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Free & OpenSource Software Weekend

FOSDEM Team writes "This week-end, the fourth edition of the FOSDEM (Free and Opensource Software Developers' European Meeting) is taking place in Brussels, Belgium. Once more, famous speakers will be present for this 2 days event to talk in the different tracks presented (Linux Kernel, Accessibility, Desktop, Java, Scripting languages and Security); on Saturday evening, the FS Award ceremony will be conducted by Richard Stallman. This year, the introduction talk will be made by Tim O'Reilly and the end talk by Jon Maddog Hall. Don't miss the interviews made by the FOSDEM guys : Hans Reiser, Ian Formanek, Keith Packard, Tim O'Reilly, Robert Love and many others."

98 comments

  1. But.... by flewp · · Score: 5, Funny

    Is the meeting free? Is it free as in free beer? Or more importantly, IS THERE FREE BEER?!

    --
    WWJD.... for a Klondike bar?
    1. Re:But.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      mmmm free Weihenstephaner Weissbier....

    2. Re:But.... by e9th · · Score: 1

      Admission is free. Beer, probably not.

    3. Re:But.... by Mr2cents · · Score: 4, Informative

      If you go there, and you like beer, I can recommend l'atelier, a nearby bar with more than 200 (300?) beers, most of them belgian.. It's very cosy, too! Can be found at Rue Elise nr 77, 1050 brussels. At maporama you can locate it. It's not free, though :).

      --
      "It's too bad that stupidity isn't painful." - Anton LaVey
    4. Re:But.... by RiverTonic · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I hope so, and if not, you can go to Leuven. That's the city where interbrew brews Stella Artois. If you take the guided tour in their museum, you'll get to beers for free.

      --
      This is RiverTonic's sig.
    5. Re:But.... by RiverTonic · · Score: 5, Informative

      And why don't you tell 'm about the Old Market Square of Leuven? It has over 50 bars.
      http://www.leuven.be/showpage.asp?iPageID=1721

      --
      This is RiverTonic's sig.
    6. Re:But.... by Mr2cents · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Sure, but are there any good ones? :-P. There's no lack of bars in Brussels. Plus, it's only a few hendred metres from the ULB site, afterwards you can get to the hotel by taxi. And you'll need to, I've never left l'atelier totally sober, be warned!

      --
      "It's too bad that stupidity isn't painful." - Anton LaVey
    7. Re:But.... by good(k)night · · Score: 3, Funny

      Yeah.. "Free as in Freedom"

      --
      my endian is bigger than yours!
    8. Re:But.... by Mr2cents · · Score: 1, Offtopic

      You can get free beer at every brewery in Belgium! I have friends who go to Duvel every year to take the tour and "taste" the beer (a whole bunch of them, they rent a bus)! If you want to introduce foreigners to belgian beers, Stella is a bad start, IMHO. I recommend Leffe, Bush (bad name, great bear), Chimay, Queue de charue (give or take a spelling error),... Stella is just another pils!

      --
      "It's too bad that stupidity isn't painful." - Anton LaVey
    9. Re:But.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And how much IS this free weekend?
      It's free.
      And when IS this free weekend?
      It's this weekend.

  2. Missing personailties by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Don't miss the interviews made by the FOSDEM guys : Hans Reiser, Ian Formanek, Keith Packard, Tim O'Reilly, Robert Love and many others.

    Darl McBride? Blake Stowell, Ralph Yarro?

    They too are part of the Linux movement, in their own weird sort of way. I mean, think about it : aren't these people at least in part responsible for uniting the free software world behind Linux, and provide a much needed distraction from the traditional boring ole Microsoft hatred?

    --
    "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
    1. Re:Missing personailties by Elbelow · · Score: 2, Funny

      Darl McBride? Blake Stowell, Ralph Yarro?

      They too are part of the Linux movement, in their own weird sort of way.


      Certainly. Unfortunately, the "SCO Developers' Room" sign appears to have ended up posted on the toilet doors. (Sorry, I don't have pictures.) I wonder how that could have happened.

  3. Free Software is so mainstream by ObviousGuy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The Free Software movement has gotten so large and so mainstream that I would think that conferences like this that highlight the 'separateness' of Free Software would eventually wither away. As more businesses pick up Free Software, the movement would become more prominent at true software conferences that cover the entire industry.

    Free Software is not a product, but its products are products. Apache, Linux, Perl, these are all products and have a place to stand among commercial products like IIS, Windows, and Visual Studio.Net. Free Software, OTOH, only describes a group of software that really has nothing in common with each other except that they share a common license.

    I would rather see the Apache booth at COMDEX and SD than at FOSDEM. The earlier we can throw the yoke of 'Free Software' from our backs, the earlier Free Software will fulfill its mission.

    --
    I have been pwned because my /. password was too easy to guess.
    1. Re:Free Software is so mainstream by homeobocks · · Score: 4, Informative

      I don't think it's really gone mainstream on the desktop. On the server, it really is, but few normal people even know what free software is! BTW, Apache isn't a product, it is a project. You're probably thinking of the Apache HTTP server (abstract concept) or the Apache HTTP daemon (the program.

      --
      MOUNT TAPE U1439 ON B3, NO RING
    2. Re:Free Software is so mainstream by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yeah, I was on a date once and started explaining the GPL. free as in speech, etc. My date went to the bathroom and never came back.

    3. Re:Free Software is so mainstream by homeobocks · · Score: 0

      My date went to the bathroom and never came back.

      Boredom, dysentary, or a combination?

      --
      MOUNT TAPE U1439 ON B3, NO RING
    4. Re:Free Software is so mainstream by Sheetrock · · Score: 4, Interesting
      I've heard a rather convincing argument that the successes of Free Software have been where it is best able to conform to business mentality and shed that which people tend to misinterpret as 'elitism'. Companies get confused when they see a license that says they must share, and many no doubt have misconceptions about the degree of sharing that must occur (will employee files end up on the net?)

      To truly compete, perhaps it should arrive in binary-only form in 'commercial' style packing material, and mention the option for interested users to download the source in some obscure portion of the manual. Otherwise it's just too strange a concept to get a handle on for the average person (manager/boss) whose computing experience has been shaped by commercial software and practices.

      --

      Try not. Do or do not, there is no try.
      -- Dr. Spock, stardate 2822-3.




    5. Re:Free Software is so mainstream by lowieken · · Score: 5, Interesting

      What would you say if you saw the WordPerfect and MS Office teams get together to think about how to implement a feature in their programs? Fosdem is really much closer to that kind of activity than to a trade show. This is a "Free and Open Source Developer Meeting". That means it's targeted at _developers_. Maybe similar events don't exist in the proprietary software world? Or are they just less visible and accessible?

    6. Re:Free Software is so mainstream by Homology · · Score: 0, Flamebait
      ... but its products are products

      Yup, and a circle is a circle because by definition a circle is a circle ;-)

    7. Re:Free Software is so mainstream by kfg · · Score: 1

      Yup, and a circle is a circle because by definition a circle is a circle ;-)

      Nonesense. It's a degenerate ellipse.

      But don't tell Ashcroft. We've got enough troubles already.

      KFG

    8. Re:Free Software is so mainstream by pantycrickets · · Score: 4, Funny

      On the server, it really is, but few normal people even know what free software is!

      Hundreds of thousands of BitTorrent/Kazaa/Usenet/IRC users would beg to differ. :)

    9. Re:Free Software is so mainstream by essiescreet · · Score: 2, Funny

      The Free Software movement has gotten so large and so mainstream

      Does that mean, if I go, there'll be chicks?!?

      I'm there!!!!!!!!

    10. Re:Free Software is so mainstream by homeobocks · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Well, they are using the clients of those protocols. The standards of the protocols are open, but you can't d/l the source of some of the most popular /clients/. Examples: Kazaa, mIRC.

      --
      MOUNT TAPE U1439 ON B3, NO RING
    11. Re:Free Software is so mainstream by AigariusDebian · · Score: 5, Funny

      Well, if you're a female AND you go there, then there will be chicks.

      But then I somehow miss the point of your interest in the matter.

    12. Re:Free Software is so mainstream by EvanTaylor · · Score: 1

      you used the plural form, you assume there will be at least one other chick there....

      --
      Sleep is for the weak.
    13. Re:Free Software is so mainstream by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, I was on a date once and started explaining the GPL. free as in speech, etc. My date went to the bathroom and never came back.

      Her loss.

    14. Re:Free Software is so mainstream by 00420 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Right now, yes, it is a foreign concept for many people.

      As the popularity of OSS continues to grow however, this will change.

      I predict that in ten years companies will be like "We don't have access to the source code? How will we know if it's secure?"

    15. Re:Free Software is so mainstream by El · · Score: 1

      Actually, if she is female and goes there, then there will be chick In order for there to be chicks, she would have to bring a friend...

      --

      "Freedom means freedom for everybody" -- Dick Cheney

  4. As you know ... by gustgr · · Score: 4, Interesting

    there are a lot of foreign people who can't be there to watch the presentations, so I would like to know if some speech/talk will be recorded (in video or just the audio maybe) and have it avaliable on the net for those of us who are not in Europe download it and enjoy this meeting too.

    1. Re:As you know ... by kfg · · Score: 3, Funny

      there are a lot of foreign people who can't be there. . .

      Yeah. Don't you just hate it when the Belgians act like they're the whole world, just because of their size and insularity?

      KFG

    2. Re:As you know ... by pnatural · · Score: 2, Funny

      Well, if the Belgains are acting like they're the whole world, it clearly must be Bush's fault.

      No, wait, Karl Rove. Yeah, that's it, Karl Rove made the Belgians insular.

      Btw, anyone want my 3 crates of Dean for President bumperstickers?

  5. A question... by Nimloth · · Score: 5, Funny

    Can the Win2k SP1 developpers attend this year?

    1. Re:A question... by D-Cypell · · Score: 1

      Of course they can attend...

      They are up for the 'best newcomer' award!

    2. Re:A question... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh snap.

      Maybe they will be kidnapped in some way or another and appear in the middle of a speech.

    3. Re:A question... by Aurix · · Score: 1

      Only if they release the rest of it :P

  6. New NetBeans Release by WilsonSD · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Everyone should check out the newest beta release of NetBeans (as mentioned in the interview with Ian Formanek). It really shows how nice a rich Java application can be.


    -Steve

  7. I attended the very first FOSDEM by crimestopper · · Score: 5, Funny

    it was called OSDEM back then, and RMS was there telling audience people off because they said "Linux" and not "GNU/Linux" when asking questions.

    During his session he was talking about emulators for some reason and he said "Emulators like WINE" I yelled "Wine Is Not An Emulator!"

    serves him right!

    --

    1. Re:I attended the very first FOSDEM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That was pretty tasteless considering everything he has done for us.

    2. Re:I attended the very first FOSDEM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, but RMS is evil nowdays. Just like the XFree86 folks.

    3. Re:I attended the very first FOSDEM by /dev/trash · · Score: 1

      Then what is it?

    4. Re:I attended the very first FOSDEM by CoolVibe · · Score: 3, Informative

      An ABI. It 'maps' win32 calls to unix/X11 ones. It does little emulating. All code you run with WINE runs natively.

  8. Weakened by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Who else saw weakened and though 'oh great, who else changed their license?'

  9. Awsome... by after · · Score: 0

    ... but I wish we could get some famouse people here in Minnesota, US of A.

    1. Re:Awsome... by nicophonica · · Score: 1

      The Wine conference was just here a few days ago, and the cold just about killed them all off.

  10. MOD PARENT DOWN by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Free Software is an incredibly awesome idea. It's too bad that its biggest proponents (ESR notwithstanding) speak the doublespeak of communism.

    You can see where OG says that here.

    Why is this relevant, you might ask? No, not because he disagrees with the "slashdot consensus" (as though there really was such a thing), but because he is a TROLL. Check out the troll blacklist. I seem to remember him discussing trolling tactics in some journal or another with his fellow trolls, specifically how stupid the moderators were when they would even mod up flamebait, if they thought they were helping slashdot to consider the "other side" of some debate...

    Right now, he's in Karma Whoring phase, trying to skirt the line of the most controvertial statements possible that will still get moded up. He doesn't really believe any of this, he simply wants karma and knows that there are always moderators who want the "other side" of things to get heard, whatever that "other side" actually is.

    The same goes for all the others who wax poetic about browsing at -1. Heaven help us if we miss the latest page widening troll or trample on their right to "free speech" (by which they mean an audience forced to endure their inanity...) by refusing to listen to their mindless prattle.

    Luckily, I have a long memory for names and MOs like this, so I will do my best to inform you all of the latest whoring attempts lest you have to endure goatse ASCII FPs at +1. Frankly, I have almost as little patience for trolls as I do for spammers, which is why I'm willing to waste a little of my time writing all this so that I might have to waste less time on the flamebait later.

    Sadly, I have to post AC while troll stalking just because the trolls are that vindictive. Thankfully, they can't do a damn thing about me when I make sure that they never know who I am...

    1. Re:MOD PARENT DOWN by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      OG == ObviousGuy.

      He often posts AC & signs it OG, as he did to me the other night.

      I would have thought that obvious, but alas...

  11. Software freedom still matters. by jbn-o · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I would rather see the Apache booth at COMDEX and SD than at FOSDEM. The earlier we can throw the yoke of 'Free Software' from our backs, the earlier Free Software will fulfill its mission.

    Software freedom is not something that chains you or in any way enslaves you. It is, as the name says, something that gives you freedom--freedoms you don't get with the other software you named. Even by the metric of mere popularity, Apache has apparently done quite well without booths at COMDEX and the like (Apache is still the most popular web server in use). But Apache is one of the outliers--most free software is not as popular in its field as Apache is in its field. I think we are better served by conveying how non-free software (not "commercial" software) restricts your freedoms to share and modify. There is nothing to gain by conflating the two definitions of "free" (except, perhaps, to point out how other languages don't have the problem English does because other languages separate freedom and price by using two different words). We gain more when we talk about software freedom and insist upon it. Insisting on software freedom has gotten us very far in the past 20 years. You don't gain success in a movement by throwing away the principles that the movement stands for.

  12. I'm doing my part by Killjoy_NL · · Score: 2, Funny

    Ok, so to do my part, I'll boot to my Slackware partition (instead of XP) and run that all weekend :)

    But seriously, weird "holiday" but enjoy it :)

    --
    This is the sig that says NI (again)
  13. Hope to meet a lot of you guys by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I'm gonna be there, and hope it's gonna be an awsome week end. Belgians are not used to see a huge event taking place in our country, but we hope you'll feel at home. And about beer, I'm right now having one of ours... Anyone from abroad should try a "Biere Speciale" and don't hesitate to ask wich one (there are hundreds of different ones, not bad for a ten million citizen country ;-) ). There's a place to check in case you'd like to discover this side of belgian culture close to the site. It's called "L'Atelier" ask any Bruxellois where it's at, they'll know ;-).
    Have a nice FOSDEM.

    1. Re:Hope to meet a lot of you guys by LnxAddct · · Score: 1

      not bad for a ten million citizen country

      Are you serious? Belgian's population is only 10 million people. I dont have time to google it, but if your right is that even considered a country? I'm not trolling or anything,and perhaps my views are distorted from living in the U.S. my whole life, but New York City has 9 million people and thats not even the whole state. I don't mean to insult your country but how spread out is everything? Does every person have like an ton of land?
      Regards,
      Steve

    2. Re:Hope to meet a lot of you guys by goanooky · · Score: 1

      I may live in a small country(Belgium), but I like it rather small and pretty, then big and crap. Greetz

    3. Re:Hope to meet a lot of you guys by kluut · · Score: 2, Informative

      my views are distorted
      Well, I agree can only agree with you. FYI, Belgium's population is about a third of Canada's! And it has the second highest population density in Europe (after the Netherlands) of 333 p/km^2. (US has 28 p/km^2).

    4. Re:Hope to meet a lot of you guys by __past__ · · Score: 1
      What, you think Belgium is small? How about Andorra (~67.000 inhabitants), Liechtenstein (~32.000) or San Marino (~27.000)? Even Iceland has a population of less than half a million.

      Oh, and the Vatican is a state of its own, too - with less then 1000 people on a whopping 3.2 square kilometers. It probably also has the lowest birth rate of all countries.

  14. openMosix Summit at FOSDEM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The openMosix community is organizing its own meeting at FOSDEM 2004. http://www.fosdem.org/2004/index/dev_room_mosix

  15. Re: So... you want Free? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Here's what happens to Free Software:
    Tux takes a beating

  16. Freenet's Matthew Toseland by Sanity · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Be sure to say "hi" to Freenet's Matthew Toseland, recently featured in a ./ article as Freenet's only (grossly under-)paid developer.

    To those who might be concerned that Free Software is a North American thing, be assured that Europeans are taking a leading role.

  17. If you're there, check out Rich Kilmer's speech... by tcopeland · · Score: 4, Informative

    ...he's doing a presentation on Ruby.

    The slide images alone should be worth attending... he's hunted far and wide for images of pythons, pearls, rubies, and such-like.

  18. Java as a track? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Didn't they get the ESR memo that Java isn't popular in open source projects?

    1. Re:Java as a track? by Elbelow · · Score: 1

      Didn't they get the ESR memo that Java isn't popular in open source projects?

      Well, they were handing out flyers titled "Escape the Java trap". They are promoting the free/open alternatives (SableVM, GNU Classpath, , Kaffe, et cetera).

  19. Re: Hilarious! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That's hilarious... mod the parent up!

  20. Weekend? by Ajaxamander · · Score: 1

    When I first read this headline I thought it said "Free & OpenSource Software Weakened," as if one of the GPL court cases had gone sour or something...

  21. Judging from the recent mi2g security reports by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This will be a great place to practice hacking Linux servers

    1. Re:Judging from the recent mi2g security reports by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And those fucking loser moderators have nothing to say because linux is not an OS anymore. It's a Jihad. Fuck Linux and fuck slashdot.

  22. Got an agenda? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Should the weight of an argument be judged on the person who speaks it?

    If we were all ACs and the post above was written, should it not have been modded up?

    And I too have followed ObviousGuy's posting history, and while his opinions are out of the norm and occasionally bordering on flamebait, I don't recall him ever posting a goatse link or ASCII art.

    But this discussion is quite offtopic as the topic is FOSDEM and not ObviousGuy. Your arguments are flaccid because moderators give points based on the content of posts. If you want ObviousGuy to lose karma or otherwise remain invisible, get your own moderation points and mod bomb him.

    Now will a moderator please waste his moderation by modding this whole subthread down? Thanks.

    1. Re:Got an agenda? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This might carry more weight if it weren't you, ObviousGuy...

      Oh well, just wait until his trolls are out of recent memory and we'll see...

  23. Re:mercatur forever by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    i checked it out. she's a pig. try autopr0n or something. really.

  24. Also at FOSDEM: BSD projects by mirabilos · · Score: 1

    The MirBSD project is here with _all_ of their
    developers and giving out CDs for a small donation;
    the height is up to you.
    We're also available for talks and short interviews
    on German or English about the project. No FAQs
    please tho, we've written them on the website ;-)

    The FreeBSD project is selling CDs for 1 Euro (or
    more; up to the customer) and giving demonstration
    and insight into two books.

    The OpenBSD people are using subliminal tricks
    (ie, chicks and T-Shirts) to show their project
    off to the public again. And they're already
    drunk before noon... luckily, no Humppa today.

    --
    My Karma isn't excellent, damn it! (And /. still does not get UTF-8 right in 2012. Wow.)
    1. Re:Also at FOSDEM: BSD projects by __past__ · · Score: 1
      ...with _all_ of their developers...
      Wow, both of them? That must have been a nighmare to coordinate!
  25. Im at FOSDEM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Brussels rules, hundreds of kinds of beer, good waffles & choclate, etc.

    Stallman gave a talk this morning, very intelligent, very funny too. Johnathon Corbet is giving a talk about Linux internals right now but the room he is in is too small for his audience so its real stuffy - Im going back soon for hans Reisers talk.

    There must be 500+ people here. Excuse my lack of apostrophes and lack of willingness to write much more, Im in a nearby net cafe where the only OS available is crippleware and the keyboard layout is foreign. The FSF "Award for the advancement of Free Software" ceremony is at 1730.

  26. Re:If you're there, check out Rich Kilmer's speech by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    The slide images alone should be worth attending... he's hunted far and wide for images of pythons, pearls, rubies, and such-like.
    Um... so what!?

    How about I save the few grand, download a screensaver and enjoy the images while watching TV.

    Seriously, rating a presentation (even Rich on Ruby) based on POINTEDLY UNRELATED powerpoint/slide images is the stupidest damn thing I've ever heard of. Except for SCO. And Microsoft Bob. And selling pet food over the internet. And smells over the internet. And (wanders off, muttering...)

  27. Re:If you're there, check out Rich Kilmer's speech by tcopeland · · Score: 1

    > How about I save the few grand

    Yup, that's why the subject line says 'if you're there'.

    > the stupidest damn thing I've ever heard of.

    Add "declare all local variables at the top of the method" to that list and you'll be all set. Word up!