COSSFEST.ca

Customizing Your Desktop With Javascript

Aaron Seigo ( KDE )
Learn how you can use Javascript to quickly and easily control and add new custom elements to your destop, laptop, netbook or other KDE Plasma powered device. This demonstration will show both simple destop automation using Javascript as well as full blown widget creation as well as how you can share your creations with a click of a button.

Managing Source Code with Git

Adam McDaniel ( Jolicloud / Array.org )
Git is a free and open-sourced distributed revision control system, capable of managing any sized project's source code with speed and efficiency. Git is available for Linux, Windows, Mac, and other operating systems. Initially developed by the Linux kernel hackers in 2005, Git has been deployed today by many high-profile OSS projects such as X.org, Perl, and Google's Android & Chrome OS. Its tools and repository model scale very well for projects as small as a single developer, or as large as thousands. Along with standard revision control features found in any SCM, Git addresses the shortcomings in other programs (like tagging in SVN, and branching in CVS) while allowing for new features, like internal code-review with sign-off, and offline (distributed) development. This presentation will introduce Git and its command-line and graphical interfaces, discuss starting a new project under Git, migrating an existing project into Git, and introduce you to the various developer hierarchy models of who should have access to do what.

Bio: Adam McDaniel is an author, Linux developer, and kernel proponent based out of Red Deer, AB. He has worked in, on, and around OSS software for 15 years, and is currently employed as the Lead OS Architect for Jolicloud, a Paris, France based Linux distribution optimized for netbook hardware.

iPhone Photography and implications of Pixel Sorting

Adam Tindale & Jordan Tate
This presentation will contextualize the uses of image editing applications that are now readily accessible and require no special equipment or training (beyond an iPhone) as well as discuss how accessibility to technology has altered the landscape of contemporary photography. The focus of this talk will be our developing iPhone application, Lossless. Lossless challenges the representational nature of photography by re-ordering the digital photograph, now stored as information in a computer or memory card as a set of numbers. This information is broken down into element particles, or pixels, where each pixel is a representation of specific values of colour, brightness, saturation,etc.

Open Source Security Intelligence: Have you hugged a hacker lately?

Brad "Renderman" Haines ( Render Labs )
Open source is often thought of in terms of software, and sometimes hardware, but what about your intelligence. Knowledge of up and coming exploits, *before* they become threats can allow you valuable time to shore up defenses. The best way to do this is to understand that the latest and greatest research is not always available online and in the latest white papers. It's only available to those who know where to look, as well as who.

Physical Security: You trust your security to what?

Brad "Renderman" Haines ( Render Labs )
So you have spent thousands of dollars to secure you digital assets from the invading hordes. But what good is a $10,000 firewall if someone can simply walk in and steal the whole server? Physical security is often over looked and a very weak point in the security of many homes and businesses. This talk will cover the basics of locks, safes and security and how to apply them to protect your assets.

Sexism in FOSS

Bruce Byfield ( http://members.axion.net/~bbyfield )
Accusations of sexism in the community have been around for years. Why did it suddenly become an issue in 2009? Why isn't it going away? And why should you care as a member of the community? This is a detailed and opinionated look at these questions.

Bio: Bruce Byfield is a freelance journalist who covers free and open source software.

OpenOffice VS MS Office

Bruce Byfield ( http://members.axion.net/~bbyfield )
How does the leading free office suite compare with the leading proprietar one? Be prepared for some surprises in this in-depth look.

Bio: Bruce Byfield is a freelance journalist who covers free and open source software.

Live Interview Session

Bruce Byfield and Aaron Seigo
http://members.axion.net/~bbyfield
Aaron Seigo: Live: Free software journalist Bruce Byfield interviews leading KDE developer Aaron Seigo on stage about the future of KDE and the free desktop. Come prepared with your own questions for Aaron.

Bio: Bruce Byfield is a freelance journalist who covers free and open source software.

How to be FOSSome with Little to No Technical Experience

Dafydd Crosby ( http://www.lonesomecosmonaut.com/ )
A common misconception about open-source software is that it requires engineering prowess, or at least knowing how to code. There has never been a better time for non-technical volunteers to get in and help - in fact, we need you now more than ever. This talk will point you in the right direction.

Bio: Dafydd Crosby is an active open-source contributor, has written for various Linux publications, and is the current president of the Calgary Linux User Group.

A World of 100% FOSS - We're Doomed!

Dafydd Crosby ( http://www.lonesomecosmonaut.com/ )
The Linux and open-source software community is large and robust, with a vibrant community and numbers of users in the millions. Even so, Linux hovers around 1% market share. But what would happen if the entire world had to go Linux in one week? Is it even feasible? And what of the long-term implications? This humouros talk will ask those questions, and give ideas into how this would be handled logistically.

Bio: Dafydd Crosby is an active open-source contributor, has written for various Linux publications, and is the current president of the Calgary Linux User Group.

Command-Line Drupal

Joshua Schroeder ( Redwall )
Setting up and maintaining Drupal sites in the web browser can be a time-consuming task. Fortunately, if you are comfortable at the command line, [Drush](http://drupal.org/project/drush) can save you time and allow you to automate common tasks. In this session I will demonstrate the core functionality of Drush, as well as Drush-scriptable tasks exposed by other popular modules. If you are a command line aficionado who builds Drupal sites, you need to be using Drush!

Bio: Joshua is a co-founder of Redwall Studios, a web design and development firm based in Lethbridge, Alberta. Redwall specializes in fully customized Drupal web sites, and Joshua plays the lead role in Drupal architecture. Since 2007, Joshua has been developing almost exclusively using Drupal. Since that time, he has been trained by the experts at [Lullabot](http://lullabot.com), attended DrupalCon 2009, and co-organized [Drupal Camp Alberta 2009](http://drupalcampalberta.org).

Open Source Security Tools

Kenton Smith ( SANS )
The defense-in-depth security architecture can always have one more layer. In this session Kenton will go over a number of tools that will help you secure your organization. It will include discussions of protective systems as well as auditing and other security-related tools and processes.

Bio: Kenton Smith has had a successful career in the computer industry for the last 15 years. Working in various industries, Kenton has helped companies with the design and implementation of networks as diverse as online gaming and education, as well as managing IT departments in small to medium sized businesses. He has the accredited GIAC Security Essentials Certification (GSEC) and has guided many individuals through the SANS Security Essentials material via the mentor program, as well the Community SANS program. Kenton is a strong proponent of IT security education at both the end-user and administrative levels and has been actively involved in IT security education with SANS for the past nine years.

Seeding The Clouds

Marcel Gagne ( http://marcelgagne.com/ )
Join Marcel for an exploration of cloud computing from the, *ahem*, cloud tops. After a brief intro to the whole cloud computing thing, you'll learn about tools for managing your cloud based machines, work with cloud based storage, and go through an actual machine creation and deployment in a cloud, right before your eyes. Prepare to be amazed! And if it doesn't work, you can laugh at Marcel.

Bio: Marcel's just this guy, you know? He's also an award-winning columnist, book author, public speaker, radio and television personality. As creator of the famous (or infamous) "Cooking With Linux" column, Marcel is a well known voice in the Linux and open source universe. He currently writes for LinuxPro magazine and Ubuntu User magazine (in fact, he is now the Senior Editor for Ubuntu User Magazine). He's also a published science fiction author and editor, a private pilot, and was once a Top 40 disc jockey. He folds a mean origami T-Rex.

Asterisk for business

Martin Glazer ( eGuest )
What is Asterisk? Can you use it for your business? What do you need to get started? In this presentation, we will discuss Asterisk and open source telephony, define some of the terminology and speak to specific business use of Asterisk by discussing a number of real world implementations. We will also touch on what you will need to get started, things to watch out for and what to look forward to.

Bio: Martin Glazer is the principal consultant and owner of eGuest Inc. - a company providing IT services and Asterisk based telephony solutions to businesses in the Calgary area. eGuest has been supplying, installing and supporting Asterisk based telephony solutions for more than 4 years and currently has over 25 installations ranging in size from 5 person offices to over 100 person companies. Hailing from South Africa and an electronic engineer by default, Martin has been involved in IT for the last 19 years, having held positions with IBM, AT&T and other consulting firms. He has been designing, deploying, supporting and selling open source based solutions for the last 6 years and working with Linux for more than 11. Other hobbies include skiing and breaking bones in various Ultimate Frisbee tournaments around the country.

The Law of Open Source Licensing

Richard P.W. Stobbe ( ipblog.ca )
An overview of OSS license legal issues: Primer on Intellectual Property Law; Open Source in the Context of Copyright Law; Understanding Open Source from a Legal Perspective; Types of Open Source Licenses; Benefits & Risks of Open Source followed by a Case Study looking at some practical issues and a few other real life examples.

Bio: Richard Stobbe is an intellectual property lawyer and registered trade-mark agent practicing with Brownlee LLP in the areas of software and open source licensing, trade-marks, iPhone app legal issues and company creation. Richard has spoken to industry groups and conferences such as: the Vancouver iPhone Forum, the Licensing Executives Society, Digital Media Association of Alberta (DMAA), UTI (University Technologies International), the BCIT Advanced Research Forum, the British Columbia Internet Association and New Media BC. Richard has been a course instructor in "Business Law" at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT), and "Internet Law and New Media" at the University of British Columbia and also instructed the course "Internet Law - The Law and New Media" at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. Richard is currently the Chair of the Calgary Chapter of Licensing Executives Society, and a member of Digital Alberta.

OpenStreetMap - Zero to Sixty in 40 minutes

Richard Weait ( http://weait.com/ )
"Location, Location, Location", "Location Based Services", "Asset tracking", "Opportunistic advertising", "Help, I'm lost!" Maps, directions, location. Everything important to you happens somewhere. This presentation will provide a quick introduction to OpenStreetMap, the wiki-style map of everything, and then will move to some intermediate and advanced techniques. You'll learn about the OSM dataset, toolset and community and you are sure to be inspired. Find out how OpenStreetMap is changing everything.

Bio: Richard is a F/LOSS advocate and enjoys electronics, maps, walks on the beach and kittens. He is co-founder of Ontario GNU Linux Fest.

Hardware Hacks for Wireless Routers

Richard Weait ( http://weait.com/ )
What can you do with a common, consumer-grade wireless router? Quite a lot. We'll look at some of the customization options possible for those willing to brave the command line. And then we'll look at the Frankenstein-ian horrors possible when you add a soldering iron and reckless disregard to the mix.

Bio: Richard is a F/LOSS advocate and enjoys electronics, maps, walks on the beach and kittens. He is co-founder of Ontario GNU Linux Fest.

Building Spatial Data Infrastructures Successfully Based On Free and Open Source GIS Software

Stefan Steiniger
The implementation of Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDIs) for local governments and companies is a task that has gained ample attention in recent years. Different categories of spatial software such as desktop GIS, server GIS, web map servers, spatial database management systems, web map development toolkits, etc., are required to realize the software components of an SDI. I will present a selection of free and open source projects that develop and maintain GIS software that fit within these categories. However, due to the variety of projects I will not discuss them in detail but give a general assessment. It will be shown that SDI prototypes can be build completely with proprietary components and that FOSS GIS solutions provide good support for OGC and ISO standards - a requirement for "open" and scalable data infrastructures.

Bio: Stefan is a researcher at the University of Calgary and has recently written several overview articles about free GIS software. More info: http://www.geo.uzh.ch/~sstein/

You are what you create -- Making a difference with Linux.

Timothy Griffin ( Userful )
Time waits for no-one, and ensuring the work you do is meaningful is a constant challenge. Whether it be your job, your place of employment, or the projects you volunteer for we each have unique opportunities to make a difference in areas that matter to us. Through personal stories and examples this talk will help you identify those opportunities both in Linux and in your own life, and inspire you to make the changes required to have this kind of impact. One of the main things that attracts people to Linux is the fredom to create and the ability to make a difference. There has never been a better time to get involved: Tim will also share some exciting news facts and figures about the growth and future of Linux as the global desktop of choice.

Bio: Founder of Userful, Canada's most successful desktop Linux company and one of Alberta's fastest growing companies. Userful has helped bring desktop Linux to millions of children world-wide by cutting the cost and power consumption of computers by over 70%. Userful software is distributed and used in over 100 countries and is effecting a positive environmental and social impact on a global basis. Userful is hiring and actively looking for Linux talent.