2008 Wrapup

The 2008 Ontario Linux Fest went incredibly well. Our speakers delivered excellent presentations that were well received. I want to thank all the speakers for the hours of preparation, the travel and expense of coming to Toronto.

I'm also proud of the volunteers that helped organize the event and the volunteers who gave their time on the day of the event missing sessions to help out. It's simply impossible to organize this event alone. Thank you, volunteers, for the time, effort, ideas, and all the contributions you've made to the event.

Even though we are a volunteer event there are still costs to hosting a conference. Our sponsors help to offset those costs and keep the price of admission down to a nominal amount. Our sponsors this year, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Net Direct, Linux Journal, Linux Pro Magazine, 2bits, Cloud Made, and eSolutions Data Fortress, are companies that are committed to free software and open source software and we are proud to have them sponsor the event. Many chose to sponsor even though they weren't able to exhibit at the conference. That's community commitment!

The Dot Org pavilion is essential to the success of the event. It's all about the community and our Dot Org delegates were all great ambassadors into the many projects and movements that make up our unique community. The constant flow of people through the pavilion was evidence of it's success. I was surprised to see this even during sessions and keynotes.

I also want to thank the conference attendees. It's for you that we do this and seeing and hearing your applause of appreciation was really appreciated by all of us and it was a great gift of energy that propped us up after a long hard day. All the positive comments heard after the conference and at the Google Reception party was also very appreciated. Negative comments are also very appreciated. Like all Linux Fests there are glitches and unintentional omissions that pop-up and this year's event was no exception. I am happy for the understanding and patience that allowed everyone to get past these shortcomings and focus on all the positive aspects.

Thank you all again and I hope to that all of you can take part in the event next year.