Events
Upcoming UTOS and other Utah Conferences will be announced in this category
PLUG May Meeting - MySQL
Date: May 14th, 2008
Time: 7:30 PM - 9:30 PM
Location: Omniture, Inc.
Details: http://www.plug.org/
MySQL will be flying Jay Pipes (North American Community Relations Manager at
MySQL) in to Salt Lake on the 14th for the sole purpose of addressing PLUG
(and all other local SIGs). Please spread the word. Set your calendars. Blog
it. Spread it. Tell everyone.
To be clear: THIS WILL BE AN IN-DEPTH TECHNICAL PRESENTATION. Expect this to
be one of those killer, mind-bending, and deep technical presentations. The
kind that leaves you barley able to drive home. Jay will keep the presentation
as language agnostic as possible - and focus just on the SQL-fu Jay
specializes in. This is one presentation you don’t want to miss.
There will be prizes (books and MySQL swag). And we will have drinks. There
might be food, but don’t plan on it.
His bio:
Jay Pipes is the North American Community Relations Manager at MySQL.
Co-author of Pro MySQL (Apress, 2005), Jay has also written articles for Linux
Magazine and regularly assists software developers in identifying how to make
the most effective use of MySQL. He has given sessions on performance tuning
at the MySQL Users Conference, RedHat Summit, NY PHP Conference, OSCON, and
Ohio LinuxFest, amongst others. He lives in Columbus, Ohio, with his wife,
Julie, and his four animals. In his abundant free time, when not being
pestered by his two needy cats and two noisy dogs, he daydreams in PHP code
and ponders the ramifications of __clone().
-Ryan
— Books we have to give away:
- A book regarding Fedora.
- A “Head First” book from O’Reilly on SQL.
- Several very excellent “Pragmatic Programmers” books:
- Programming Ruby (very good)
- Java to Ruby
- Enterprise Integration with Ruby
- Agile Web Development with Rails
- Agile Retrospectives
- Practices of an Agile Developer
Posted by Clint on May 8, 2008 in Community, Events, Meetings, UserGroups
Reminder: Linux distro release party THIS SATURDAY! Woo!
In case you haven’t heard or read already, Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron) was released just a few days ago (April 24). I certainly have noticed plenty of talk about it on blogs and tech news sites. Fedora 9 (Sulphur) was scheduled for release right about now, but the fine folks at the Fedora Project decided they needed a couple more weeks to work out some kinks. In the meantime, there is a fine Fedora 9 Preview release available which can be updated to the official release when it is out (May 13, or so they say).
So what does all this mean? It means it’s time to party like it’s v0.99!
Code Greene, a programming shop located in Salt Lake City, is graciously hosting a release party THIS SATURDAY to celebrate these two latest distribution releases. What?! You’re a OpenSUSE enthusiast? A long-time Slackware user? That’s okay! You can still come and enjoy good food, good company, and fun and games. (Rumor has it these Code Greene people don’t actually do any real work, they just play foosball and videogames all day.)
Here are the vital details:
- Date/time: Saturday, May 3, 6pm to 8pm
- Address: Code Greene, 44 Exchange Place Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Now, if you’re coming, you should take a moment and RSVP via this friendly and easy-to-use Upcoming link.
This release party is being sponsored by us- the Utah Open Source Foundation, the Fedora Project, and Ubuntu Utah.
Posted by Doran Barton on April 30, 2008 in Community, Events, Parties
2008 Utah Open Source Awards
Not only is 2008 the second year we will be holding the Utah Open Source Conference, it is also the second year we will be recognizing and awarding four remarkable individuals as part of the Utah Open Source Awards ceremony at the conference.
The Utah Open Source Awards will be given in four categories:
- Business
- Community
- Technology
- Education
In 2007, awards were given in three categories as the Education category was not added until this year. The recipients of the 2007 Utah Open Source Awards were:
- Matt Asay of Alfresco (Business) for his work evangelizing open source software in business
- Brandon Beattie (Technology) for his excellent contributions to the MythTV project
- Christer Edwards (Community) for his leadership in the Ubuntu Utah project
Now is the time for you to close your eyes and search deep in the crevices of your mind of who within the local community has made a positive impact on your experience using open source software. It could be someone who writes helpful documentation or blog posts. Perhaps you know someone who has developed valuable open source software. Maybe it’s someone who has made a difference in encouraging adoption and understanding of open source software. Whoever it is, concentrate on them. Now, imagine them receiving a big round of applause and a cool gift as thanks from the community. Okay, open your eyes.
When you have thought of at least one person, send a quick e-mail message to awards@utos.org with the name and a brief explanation of why you think this person is deserving of a Utah Open Source Award. There’s no limit to how many people you can nominate, but you can only submit nominations until August 1.
Winners will be announced (and awarded) during the 2008 Utah Open Source Conference held August 28-30, 2008 at the Salt Lake Community College Redwood Campus.
Posted by Doran Barton on April 7, 2008 in Community, Conference, Events, Meetings
Utah Open Source Foundation and Ubuntu Utah bring you a release party of gigantic proportion
Fedora 9 (Sulphur) will be released April 29, 2008
Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron) will be released April 24, 2008
All are welcome to join in the celebration of newly released Fedora and Ubuntu distributions. Ubuntu Utah has been gracious to allow revelers from the Fedora camp join in with the Ubuntu Utah team. The entire event will be sponsored by the Utah Open Source Foundation who will also provide food.
FOOD IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVE, SO COME EARLY AND COME HUNGRY!
If you’ve never been to a release party, they are a blast, and this one proves to be nothing less than spectacular. In fact, Code Greene’s owner Mac Newbold has offered up his office (or rather playground) for us to hold our party. Code Greene has foosball, video games, pool, music and more for all to enjoy.
Why: Release of Ubuntu Hardy Heron (8.04) and Fedora Sulphur (F9)
When: May 3, 2008, 6-8pm (or thereabouts)
Where: Code Greene, 44 Exchange Place Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Please RSVP via upcoming.org if you are participating.
Cheers,
Clint Savage / Aaron Toponce
UTOSF / Ubuntu Utah
Posted by Clint on April 3, 2008 in Community, Events, Installfest, News, UserGroups
Announcing an announcement list for announcements
Mailing lists can be a pain in the butt, especially when discussions spiral into topics about which pizza delivery company is best, which text editor is best, which Linux distribution is best, which caffeinated beverage is best, etc.
We at Utah Open Source (UTOS) know you work hard day in and day out and deserve a break from the hardship of having to deal with meaningless discussions about what’s best. We give you something better — perhaps the best mailing list ever: utos-announce. We created this list so we can mail out announcements about upcoming UTOS events, but you can use it too, to announce anything you’ve got coming up… well, as long as it has something to do with open source in Utah.
Subscribing to the utos-announce list is simple: Go to < http://utos.org/mailman/listinfo/utos-announce >, enter your e-mail address, your name (optional), a password (also optional), and select the Subscribe button. If you’ve followed these instructions so far without making any mistakes or being distracted by a flamewar continuing on one of the other mailing lists you’re subscribed to, a confirmation message will be sent to your e-mail address with instructions on how to confirm your subscription. Follow those instructions (They’re real, real simple… like “click on this” simple.) and you’ll be ready to receive amazing, exciting announcements!
Subscribing to the utos-announce list is a great way to stay informed about the latest developments of the upcoming UTOSC conference. Find out who the keynote speakers will be before the story is aired on the local evening news. Learn what exciting schwag and promotions conference sponsors will be offering in their booths. Get the low-down on entertainment options while you’re attending the Utah Open Source Conference. Ahhh… the possibilities are endless.
What? You’re still here? Go subscribe already!
Posted by Doran Barton on March 4, 2008 in Community, Conference, Events, News
UTOSC 2008 Call For Papers - Get moving!
Before there can be another Utah Open Source Conference in 2008, there needs to be a list of people who will present on various topics. This is how YOU can contribute to the conference: by being a presenter!
The UTOSC Call For Papers begins now at <http://2008.utosc.com/>! Papers can be submitted until June 1, after which time chosen presenters will be announced.
Some people are natural public speakers and presenters while others are reluctant to imagine themselves in front of a group of people at a conference. Because this year’s Utah Open Source Conference theme is “HOWTO”, nobody should feel unqualified or inexperienced to present. We want presenters who can share information at all levels.
And now, some tough questions.
What should I talk about?
You should talk about Open Source software, philosophy, technology, etc. The theme for this year’s conference is “HOWTO” so your topic can be targeted at beginners, experts, or someone in between.
It may help to see what topics were presented last year. Go to <http://www.utosc.com/2007/sessions/> for information about 2007’s conference sessions.
This year, several sessions will be targetted at beginning or “newbie” users including those who are family members of an Open Source geek. Basic sessions on using OpenOffice.org, GIMP, or K3B are good examples of these types of sessions.
We are asking for presentations in one of the following categories, so bear that in mind also:
- Business
- Technical
- Community
- Education
What does a response to a call for papers look like?
You should come up with a brief outline, or abstract, of your presentation and who would be interested. You should also provide some information about you, your experience with open source software and the specific aspects you’re proposing to speak about.
Here’s an example of an abstract:
Title: Open source home security This presentation will outline how I have used a Linux server, IP cameras, and open source software, to provide around-the-clock video and image surveilance of my home which is archived for later viewing and is available for viewing via the Web when I’m not at home. The presentation will describe how to set up a system similar to mine and what alternatives are available for software and hardware in the system.
What’s in it for me?
There are lots of perks reserved for people chosen to present at the Utah Open Source Conference!
- Resumé material
- Having presented on a topic at a conference is a great thing to add to your resumé and could make the difference the next time you apply for a job.
- Free admission
- If you’re chosen as a speaker, we’ll let you — and your family — into the conference for FREE!
- A picture and a paragraph
- Speakers are asked to submit a digital photo and a paragraph of biographical information which will be seen by those viewing the UTOSC website and those reading the conference program.
- Warm fuzzies
- Being involved in the Utah Open Source Conference is a great experience. Just ask anyone who was involved in 2007’s conference.
What’s that URL again?
Go to <http://2008.utosc.com/> and get yourself an account. Then you can submit as many presentation ideas as you like.
Posted by Doran Barton on March 2, 2008 in Community, Conference, Events, News
UTOS HackNight - Refactor ConMan
Tomorrow night, 7pm, in Murray at my house, we’ll be eating pizza and hacking on ConMan again.
If you are interested in joining the fun, please feel free to stop by and learn some kick-a** django skillz.
The last two HackNights were all-nighters and were very successful. Tomorrow’s HackNight is to refactor the views a little and build out the blog portion of the app as well. Feel free to come by and stay as long or as little as you like.
See you all there.
Cheers,
Clint
Posted by Clint on February 22, 2008 in Community, Conference, Events, Hackfests, Registration
Utah Open Source Conference 2008: Location, Theme and Dates
For those of you waiting with bated breath, wait no longer. The Utah Open Source Conference volunteers have been hard at work year preparing an even more awesome conference for 2008.
Because 2007 was such a grand success, we’ve made some minor changes and improvements to help with a smoother conference. This year’s conference is at a different location and we’ve added a full day on Thursday.
The Utah Open Source Conference 2008 will be held at the Salt Lake Community College, Redwood Road campus August 28 - 30, 2008.
This years theme is HOWTO. The concept is that within the technology, education, community and business tracks, there will be plenty to talk about.
- HOWTOs will help others get started
- HOWTOs will help families use open source together
- HOWTOs will provide a stepping stone along the road to technology mastery
- HOWTOs will let those that are masters get together and make the products better.
These are just a few of the many things that HOWTO theme will accomplish during the Utah Open Source Conference (UTOSC) 2008.
The Salt Lake Community College Computer Science department is excited to be a sponsor of the 2008 conference and will be using it to improve students’ awareness and understanding of open source software.
The Utah Open Source Foundation is also re-dedicating itself to ensure the pricing structure remains reasonable for those who’d like to come and are on a budget. The pricing structure right now is tentative, but no major increases in the fees are planned for attendees.
We currently have a tentative plan on our wiki, so feel free to have a look. If you have suggestions, please join the chat anytime in the #utos channel on irc.freenode.net or email clints at utos dot org with your comments.
Watch closely over the next week for the Call for Papers, updates on the basic schedule, and the Call for Volunteers among other exciting announcements, including our keynote speakers.
See you all in August.
Clint Savage
Founder, Utah Open Source Foundation
Posted by Doran Barton on February 6, 2008 in Community, Conference, Events, News, UserGroups
UTOS HackNight: A grand success!
A special thanks to Guru Labs, Kevin Kubasik, John Weis, James Hancock, Will Smith and Trevor Sharpe for sticking it out much of Saturday night and into the wee hours of Sunday night.
The chinese food arrived at around 9pm, and we sat around talking design and ideas for the next 30 minutes, and about 11pm we really started digging into the project.
After about 12-13 hours of good coding, and time troubleshooting, learning, drinking loads of caffeine and a bunch of other good stuff, I’m proud to announce the first real progress on the ConMan project from UTOSF.
The general idea is to improve upon otherwise incomplete or sucky open source conferencing systems. ConMan (Conference Manager) is seeming to become quite good, with some good coding from Kevin Kubasik, good web design by John and some good perserverence as well by yours truly. Most of the group crashed out somewhere between 2am and 8am, Kevin and I however, continued to hack until we had something semi-solid at around 11:30am.
It was a great time had by all and a good framework has been built. Django seems like the perfect solution for this and we will even have CAPTCHA and email confirmation early in the 0.0.2 release.
For now though, if you are interested in seeing the Call for Papers, Call for Volunteers and Contact applications, please feel free to download it at http://code.google.com/p/utos-conman. We look forward to bug reports (which you can also make at the google code site, you just need a google account) and fixes in the future. Also any recommendations that are made will be taken into consideration.
In addition, keep an eye out for the “Call for Papers” to appear at http://2008.utosc.com very soon.
Cheers,
Clint Savage
Posted by Clint on January 31, 2008 in Community, Conference, Events, Hackfests, Registration
Weekly Meeting Posts
As part of the Utah Open Source goals to help every LUG (Local User Group) grow, UTOSF plans to provide timely reminders to all who are interested about when, where and the topic for each of the LUGs we track.
In addition to this feature, UTOSF will also be providing an announcement service for podcasts of LUG meetings that were streamed and recorded.
This service should start around the beginning of February 2008 and hopefully provide simple, yet easy to read posts with all of the details needed.
If your group is not listed on the current UTOSF Groups page, or want your meetings streamed and recorded, please leave a comment, or contact clint At utosf (dot) org and we’ll get it added.
Cheers,
Clint Savage
Posted by Clint on January 25, 2008 in Community, Events, Meetings, UserGroups