IDG is changing the name and the focus of LinuxWorld to OpenSource World. The penguin has been replaced. IDG is claiming that the "new event will focus exclusively on open source software and all things Linux." Whether this widens or narrows the scope of the conference depends on how you read that quote.OpenSource World will be "co-located" with IDG's Next Generation Data Center (NGDC) event. This piggybacking will improve attendance but I take it as a sign that LinuxWorld is no longer capable of being a successful standalone event. This is disappointing news. I remember the first two LinuxWorld conferences in San Jose before the tech bubble burst and before the event out grew the space and was moved to San Francisco. Those were boom times. Anything seemed possible then.
LinuxWorld has been in a state of slow decline for the past several years. Red Hat stopped attending about four years ago and since then many of the large vendors have also left. What has me worried is that Linux is a neutral term while open source is more politically charged. Will this scare away vendors? Will the exodus trend accelerate? Will there even be an OpenSource World in 2010?
OpenSource World is scheduled for August 10-13, 2009 at Moscone Center in San Francisco.
