“The lines outside the room started more than 45 minutes before
the keynote began. Long lines of patient people queueing up for a
seat for the talk. Even the VIP/Press door was packed with people
waiting to get in. No one was allowed in until within a few minutes
of the start time. The room filled up quickly. A separate ballroom
was also promised, with a simulcast of the broadcast.”
“Just past 6:30, there are still empty seats, people are still
coming in. I can see five video cameras in addition to the official
simulcast cams. Rock music is playing, neon lights. There are
screens within the room as well, to make sure everyone will get to
see Linus’ face. The section set aside for press probably holds
over 200 people. I managed to get a seat in the very first row,
thanks to Dwight Johnson from LinuxToday. Evan Leibovitch was with
us in the pack outside the door before we came in; his connection
with ZDnet’s new site for Linux, linux.zdnet.com, is official as of
today. He will be writing weekly opinion pieces. Amusingly enough,
the rumor later is that people were told that Linus demanded the
room for his walk-through; if we wanted to go in early, we could,
but then he’d refuse to talk … this image of Linus doesn’t
necessarily fit with the one we see elsewhere.”
Linus: “Calm down … we’ll see if you still applaud after I
talk.”