LinuxPlanet: The StartX Files: Inside the Expo

“I found it very ironic that while the LinuxWorld Conference and
Expo was going on in one part of the Moscone Convention Center, the
American Bar Association was meeting just across the street in
another part of the huge facility.

“It made me wonder, as I walked down the street towards my own
desitination, if David Boies was over there somewhere, chatting
with his fellow legal eagles. Later in the day, on a whim, I
sauntered over there to see what I could see. But whims sometimes
do not work out as planned, especially when confronted with large
security personnel who don’t see your name on their media list.

“So much for attending two conventions in the same trip.

“This whimisical attitude was brought on by the fact that this
particular iteration of the LWE that I was attending had its own
very positive attitude. People, it seemed, were happy to be there,
and were really interested in getting information about how they
can actually use this thing called Linux.

“In recent years, the attendance of the LWE has been sharply
lower, particularly on the East Coast. This week, the conference
organizers were passing along unofficial estimates of 14,000-15,000
attendees, and they had relived smiles on their faces when they did
so. But beyond the sheer numbers, there was a strong sense of
satisifaction everywhere…”

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