LinuxFest Northwest is one of the few Linux shows to be offered in this difficult economy. Organized by volunteers from the Bellingham, Kitsap Peninsula, Seattle, and Tacoma Linux Users Groups and others, the event is said to be one of the largest on the West Coast.
Exhibits at LinuxFest Northwest will include using Linux in the home, Chinese on the desktop, gaming under Linux, Linux as an interactive remote instruction platform, BSD advocacy, Mandrake Linux Desktop demonstration, using VMware, GLUE (Groups of Linux Users Everywhere), SCO Linux demonstration, Linux on non-Intel hardware, LP records conversion using Linux, customizing TiVO, Portland Linux User Group, database access using OpenOffice, Whidbey Linux User’s Group, OpenAccess wireless
demonstration, Coyote Linux, and more.
Vendor displays will include Pogo Linux, Consultix, West Coast Bargain Books, Northwest Computer Supplies, Computergear.com, Puget Sound Technology, LinOra, Ample Technology, Faximum Software, Peak Services, Candela Technologies, Red Hat Linux Bible, PR Web, Quantum Linux, Edmonds Community College, and others.
The keynote speaker will be Jon “maddog” Hall, a well-known Linux advocate and the executive director of Linux International. Hall will be discussing how to promote the economic features of open source and free software.
“Total cost of ownership does not stop with hardware, software and services. Today these are the least expensive things you will encounter,” Hall said. “Try having your web site offline because your vendor is too busy to get you the patch you need.”
Brian Hatch, author of the popular book, Hacking Linux Exposed, and a security consultant for Onsight, will be speaking about the security controls available on Linux that can be employed by users, developers, and administrators to protect their systems.
“Linux and its open source software offerings provide you with complete control over your computer’s operation,” said Hatch. “The default security model for Linux provides the ability to finely tailor the actions that are available to programs and users alike.”
Jeremy C. Reed, open source advocate and consultant for Puget Sound Technology will be introducing the BSD operating systems and open source licensing in his lecture.
“The BSD operating systems provide stable platforms for many of the top network servers in the world,” said Reed. “Plus, their noted security, easy build mechanisms, and business friendly licensing makes them quite popular for embedded systems, developers, and even home users.”
Other speakers will be covering Python, Perl, MySQL, Mozilla applications, Sun’s open source strategy, Linux in schools, PostgreSQL, desktop Java, using Oracle with Linux, Apache and web services, GLADE, Linux on the desktop, the Mono development framework, Linux toys, decisions about open source software for K-12 education, and more.
For complete LinuxFest Northwest details, visit www.linuxnorthwest.com. Bellingham Technical College is approximately one hour south of Vancouver, B.C., 90 miles north of Seattle, and only a few minutes from Interstate 5.”
Link: linuxnorthwest.com
