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To: lwn@eklektix.com
Subject: LinuxWorld report
From: Jonathan Corbet <corbet@eklektix.com>
Date: Tue, 02 Mar 1999 20:27:38 -0700

While Liz takes in Linus's keynote, I'm sitting here in LinuxCare's booth
in the deserted exhibition hall trying to get some LWN stuff done.  That
beautiful read VW bug is gleaming in front of me.  I wish to strongly thank
LinuxCare for not only giving us a place to plug in, but in going out of
their way to insure that I could stay here even when everybody else was
kicked out.  It seems that the conference organizers are afraid that the
exhibitors will drink too much at the party later tonight and run amok in
the exhibit hall.  Makes sense, actually.

This conference is an interesting experience.  Just look at the series of
press releases that has come out this week to see how seriously the
business world is now taking Linux.  If there's one thing in the air here,
it's that a lot of people are smelling money and want their part of it.
Nothing too surprising there, I guess.

Despite some complaints beforehand, the organization of the conference here
on site has really been pretty good.  Everything seems to work.  The
security isn't obnoxious.  The sessions seem to go well.  IDG has done OK
here. 

Still, one must find some things to complain about, no?  Certainly the
decision to put all of the birds of a feather (BOF) sessions together, not
only at the same time but in the same room, is a bit questionable.  The
"email garden" is inadequate.  In these modern times, they should really
just provide a table with twisted pair jacks and a DHCP server; they would
make a lot of people happy that way.  

Here's another disappointment: both keynote speeches this morning were
tremendously self-serving.  Mr. Cowpland of Corel spent the time selling
his company's products.  Did we really need a WordPerfect demonstration?
Corel's really interesting news - their new "end user" distribution - rated
a slide at the end almost as an afterthought.

I missed Oracle's keynote, but it was said to be worse.

There's plenty of time - and willing subjects - in the exhibition hall for
sales pitches.  The keynote talks should be more visionary and
interesting. 

Here's another gripe: the first session tomorrow features - at the same
time, the following talks:

- Linux Standard Base report -  Dan Quinlan
- Ten reasons ...  - Jon "maddog" Hall
- Integrating Unix and NT - Jeremy Allison
- Perl... - Larry Wall
- GNOME - Miguel de Icaza

Plus a talk by some Oracle guy.  Which of those would you attend?  Given
the rather thinner nature of the talks at some of the other times, one
would think that they could have spread these ones out a bit...  Oh well.
I guess that's how they sell tapes.

Nonetheless, this seems to be a good conference.  Lots of interesting
people, lots of interesting corporate moves.  It may well be seen as a
turning point in the commercial development of Linux.

The conference sessions begin tomorrow; watch these pages for reports as we
can pull them together.

jon

Jonathan Corbet, Eklektix, Inc.
corbet@eklektix.com