DebConf 14 closes in Portland and DebConf 15 dates announced
August 31st, 2014
Today, Sunday 31st August 2014, the annual Debian Developers and Contributors Conference came to a close. With over 300 people attending from all over the world, 80 hours of talks in over 100 events, the conference has been hailed as a success by head local organiser Steve Langasek.
"I'm pleased with how the conference has gone. Each year I'm impressed with the commitment of the conference attendees to making the largest free operating system in the world, and this year was no exception. DebConf is a focal point for everyone who's involved in the project, and really helps move us together in creating not only Debian, but a free software ecosystem more widely. Particular thanks go to Intel and all our sponsors without whom the conference would not be possible." said Steve.
Highlights included:
- "Weapons of the Geek" keynote on Anonymous by Professor Gabriella Coleman
- "Debian in the Dark Ages of Free Software" plenary talk by former Debian Project Leader Stefano Zacchiroli
- "Debian and the FSF working together to advance free software" talk by FSF Executive Director John Sullivan
- An update on the state of the next Debian stable release, codenamed "Jessie"
- Introduction to SteamOS and Debian
- HP's Debian-based OpenStack Helion
For those not able to attend, talks and sessions were recorded and live streamed, and videos will be made available at the Debian meetings archive website.
Next year, DebConf will be held in Heidelberg, Germany, from 15th to 22nd August 2015. The local organisers will again organise Debcamp in the days before DebConf, a session for some intense work on improving the distribution. Local organiser Michael Banck said "We invite everyone to Heidelberg for next year's DebConf. The chosen venue will allow for a conference under one roof, with lots of space and nature around. I'm looking forward to yet another successful conference".
About DebConf
DebConf is the Debian Project's developer conference. In addition to a full schedule of technical, social, and policy talks, DebConf provides an opportunity for developers, contributors, and other interested people to meet in person and work together more closely. It has taken place annually since 2000 in locations as varied as Scotland, Argentina, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. More information about DebConf is available from the DebConf Website.
About Debian
The Debian Project was founded in 1993 by Ian Murdock to be a truly free community project. Since then the project has grown to be one of the largest and most influential open source projects. Thousands of volunteers from all over the world work together to create and maintain Debian software. Available in 70 languages, and supporting a huge range of computer types, Debian calls itself the "universal operating system".