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Open Source Business Conference and green light means go.

I just got back from a successful trip to San Francisco and I'm very glad to be home again. However, I really wish I could attend the Open Source Business Conference 2004 in downtown San Francisco. It'd be really interesting to listen to speakers address the issue I've highlighted from their introduction:

Open Source Software (OSS) is rapidly coming to dominate certain areas of IT. Despite this advance, few beyond hardware vendors have developed solid models for leveraging OSS to boost margins or revenues. This inability to monetize OSS is perhaps its greatest inhibitor to thriving beyond the commodity server.

I'd also love to see what Stephen Walli talks about at the conference. He and I have been doing a fair bit of work together lately on "the toolset" (see below for an update). He's turned out to be the coolest bizdev guy I've ever met (not that I've met many). I guess I'll just have to get him to fill me in when he gets back. It'd also be good to finally meet Jason Matusow since Stephen keeps saying I should. Besides, it'd be interesting to see if a couple Microsoft guys at an Open Source conference get heckled.

Finally, speaking of "Microsoft guys", the opportunity to hear David Stutz speak again would be awesome. I had an hour long conversation with David a couple years ago when he was still working on Rotor. He is crazy smart and very entertaining to listen to. I was extremely bummed when I heard he left Microsoft. Probably the thing I remember best about him (besides the distinctive "Unix-guru beard") was that his Microsoft business card showed his title as "Free BSD Sympathizer".

Anyway, it would be a cool conference to hang out at but I wasn't even close to invited. Instead, I'm back in Redmond fixing bugs in the System Definition Model core and back to getting "the toolset" ready for public exposure. That's right; today I got the final green light. I am 95% sure that by the end of this month "the toolset" will be available for you (assuming I don't have to save Jenny from an addiction to Burnout 2).

There will be more information very soon. Until then, keep coding, you know I am.

 

Quick update on the "toolset" as per two requests.

I was hoping to hold out just a bit longer on providing yet another "toolset update" but two different requests for update in my comments here from Loren and here from Jamie prompted me to post a quick note. The "toolset" is very much on track to be released. Believe it or not everything passed through legal with flying colors. The current hold up is fallout from the reorganization of Windows late last year. Now that the reorg has completely settled down, it was decided a new set of executives really should be informed about what was going on with this "toolset" so that no one is surprised. Surprising directors and vice presidents can be particularly hazardous to your employment.

So, I'm queued on another executive's radar to present exactly what I'm trying to do with the "toolset" and why I think it is important to get it out the door. I'm also trying to make good on an implicit promise I made to a good friend of mine from college, Jack, when I accepted the offer to work at Microsoft. Jack, here's to change from within.

Until next time, keep coding, mine's getting closer to seeing daylight.