[FOSE] Tuesday booth wrapup - my comments

[nick at hackermonkey.com]

I think it went well. Every time I walked away, I'd come back to find the booth
packed. People (and not just our usual linux crowd) were asking why was our
booth so packed and what was so exciting. Nothing draws a crowd like a crowd. I
don't think we did much to convince any particular agency to run Linux or
OpenSource but I know we had an impact on individuals to either try it first
time OR start really using it in their office "under the radar." I think the
presence also solidified more then one other company that Linux is in the
Government to stay. Without any of the bigger names (SuSE, RedHat) to carry the
torch I think we got seen as the good guys to keep the flag waving. And only ONE
booth selling AES usb keys started doing the whole "gotta go for the big market
share" when I asked if they supported Linux. Most of the others actually talked
pretty frankly about their plans and I offered help if we could give it and
passed out some info. So if anyone gets product testing requests or marketing
type questions or anything, don't be surprised.

The usual pile of freebie baggers and our favorite stalker was in attendance.
Amusingly poeple LOVE flashy things and they kept trying to take the flashy
green thing I got from some other booth and covered with Fedora stickers.
Anything not nailed down was practically stolen.

I was stunned at the attention getting power of the XO laptops. People stopped
and stared and that got lots of Fedora talk going, prompting people to talk
away the Fedora 8 cds.

Overall, maybe not the best of days BUT a good day for sure.

Whomever is on closing duty: The Dell laptop needs to be returned to George Funk
at the Dell booth Thursday sometime around 4. I can return it tomorrow afternoon
if we dont need it Thursday. I'm not sure if people will be bringing their own
laptops or not.

Nick
(I forgot how much DC traffic sucks...)