[Updated Oct. 9] — The largest conference devoted to Linux technology is changing its name to embrace open source software on other operating systems (OSes). Next August, LinuxWorld will relaunch as the OpenSource World Conference & Expo, but will retain existing LinuxWorld features, says show organizer IDG World Expo.

The first OpenSource World will take place Aug. 10-13, 2009, at San Francisco's Moscone Center. Like LinuxWorld, it will be co-located with IDG World Expo's third annual Next Generation Data Center (NGDC) event. The two events will share the exhibit floor, but feature separate conference programs, say organizers.

Although LinuxWorld is largely focused on enterprise software, this year it tipped its hat toward embedded Linux developers with a Mobile Linux Conference. OpenSource World will continue the tradition, according to GM Melinda Kendall, who said IDG will announce a Mobile Linux Conference at OpenSource World later on.

Meanwhile, organizaers have already announced a technical conference program devoted to “IT themes,” organizers say. Planned topics include applications, security, power efficiency, virtualization, cloud computing, systems management and automation, and legal and licensing issues, says the group.

Stated Inna Kuznetsova, Director of Linux at IBM, “For a decade LinuxWorld provided a forum for technical and business debates. Now it is time for different and expanded discussions.”

Some history

The first LinuxWorld show took place in 1999. Drawing attendees sporting tie-dyed T-shirts and worsted wool alike, it featured keynotes by the likes of Linus Torvalds and Richard M. Stallman.

For a time, LinuxWorld featured an East Coast event, at the impressive Javitts Center in downtown Manhattan. Later, LinuxWorld East moved to Boston, before being phased out altogether. Even the West Coast show in recent years has seemed more focused on data center and IT than on Linux, with prominent Linux vendors like Red Hat choosing to give the event a miss.

Meanwhile, Linux conferences on the upswing seem to include:

• The Linux Foundation's first-year LinuxCon
• O'Reilly's ever-popular OSCON (Open Source Convention)
• Open Source in Mobile
• CELF's Embedded Linux Conference

Additionally, MontaVista's Vision Summit drew a healthy crowd again this year, despite being a captive single-vendor event, and thus arguably part of a disappearing breed.

 
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.