They haven't come for the food. While the meetings have become steadily more crowded over the past few years, in close correspondence to the rise in popularity of Linux-based operating systems, they aren't usually this kind of a madhouse. But tonight, Linus Torvalds has come to speak, and in June of 1999 in San Francisco, that means a major techno-cultural media event is at hand. By the spring of 1999, Linux fever is reaching hitherto unimaginable heights. One distributor of Linux-based operating systems, Red Hat, has just filed to go public, and others are soon to follow.
Programming is fun again, and free software is a big reason why.
It's time to get together, drink some beer, chow some middling Chinese food, and talk shop. Figure out how to get your system working, how to get your giant brain tuned and optimized the way you want it, without any taint of proprietary software obscuring the machine's inner mysteries. I have seen him speak to crowds numbering 20,000 and higher and field reporter's queries at press conferences with aplomb, but he is most comfortable when being asked detailed questions about arcane aspects of software and hardware. Torvalds has a way of being both self-deprecating and utterly sure of himself that works well with audiences. Sitting at one of the big round tables that dot the banquet floor, listening to a smattering of hackers exchange jokes and chatter about the various Linux happenings of the day, I'm impressed at the general sense of good feeling that flows through the room.