At the recent 2008 Linux conference, big names in the world of Linux presented current and future developments. Samba developers now want to combine the code for Samba 3 and 4, which until now have been developed separately. In future, HA and cluster developers want to bundle their efforts on specific modules. Dirk Hohndel showed off a netbook that boots up Linux in five seconds and in his keynote speech, he called on developers to orient themselves more toward the needs of users.

Linux Kongress 2008 took place in Hamburg last week, once again attracting well-known developers working on the Linux kernel and other core components of modern Linux distributions as guests or speakers. But the Linux Kongress today has little in common with the star-studded events that the German Unix Users Group (GUUG) organised in the 90s. Back then, the Linux Kongress was still the main venue for Linux developers to exchange experiences and it attracted all of the big names in Linux. This function has now been taken over by the annual Kernel Summit, which has been held at locations on various continents in recent years.

The Kongress these days is still a formidable event. Speakers in the two-day programme of presentations included big names, such as James Bottomley (administrator of the Linux SCSI subsystem and Linux Foundation Technical Advisory Board Chair), Jonathan Corbet (Kernel developer known for his work on LWN.net), Volker Lendecke (Samba developer and co-founder of SerNet GmbH), and Dirk Hohndel (Chief Linux and Open Source Technologist at Intel). Most of the presentations were at an advanced level and offered a good overview of current and coming developments in and around the Linux kernel.

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