Review Of LinuxWorld 2004

jamienk writes "I went to the LinuxWorld convention at the Javits Center in NYC again this year. This is where the post-post-industrial corporate complex flexes for us consumers and infrastructure staff to see. And the smell of Corps was thick in the air. So was the nerdy, curious, driven, hacker odor. Guess which vibe won?"

Comments

Been there, done that

[a XOR b XOR a XOR b]

I know all these journalism sites have to write stories about the supposedly big announcements and "new" technologies that come out at linux world, but to be honest there's exactly one reason I go year after year: Hanging out with the people there. It forges relationships that can be carried on well past the end of the convention. I'm glad all that desktop stuff was demoed, and I know it's important for the future of linux, but the best thing by far was making connections with like-minded geeks.

Re:Been there, done that

[KrispyKringle]

Really? I know the reason I go. One word: schwag.

Let's see...free marshmallow sandwitches from Computer Associates (wtf?), a free T-Shirt from PogoLinux (don't think I'll wear that one anywhere except maybe to the gym), a Google pen, a HP water bottle, a Microsoft mini-radio (again, wtf?), a couple of BSD stickers, a few free CD's from Sun (Java Desktop System live-eval), and, if my luck holds out, maybe I'll win that Porsche from RedHat! :P

I'm just bummed I didn't win one of the CA Tux scarves. Woulda kept me warm on the way home.

great swag though

[Anonymous Coward]

I walked out with a RH Enterprise 3.0 WS distro (thanks, RedHat), a SuSE SLES 8 developer edition, a SuSE 8 full distro (thanks SuSE), plus Fedora CDs for cow-orkers, 7 t shirts and a blanket. The Oracle / Linux installfest on wednesday night was fun: free food, free beer and free (proprietary and free) software (this I already pay for as an oracle customer, but it was still a nice gesture).
Too bad that 10g db wasn't ready for prime time.

I think I'll make the trip up to Boston next year.

the Pogo Linux servers looked pretty sweet.

I missed the BSD babes of previous years.

Pd

First time @ LinuxWorld

[Shant3030]

I went to LinuxWorld on Thursday and it was my first time... some thoughts.

Good to see the large companies trying to get a piece of the linux pie.sigh Buzzwords were flying all over the place. Fed up, I started asking exhibitors at large companies for "scalable enterprise solutions". Most had answers! lol...

The .org pavillion rocked. By far the most knowledgeable and friendly people in the place. Spoke to some of the good people at geekcorps, FSF and gentoo. One thing I will never understand... why were the people at LILUG playing that stupid dancing game? They looked like a bunch of fools.

We sat in on a keynote Thursday afternoon, "The Impact of Open Standards on the Technology Industry". Absolutely useless. I was quiet amused at the people feverishly taking notes on very general topics.

Good experience, learned alot and will probably attend next year.

Re:First time @ LinuxWorld

[CaptainCarrot]

How was the .org Pavillion arranged?

I first went to a LWE in San Jose back in 1998, I think. At that time, the pavillion was arranged as a group of reserved booth spaces surrounding a common area. It was a great setting for socializing, seeing what was going on among the genuine geeks, and just hanging out. (The free pinball and driving game helped too.) In later years, it devolved into a couple of rows of standard booths with aisles in the middle. There was no "common space", and the .org reps were more or less stuck in their booths with no real way of socializing among themselves, at least during hours. It was a much less congenial environment.

I'm very much hoping they've gone back to the older arrangement.

2nd or 3rd time

[LinuxHam]

and it was but a mere shell of what it used to be.. at least I got to support the FSF by buying a nice-looking "Free Software/Free Society" t-shirt. Other than that, got the google pen and a good look at small displays that would be perfect for replacing my in-dash GPS display screen.. looking for one with multiple inputs. Oh, and I finally got a replacement Linux license plate. The one on my car now has "Compaq" in huge red letters on it, which isn't too cool as an IBM consultant. :) The new one has "OpenGroup" up there now.

Oh, and my vote for the most mis-guided individuals who have no idea how to make the conversion to Linux-for-business: the VOIP people who ran their setup on a chipped X-Box. Are you kidding me, people??? You want a business to buy your product, and you power your display with a video game console? The coolness factor drops way the hell off when you're trying to sell VOIP solutions. Build a damn PC. Jeez.

Anyone remember the IBM party in 2001? They rented out the whole upstairs, had an open bar, great music, a real BattleBots cage, and, well, an ice sculptor. But he cut out a damn fine Tux, too. THAT'S what I think of when I think about the days before the bust.

The convention this year was awsome I hope...

[SirExar]

I'm really looking foward to this year's HOPE conference. It seems everythings on the uprise in the computer sector to me. 2600 alaways throws a good party hope it happens again

Re:Rose-colored glasses

[jamienk]

Corporate technology companies have portrayed the computer as being driven by companies. Linux development has been driven by hackers. At Linux World, the corporations put their accomplishments and offerings front and center, but they still somehow get dwarfed by the independent developers, who are more creative, more excited, more genuine, and more fun. I have no problem with businesses making money, touting their wares, and spinning their services. But they are the less interesting side of the story, a predictable sideshow.

Re:"scalability"

[kfg]

I don't work in the software industry. I never have. I don't expect I ever will. My first contract out of college was as head automotive engineer for a small outfit developing electric cars.

I'm an entreprenuer. A businessman. I like business. I've got a copy of "The Art of Selling" right over there on my shelf, next to the Halliday & Resnick. But I grew up in a hard core marketing family (marketing development manager for GE Broadcasting Corporation) and have a finely tuned nose for the stink of hype. It isn't that I think I'm better, I just know when I'm being hustled. I've been the hustler.

And you're absolutely right by making the comparison to the way cars are sold. I've been top management at a dealership specializing in exotics and collectables.

Unfortunately that comparison makes my point. Not yours, "safe," "comfortable," and "economical" having little to no meaning within the context they are used when selling cars. Especially since cars are overtly dangerous, uncomfortable and damned expensive to purchase and own (possibly more expensive than your home even).

All they do is make you, as you say, "happy" about the words and thus more inclined to buy the car.

Yes, within certain contexts those words have real meaning. Outside of those contexts, like in a sales pitch, they are pure buzzword gobblegook designed explicitly to fleece the "mark" and make one's quota.

By the way, have you read "Ogilvy on Advertising"? Brilliant man. Brilliant marketer. You don't pay attention to what he has to say at your company's peril.

KFG

it was kinda strange actually

[superfast-scooter]

it was my first linuxworld. im a reasonably new user of linux (started a few months ago.)
now, i only went on the last day (boy was it freezing here.)
i didnt know what to expect, i guess - but i sure expected a lot less corporate "types". most of the big names were out with their shiny new servers, and enterprise software (both not interesting to me.)

the MS booth was as big as Redhat - and I noticed that everytime they clicked on anything a window with something on SCO would come up. they were promoting MS services for unix by saying it sits closer to the kernel, hence faster - unlike cygwin which being an app would have to go a few layers down. well, d-oh!! i wont even bother saying anything bout closed source here and how anyone could do what they did if we had the kernel cos well, they didnt seem like they were having a good time either.

gentoo had a nice lot (maybe the goth chick had some to do with that...), and so did suse, sun and amd.

i came back with lots of brochures and no freebies - maybe thats why i was disappointed. :)

Re:Rose-colored glasses

[Anonymous Coward]

I myself have often thought that there is a startling percentage of GNU/Linux users who do not understand the concept of Free Software or Open Source and as a result, decide that any company looking to utilize either idea as a evil entity. In my mind, it all comes back to people thinking free software equates to zero cost. And with that being the case, and the majority of GNU/Linux software being zero cost as well as free, it has been determined that only evil bastards try to make a living off free software. Thus the anti corporate zealot is born. In my mind these are people who just don't get it. There is nothing wrong with making money off the GNU/Linux platform. Now, if one were to place a patent on the code used in GNU/Linux that would be another story.

UNIX Services for Windows

[AstroDrabb]

It seems odd that MS would hand out CD's of UNIX Services for Windows at a Linux show. Not that long ago MS was saying how the GPL is a "cancer" and yet they include GPL'ed software in their UNIX Services for Windows. I guess the GPL is OK if it helps the bottom line of MS and a "cancer" if it is any competition to them?