It's raining FOSS events! (February Edition)
2008-01-31 14:47:22
Seriously, I have no clue why everyone feels like February and March are the *perfect* months for holding a Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) event. Not only does it make it extremely difficult to choose which ones to attend, it leaves the rest of the year (all the way to the end, when FOSS.IN happens) uncovered, and perfect hunting grounds for companies who are not exactly known to be sending the FOSS world greeting cards at Christmas...
So anyway, I thought I'd give everyone a heads-up about the more prominent FOSS community events (there are some other prominent events, but they have nothing to do with the FOSS community). My apologies to community events that I don't mention here - maybe you forgot to let me know about your event? ;)
Since this piece is likely to get a bit long, I am going to force you to read it on my website, so that it doesn't clutter up everyone's RSS readers and planets.
In February, we start off with FOSSconf in Chennai, running through this Friday, the 1st of February, through Sunday, the 3rd of February. This event is organized by ILUG-Chennai, India's oldest Linux User Group, and NRC-FOSS. An impressive list of talks is on the schedule, so if you are into all things Free and Open Source Software, you should find this event interesting.
Next up, we have Gnunify, the annual event of the Pune Linux User Group and Symbiosis Institute of Computer Studies and Research, which is on February 8th and 9th. No talk schedules have been posted yet, so hard to say what to expect this year. I would expect more focus on SMEs and businesses, judging from the speaker list that currently lists only sponsors and sponsor partners. I must confess that I am a bit surprised at the use of the term "Open Source" on the event site, especially since my use of that term made me persona non grata at the event in 2003. :) However, if the event content is not unduly influenced by sponsor interests, this is one that could be well worth attending - I have heard many good things about previous editions.
On the 14th through 17th of February, we have FOSSkriti as a part of IIT Kanpur's annual techfest. The guy biting his fingernails there is Arun Raghavan, better known as FOSS.IN's #1 volunteer for many years. While he professes deep anxiety, I suspect that this event is likely to do very well. They have the focus down pat, and have all of two weeks to get everything organised and in place - sheer luxury for someone like Arun who has been known to set up FOSS.IN literally overnight (and I kid you not)! They plan to have talks, BoF sessions, workshops and maybe a hackfest or two. This is one event I would love to attend (IIT events *RULE*) - but Murphy and other cruel people have made their presence felt. If you are in the neighbourhood, be there. Arun is the tall bloke with thick glasses - get his autograph. :)
Just a few days later, on 22-24 February (right after my birthday on the 20th, and bang on top of my wedding anniversary on the 23rd), we have ILUG-Delhi conducting their annual FREED.IN. This year, the event looks VERY different from other FOSS events, and there may be a bit of confusion in the positioning (at the time of writing, the Gunning Fog Index of the front page is 13.42, or about 50% higher than Shakespeare's writings in their original form :). But given that this event has people like Team FOSS.IN veteran Kishore Bhargava in the organisation team, and going by past events, this sole FOSS event in North India is one you simply *cannot* afford to miss. I have been there last time - it was fun, educative and very very FOSSy. Great audiences. Lots of well known faces (Pradeepto was there, and he stayed the *entire* event!). Mark your calendars, be there. Seriously.
And that wraps up the February edition of "It's raining FOSS events". Stay tuned for the next edition, where we will cover FOSS events in March. And then get ready for the mind-bending Indian FOSS-event vacuum, all the way to the end of the year...
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