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ZD Announces Open Source Conference
James Renken
writes "Ziff-Davis
has announced the "Open
Source Forum", a two-day "IT executive conference
focused on Linux and other emerging open source software
and the implications of this new software on 'mainstream'
business applications development and the enterprise s
oftware industry." The event will be in Palmer Auditorium
in Austin, Texas, on June 30th and July 1st."
I hope they have the sense to give Linus the keynote
Finally, something comes to Austin!
ZD Net shouldn't be hosting an event like this. The quality of the information they provide is poor; the integrity is questionable. I see no value for attendees in an Open Source event hosted by ZDNet.
Nope, Major Strasser has been shot! Round up the usual suspects.
ESR, Ransom Love (Caldera), and Tim O'Reilly.
Even now, after mainstream has taken the term "open source," turned it into a buzzword, tried their desparate hardest to lose its real definition and spirit in the sands of time (and oh, what deep and shifting sands those are, they would have us believe!), tried to beaurocratize and corporatize a community into a few weak conferences and the formation of cliche ZD websites and seminars... even after all this, they still can't get their fingers around the soul of Free Software. Thank you for the copyleft, RMS, and the freedom it gives us to avoid the influence of these irrelevant, money-grubbing bandwagoneers.
This is the sort of thing that they would normally sponsor or get involved with -- it is in Austin, has a big "high tech" component, and has lots of media coverage. But given that Microsoft has essentially purchased the Business School, I wonder how they will react? UT Business School students now have to buy laptops with NT, nothing else is permitted, at all, and they are now being required to install Office 2000 betas, which don't work, apparently to give Microsoft bug data. The Exchange servers take 15 minutes to connect to the laptops, the students have to deal with buggy beta software (they do not have a choice)(well, if they want to go to UT, that is), and RSN they will be required to install NT5/2000/whateveritisthisweek on all of them. So, I wonder, given that the mantra of the UT Business School is "NT is the future!The mainframe is dead!UNIX is dead!NT is the future," I wonder how they are going to reconcile their urge to sleaze with CEOs to their profound hostility towards non-NT computing in general and Linux by extension? Perhaps they will simply ignore it and pretend that they love free software for the conference and then go back to telling MBA students that if they don't like the laptop idea they can do an MBA somewhere else...
Wouldn't surprise me. The powers that be there seem to think that if they can cat enough buzzwords onto their MBA program they can hide the fact that their core business program has been getting worse over the last few years. Just call it a "techno-MBA" and no one will notice. Except people who need MBAs, not 30-year-olds with the networking skills of a college freshman who think that "NT is the future".
If the UT Business School does start talking about how the Business School is involved in free software, get the hip waders 'cause the BS will really be flowing.
I'm beginning to agree with RMS - "I would use free software even if it weren't better."
All those marketroids are beginning to try to destroy our freedom. Now I see why RMS was right from the beginning.
Well, I would think so, but the problem is that most of the UT MBAs are not technical. They have no reference point from which to figure out that they are getting ill-used. My annoyance comes from having to hire technical people who also have business training and being unable to find many of them -- UT has just been the most obnoxious. Case in point, a few years ago, the Big Boss, a Longhorn and proud of it (hey -- it's fine by me, I went to Rice for the engineering all those years ago, not the football), asks me to interview a few of the UT "techno-MBAs" for him. Sounds good -- always good to get technical people in IT with some accounting and so forth, after all. The guys were all big, good looking kids, smart, and completely clueless. It is disturbing when an old assembler coder who got his MBA in night school knows more than a freshly minted MBA about MBA stuff. The interviews were scary, although I didn't really try to push them. I showed the only one who showed some promise around the machine room and the Big Boss came along. Right away, the kid pointed at the 3090 and asked what it was. I explained that it was a mainframe (hey -- he might not have known), and I was not upset, but the Big Boss was a little startled. OK, I thought, no big deal. He then asked in a very upbeat and chirpy way "so when are you going to dump that dinosaur?" The Big Boss's smile slipped. I paused, explained that it ran payroll and stuff, and that we were looking at an SP setup (which we have since decided to buy, after only three years of thinking). He asked what that (the SP) was. I explained. He said essentially the same thing "I didn't know that anyone was still using that" meaning UNIX (I explained that AIX was UNIX). He really, really thought that everyone was going to NT. He was very sincere. The Big Boss looked very confused. I smoothed the situation over, steered him around the place, and went to lunch with him and the Big Boss. His manners were excellent. The Big Boss moved into stealth mode and essentially pumped him at a low level the whole time for what he knew -- I must say the he was and is good at that -- he got to be the Big Boss that way. The kid didn't know how completely he failed every test. It was depressing. He WAS, to give credit where credit's due, quite good at finance and accounting, and that's where he went (and stayed for a few years, until he moved to California after his wife, when she finished her MBA) and did a fine job. But "techno-MBA?" Give me a break. I have interviewed more UT MBAs since then and I think that the quality has slipped and I treat the techno-MBA deal as a kiss of death now -- those people know even less. I just don't have the time to humor people who know so little that they really think that NT is taking over everywhere. I think that this is a shame. And I keep hearing stuff from friends about the laptop debacle at the business school (a friend had a nephew who was there for that -- apparently is was not well done), the NT issue (on laptops, right), the Business School forcing people to get rid of Macs (odd -- they need no support)(I don't LIKE them, but who cares?), the basic business strategy courses getting cut (I found this the most disturbing), and so on. And always the "technology" push, as if that is a substitute for stuff like ROI calculation and accounting. It is a shame.
...
I guess that I wouldn't be so touchy, but I had two more interview last month (of the fly-in sort) and they were both dismal failures. I will be interested to see what the UT Business school does with this conference. I hate to see my cynicism reinforced, but I am waiting without much hope
They're not conventional backpacks. These are special baby-carrying harnesses for parents to wear. Facilitates hands-free traversal with child and all that buzz.
Well, for one, we PHB's have our own network to keep ourselves informed and we don't need to listen to shallow, pompous fools like ESR to learn how to leverage Linux into our business models. Linux is just one more part of a strategic plan, and we can make full use of it all by ourselves without having to deal for one minute with the people who think that Linux needs them.
There's not a PHB in our whole network who is willing to spend even a minute or a dollar among the subculture of geeks who think that they define, own, control or speak for Linux. This OS is fully available for our use without any of the shallow, self-delusional garbage that the geeks would have us believe we have to tolerate to be able to benefit from using it.
Your attitudes that we are sheep, or that we need you to benefit from Linux, or that we must accept your attitudes to participate in deriving value from Linux are laughable, pathetic, self-delusions. You all take yourselves far too seriously, and take us far too mistakenly as fools. We owe you and your geekiness absolutely no allegiance, or reverence, or respect. Your contempt for us, and your childish self-admiration for your narrow-mindedness will do nothing except prevent you from ever benefitting in any substantial way from the benefits of Linux.
Having the MS butt-kissers at ZD organising an Open Source Forum is like having Slobodan Milosevic running refuge camps.
Right you are. After all, "Open Source" or "free software" or "freed software" or whatever you prefer to call it isn't "new", despite ZD's language. It's only "new" to the businesspeople who are just now discovering it. The Internet was "new" to them in 1996, too (which is why some people will believe Al Gore's ridiculous claim). It's certainly no coincidence that people are learning about free software soon after they learned about the Internet--the two go hand in hand. But neither of them are "new". Most so-called "new" technology isn't really new, anyway.
.com), and pretend to be a "civilizing" influence on the "savage" natives. :-\
I guess something doesn't exist in this world until the media and business community "discover" it. It's kind of like Columbus "discovering" America, isn't it? Once you know it's there, you can claim it for Spain (without even knowing what "it" is), plant your flag (or
Posted by casp3r:
i have been waiting for something fun to come to texas (i'm in houston) for a while. i'm glad to see this happening.
hehe
OSS ppl to M$:"Re your code..OPEN IT OPEN IT OPEN IT"
M$:"Fiiine...here you go" (opens source)
OSS ppl look at the code, notice how messy it is...
"CLOSE IT CLOSE IT CLOSE IT BACK UP AGAAAAIN"
"There is no spoon" - Neo, The Matrix
To: webmaster@zd.com
m l and a variety of tools for repairing the damage caused by your proprietary tools can be had at http://www.fourmilab.ch/webtools/demoroniser/ .
Subject: zdopensource.com
Your Web site, http://www.zdopensource.com, advertises the event as "the only event this year that can help you to assess the real potential for Linux and other open source software as a solution for your businesses.", yet the ZDNet Web team do not seem to think that open source software is good enough for Web content creation.
When viewing the page with Netscape Communicator 4.08 on a Linux machine, I see the following text:
"Focused on the ?mainstreaming? of open source software..."
These question marks are the result of using authoring tools under Microsoft Windows, where so-called "smart quotes" are given special locations in the character set. More standards-compliant character sets do not have these proprietary extensions, and so substitute the missing symbols with question marks.
A discussion on the phenomenon can be read at http://slashdot.org/articles/99/02/06/0220242.sht
--
--
I noticed
It's getting about time to leave everywhere
Before anyone gets all excited (I live in Austin), the conference costs $595. Ironic that a conference about free software costs so much. I suppose that since OSS advocates want programmers to work for free, the money needs to come from somewhere, right?
--
Timur Tabi
Remove "nospam_" from email address
-cjr
Anyone remember who RMS once said that O'Reilly was a virus that played off Open Source. I wonder what he would have to say about ZDNet then? I mean they can almost never get their information right, its like they don't have copy editors. They are also something of a FUD Factory. I suppose its only going to be a matter of time until we hear about this from RMS. Kinda reminds me of MS Developers Network putting on an open source conference or something like that.
My Slashdot account is old enough to drink...
It might be nice to meet some of the crowd in person- if they go... I do know I'll probably go- it's in Austin, a short 4 hour (or less... :-) drive would be nice in the middle of the week and I know my employer WILL pay me to go to this one... :->
I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
Well, the one difference is that we're spreading our culture over to them, and hopefully they won't destroy this one.
Shrug.
Penguins don't have 4 legs. They have _wings_ Think about it :)
---
The phrase "IT executives" is a Big Red Flag to me. Having dealt with my share of IT Executives, I'm guessing this is a lovefest on how to "allow" Linux systems to operate with a minimum of problems on your precious NT-run network without breaking anything.
Conference agenda items are sure to include:
Schwab
Editor, A1-AAA AmeriCaptions
Before ppl start flaming away at ZD (which is now a reflex action), take the time and look at the schedule for this conference. The three keynote speakers are, ESR, Love, and O'Reilly. No real surprises here. As far as the various panels, I get the impression that the conference will be a favorable one.
Remember that PHB's want to hear from other PHB's. The more enlightened one's (for instance, the CIO of Burlington Coat Factory) have implemented Linux; hopefully, their experience has been a good one. The sheep (the other PHB's) will then follow their lead and go bleating back to their bosses. Sort of like Animal Farm: Four legs good (linux), two legs bad (NT).
Finally, our favorite ZD writer is not listed in the schedule.
Well, just like Animal Farm the mantra mysteriously changes (IIRC), "Four legs good, two legs better.":) This, of course, has other implications. A gnu has four legs...
BWAHAHAHAHAHA! pant pant HAHAHAHAHAHA
That's the funniest post I've read in weeks...
Thanks ewhac!
The thing that bugs me most about this is that they are essentially locking out much of the driving force behind open source, the college student :) and joe linux developer. $600 is too much for me. I never have enough time to make it to Austin for their lug meetings, either. :)
I just wish that they'd drop that price tag
Finally, something comes to Austin!
You have SXSW. Which is quite possibly the coolest conf.
Buzzword city. Ever get the impression that half the people referring to "Open Source" don't have a clue what the hell they're talking about? Before we know it, Al Gore will take credit for it. :)
Bowie J. Poag
Heh, we have Sandra Bullock...
Jim
Perhaps they ZDnet is afraid that these young'ns might actually understand the technology better than they do and will give the PHBs... Uhm, I mean *IT Professionals*, unbiased information. ;-) Thad
The Bolachek Journals
Is this really worth the price of attending ($595US)and hotel stay (overly priced here in Austin)? Everyone here pretty much knows the score about Open Source, it seems like "preaching to the choir".
I only care what two people think, me and God....and I only pretend to care what one of them thinks.
Some kind of a Linux conference finally comes to Austin, and it's this? Somehow, I just can't get excited about wanting to go... [Maybe it's the cost.]
--- Where's my X.400 protocol decoder?
Persons under the age of 18 (including infants in strollers and backpacks) will not be admitted.
I can understand that, sorta, seeing as how this is for enterprise IT management... But infants in backpacks? Huh?
--- Where's my X.400 protocol decoder?
A conference on how to exploit,the open source community,for fun and profit .
ZDnet I've found is not the most reliable source of information in the world, but they're not all Microsoft shills, either. (Dvorak was talking about how cool Linux was in '96 and '97!) Yes, they are most definitely targeting the Wintel-based market because that's how they can fatten the number of subscribers. It's good to see that they occasionally show signs of objectivity and rationality.
Great! That means more students for us here! Stevens has been really pumping up its usiness school recently, especially their trendy new "e-business" program. I'm not too fond of all the hype but there's a large contingency of hackers here, and most of the networking is (for the moment) Unix-based (Irix, Solaris, Linux) so at least the business majors here will be working with people and technology that do, more or less, the Right Thing. Maybe some of those UT students will get disgruntled and make the trek up here to continue their studies. Just what we need... more suits in training :)