What is linux.conf.au?

linux.conf.au is a conference about the Linux operating system, and all aspects of the thriving ecosystem of Free and Open Source Software that has grown up around it. Run since 1999, in a different Australian or New Zealand city each year, by a team of local volunteers, LCA invites more than 500 people to learn from the people who shape the future of Open Source.

linux.conf.au last came to Hobart in 2009, and LCA2016 was held Melbourne in Geelong, Victoria.

What's special in 2017?

The Future

The theme for linux.conf.au 2017 is The Future of Open Source. Of course, linux.conf.au 2017 will feature its usual fare of new and exciting developments in Free and Open Source Software – from people who work on the projects they're talking about – but we'll also be focusing particularly on how the world of Open Source will look in the future.

This year we'll be exploring how the techniques that have made Open Source so successful in the software and hardware world are now being applied to fields as disparate as science, data, government, and the law. We'll learn about the successes these fields are having, and how Open Thinking in these fields can help shape the future direction of Open Source. 

We'll also be uncovering threats to the success of Free Software into the future. The big opportunities in end-user computing that our movement is at risk of missing. The dangers that developers new to our movement are encountering. This year, we'll be talking about how Software Freedom and Open Source can better meet the needs of our users and developers for years to come.

The City

By the time linux.conf.au 2017 comes around, it’ll have been eight years since Hobart hosted one of the world’s greatest Free and Open Source Software conferences. In that time, this city has undergone a massive change in character, and has found its own identity in the arts, and food and drink taking inspiration from the best in the world, and pairs it with quality produce grown across Tasmania.

We think you'll like the change. You can find out more about Hobart elsewhere on our website.

Who's making linux.conf.au 2017 happen?

• Conference Director: Christopher Neugebauer
• Second-in-Charge: Craige McWhirter
• Venues Coordinator: Joshua Hesketh
• Treasurer: Jack Scott
• Web Wrangler: Scott Bragg
• Sponsorship: Tim Serong, Casey Farrell
• Team Members: Eloise Macdonald-Meyer, Morgan Leigh, Michael Cordover
• Programme Committee Chairs: Michael Still, Michael Davies

You can find the best way to contact us all on our contact page.