Ohio LinuxFest 2009

Another Ohio LinuxFest has come and gone and another wonderful time
was had by all. This year I did something a little different. Instead of
attending the more technical sessions, I spent my time in the sessions
on business and legal issues as they relate to
FOSS. Here are
some of the highlights from the sessions I attended.

• Open Source Business 101 For Hackers - This session provided an
  overview of the different business models for open source companies
  and the pros and cons of each model. I found this very interesting
  as a business owner who would like to incorporate open source into
  our product and service offerings.
• Fedora, OLPC, lessons learned and where we go from here - This
  was an interesting review of the
  OLPC project and
  where they plan on going.
• Legalities of FOSS from a Hacker’s Perspective - This session
  discussed the legal issues around licensing your code in an open
  source project. Discussion included a look at some of the most
  popular licenses and how to choose one to fit your project, what it
  means to put something into the public domain and some of the
  special cases like dual-licensing. From a business standpoint, it is
  critical to pick a proper license the first time to avoid problems
  down the road.
• Building a Community Around Your Project - This was a look at
  what to do and what not to do in order to build a community around
  your project.
• Be A Wonk! Open Source, Government Policy, and You - This was a
  look at some of the technical issues like net neutrality that are
  being discussed and examined by our government. It also provided
  tips on how to get involved at the local, state and federal levels.

Once again the OLF committee put together another fabulous community
event. I really look forward to seeing what they put together for next
year.