OTBC, OEF, and the SAO are hosting a day-long, intensive workshop, Building the Business Case for Open Source, designed for CEOs and executive teams of startups considering whether to incorporate open source into their product plans or go-to-market strategy. Saturday, April 8 at OTBC.
Event is limited; for more details and to register, click here.
Scott Kveton is one of Oregon’s best connected guys in the world of Open Source projects. This guy seems to know everyone, the the Open Source Lab he runs at Oregon State University is doing some great work at supporting and hosting open source projects.
We’ve been talking about the challenges of scaling up the hosting of of projects that become hits, and the challenges of creating open source “Software as a Service” offerings. Scott takes the problems on with some interesting observations and suggestions on his blog. Check out: Kveton Blog » LAMP Stack Standard? to learn more.
Here’s the presentation I delivered at Interface ‘06 in Portland at the Convention Center:
Top Five Technology Trends You Can’t Ignore
Let’s see some comments about other trends that you think are worthy of inclusion.
Qwest CEO Dick Notebaert joined his telco CEO colleagues by advocating for tiered Intenet service as a way for his customers to differentiate their service over Qwest’s network, according to a report on News.com.
“Would this give some content providers an advantage over others?” Mr. Notebaert asked the crowd rhetorically. “Well, yeah. We’re all trying to provide a little bit of differentiation for a competitive edge. That’s what business is about.”
Unfortunately, the comparison neglects the notion that Qwest is expected to become more of a content provider itself, and therefore may be preparing to provide that advantage to itself, as we’ve seen other telcos do with their ISP businesses.
Jeff Pulver, CEO of Pulver.com and producer of the VON show at which Mr. Notebaert spoke, commented: “I think it’s probably true that companies are coming to Qwest willing to pay for better treatment on their network [as Mr. Notebaert remarked],” he said. “But I think they’re doing it out of fear. It’s legalized extortion.”
The VON (Voice Over the Network) conference was the latest venue for for positioning and discussion about Net Neutrality. There’s still confusion over exactly what it means, but that didn’t stop folks from staking out a position. I’m disappointed that Cisco is siding with the telcos; perhaps that’s because they are significant Cisco customers, and Cisco is marketing new technology to them that will help them discriminate traffic.
Read ZDnet’s report from the show.
Interface is one of Portland’s “must attend” events. A free, by-invitation only event for CIOs and IT managers, Interface is designed by folks like you to deliver maximum value. In one day, you’ll have the chance to hear from national and regional vendors (or not!), see the latest in technology, and network with your peers. Focused on quality, not quantity in attendees and exhibitors, this event is the one you’ve been hoping for.
EasyStreet is a bronze sponsor at Interface and we’re participating in a number of ways. I’ll be presenting Top Five Technology Trends You Can’t Ignore at 1:40, just preceding the keynote presentation. I look forward to hearing what you think about them and what you’d add to my list.
More importantly, we’re hosting the reception following the keynote. Good food and drink and a chance to discuss the day’s events with your colleagues.
You can visit with us at Booth 324 and chat with me and your account manager about our latest services including Metro Area Ethernet, Hosted Microsoft Exchange for Outlook users, and our family of storage and backup services. And we’d be delighted to tell you about our new facility expansion, now nearing completion.
I know you’re busy, but I believe you’ll find this event to be worth your time. The event is Thursday, March 23rd. Even if you only think you can make it, please register in advance at http://www.f2fevents.com/register_pdx.htm. There is no onsite registration.
I look forward to seeing you there.
I must be getting old or something to have a senator for a hero. Why Sen. Wyden? He has proposed federally legislating Network Neutrality. Net Neutrality is of fundemental importance to protecting the Internet. It’s been a topic mostly discussed amongst the policy wonks and the industry. Now, it’s becoming a mainstream topic.
The Senator is leading the way in defining legislatively how Net Neutrality is defined. It’s principles, excerpted from the Senator’s press release are:
Not interfering with, blocking, degrading, altering, modifying or changing traffic on the Internet;
• Not being allowed to create a priority lane where content providers can buy quicker access to customers, while those who do not pay the fee are left in the slow lane;
• Allowing consumers to choose which devices they use to connect to the Internet while they are on the net;
• Ensuring that consumers have non-discriminatory access and service; and
• Having a transparent system in which consumers, Internet content, and applications companies have access to the rates, terms, and conditions for Internet service.
I applaud Senator Wyden’s initiative. He is one of the few Congressman willing to stand up to one of the best funded lobbying and political contribution machines in the nation.
His legislation will be part of the discussion for an update/rewrite of federal telecommunications policy. Those debates are in their early stages in Congress and it’s unclear if anything will come for vote in this session. The telcos are agitating for more deregulation. At least with Senator Wyden’s bill there is a counterbalance to their demands.
Show Senator Wyden you support. Send him an email!
Well, it’s not really my posse; it’s our POSSE. The Portland Open Source Software Entrepreneurs. The group represents a cross section of the Open Source software community, individuals and organizations, all committed to helping organizations succeed with OSS.
I had the pleasure to attend one of their meetings (they’ve been going at it since 2004) at the Lucky Lab. I found a talented and impassioned but practical group of folks anxious to help out anyway and anywhere they could. Topics that afternoon included the local open source “cluster” and economic development, open source for non-profits and schools (good fits in both cases), Of course, we couldn’t help get geeky: a group of us talked about server virtualization, Xen, SANs, and other cool stuff.
They meet the first Friday of every month at the Lucky Lab on Hawthorne. Check ‘em out!