This year's Linux Fest Northwest was one for the record books.

Over a thousand Linux nerds all descending upon Bellingham, WA for a weekend of fun (mixed in with a little learning).  All put on, free of charge, by the Bellingham Linux Users Group.

Linux Fest NW has always been one of my favorite tech conventions.  It's big enough to bring in some interesting people and sessions -- but still retains a nice, friendly, relaxed atmosphere.  If you've never been, or if you missed this year, I highly recommend considering making the treck up the Pacific Northwest for 2013's festival.

Here's a little round-up of some of the sessions and coverage that's been made available online, for those that missed it (or just missed one of the sessions).

"Why Linux Sucks" and "Why Linux Does Not Suck" - My sessions from this year.

Linux Action Show coverage - Includes videos and thoughts from a number of sessions (including those on the new Vivaldi KDE tablet), open source beer brewing, as well as the after-party (which includes a 10 foot tall Tesla Coil).  Linux nerds know how to throw a party.

Will Sterling (of Parsec)'s presentations - Linux Performance Analysis, LVM Advanced Topics and Automate Your Infrastructure with Chef.

Jed Reynolds' session on Apache Rewrites.

Andy Gup's presentation on HTML5 Geolocation.

How to Be More Elite with Benson Kalahar.

There were many more amazing sessions going on throughout the weekend.  If you know of any videos or slides that are made available online from Linux Fest NW, let me know and I'll get them added to the above list.

Filed under: Linux, lfnw, Linux, linux fest | 3 Comments

LinuxFest Northwest (the coolest Linux event of the spring) is less than two weeks away (April 24th and 25th) and, of course, the Linux Action Show will be there, in Bellingham, WA, to cover the general shenanigans.

The official presentation schedule has now been posted, so you can plan your nerdy weekend accordingly.

I'll be speaking on both days, first on Saturday:

Why Desktop Linux (Still) Sucks. And What We Can Do To Fix It.

Saturday, 11:00 am in Haskell-219

This is a (highly) updated version of last years session (of an almost identical name).  We'll be covering how far Desktop Linux has come over the last year and where it still needs to go.  The response to last years session was... kinda big.  So this is not to be missed.

And then on Sunday:

Options for Developing Desktop Linux Applications

Sunday, 11:00 am in Haskell-203

This session is for everyone.  Those new to Linux.  Those new to software development.  And even those who have been in Linux development for years.  We'll be covering the wide variety of options for developing desktop applications for Linux, including their advantages and pitfalls.  And recommendations for various types of developers, skill levels and needs.

You'll notice that, on both days, my sessions are right before lunch.

What does this mean?  Why, I'll tell you exactly what it means.

It means we'll be gathering all the "cool kids" together and hitting the town somewhere for food (and, most likely, beer)!

Plus, we'll be video taping the whole deal.  So if you want to be on the next Jupiter Broadcasting video... this is the best way to do it!

LinuxFest Northwest really is a blast.  Plus... it's free.  So just show up and get your geek on.

If you live in Washington State, or British Columbia... you've got no excuse.  Just gotta be there!

To wet your appetite, here's a few of the sessions I'm going to try to make it to (that I'm not speaking at) that look just plain rad:

Home Media Streaming with Roku and Python

Saturday, 2:30pm in Haskell-219

This presentation will cover Home Media Server project which allows you to stream local media (mp4 video and mp3 audio) to the Roku (Netflix) Player attached to your TV. I will cover development of the server software using TornadoWeb and Python as well as of the Roku software using their BrightScript language for writing Roku Channel applications.

Then this one looks cool to get a demo of WebYAST...

Making Rails Interesting

Saturday, 1:30 pn in Haskell-104

Learn how to use Ruby scripting within Ruby on Rails to build web applications that can do more than read and write to databases.

Expect plenty of time for discussion, examples of Ruby scripts used for system administration, file and image manipulation, and remote network applications, and a practical demonstration of openSUSE's WebYAST system administration tool.

Oh oh oh, this one just sounds awesome...

Digital Forensics and Linux

Sunday, 1:30 pm in Haskell-108

Ever watch one of those CSI style shows where some guy is rummaging through a suspect's computer and pulling out Emails, Pictures, and Documents that all help close some case? Did you ever want to know more about how REAL digital forensics is done?

And there's a ton more.  Should be a hell of a great weekend.

I'll be twittering and facebooking live from the event just for good measure (because that's what the cool kids do, right?).

Filed under: Jupiter Broadcasting, Linux, Tech Stuff, lfnw, linux fest northwest, linuxfest | 1 Comment