the show, you'll be
able to experience a device the size of a credit card powered by DSP
technology, which makes computer-based calling easier than traditional
phone calling. I didn't believe it until I tried - it and you won't
either. After using this device you'll appreciate how old-fashioned
picking up a handset is.
7 - OpenOffice.org 2.0 beta
Part of the Summit is dedicated to OpenOffice.org, which is continuing
to make great strides. Attendees will see the
OpenOffice.org 2.0 beta, which raises the bar for this powerful
office suite. In addition, I'm hoping we'll get a glimpse of OpenOffice
Base, the new database program.
There's still time to pre-register to see these products first hand.
Otherwise, you'll want to watch the press reports coming from the Summit
for more information.
-- Michael
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