Open Source
The first-ever Samsung Open Source Conference (SOSCON) opened on Sept. 16 at the Grand Intercontinental Hotel located in Samsung-dong, Seoul. Over 1,000 people attended the largest open source conference in Korea.
Prepared by Samsung Electronics, the software developers’ conference has the purpose of sharing open source knowledge and experience as with the annual Worldwide Developers’ Conference (WWDC) of Apple held in San Francisco.
The first keynote speaker was former Ubuntu community manager Jono Bacon, who is currently a senior director at the X Prize Foundation. He made a speech on the topic of the value of sharing and the way open source software enriches people’s lives.
Director Lee Min-suk at NHN NEXT software school followed him, addressing as to how to train open source software developers and their significance in the software industry. Linux kernel developer Heo Tae-joon at Red Hat Software spoke on the theme of Open Source, Advantage Basis, and Developer Centeredness.
The final keynote was delivered by Carsten Haitzler, the father of the Linux library of Enlightenment and Tizen platform developer. His told his own stories under the topic of Open Source Project Leadership.
After the speeches, four thematic sessions were held to cover platform, Internet of Things (IoT), web and big data, and patent and licensing-related issues during open source community activities. Each of the sessions was led by two to six lecturers, most of whom were developers working for Samsung Electronics, Intel and many other global IT companies.
A two-day hackathon event kicked off at the venue as well for the development of Tizen applications based on open source software. A total of 100 developers joined the event on a first-come-first-registered basis. The highest prize winner will get three million won, second-highest two million and two third-highest one million won each. Samsung is planning to hold the conference on a yearly basis so as to contribute to the growth of the local open source industry.