[PLUG] Why Attend Ubuntu Live?

[John Jason Jordan]

On Tue, 17 Jul 2007 20:08:23 -0700
"Kenneth B. Hill" <ken at scottshill.com> dijo:

> I have been monitoring the up coming Ubuntu Live conference here in  
> Portland, and I have been trying to talk myself into attending - also  
> paying the several hundreds of dollars to attend these presentations.  
> Why is it so expensive to attend all three days? It seems like  
> Portland has a very helpful *nix support group with this service  
> (RPUG Linux). Are we subsidizing the speakers for Ubuntu Live with  
> this attendance fee? Thoughts????

I can't say exactly what happens to the money, but do know that there
is no such thing as a free lunch. Sooner or later there will be a tab,
and someone has to pay it. So the "free" in "free and open source"
isn't really true. I'm sure Mark Shuttleworth wants Ubuntu to support
itself. He has many millions, but he can't keep sending out free CDs
without income. I imagine that Ubuntu Live is designed to break even at
least, and if it makes money, so much the better for Ubuntu. Moreover,
I happen to know that the Oregon Convention Center is the most
expensive real estate to rent per square foot in the state.

I'm not paying the hundred bucks - I'm just going to the exhibit hall.
But if the rest of it was of interest to me I sure wouldn't begrudge
them the money.