Notes from LaserJock (Jordan)

Jordan Mantha, aka LaserJock, gave 2 great talks at The UbuCon, both on how to contribute to the Ubuntu project. One was more technical going into detail regarding the various aspects of Launchpad, and the other was targeted to a beginner audience, who wanted to learn what this Ubuntu thing is. He was kind enough to send his notes on the conference, so I'm posting them here:

from Jordan:
- Google rocked, it was awesome to see the place and see Google people
there. Plus the food and rooms were really good
- Great mix of attendees (beginners all the way to the CTO of
Canonical). The "What non-geeks want" session was really good because
lots of non-geeks showed up and in the end we were able to have some
things to take to the developers to get into Edgy
- Great talks. Mostly informal, quite a bit of discussion. I think the
Beginner Track was especially successful. People seemed excited and
wanted to make Ubuntu even better. However, it didn't seem like an
Ubuntu love-fest either. People had tough questions and discussion was
often about to current problems in Ubuntu (and Linux in general) and how
to overcome them
- T-shirts, CDs and books, way cool!

Overall, it was lots of fun and should definitely happen again. The only
thing I would like to see for the next one is earlier planning. There
were a few people I know who would have liked to have come (from all
over the US) but needed more notice to make arrangements. If it is going
to be after LWE again then it shouldn't be too hard get the date out
there for people. Thanks again for all the hard work, it's not easy at
all. Rock on!

The UbuCon Was a Blast!

What a weekend. The UbuCon turned out better than I could have possibly imagined. With little promotion, not to mention a minimum of planning, at least 60 and possibly up to 70 total showed up to discuss various topics, mostly specific to Ubuntu but also about Linux and free software in general. A huge huge show of gratitude goes out to Leslie Hawthorn, who spared no effort in making sure that things went swimmingly on the conference host side. Google was a splendid host (and many remarked how the food was top-notch), and Leslie put some great finishing touches at the site - handy signs directing people to the right place, food layout, and just being an all-around cool person.

I could write up a description of the conference, but someone already beat me to it, and I couldn't possibly do a better job than that. So, I'll just note that the speaker and session lists are now complete if you visit the UbuCon schedule. You can also find Corey Burger's UbuCon writeup here.

Oh, and look, Andrey posted pictures!

Group shot:



Thanks go out to all the speakers who pitched in, some of whom did so at the very last minute.

Also, a special thanks goes out to whiprush, binbrain, and Chris D. who all stepped in and saved the conference when it was in danger of dying.

And finally, here are the companies who contributed time, money, and/or people:

1. Google - Absolutely fantastic hosts. Thank you, Chris and Leslie. Donated food, rooms, and people time. In addition to Leslie, there were two other Googlers who showed up at 8am on Friday to help out. (when I get their names, I'll add it here)

2. Canonical - It was great to see them at LinuxWorld and The UbuCon. Didn't get to meet the crazy spaceman (har har) but I got to meet Jane, Matt, Malcolm, and another gentleman whose name I cannot recall. They donated a bunch of CD's and on Friday afternoon came in with boatloads of t-shirts for everyone.

And in alpha order:

No Starch Press - donated 5 copies of Ubuntu for Non-geeks
Open Country - donated some snazzy screwdriver kits. At least 3 of them attended, and Christian H. spoke on Saturday.
O'Reilly Media - donated 10 copies of Ubuntu Hacks

Arr! Some Loot for Ye!

Here's a list of the fine companies that are supporting this event:

Google - They're hosting the event. 'nuff said. Kudos to Chris and Leslie for being the champions there.
Canonical - aka the Ubuntu company. They're supplying CD's to hand out for the install fest.
No Starch Press - They're giving away hot-off-the-press copies of Ubuntu Linux for Non-geeks
O'Reilly - the standard bearer for geek tech books. They have generously decided to donate copies of Ubuntu Hacks.

The UbuCon RSVP Page

Hello all, if you're going to The UbuCon please visit the RSVP page.