FOSS4G2006 Day 4
Nothing too much to report yet, other than everyone’s pretty much homebound. I’m interested to see who will win the Sol Katz award, as well as the closing panel discussion.
James Westervelt’s closing plenary presentation on GRASS and views on FOSS was very interesting in discussing the history of the GRASS project, what made it successful and the value of great, passionate people who thrive on sharing (code, projects, data, etc.).
So now it’s time for the Sol Katz award. The winner this year is Markus Neteler, who is a great choice, especially from his contributions to the GRASS community. Congratulations Markus!
The panel discussion raised some interesting points:
- open source geospatial technology is ever increasing across the community. Just as geographic information comprises 80% of all information, open source geospatial technologies must be ubiquitous
- another key for open source geospatial is between integrating with mobile devices
In conclusion, our community and space has grown immensly. We can do things we only dreamed of in the past. Implementations of open source geospatial are everywhere: public service, military, many walks of industry. Location is huge. The barrier to entry is lessening.
So, FOSS4G2006 is officially complete. A truly successful conference. Well planned, well executed, great presentations, workshops and discussions. Can’t wait until next year!
Well, as for me, I’ve got one more night in this town, and leaving tomorrow. It’s time to go home.
