LinuxWorld 2006 is in now full swing at the Moscone Center in San Francisco (tomorrow is the last day). I stopped by for a few hours today, ran into some friends and shot a few photos.
I usually end up spending most of my time in the .org Pavilion. This year Slashdot had a big lounge there, complete with Slashdot beanbag chairs. While there I ran into Eddie and Irina from Geek Entertainment TV, with their recently acquired fancy Sony HD camera via their new gig at PodTech. They were shooting an interview with Rob Malda aka CmdrTaco, the founder of Slashdot. Look for that episode soon.
Of course this year there was quite a few people talking about Ubuntu, “linux for human beings”. Many are considering switching to it as their main OS, even leaving Mac OS X. This has been a popular topic lately. I’m going to check it out once I setup a virtual desktop using Parallels.
One thing that was really disappointing this year (maybe it was the case in previous years) , was the obnoxious sign that greeted you when you enter the conference. It reads:
LinuxWorld is open to business professionals only.
No one under 18 years of age will be admitted.
Jonas Luster mentioned this sign to me when I ran into him at the Socialtext booth and he made a great point about the fact that many lead linux and open source developers are under the age of 18. Also, what about Linux geeks with children? So if Linus Torvalds stopped by with his kids to show them the world that their father helped create, I guess they would be turned away. As far as I’m concerned this all goes against the nature of Linux and open source itself. As for “business professionals only”, well that’s just a load of crap. Someone needs to cut off of Tux’s tie and put him back in a t-shirt and sandals.
UPDATE 1: PT has been following-up on the LinuxWorld 2006 sign over on the Make blog. He’s been calling and emailing conference organizers. So far, nobody has come forward with an explanation.
UPDATE 2: One enterprising 17 year-old hacked LinuxWorld by wearing a suit and tie.
UPDATE 3: LinuxWorld has responsed to PT’s inquiries. Here’s the email that PT received from IDG’s Melinda M. Kendall:
Dolomite has it exactly right: LinuxWorld is a free business-to-business trade show, completely subsidized by exhibitors, who invest in those booths to talk with business buyers. The new policy is a direct response to their complaints that we had too many students at the event. We were lenient on the policy in Boston, as we had not made it clear enough on marketing materials, however in San Francisco we did card most registrants. Our exhibitors tell us they have other venues to talk with and reach out to students, but that at LinuxWorld they want to focus on qualified leads. Sorry!
Melinda M. Kendall
Brand Vice President
IDG World Expo
Related Posts:
- LinuxWorld 2007, Linux & Open Source Community
- LinuxWorld 2007 Photos, Penguins in Business Suits
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Scott, I’m with you 100% on the age sign. Has anyone asked LinuxWorld why they’re doing that? Maybe they have a good reason (liability insurance regulations, perhaps?) If they don’t have a strong reason, they might be persuaded to drop that next year.
I’m with you on the 18-years ban! Believe it or not, but I have been to all of the LWE held in NYC and the last 2 in Boston, and my biggest regret is that I had to leave my daughter twice outside while I took a quick look around the expo floor. Anyone remember the very first LWE??? Now, that was something else!
Cheers,
Og
This actually happend to us at one of the very first Linux Worlds in San Jose.
I had gone in to find the Mozilla crew with the son of Mitchell Baker, Head Lizard Wrangler. I thought it would be great for her son to get a view of ‘mom in action!’ He was in a baby bjorn.
This was long before any signs were up.
The result was a serious brew-ha-ha. Their claim was liability. I think Jarett has been to many conferences /expositions by now but this is the only one which tried to reject him.
Good thing she’s a lawyer too. Kid was eventually admitted to the Mozilla Booth.
My eldest has been attending professional conferences since he was 16, including a Usenix security conference. He looks older, so I doubt anyone would have questioned him, but still, this is ridiculous.
There are many younger programmers who would like to attend this type of conference. I worked with an explorer troop of high school kids who were excellent programmers, and know many high school age students who could benefit from this type of gathering. In fact, they ought to be encouraged to attend, not excluded.
Following donna’s post, I am 17 and looked professional enough in a suit and tie that no one at LinuxWorld even asked me for id. I was able to get in, have a great time, and make off like a badit in freebies.
Gee, phildini, just maybe the vendors (who pay thru the nose to exhibit at LWE) don’t want kids snatching the freebies that are meant for paying customers. And those ‘freebies’ aren’t that cheap either. LWE is not a geek fest. It’s a networking event for consumers and suppliers. Want groovy dot-com tee shirts? I suggest you try GoodWill…
“Geeks going commercial” is not going to be a pretty site. Open source is uncertain how to “be good for the world” and “make money” at the same time. With all the finger pointing at Microsoft, much of that is jealousy.
I mean look at your top picture. Yea, there’s my buddy Casey from JoomlaShack (he and his gang are fantastic, fun people.) But, the .ORG group was stuck in the back corner, right? In your picture, who did we see when we walked into the area? You got your Novell (open source?), HP (open source?), SAP (open source?).
I attended what turned out to be an IBM presentation — and it was supposed to be on “What’s next for Open Source Linux Communities.” IBM’s take on a communities role was, you can test if you want and we will take your input, but don’t “bother” yourself, we test! No worries. And, there is no reason for you to do anything IF you are happy with what you have in the product now. Just get involved if you want something different. Huh????? And, this was presented to a group of very CALM PEOPLE! I was FURIOUS! How are communities driving open source with this product/consumer mentality.
Dude – the sign? It’s a sign, if you know what I mean.
Open source better figure out what the primary, central, driving goal is. Was it simply to loosen Microsoft’s grip on the industry? So that someone else could rush to the finish line? Or, is it REALLY to spawn innovation and keep solutions affordable to all and liberate knowledge? And, if those are our core values, how do developers get compensated? We have never really answered this riddle, even with Eric Raymond’s business case scenarios.
Perhaps it is to utopian, after all.
Hey – ArrayF – if I might be allowed to shout across the blog – yes, you are right, and sorry, you have never been so wrong. How absolutely illogical to assume because some idiot wastes tons of money on “stupid vendor crap” that they are now someone in charge of the rules and get to say what this is “for.” Are consumers so easily swayed that the investment in t-shirts accounts for the bottom line?
Hey – I have an idea! Keep your stinking t-shirts and frisbees and 48-inch television monitors and miked headsets and sexy, well groomed presenters and just tell us why open source is important to your company and how do communities play in your projects? Then, maybe even the kids can watch. I am FAR MORE LIKELY to return to my place of business and strike a deal with that supplier then the one who outfitted me for Saturday car washes.
Good blog entry. Thanks for sharing.
This is one of the many many reasons I enjoy community run shows more than corporate events. Check out shows like SCALE, Ohio Linux Fest, or LinuxFest North West. At shows like these you’ll find the same companies who attend LinuxWorld but you won’t run into weird rules or a general feeling of corporate skummynes.