The Linux Foundation posted a calendar of its 2012 conferences, starting with the Android Builders Summit Feb. 13-14, co-located in Silicon Valley with the Embedded Linux Conference, Feb. 15-17. The Linux Kernel Summit will be held Aug. 26-28 in San Diego, where it will be co-located with the larger LinuxCon North America event and the Linux Plumbers Conference, both held Aug. 29-31.

Linux newbies are often confused when one explains that nobody owns Linux, the way Microsoft owns Windows. If the open source concept fails to sink in, and you start getting impatient, you can always throw them a conceptual bone by mentioning the Linux Foundation (LF).

The nonprofit organization doesn't own Linux, any more than does its employee Linus Torvalds, but the LF does act as a unifying organization that promotes the operating system and hosts a variety of Linux-related open source projects. These include the Kernel.org Linux kernel project and the Yocto embedded Linux code project, as well as the remnants of MeeGo and its would be successor, Tizen (for which alpha code was unveiled this week).

The Linux Foundation is just as widely known for its Linux development conferences. On Jan 12 the nonprofit group posted its conference schedule for 2012, and opened up a Call for Presentations (CFPs) for its 2012 event lineup. In addition, it posted its annual, event-specific Linux training schedule.

The LF season starts off with the Android Builders Summit, which will be held Feb. 13-14 in Redwood Shores, Calif. This will be followed directly in the same Hotel Sofitel locale by the Embedded Linux Conference (ELC), scheduled for Feb. 15-17.

The premier events of the year include the invitation-only Linux Collaboration Summit, which is scheduled for April 3-5 in San Francisco, as well as a three-show combo that will hit San Diego in August. The invite-only Linux Kernel Summit will be held Aug. 26-28, followed in the same Sheraton San Diego venue by the larger LinuxCon North America and techie-focused Linux Plumbers Conference, both held Aug. 29-31.

Meanwhile, LinuxCon Europe and the Embedded Linux Conference Europe (ELCE) will both be held Nov. 5-7 at in Barcelona, and LinuxCon Japan returns to Yokohama.

The Linux Foundation's 2012 schedule of events, with LF web-page links inserted when available, includes:

• Android Builders Summit — Feb.13-14; Hotel Sofitel SF Bay, Redwood Shores, Calif.
• Embedded Linux Conference — Feb. 15-17; Hotel Sofitel SF Bay, Redwood Shores, Calif.
• Linux Storage, Filesystems and MM Summit — April 1-2; Hotel Nikko, San Francisco, Calif.
• Linux Foundation Member Legal Summit — April 2-4; Hotel Nikko, San Francisco, Calif.
• Linux Foundation Collaboration Summit — April 3-5; Hotel Nikko, San Francisco, Calif.
• Linux Foundation Enterprise End User Summit — April 30 through May 1; New York Stock Exchange, New York, New York
• LinuxCon Japan — June 6-8; Pacifico Yokohama, Yokohama, Japan
• Linux Kernel Summit — Aug. 26-28; Sheraton San Diego, San Diego, Calif.
• LinuxCon North America & Linux Plumbers Conference — Aug. 29-31; Sheraton San Diego, San Diego, Calif.
• LinuxCon Europe & Embedded Linux Conference Europe — Nov. 5-7; Hotel Fira Palace, Barcelona, Spain
• KVM Forum — Nov. 7-9; Hotel Fira Palace, Barcelona, Spain

Stated Jim Zemlin, executive director at The Linux Foundation, "We're especially excited about the trifecta of events taking place in San Diego. This area is a hotbed for software development and embedded design."

Availability

More information on the Linux Foundation's 2012 events, including registration and CFP details, may be found at the LF's 2012 events page. More information on the LF's event-specific Linux training schedule may be found at its event training page.

In a special promotion, the first 50 people to register for any LinuxCon event will receive a 35 percent discount by using the code '12PM35' when registering online. In addition, a 35 percent discount is available for onsite training courses, limited to five people per course. The code is 'JANSPESH' and is valid through Jan. 31.

This article was originally published on LinuxDevices.com and has been donated to the open source community by QuinStreet Inc. Please visit LinuxToday.com for up-to-date news and articles about Linux and open source.