LinuxTag 2007 with more than 200 talks under the Berlin Funkturm

The dominant themes of this year’s main event for Linux, free and open source software are “Virtualisation Trends”, “Web 2.0 Technologies” and “New with Linux”. The convention for business and public administration is a highly regarded feature of LinuxTag and presents current migration reports and details about the successful application of free and open source software by companies and government agencies.

Current developments with Linux

Among the practical issues dealt with at LinuxTag 2007 are the use of open-source solutions in medicine, the development of OSS-based operating systems and applications for mobile terminals, and the multimedia and educational uses of free and open source software. Other highlights in 2007 will include the deployment of OSS solutions in the enterprise sector and the integration of open solutions in business processes.

A concentration of IT skills on the Exhibition Grounds

This year’s LinuxTag, with the theme “Come in, we’re open!”, is the first to be held concurrently with the users’ trade show IT Profits. This regional convention and exhibition addresses current developments for professional IT users in the service sector, public administration, commerce, the skilled trades and industry. IT Profits 2007 will focus on Linux and open source software in a panel discussion of outstanding participants, and in its own Linux Solutions Area. The collaboration between these two combined IT trade shows and conventions on the Berlin Exhibition Grounds will be rounded off by an “Employment Exchange”.

Main theme: Linux in Medicine

The topics to be covered in Berlin on the first day (30 May) will include “Linux in Administration”, “Medicine and Linux” and “Virtualisation with Linux”. The opening day will also include an opportunity for members of the developers’ and users’ communities to meet during the openSUSE Day. At the “Healthcare Track” developers will present solutions for Linux-based documentation of findings in medical microbiology and Linux migration in general medical practice. In addition, experts will be demonstrating software applications in all areas of medicine, based on Debian GNU/Linux and Linux-based virtualisation and safety solutions in the medical field.

Linux in government agencies and companies

On the second day of the convention (31 May), attention will turn to “Deployment Scenarios for Linux and Free Software” in companies and government agencies. This event will also include a section on “Linux Use in Companies” and the Fedora Users and Developers Conference (FUDCon). The use of Linux by the German Ministry of the Interior during the Football World Cup 2006 and Enterprise Samba in Munich, the Bavarian state capital, are among the papers which have already been registered for inclusion in the “Business Track” on Thursday. Other highlights include the presentation of a Wiki system by the training agency of the Hessian state capital, Wiesbaden.

IBM will present its new Linux client for the staff of the world’s largest IT company at this event in Berlin. Other papers dealing with practical issues will discuss the use of free content management systems (CMS), various groupware solutions, and the IP communication platform Asterisk. The new 3D technology Compiz and the future desktop systems GNOME 3.0 and KDE 4.0 will round out this section of the programme.

Mobile applications and security with Linux

On Friday (1 June), the convention will deal in particular with “Linux in Mobile Use”, “Multimedia Applications”, and the interdisciplinary topic of “Security”. The OpenSolaris community will be meeting on the Berlin Exhibition Grounds on the third day. The presentation by Nokia on its Linux strategy is eagerly awaited. In the “Mobility Track” developers will also be presenting some of the ways that free platforms can be used on cellphones and handheld devices. These include the GPE Phone Edition (based on GTK), Greenphone (based on Qtopia) and the Java Linux Mobile Platform. Visitors will also learn how Linux systems are being developed for mobile terminals.

Furthermore, experts will provide details about the use of OSS-based solutions for VPN encoding and single sign-on solutions with StrongSwan and Kerberos. Motorola will explain its use of an open source sandbox for a wide range of applications. In addition to strategies for more secure PHP, there particular emphasis will be given to the security aspects of RFID solutions. In the field of audio, video and graphics processing, experts will present ways of managing podcasts using the Plone editorial system, for example. The event titled “Pimp my GIMP” will explore how to make best possible use of the free competitor to Photoshop, known as The GIMP. Finally, the Ffmpeg project will report on the progress that has been made in the conversion of audio, video and image formats.

Linux in Education

LinuxTag 2007 will feature vital topics on Saturday (2 June) in the form of “Linux and Education”, “Web 2.0 Technology” and “The Basics of Linux for All”. The LPI Day will concentrate on certification for administrators, while the parallel Ubuntu Love Day focuses on the internationally popular Linux distribution. The Skolelinux project will explain current developments in free learning programs. The Moodle project will introduce its learning platform which supports cooperative teaching and learning methods. Meanwhile “Open Books and Docs” deals with such issues as “Free Books” and the distribution of free content.

Up-to-date information around the clock

LinuxTag e. V. and Messe Berlin invite everyone who is interested to subscribe to an RSS feed that will supply all the latest details about LinuxTag 2007. From the beginning of April on, the website at www.linuxtag.org will provide a wealth of information about how to register for these events, along with programme details.