Berlin, 13 November 2009 – This Friday marks the tenth anniversary of the founding of LinuxTag e.V. The sponsor of Europe’s leading trade fair and conference for Linux and Open Source is taking this opportunity to begin preparations for the 16th LinuxTag ( 9 - 12 June 2010 in Berlin) and to risk a controlled restart, a “reboot” of the event.
Ten years ago, on 13 November 1999, around twelve organisers, members of projects and companies met in Kaiserslautern to provide LinuxTag with a solid framework. Up to that point it had been organised by the university’s students. Oliver Zendel, Chairman of LinuxTag e. V. recalls the occasion: "At the time we already had as many visitors as there were students at the university. Thus we had to find a new venue as well as a sustainable framework for the event. Since then LinuxTag has been held at trade fair locations, and as of 2007 in the exhibition halls in Berlin. In recent years more than 10,000 visitors have regularly attended LinuxTag to find out about Linux and Open Source.
In contrast to many other privately and commercially organised trade fairs and conferences, the association’s founders focused on a long-term concept which takes the interests of both open source projects and companies into account. "It continually presents us with new challenges, but we know that our visitors represent both these groups. That is why our credibility is so important", says Zendel.
LinuxTag rated highly by long-term exhibitors and projects
This is echoed by Andreas Jaeger, a Linux developer with Suse Linux distributors Novell: “openSUSE makes a regular appearance at LinuxTag. We consider the good atmosphere, talks with members of our community and other open source projects to be very important. We are delighted at the opportunity to be able to organise a whole day’s programme of papers with openSUSE, and hope that the concept will continue to be well received within the community“.
Representing his company, Brian Osborn, Chairman of Linux New Media AG, added: “As an exhibitor from day one we are happy for LinuxTag to be taking place, and congratulate the association on the tenth anniversary of its launch. It is a remarkable achievement to have organised this event successfully for so many years and we wish it continuing success.“
New concept involves both exhibitors and visitors
For this reason the association is inviting everyone interested in the event to “reboot” the system: "This is a controlled restart with room for updates, but one which leaves the basic system untouched", is how Nils Magnus, the LinuxTag Program Chair, describes the initiative. Visitors to a specially launched website at wiki.linuxtag.org/w/Call_for_Participation_2010 can have their say on LinuxTag, make suggestions and help shape the event. Magnus urges people to take part. “This is not a private function and we regularly need new ideas. It is LinuxTag participants themselves who have the best.”
At the same time preparations are under way for the event which continues to be held in Berlin. Visitors to the website at https://vcc.linuxtag.org/ can already offer their suggestions. Submissions will be officially invited from December onwards. The deadline for applications to hold papers is January 2010. More than 400 speakers made use of this opportunity last year. Afterwards there will be a call for projects, with non-commercial open source initiatives able to compete for a free stand. The deadline is March 2010.
Public demand and Early Bird discount attract exhibitors
Companies and public authorities have already begun to register for LinuxTag 2010. The organisers expect there to be a focus on public administration. In its coalition agreement Germany’s new government said it would examine how government IT systems could in future conform to independent standards. In doing so it also intends to look at open source solutions, arguing that only independent and licence-free standards are capable of dealing with the high-level complexity of the IT systems. In the past open source pioneers from public administrations such as Bavaria’s regional capital Munich, Germany’s Foreign Office and the public authorities BSI and BVA were frequently represented at LinuxTag and are planning to be back in 2010. Staggered Early Bird discount rates are available until 30 November and thereafter until 31 December 2009. Once again the organisers expect more than 10,000 visitors to attend the event, which takes place from 9 to 12 June 2010..
About LinuxTag
LinuxTag is Europe's leading event for Linux and free software. The four-day event has been taking place annually on the Berlin Exhibition Grounds since 2007. It offers the very latest information for professional users, decision-makers, developers, beginners and the community. In addition to the programme of papers and a separate Business & Public Authorities Conference, LinuxTag traditionally includes an exhibition featuring projects and companies associated with the Open Source sector. A total of 10,780 visitors from around the world attended LinuxTag 2009. Verein LinuxTag e.V. is the non-commercial organiser of the event, which is staged jointly with Messe Berlin GmbH. More details are available at www.linuxtag.org.