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LinuxTag: 40% Growth Over Last Year
LinuxDesktop.it writes "According to this article on pro-linux.de, LinuxTag 2003 was a success: 19500 visitors, up +40% from last year and the number of journalists covering the event increased twofold -- according to pro-linux thanks to the strong signals that the city of Munich switching 14k PCs to Linux sent through Germany.
Exhibitors seemed quite satisfied too because they did not expect that the trade show generated that many business contacts since many reputed it as a more community event rather than a 'where .com meets .org' event."
Fact is, GNU / Linux has had much success *inspite of* and not because of publicity. When the whole world was watching powerlessly, LinuxTAG got an injunction against SCO in Germany.
I guess that's how Linux and GNU ought to be promoted / evangelised whatever. Just do it silently, no press releases, no fancy million dollar ad campaigns etc. People already know the value of Linux - no need to trivialise it by aping Microsoft and their methods.
Peace.
If you keep throwing chairs, one day you'll break windows....
What other conferences are worth seeing? I would submit that the motivation behind attending a conference is to 'discover' something, or to forward your exposure on some field that you (personally) feel that you don't understand as much as you should. This is probably the result of media buzz, FUD, rumor, or a combination of all three.
Some (negative) examples toward my thesis:
1. no one goes to a conference about vacuum cleaners or washing machines, because we all understand them.
2. No one goes to MacWorld outside the religeous MacHeads, because that 'need to know' isn't there (other than the pure followers).
3. People go to boat fairs, car shows, and consumer electronics to oogle at the latest and greatest. Business people are no better, but this is the one they can justify the cost of going (because they feel that 'gap' in their understanding, or their PHB feels the gap).
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad more and more people are coming to these things, but I think there are other factors/inferences to be pulled from such a dramatic shift.
davejenkins.com |
I was there, two critical notes:
;-)
- Too commercial (it needs commercial stuff, but it needed more non-commercial stuff too).
- 80 to 90 percent of the speaches in German.
For the rest, it was okay, liked maddog's speach and seeing Linux on X-box
... is simply Linux itself. We have moved from the early adopter stage to the mass market stage, and we can expect exponential growth of Linux adoption by business until only the late-adopters are still using old-fashioned stuff.
For once this IT wave won't create an economic bubble: it is more like the waves of standardisation that hit new industries after their initial bubbles. Think railways in the 1850s(?) and standardized track sizes.
The real economic boom will be in products and services that make use of this standard and modernised platform.
If I was investing in IT today, it would be in communications systems that rely on a standard OS across multiple arbitrary systems. Think of 'your work anywhere', but relying on Linux on your PDA, mobile phone, desktop, etc.
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Linux is a better product and is growing like hell in both the server and client market. So... Anybody who knows anything worthwhile about computers knows about Linux, and anybody who is into computers in a heavy way uses Linux. Old news, but what MS doesnt get is that the growth of Linux is inevitable. It's free (MS cant compete price wise), It's stable (everybody sees what it does and because the codes there somebody's gonna know what wrong and a patch can get produced real quick) and YOU CAN CHANGE IT YOURSELF! (goverments love this).
It isn't "Will Linux rise?" it's "How long is it gonna take?"
Give a man a fire, he is warm for a day.
Set a man on fire, he is warm for the rest of his life.
The organizers report an enormous increase in attendance at this year's
LinuxTag. Two hours before the end of the convention they drew a
preliminary conclusion for LinuxTag 2003: over 19,500 visitors were counted,
more than 40% more than last year.
The many international guests, for example John 'Maddog' Hall from the USA
and Utaka Niibe of the Free Software Initiative Japan, ensured full
presentation rooms. Also content-wise the presentations were predominantely
high class.
The exhibitors expressed themselves throughout positively surprised
and satisfied. There were "extremely many business contacts" registered.
Many exhibitors saw their expectations fullfilled. Whoever had seen
LinuxTag still as a community event with relatively few business customers,
saw themselves better informed.
Oliver Zendel, the head of LinuxTag e.V., sees LinuxTag as a large success
that proves that Linux and free software can also suceed in the field of professional
business. LinuxTag is the largest Linux convention in Europe and
according to his words, a "world-wide leading convention for free software."
Highly visible was the effect, that arose from the decision by the city of
Munich to use Linux. According to information from Pro-Linux the number
of accredited journalists doubled from that of last year.
Translation of the original article:
The organisers of the LinuxTag are reporting an enormous growth of this year's LinuxTag. Two hours before the end of the fair they are giving preliminary results of LinuxTag 2003: more than 19'500 visitors were counted, an increase of 40% compared to last year.
Numerous international guests like John 'Maddog' Hall from the USA and Yutaka Niibe of the Free Software Initiative Japan generated full auditories. Also in terms of content, the talks were mostly high class.
Almost all exhibitors were positively surprised and satisfied. "An extreme number of business contacts" was registered. Many exhibitors saw their expectations fulfilled. Whoever saw LinuxTag as a community event with relatively few business customers was disabused(?).
Oliver Zendel, head of the LinuxTag e.V., sees the LinuxTag as a big success which proofs that Linux and free software can also persist in the area of professional business. LinuxTag is the biggest Linux fair in Europe and according to his words a "worldwide leading fair in free software".
Highly visible was the announcement effect of Munich's decision in favor of Linux. According to informarion from Pro-Linux, the number of accredited journalists has doubled compared to last year.
> seeing Linux on X-box ;-)
;-)
Hey -- this is old news. But I even saw Windows XP
Professional on the X-box!
Well, it was the new NX client
for embedded Linux systems, which worked like
"out of the box" on the X-box.
It allows you to connect to any Linux or Windows
system over the internet, and display that
workstation's screen locally. It can use
RDP/rdesktop (for Windows), or RFB/tightVNC (for
any platform) or the NX server (on Linux). The NX
server is the fastest, allowing even for a full
KDE session running over 9600 Baud modem
connection. X-box "developers" had the schock of
their life when had turned their backs to the toy
for a minute and this was enough to connect to
Rome/Italy and display the WinXP Prof screen from
there fullscreen....
I think, NX was the absolute innovation hightlight
of the show. The excellent CUPS talk was even held
using a remote NX log-in into a Linux/CUPS server
from a WinXP client. Performance was excellent and
not distinguishable from a locally run Linux
session. I have now downloaded NX (the server is
freely available for testing) and I am very
pleased with the results.
I tried to find other more general stats like say the market share of Linux and so on. They are very hard to find for various reasons. But here is one that's as good as any (especially since we win!): Linux vs Microsoft.
-- the only thing we have to fear is really scary things
I even saw Windows XP Professional on the X-box!
;-)
Well, it was the new NX client for embedded Linux systems, which worked like "out of the box" on the X-box.
It allows you to connect to any Linux or Windows system over the internet, and display that workstation's screen locally. It can use RDP/rdesktop (for Windows), or RFB/tightVNC (for any platform) or the NX server (on Linux). The NX server is the fastest, allowing even for a full KDE session running over 9600 Baud modem connection. X-box "developers" suffered the shock of their life when had turned their backs to the toy for a minute and this was enough to install NX client and connect to Rome/Italy and display the WinXP Prof screen from there fullscreen....
I think, NX was the absolute innovation highlight of the show. The excellent CUPS talk was even held using a remote NX log-in into a Linux/CUPS server from a WinXP client. Performance was excellent and not distinguishable from a locally run Linux session. I have now downloaded NX (the server is freely available for testing) and I am very pleased with the results.
Just from
"""
19500 visitors, up +40% from last year and the number of journalists covering the event increased twofold.
"""
We conclude there were ~14000 people last year, i.e. 5500 more people turned up.
Imagine if last year there were 8500 members of the public, and 5500 journos. And this year there were 8500 members of the public, and 11000 journos.
Sorry, there's no conclusion; I just wanted to insert some deliberate distortion. I in particularly like the idea of journos outnumbering their readership!
YAW.
Your head of state is a corrupt weasel, I hope you're happy.
I was the first time on the LinuxTag and I absolutely love it
I have realy enjoyed the talks, people, presentations, the atmosphere
I am advertising it to my friend allready for the next year
I can not find a single minus
Iztok (Slovenia)
I also loved the kebab store on the corner of hotel
The problem is business courses at all the accredited institutions are run exclusively by Microsoft trained people.
So until training in Linux user control, db quiery and simple software admin becomes common we here in North America will need to bow to Redmond six times a day. If we want to work in any form of business other than Inet Server Admin.
OH THE SHAME I fell off the wagon and use sigs again!
Being a Linux user myself I really like the idea of Linux gaining market share.
But.. Can somebody explain why according to Google's zeitgeist Linux is still at 1% market share? According to Google's statistics, the market share of Linux hasn't change since at least August 2003.
Anyhow, the next time I was in town, I wiped the drive and reinstalled Windows. However, I also installed Mozilla and told them to just use that in the future and said it's really just a different kind of Netscape.
Well, I was home again over Christmas and they were ranting and raving about how great Mozilla is. Apparently, they had had conversations with neighbors and friends about this "Mozilla thing" and how it crashes less, blocks pop-ups easily, etc. Of course, none of these people had heard of it, but their interest was immediately sparked. Maybe they're Mozilla users now even...
The point is that Mozilla is a piece of free software that even my not-so-tech-savy parents can evagelize about, because it's a good product for a wide range of people.
Uhm, one is an operating system, the other a database. Compare MySQL to MSAccess, if you like. Anyhow, I disagree with the substance of your comment: there are many companies that provide Linux trainings, and there are hundreds of books and thousands of web sites providing guides. I suspect the wealth of information is significantly wider and deeper than that available for Windows. I also suspect the same is true for MySQL (for instance) compared to MS Access.
The problem of training and culture is one that affects new products in their early adopter phase. Linux is past this phase. No-one seriously asks for manuals for an OS, any more than you ask for a book with Windows (last time I checked, the book was about 25 pages long of which 24 were the license).
The problem of accreditation is a false one, since the 'accredited' institutions are simply ones that have paid Microsoft for a license. It is a circular argument: the vendor is simply reinforcing their own image. Most businesses choose their suppliers on cost and performance and reputation, not simple credentials. MS do a lot of marketing to push 'accreditation', but it's a sham and stops working as soon as the pressure drops.
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