On Monday, I actually went for a Linux talk. I do not use Linux. I don’t really know what that is for. I don’t think it’s for the desktop. I know it’s more for the servers.
But anyway, I went to check out the seminar. Just for fun. [And for the Apple iPod Suffle that I could stand a chance of winning - I didn't win.]
It is my first Linux seminar. I just went there so that I can understand more about Linux. I have been hearing a lot about Linux, I got to know what the whole thing is about.
It says the topics include:
* Linux is Better For Business!
* Tools to Develop New Applications on Linux
* Tools to Support Linux Based Team Development
Great. I am interested in the application development part of Linux. That would be interesting for me. So I went there. It’s quite packed. Jakob Carstensen and Siva Anne speaks in the seminar, I don’t know who they are but they’re people from IBM.
Yup - IBM. The whole Linux seminar is essentially a _IBM-has-Linux-solutions-so-please-buy-our-development-tools_ talk.
Well, it’s part of some IBM Technology Submit. The seminar is okay. Not fantastic, just okay. I find biotechnology talks more exciting at times. Perhaps it’s because I don’t know what Siva Anne is refering to sometimes. At the end of the submit, I stil have no idea what Eclipse is. To me, it seemed like a class library like Java. It gives a common interface much like windows forms. And at the same time it seemed to be an integrated development environment or an extension of some sort. I am totally confused.
The seminar consists of:
* 15% for pro-Linux education
* 25% of the time talking about IBM commitment and involvement in Linux and the open-source community
* 40% of the time goes to introducing the products that IBM offers for Linux
* 10% for giving away free gifts that I didn’t get
* the rest are strictly for Microsoft jokes - I mean - what is a Linux seminar without Microsoft jokes!
At the end of the seminar, I understand IBM offers products for Linux which is great - Rational, Tivoli, WebSphere, Lotus etc.. I don’t understand Rational at all. They went through the entire presentation (in a Windows machine) about this Rational application development tool without seeing a damn screenshot. What the fuck is IBM thinking!
They introduce Linux, that’s great. And so I wonder - how does Linux look like. And both fellows are using a Windows machine. I don’t get to see Linux. I don’t get to see Rational. Not even a single screenshot available - just a bunch of penguin pictures.
Tags: ipod, open source, operating systems, talk, technology