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Showcase Conference Sessions


Adil Attari
Phone Based Email

Thursday October 14, 1999 -- 3pm-4pm -- Ballroom CD

Abstract

As electronic mail is becoming a standard way of communication, the ability to send e-mail even when you do not have physical access to a machine hooked to the Internet is of tremendous convenience. Using a touch-tone phone to dial-in to a machine that will carry on your e-mail delivery seems to be a good solution for many situations. Today in the industry we find products that exploit this idea, yet requiring an additional piece of hardware to seize the text and dialing in to a remote e-mail server. Our approach is to use regular phone handsets to dial to your home machine -supposedly up, and your voice modem monitoring incoming phone calls, will allow you to send an e-mail, and forward each other calls to an answering machine.

Speaker Bio

Presentations at the University regarding Electronic Commerce protocols.



Max Berger
ACPI4Linux

Friday October 15, 1999 -- 11am-12pm -- Ballroom AB

Abstract

This document gives an overview of Advanced Configuration and Power interface (ACPI), often referred to as successor of APM. The issues of power management are described. This includes Global States, Sleeping States, Device States and CPU states. Sleeping, suspending, hibernation and shutdown is explained, also thermal management, especially the difference between active cooling and passive cooling, performance mode and silence mode. The Plug'n'Play model of ACPI is introduced. An overview of ACPI control method Machine Language (AML) and ACPI control method Source Language (ASL) is given. The ACPI implementations of Linux are described: The User-Kernel interface, the new memory management with memory holes, APM compatibility, the AML virtual machine, and a short report about ACPI4Linux status.

Speaker Bio

My Name is Max Berger. I was born and raised in Munich. I've spent one year of school in Odessa, Texas as a foreign exchange. After finishing school I started studying at the "Technische Universitaet Muenchen" in Munich, where I still am.



Ben Combee
Porting Codewarrior to Linux

Sponsored by Metrowerks/Motorola

Saturday October 16, 1999 -- 11am-12pm -- Ballroom AB

Abstract

This paper describes how the CodeWarrior x86 compiler system was retargeted from Win32 to Linux. This included handling different object and debugging formats, supporting and discovering the Linux ABI, interfacing the CodeWarrior runtime library and the Metrowerks Standard C++ Library with glibc 2.1, and ensuring compatibility at the C code level with GCC, the Linux standard compiler.

Speaker Bio

Ben Combee graduated from Georgia Tech in 1995 with a B.S. in Computer Science. He worked for two and a half years on embedded microcontrollers for Motorola's Messaging Systems Products Group and currently is the lead x86 compiler engineer for Metrowerks in Austin, Texas. He can be reached at combee@techwood.org.



Elizabeth O. Coolbaugh
Linux Distributions Well-known through Unknown

Thursday October 14, 1999 -- 11am-12pm -- Ballroom AB

Abstract

The Linux operating system, spoken of so much recently, is composed of the Linux kernel, licensed under the GNU General Public License, and a great deal of additional software, licensed under a variety of "free/open source" licenses. Because it is freely available and redistributable, there is no one vendor from which the operating system is purchased. Instead, any person, organization or company can choose to develop and maintain a Linux "distribution", a specific set of software packages, bundled with the Linux kernel. Some people are unaware of just how numerous and diverse Linux distributions are. Others fear that the availability of multiple varieties of Linux will fracture the Linux market and keep vendors from choosing to support it. In this talk, we'll examine the breadth and diversity of Linux distributions, through well-known ones such as Red Hat, Slackware, Debian, etc., to over a hundred lesser known ones. We'll look at the reasons numerous distributions have come into being and how to choose between them. Then we'll finish up with a look at the advantages and disadvantages that the diversity of Linux distributions brings and what the Linux community is doing to control the disadvantages while enjoying the advantages.

Speaker Bio

Elizabeth O. Coolbaugh is Managing Editor for the Linux Weekly News, an on-line magazine that has been reporting on the Linux Community since January, 1998, and one of the Managing Editors of the SANS Institute Monthly Security newsletters. She is also Vice President of Eklektix, Inc., a Colorado-based engineering firm which provides "Linux for Professionals" training courses, for which she is one of the instructors. Ms. Coolbaugh has worked in computer systems administrations since 1981, with Unix since 1985 and with Linux since 1997.



Tony Dean
Java, Linux, and Open Source Integration

Sponsored by Productive Data Solutions

Saturday October 16, 1999 -- 10am-11am -- Ballroom AB

Abstract

Integrating Java with Open Source on Linux offers another technique to build highly portable applications. Java already offers a Write Once Run Anywhere model to developers but there are limitations. If it lacks some feature you need or contains something you don't like, you may have to give up the portability that made Java unique. By using Open Source with the Java Native Interface there is an opportunity to enjoy the portability of Java with the flexibility of Open Source. This approach to portability also puts control of future Java feature extensions into the hands of developers. The Open Source community can influence the direction that Java features will take in the future. Features that are popular with developers will get used and corporate players will take notice.

Speaker Bio

Consultant by day and Instructor by night. I work with Java and usually Unix based systems for internet application development. I teach a variety of classes related to Java, Unix, and networking.



Paul Everitt
Funding the Perfect Beast - Venture Capitalism, IP

Thursday October 14, 1999 -- 12pm-1pm -- Ballroom CD

Abstract

This talk describes the relationship between Digital Creations, the company behind the Python-based Zope Web application server, and Verticality Investment Group, its first-round investor. Within a month of the investment, Verticality convinced the Digital Creations principals to release their Web application server as open-source. What business strategies supported this? What replaces intellectual property as the strategic asset? How did Digital Creations recast its business model for success?

Speaker Bio

Paul Everitt is CEO and co-founder of Digital Creations, a software consulting company that focuses on dynamic business solutions using its free, Open Source Zope web application server. In 1992 as a United States Naval officer Paul created the Navy's first public web server at www.navy.mil. He has been published in WebReview, has authored a W3 Technical Report, and served on the program committee for the W3C-OMG Joint Conference on objects and the Web. His company is an original member of the Python Software Activity and a member of the Python Consortium.



Phillip Ezolt
Using Iprobe to optimize Apache on Alpha/Linux

Sponsored by Compaq

Thursday October 14, 1999 -- 2pm-3pm -- Ballroom CD

Abstract

This Paper describes how Iprobe, an Alpha/Linux performance tool, was used to find system performance bottlenecks while running the Apache web server on Alpha/Linux. It describes the kernel bottlenecks uncovered, and possible solutions.

Speaker Bio

Presented a talk to Duke University as well as at a Work In Progress at the Linux Expo in May. Presented several white papers internally to Compaq engineers. Worked as Unix skills instruction at Carnegie Mellon from 1996-1997.



Nat Friedman
The Bonobo Component and Document Model

Friday October 15, 1999 -- 2pm-3pm -- Ballroom F

Abstract

The Bonobo component model provides an infrastructure for building large-scale applications out of self-contained software components. Bonobo handles in-place live document embedding, compound document storage, and supports a powerful idiom for component-based application design. In this session, Nat will give an in-depth presentation of the Bonobo component model, its design and implementation in Gnome, and an introductory tutorial on how to write Bonobo-based applications.

Speaker Bio

MIT graduate. Co-founder of International Gnome Support. Hacks Bonobo.



Michael J. Hammel
Mastering Gimp

Friday October 15, 1999 -- 10am-11am -- Ballroom F

Abstract

There is more to learning about the Gimp than just where the menus are and what the buttons do. To master the Gimp, you have to learn the technical reasons why things work as well as understand design project planning and work with an openness to experiment. This paper intends to show how all of these can be accomplished.

Speaker Bio

Author of "The Artists' Guide to the Gimp", it's companion web site at TheGimp.com, the Graphics Muse column in the Linux Gazette and numerous articles and covers for the Linux Journal.



Geoff Harrison
Enlightenment and the Linux Desktop

Sponsored by VA Linux Systems

Friday October 15, 1999 -- 3:30pm-4:30pm -- Ballroom F

Abstract

The Linux Desktop is a constantly changing and evolving topic. Find out the current state of Linux on the desktop, and where enlightenment plays into the scheme of things. We'll talk a bit about where enlightenment is going, in addition to showing plenty of demonstrations. Mandrake will be assisted by The Rasterman.

Speaker Bio

Mandrake is one of the developers of the Enlightenment Window Manager, as well as contributor to several projects like XFree86 and GNOME. He works for VA Linux Systems, a major Linux Systems vendor. He spends most of his time hacking on various projects to attempt to make Linux on the desktop suck less.



Dirk Hohndel
XFree86 - Past Present, Future

Sponsored by SUSE

Thursday October 14, 1999 -- 11am-12pm -- Ballroom F

Abstract

This talk will give a quick tour of the history of XFree86, of the current state of things, and will focus on where we are headed with XFree86-4.0.

Speaker Bio

Dirk Hohndel is CEO of SuSE Rhein/Main AG, a professional services subsidiary of SuSE Linux AG. Additionally, he serves as Vice President of The XFree86 Project, Inc. and is a member of the XFree86 Core Team.



Phil Hughes
Publishing a Magazine with Linux

Sponsored by SSC

Saturday October 16, 1999 -- 2pm-3pm -- Ballroom E

Abstract

Since 1994, Linux Journal has been published using primarily Linux-based tools. In this presentation, I will look at how we have developed this Linux-based solution to a real business problem. The presentation will include design tradeoffs, what we have learned from our mistakes, what Linux does for us and where Linux falls short. Specific topics to be covered include: editorial preparation using Linux, Linux (and non-Linux) in layout, producing ancillary products, Linux and the web and general office use of Linux. I will also explore what needs to be added to the Linux tool chest in order for it to be a complete solution. This talk will not be extremely technical. It is intended to look at how to address problems with Linux tools rather than look at the code that solves the problem. It will also help someone understand the production process of a print and web magazine.

Speaker Bio

Phil Hughes has been working in computing as a programmer and design specialist since 1968. He has worked with Unix since 1980 as a systems programmer, consultant, trainer and writer. He is currently publisher of Linux Journal magazine.



Miguel de Icaza
The GNOME Future

Friday October 15, 1999 -- 1pm-2pm -- Ballroom F

Abstract

Miguel will be talking about the new technologies being developed as part of the GNOME system and where the system is headed. The Bonobo component system, the GNOME printing architecture, the visual tools for creating user interfaces and the internationalization efforts.

Speaker Bio

Miguel de Icaza codes. He has contributed code to a number of free software project including Linux/SPARC, Linux/RAID and launched the GNOME project 2 years ago.



Nathan Laredo
Will Code for Hardware

Thursday October 14, 1999 -- 3pm-4pm -- Ballroom F

Abstract

Linux is gaining a lot more press these days and causing many companies that once ignored requests for Linux drivers to start hunting down people to write drivers for them. There are a lot of developers that are happy not to get paid money, but to get free hardware in exchange for writing drivers. This is also true for other developers who like to port to new platforms. Manufacturers love it. For a small investment in hardware, they can have free Linux drivers to gain access to the growing millions who run Linux, and those people are in growing numbers emailing manufacturers asking for support. Those with support win big. There are countless people who bought bt848-based tv cards after seeing support for them in their kernels, and back in the earliest days, there's no doubt that Linux spurred some sales of WD80x3 NICs and Adaptec 1542 scsi controllers. Stradis decided they needed drivers for Linux because people asked for them. Then, once Linux was supported, they discovered companies willing to commit to orders of 6000 and 10000 units. The development cycle was very short. This talk will discuss the saga behind the development of this MPEG2 decoder driver and what made it so short, the extensions to the Video4Linux API, and many of the problems involved even with complete technical support from the company that designed the hardware. Panasonic also decided they wanted in on Linux, but the contact did not know the first thing about Linux, yet all the same, full specifications for their DVD-RAM drive were sent and a free drive, and in short order, the drive was functional in Linux. This project will be briefly covered as well.

Speaker Bio

Nathan Laredo has been coding for Linux since first being exposed to it at Georgia Tech in 1991. He is the author of playmidi, tvset, two irc clients, and several other multimedia applications. Nathan is currently working for Stradis, Inc, an Atlanta-based company that makes professional MPEG2 video products.



Jon Lasser
Bastille: Securing Linux at a University

Sponsored by University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Friday October 15, 1999 -- 1pm-2pm -- Ballroom CD

Abstract

This paper presents a case study of a university attempting to reduce Linux-related security incidents through customizing a localized, security-aware Linux distribution based on Red Hat Linux. After describing the university environment and the parameters of the UMBC Linux project, an overview of technical and social aspects of the project is given. Following this, extensive analysis dissects the UMBC Linux 5.2 project's successes and failures, especially the failure to harness the power of the Linux community to improve the project. Finally, future development plans, including the Bastille Linux project, are briefly described.

Speaker Bio

Jon Lasser is a Unix systems administrator at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where he manages Linux, SGI, and Sun machines. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland with his wife Kathleen and their cats, Mallet, Dashigara, and Spike.



Jane Lemmer
An Introduction to SAINT

Sponsored by World Wide Digital Security, Inc.

Friday October 15, 1999 -- 11am-12pm -- Ballroom CD

Abstract

Vulnerability analysis is an important part of a good security program. While there are many commercial tools available for performing vulnerability analysis, for enterprises with a large number of hosts these tools can be cost prohibitive. There are some free tools that are available, such as SATAN (Security Administrator's Tool for Analyzing Networks), but many are out-of-date. While conducting a vulnerability analysis for a customer with several thousand hosts, we decided to update SATAN and create a new, up-to-date, vulnerability analysis tool called SAINT (Security Administrator's Integrated Network Tool). SAINT includes all the tests performed by SATAN, plus many additional tests for new vulnerabilities, including Back Orifice, NetBus, statd, open SMB shares, and ToolTalk. This presentation will include the origins of SAINT, how SAINT works, what SAINT tests for, and the future of SAINT.

Speaker Bio

Jane Lemmer is an Information Security Specialist at World Wide Digital Security, Inc. (a wholly owned subsidiary of Richard S. Carson and Associates, Inc., where she is a Director). Jane has a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Delaware and a Masters of Information Systems from Virginia Tech. She has been working in the computer industry for over 13 years and has been working in the computer security field for the past three years. She specializes in conducting vulnerability assessments, risk assessments, and developing security plans. She recently presented a briefing "Vulnerability Assessment using SAINT" at the 11th Annual FIRST (Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams) Conference on Computer Security and Incident Handling, held June 1999 in Brisbane, Australia.



Jo-Ellen and Mark Mathews
Developing Linux Software for Fun Turns Into Profit

Sponsored by AbsoluteValue Software

Thursday October 14, 1999 -- 5:30pm-6:30pm -- Ballroom F

Abstract

For the small, software company or individual consultant, there is an overpowering concern with regard to Linux development: investment pay off?". In the case of AbsoluteValue Software, the answer to that question is a resounding YES!

Speaker Bio

Presented a paper at Linux Expo 1998 for an attendance of at least 200, a technical paper on our wireless LAN driver development work under Linux at ALS in 1998 and at LinuxWorld Conference and Expo in March 1999. The attendance of each talk was over 200, and we received many enthusiastic, kind comments about our development efforts and our presentation.



Irene McCartney
Xinerama Extension to the X Window System

Sponsored by Compaq

Thursday October 14, 1999 -- 12:00pm-1:00pm -- Ballroom F

Abstract

The Xinerama extension is one of the newest extensions to the X Window System. Xinerama allows a system configured with multiple graphics devices to configure all of the physical screen into a single logical screen. This extensions allows windows to be moved from screen to screen or even to span screens. Xinerama is implemented at the device independent layer of the X server. This means that no work is required to support the extension on a new graphics device. The extension supports any homogeneous graphics configuration. Any number of screens (up to the maximum that the server supports) can be combined as long as they support similar visual classes, resolution and depths. This paper will discuss the implementation details of the Xinerama extension. It will also look at some of the restrictions involved with this extension.

Speaker Bio

Irene McCartney is a principal software engineer who has worked with the X Window System for the past 12 years. She is currently working on the X Server and has also been an X application developer. Irene is also Compaq's representative to X.Org, the non-profit organization dedicated to maintaining the existing X Window System code base and engineering appropriate enhancements to it. Irene has worked for Compaq (through its acquisition of Digital Equipment) for 15 years. During that time, she has held technical marketing, supervisory, and engineering positions to develop and support Compaq's workstation and graphics products.



San Mehat
HW Clustering

Sponsored by VA Linux Systems

Thursday October 14, 1999 -- 5:30pm-6:30pm -- Ballroom AB

Abstract

In this talk, San will discuss hardware level cluster management options under Linux. He will introduce the VACM program. VACM is a GUI based open source cluster controller with allows certain intel motherboard based machines to have serial bios, console redirection, all while monitoring power, cooling, and other sensors on the motherboard.

Speaker Bio

San Mehat is a Senior Engineer with VA Linux Systems in their Advanced Research Labs, where he works on a variety of projects including VACM, the VA Cluster Manager and a variety of Low Level kernel work. Previously an engineer with Corel Computer, Mr. Mehat spends his free time as a DJ at local clubs in and around the San Jose area.



Paolo Molaro
Enabling GTK+ and Gnome for the Blind

Thursday October 14, 1999 -- 5:30pm-6:30pm -- Ballroom CD

Abstract

Graphical user interfaces are a challenge for blind people to use because a bit-mapped display is not easily and effectively mapped to non-visual interfaces. However working at the toolkit level it's possible to have access to the application internals and to provide a satisfactory auditory and braille interface. The flexibility of the object model of the Gtk+ graphical library allows the development of an (application independent) module (GSpeech) that enables the blind to use most of the Gtk+ and Gnome applications. Programmability and application-specific support can further expand the usability of such applications. Additionally, with the use of auditory icons we try to give the visually-impaired some of the benefits that GUIs give to sighted people.

Speaker Bio

System administrator at the University of Padua (Italy). Previous talks given: October 1998: Linux Meeting (Rome, Italy) about Gtk/Perl June 1999: Sesto.com (Milan, Italy) about disabled access to computers Note that this will be my first talk in English.



David Mosberger
The Linux/ia64 Project

Sponsored by HP

Thursday October 14, 1999 -- 12pm-1pm -- Ballroom AB

Abstract

This talk gives an overview of the Linux/ia64 project that was started at HP Labs in early 1998 and has now become part of a broader industry effort. The first implementation of the IA-64 architecture is the Merced chip which, on August 31, was for the first time demonstrated in public to run Linux. With the delivery date of Merced-based systems coming closer, this is a good time to learn more what Linux/ia64 is all about. This talk will start with a brief overview of the IA-64 architecture and is followed by a description of the goals of the project, its current status, and outlook for the future.

Speaker Bio

David is a member of the technical staff at HP Labs where he is working on Internet and Linux related projects. His research interests are in high-performance Internet systems, operating systems, and computer architecture. He holds a professional degree as an Electronics Engineer, an HTL Diploma (BSc degree) in Computer Science from HTL Brugg-Windisch, Switzerland and M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Science from University of Arizona. He is a member of ACM, IEEE Computer Society, and USENIX.



Jim Mostek
Porting Commercial file systems to Linux

Friday October 15, 1999 -- 10am-11am -- Ballroom AB

Abstract

Recently, SGI and Veritas have announced that they intend to port their advanced file system technologies to Linux. Veritas' VxFS and SGI's XFS file system both employ journaling and scalable internal data structures that allow very large files and directories to be supported. VxFS and XFS both use the vnode/vfs interface structure popularized in System V UNIX. The vnode interface differs from Linux's virtual file system in several respects, and these differences must be overcome in porting vnode-based file systems to Linux. In this paper and talk, the authors will describe their efforts in porting SGI's XFS file system to Linux. This port is an on-going joint effort between SGI, the GFS Group at the University of Minnesota, and Sistina Software, a firm developing storage management software for Linux. Issues addressed will include integrating vnode-like features into Linux's vfs interface, buffer and page cache integration, journaling, volume management, and achievable performance.

Speaker Bio

Jim Mostek is the technical lead of the XFS Linux port at SGI. Jim has a Math and Computer Science degree from the University of Illinois. He has over 18 years of extensive experience in file systems and networking including: key CXFS developer, extensive internals experience with XFS, DFS, threads, File System Switch (FSS), VFS, UNIX streams, and sockets. Jim's primary experience has been with UNIX based systems of various flavors including BSD, PWB, SystemV, IRIX, and UNICOS.



Matthew O'Keefe
A Universal Access Smart-Card-Based Secure File System

Sponsored by NASA

Friday October 15, 1999 -- 2pm-3pm -- Ballroom CD

Abstract

The Secure File System is a joint project between the University of Minnesota and StorageTek which aims to provide an easy-to-use cryptographic file system. It allows you to store your files securely on remote sites using normal networking protocols worry of unauthorized access. SFS does this through the use of a group server which is responsible for all file access controls and smartcards (through MUSCLE software), for verification purposes.

Speaker Bio

Matthew O'Keefe and his associates perform research in the areas of parallel software for simulation and in file systems at the University of Minnesota. His most recent projects are the Global File System, a shared disk file system for Linux, and the Secure File System, an infrastructure for universal access to cryptographically-sealed information. He lives in Plymouth, Minnesota with his wife and two children.



Steve Oualine
Management of Open Source tools in a heterogeneous environment

Saturday October 16, 1999 -- 10am-11am -- Ballroom E

Abstract

There are many open source software tools that are useful in the standard UNIX environment. Many times you will find that the local user community is willing to support these tools. Management and configuration of these tools can be a major problem. The system administrator must take care of such as issues as: The packaging of tools, Distribution of tool sets, Build procedures, Handling of multiple tool versions. This paper discusses how the system administrator might handle these and other problems.

Speaker Bio

Senior level UNIX and C++ expert. Expert UNIX system administrator Software manager and project leader. Experienced in all aspects of programming including design, software control, coding and production. This includes: Over fifteen years experience as a UNIX Systems Engineer, Manager of several high quality software engineering teams, Eight years System administration experience, Expert UNIX programmer for applications, networks and device drivers, Eight years UNIX programming both applications, networks and drivers, Expert X-Windows, Openlook and Motif programmer, Six books on C, C++, and Linux published.



Andrew Pitman
A Distributed Programming Environment from the Ground Up: pvmsync

Thursday October 14, 1999 -- 4:30pm-5:30pm -- Ballroom AB

Abstract

My talk will cover my reasons for developing pvmsync, what it is, what it does (and doesn't do), and how I designed it. Essentially, I will cover how I created this package from the ground up, including protocols used (and designed) and the design of the client library.

Speaker Bio

I'm currently a senior Computer Science major at Rowan University, and I'm expected to graduate this May. I'm a Linux admin with the university data center and this summer I did an internship with CESDIS (Center of Excellence in Space Data and Information Sciences) at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD. During my employment there, I developed pvmsync, a distributed programming environment. My hobbies are Linux programming and collecting older Sun SPARCstations to run Linux on. I'm engaged to be married in Nov 2000 to my fiancee, Kati.



Darryl Ramm
VMware: Not your Granddaddy's Virtual Machine

Sponsored by VMware, Inc.

Friday October 15, 1999 -- 2:00pm-3:00pm -- Ballroom AB

Abstract

VMware (www.vmware.com) is a virtual machine monitor for PCs. VMware provides isolated environments in which multiple x86 operating systems and applications can run concurrently on a standard PC. VMware has a lot of capabilities hidden under the covers, besides just running multiple operating systems. This talk will cover some of the architecture of VMware and discuss some of the more interesting capabilities and technical tricks for advanced users -- including virtual disks, undoable and non-persistent disk modes, virtual networking and advanced networking and security applications.

Speaker Bio

Darryl Ramm is director of technical marketing at VMware, Inc. His responsibilities include helping plan and define VMware products and working with leading edge customers and partners. Darryl has a unusual blend of business, marketing and technical knowledge. Prior to joining VMware Darryl worked at Adobe Systems, both in the United States and Europe on the planning and rollout of new high-end graphics products. Prior to Adobe Systems Darryl held marketing and engineering positions at Silicon Graphics, Inc. and Pyramid Technology Corporation (now Fujitsu Siemens Computers). For most of his career in the computer industry Darryl has worked on the development and marketing of high-performance commercial and database servers. Including a lot of work on mission critical systems and applications in telecommunications, and financial services. Darryl has held positions as technical board member and consultant to high-technology start ups. He holds a degree in Physics from the University of Western Australia.



Eric S. Raymond
The Magic Cauldron

Thursday October 14, 1999 -- 4:30pm-5:30pm -- Ballroom F

Abstract

This paper analyzes the economics of open-source software. It includes some explosion of common myths about software production economics, a game-theoretical account of why open-source cooperation is stable, and a taxonomy of open-source business models.

Speaker Bio

Eric S. Raymond is a wandering anthropologist and troublemaking philosopher who happened to be in the right place at the right time, and has been wondering whether he should regret it ever since.



Don Rosenberg
Linux at the Chasm

Thursday October 14, 1999 -- 11am-12pm -- Ballroom CD

Abstract

Linux is moving through the Technology Adoption Cycle and gathering strength for a leap across the Chasm to Phase III, the Early Majority; a sign that Linux is already in Phase II is that large companies are implementing internal Linux projects. The Chasm must be crossed by a niche strategy, because Linux and the general user are not yet ready for each other. Hardware is one stage: Internet appliances, multi-processor servers, and embedded systems devices, will gain the OS more widespread use, but only when software applications begin to spread across companies in a niche, instead of being internal projects, will we see an application niche strategy begin to form and succeed. Software connected with POS systems is one likely candidate for this transition. Unfortunately, Linux cannot plan and marshal this Chasm crossing, nor can it manage public perception of itself. Furthermore, it will probably be 18-24 months before the software infrastructure (e.g., GUI tools for developers; file filters) is in place to support a widespread software movement. Likewise, support is not just setting up telephone help desks, but also providing enough integrators to help medium-sized businesses implement Linux as it passes through the niche stage; integrators and UNIX/Linux experts are scarcely overlapping groups. World Domination will take a while, and there is a danger that constant hyping of Linux by the media will create unrealistic expectations.

Speaker Bio

I have spoken at First and Second Atlanta Linux Showcases At USENIX 97 and USENIX 99 and UniForum (May 1998), also at Fourth Linux Expo, and at Spring and Fall Comdex, all on Linux or Open Source topics. I am speaking on 1 July in Austin at the Open Source Forum. Some of my work is available among the resources of The Open Source Software Licensing page, which I maintain at www.stromian.com.



Paul Sheer
MirrorDir

Saturday October 16, 1999 -- 11am-12pm -- Ballroom E

Abstract

Mirrordir began as a program to mirror directories recursively with a minimal set of changes as an alternative to RAID devices. It later evolved to support the VFS layer of the Midnight Commander and can hence mirror to and from ftp sites. A further encrypted socket layer was added to transparently facilitate the same mirroring and general file transfer capabilities. The socket layer has the interesting feature that all encryption code exists only within 4kB of interpreted scripts. Since these can be distributed separately from the application, Mirrordir can be exported from countries that would otherwise restrict export of cryptographic software. Mirrordir also features secure socket forwarding and a secure login program using the same socket layer, somewhat belying the name of the package.

Speaker Bio

I work for Obsidian Systems, a company that does Linux consulting, deployment and development. I have a B.Sc. in Aeronautical Engineering and an M.Sc. in digital image processing. I was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and have lived there most of my life. I now live in Cape Town.



Paul Sheer
CoolEdit

Saturday October 16, 1999 -- 1pm-2pm -- Ballroom AB

Abstract

CoolEdit is a full featured text editor for the X Window System. It is built around its own widget library written directly in XLib. It has a builtin Python interpretor for macro programming, syntax highlighting for many programming languages, a comprehensive interface to gdb, and generic interfaces to compilers and text processing utilities. It has an elegant 3D multiple window interface, and is light and fast.

Speaker Bio

I work for Obsidian Systems, a company that does Linux consulting, deployment and development. I have a B.Sc. in Aeronautical Engineering and an M.Sc. in digital image processing. I was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and have lived there most of my life. I now live in Cape Town.



Jes Sorensen
Optimizing Linux Device Drivers for SMP

Friday October 15, 1999 -- 1pm-2pm -- Ballroom AB

Abstract

Linux is now perceived as being suitable for use as a large server and as a high-end computing platform. To meet the needs of these environments, a lot of work is being put into making Linux scale better on SMP systems. Allowing device drivers to run multithreaded is an important part of this work. This talk will look at the aspects of making device drivers SMP aware and how to optimize them for speed. It will show how the use of atomic types can reduce or even eliminate the need for spinlocks, resulting in a faster, lock-free driver. Other aspects covered will include the use of memory mapped I/O rather than I/O mapped and the reduction of cache effects by keeping code and data structures local to the CPU. The specific example used in the talk will be the driver for the Alteon AceNIC Gigabit Ethernet card, however the techniques are applicable to most of the drivers in the kernel.

Speaker Bio

Jes has been working on the Linux kernel for more than five years, the last three as the maintainer of Linux/m68k. Jes works for the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (https://www.cern.ch/) where he works on very high performance networking, Linux clusters and the Linux/ia64 project. This has included writing Linux device drivers for Gigabit Ethernet and HIPPI (High Performance Parallel Interface, an 800 Mbit/sec supercomputer network).



Thad Starner
Designing Linux for Wearable and Ubiquitous Computing

Thursday October 14, 1999 -- 4:30pm-5:30pm -- Ballroom CD

Abstract

According to DARPA, we are approaching the production of 8 billion microprocessors a year. Only 2% of these processors are used in devices commonly considered a "computer" by the public, and the most common operating systems address only a fraction of this market. As computers shrink, integrating into the user's clothing or disappearing into the environment, the desktop will be replaced as the dominate software platform for users. However, current desktop operating systems and the prevaling paradigms are ill-prepared for this change as evidenced by the billion dollars invested in pen computing in the early 1990's without a successful product (remedied with the relatively recent release of the Palm Pilot and its "rule-breaking" approach). Linux is a clear contender for the future operating system of choice across a wide range of devices and user interfaces due to its scalability, real-time capabilities, reliability, design, pricing, development cost, and immunity to obsolescence. However, the Linux community must be aware of upcoming computing trends and direct the operating system appropriately. This talk will examine how Linux and other open source projects are being used in the wearable computing community and will discuss the difficult issues foreseen by the wearable and ubiquitous computing communities.

Speaker Bio

Thad Starner graduated from MIT in 1991 with Bachelor of Science degrees in Computer Science and Brain and Cognitive Science. He joined the Speech Systems Group at BBN as an Associate Scientist where he developed one of the world's most accurate on-line cursive handwriting recognizers. Starner was named a United States Air Force Laboratory Graduate Fellow and returned to the MIT Media Laboratory where he earned his Masters and Doctorate in 1995 and 1999, respectively. In 1999, Thad joined Georgia Tech's College of Computing as an Assistant Professor. The author of over 30 peer-reviewed scientific publications and book chapters in computer vision, mobile computing, augmented environments, and pattern recognition, Starner is known internationally as one of the founders of the field of wearable computing. He is a founding member of the MIT Wearable Computing Project, the IEEE Wearable Information Systems Task Force, and the IEEE Wearable Information Systems Technical Committee. Starner co-founded the IEEE International Symposium on Wearable Computers (ISWC) and served as the local arrangements chair, the publicity co-chair, and on the program committee. Thad's current work researches the use of computational agents for everyday-use wearable computers as a segue to artificial intelligence.



Bernie Thompson
Making Money in the Bazaar

Thursday October 14, 1999 -- 2pm-3pm -- Ballroom F

Abstract

Analysis and ideas for creating innovation and making a living in the Open Source market. Companion to 1999 Linux Journal articles.

Speaker Bio

Bernie Thompson is one of the founders of cosource.com. He lives just down the hill from Microsoft, and believes that a great and healthy rivalry has begun the re the big winner will be end users. Send comments and ideas to bernie@cosource.com.



Rob Tillotson
Pyrite: A Framework for Palmtop Data Interchange

Friday October 15, 1999 -- 11am-12pm -- Ballroom F

Abstract

The Palm Computing platform was designed with tight desktop integration in mind. Pyrite is an Open Source toolkit which allows desktop applications to interact with Palm handhelds and their data. It is implemented in the Python programming language, and is deliberately quite different than the standard Palm Desktop software. It is designed for maximum flexibility; Python's loose, dynamic object structure is exploited to allow applications to easily extend Pyrite's capabilities. In this paper, I will explain the most significant aspects of Pyrite's design, and describe some of the issues encountered during implementation.

Speaker Bio

Rob Tillotson is an independent free software author (and Debian GNU/Linux developer) from Alabama, USA, specializing in Python programming and Palm Computing Platform related applications.



Matthew Tippett
Open Sourcing Internally Funded Projects

Friday October 15, 1999 -- 3:30pm-4:30pm -- Ballroom AB

Abstract

Many organizations use internally funded projects to fulfill a business need. These projects may give no direct competitive benefit to the organization. Since an organization develops the core architecture as well as the portions directly related to their business needs, they are penalized financially by the effort to build both components. By making the core components available and accessible through Open Source mechanisms, an organization should be able to capitalize on the consistent recreation of similar systems by other similar organizations. If multiple organizations can have access to a consistent framework they can implement their business requirements while enhancing the core components as well.

Speaker Bio

Since April 1996, I have been managing and presenting at LinuxSA, a local South Australian Linux Users Group. Typically we have between 40 and 70 members attending each meeting. Also various presentations have been made to other, non affiliated user groups around South Australia.



Sudharshan Vazhkudai
The Design and Evolution of Communication of PODOS

Thursday October 14, 1999 -- 2pm-3pm -- Ballroom AB

Abstract

Distributed Operating Systems have always attracted a plethora of researchers for decades that wish to make many computers appear to be one. In spite of this goal, improvement in aggregate system performance has always been secondary to resource sharing or reliability. With performance as our goal, we are designing a Performance Oriented Distributed Operating System (PODOS). PODOS is the interaction of two or more monolithic Linux machines. The PODOS design has a number of key performance benefits.

Speaker Bio

Mr. Sudharshan Vazhkudai is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Mississippi. His research interests include Distributed Operating systems and Networking. Mr. Vazhkudai was the Instructor at the Department of Computer Science. Publications:
1. Sudharshan Vazhkudai, Tobin Maginnis. Transmission-Group based communication mechanism for a clustered Linux, Proceedings of the LinuxWorldExpo Conference, San Jose, August 99.
2. Sudharshan Vazhkudai, Tobin Maginnis. Distributed Linux: Evolutionary Steps, Technical Report, Computer Science Department, University of Mississippi, December 98.



Michael H. Warfield
Security and the Open Source Model

Friday October 15, 1999 -- 10am-11am -- Ballroom CD

Abstract

We've heard it all before. "How can something be secure when all the source is in the open for hackers to read?" or, "Open source means hackers can find all the bugs." Even though conventional wisdom or "common sense" may lead some to the conclusion that "open source equals not secure," reality tells a different story. Some of the most secure systems available are based on the open source model. But that security is not inherent or automatic with open source software either. Attempts to trojan open source packages reminds us that diligence is in order for all of us.

Speaker Bio

Mike is a security researcher and applications developer who has been involved with Unix for over 15 years and using Linux both professionally and personally for over 5 years. He's one of the founders of the Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts and a contributor to several open source development projects.



Andrew J. Weber
A Library-Based Distributed Shared Memory System

Sponsored by Dynamics Research Corporation

Thursday October 14, 1999 -- 3pm-4pm -- Ballroom AB

Abstract

Distributed computing systems made up of a collection of computers require effective communication between the participating computers. The two fundamental models of communication are the message passing model and the shared memory model. The shared memory model can be further broken down into hardware-based, page-based, and library-based implementations. The Network Chunk System implements a library-based shared memory model of communication using IP multicast as the underlying transport. NCS provides for several dynamically configurable data replication behaviors. Each named data element, or chunk, may be configured to be replicated in any one of the supported ways at any given time. Beowulf and Network of Workstations clusters currently have several message passing model implementations to choose from such as PVM and MPI/LAM. Beowulf clusters also have page-based shared memory models such as the ZOUNDS based implementation from Sarnoff and a package being implemented by Jason Crawford. NCS provides a library-based shared memory model implementation which provides a different approach to the already available message passing and page-based shared memory options. This paper presents the overall design of NCS and introductory guide to using NCS.

Speaker Bio

A.J. Weber is a software engineer for Dynamics Research Corporation working on device physics simulation. He is also a software craftsman for and co-founder of Infinite Monkeys Incorporated working on distributed computing software. He is also a masters student at San Diego State University.



Dave Whitinger
Running "Linux Today"

Sponsored by LinuxToday

Saturday October 16, 1999 -- 1pm-2pm -- Ballroom E

Abstract

Linux Today is a website whose function is to provide news and editorials to the Linux community in a timely fashion. The necessity to update the website hundreds of times per day, as well as handle the load of hundreds of thousands of hits per day, has introduced some interesting challenges to be overcome. This presentation will detail exactly how we've overcome these problems. The member of the audience should walk away with a clear understanding of one of the ways that one may run a highly trafficked and dynamic website.

Speaker Bio

Dave handles just about everything technical at Linux Today. In addition to posting stories, he handles all the web development, perl and PHP3 programming, system and network administration, and any technical challenges that come along. He lives with his wife and daughter in the mountains of East Tennessee.



Jim Winstead
PHP

Saturday October 16, 1999 -- 2pm-3pm -- Ballroom AB

Abstract

The web is growing at a tremendous pace, and the demands for content beyond simple static pages keep increasing. There is a critical shortage of people capable of producing pages with dynamic content. PHP (https://www.php.net/) is an HTML-embedded scripting language that attempts to lower the technical hurdles and make building dynamic pages faster and easier for developers of all skill levels.

Speaker Bio

Jim Winstead Jr. is one of the core developers of PHP, and a senior software engineer at HomePage.com, an idealab! company.



Dan York
Building a community-based Linux certification program: An update on the progress of the Linux Professional Institute

Sponsored by LinuxCare

Friday October 15, 1999 -- 3:30pm-4:40pm -- Ballroom CD

Abstract

A report to the community on the progress of the LPI certification program (which will be well underway at the time of presentation), explaining future directions, outlining how people can become more involved in the process, and soliciting feedback from people there at the session.

Speaker Bio

Dan York has been teaching in the corporate training world for nine years and has presented sessions at numerous conferences within the training industry, including: 1999 Information Technology Training Association (ITTA) Strategies for Success- Europe, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (to be held in September 1999) 1999 ITTA Strategies for Success-North America, San Antonio, TX 1997 Software Association of New Hampshire, Manchester, NH 1996 Training Director's Forum, Tempe, AZ 1995 Computer Training and Support, Orlando, FL Additionally, Dan has made numerous presentations to local user groups on a wide variety of topics.


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