ANN: OSCON 2004 (Python 12) call for participation - proposal deadline February 9th!

[Kevin Altis]

2004 O'Reilly Open Source Convention Call for Participation:
Opening the Future: Discover, Develop, Deliver
http://conferences.oreillynet.com/os2004/

The O'Reilly Open Source Convention (OSCON) will be held July 26-30, 2004 at
the Portland Marriott Downtown in Portland, OR.

Proposals Submission Information--Deadline: February 9, 2004
http://conferences.oreillynet.com/cs/os2004/create/e_sess



Sebastopol, CA--"There is an upheaval in the open source landscape,
particularly Linux, and the corporate landscape is changing too," observes
Tim O'Reilly, founder and CEO of O'Reilly & Associates. Economic pressures
and legal battles have combined to push open source topics to the front
burner as companies, institutions, and governments of every size make
technology decisions. O'Reilly, long a vocal open source advocate, brings
together open source influencers, early adopters, technology activists,
developers, and business leaders to evaluate and debate the evolving open
source landscape at OSCON, the annual O'Reilly Open Source Convention.

The 2004 O'Reilly Open Source Convention, to be held in Portland, OR from
July 26-30, is now accepting proposals delving into topics that matter most
to the entire open source community, which includes new--and perhaps
unexpected--players. "OSCON provides an analysis of what's happening now and
what may come--what will affect the future landscape. This convention brings
together projects in a way that other conferences don't. We're able to cover
a broad range of topics in a deep, coherent way," says OSCON program chair
Nathan Torkington. "It's not just about trimming costs at large companies,
it's about collaborating and innovating our way into the next big thing.
This convention is like a radar. It's a mix of what you'll be doing as soon
as you get back to your desk and what you'll be doing differently in six
months."

The keynote speakers for the next OSCON exemplify the event's wide-ranging
mix: Freeman, George, and Esther Dyson, presenting a joint keynote address;
Robert Lefkowitz, who was one of OSCON 2003's most thought-provoking
speakers; Milton Ngan of Weta Digital, the company that created the digital
effects for "The Lord of the Rings" films; and Tim O'Reilly. Other
influential open source leaders will come to OSCON to accept the first Open
Source Awards, produced by the Open Source Institute (OSI) and ZDNet
(winners will be announced in stages during the winter and spring of 2004).

Proposals Submission Information--Deadline: February 9, 2004
  http://conferences.oreillynet.com/cs/os2004/create/e_sess

Individuals and companies interested in making session or tutorial
presentations, or participating in panel discussions, are invited to submit
proposals. Presentations by marketing staff or with a marketing focus will
not be accepted; neither will submissions made by anyone other than the
proposed speaker. Session presentations are 45 or 90 minutes long, and
tutorials are either a half-day (three hours) or a full day (six hours).

The theme for OSCON 2004 is "Opening the Future: Discover, Develop,
Deliver." Proposals for sessions that help attendees discover new open
source projects, develop new relationships, or deliver value to their
employers and coworkers are especially welcome. Proposals that are not
related to the theme are also encouraged, such as case studies showing how
open source software solved thorny problems or replaced expensive closed
source software, best practices for a tool or system, new features or
modules, and fundamental skills.

The tracks and conferences running in parallel at the convention include:

Linux
- Management, security, administration, configuration
- Desktop, server farm, back office, personal productivity tools,
development

PHP Conference 4
- Unix, Windows, Apache, and beyond
- New developments, security, case studies, large-scale applications
development,
best practices

The Python 12 Conference
- Python and Zope
- Using the latest modules, software engineering, case studies

Perl Conference 8
- Perl 5, Perl 6, Parrot, mod_perl
- Useful modules, software development tips, developing for Parrot and Perl
6

MySQL and PostgreSQL
- Configuration, migration, data warehousing, tuning
- Clustering and replication, fallover, backups
- Efficient client-side processing and query design

Apache httpd, Java, and XML projects
- Apache web server: 2.0, modules, configuration, performance tuning,
security
- Apache XML projects: Xerces, Xalan, Cocoon, FOP, SOAP, XML-RPC, XML
Security
- Apache and Open Source Java projects: Jakarta, Jserv, Avalon, Geronimo

XML
- XML Schemas, Transformations, Software, Services, and Standards
- New standards, best practices, web services, IP issues around standards
and schemas

Applications
- System administration tools, servers, back office utilities
- GUI systems, user applications, productivity tools

Ruby
- Introductions to aspects of Ruby for people unfamiliar with the language
- Power user talks for experienced Ruby programmers

OSCON is the one place open source practitioners of every stripe can gather
to learn useful skills, discover what's new, and "cross-fertilize" projects.
Concludes Tim O'Reilly, "OSCON is for anyone interested in open source. It's
the one event that brings together leaders of all the major open source
projects not only with the hacker community but also with commercial
software developers, business leaders, analysts, and even opponents of open
source."