Hi all, Its that time of year.  Time for a major figure in Open Source to come to visit us.  Time for all of us to gather in a large room and listen to the musings of an Uber Geek, a major Open Source advocate and an all-around nerdy guy.  This nerdy guy has some strong opinions on Open Source, and its sure to be an event. Bruce Perens is the author of the Open Source Definition and has been speaking out for Open Source since the movement began.  He's an excellent speaker, I've heard several of his podcasts and am very much looking forward to him coming to Provo to speak to all of us geeks in person. Bruce has been on a crusade for Open Source and has started a new site: <a href="http://techp.org/" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">techp.org</a>.  Along with <a href="http://perens.com/" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"> perens.com</a> Bruce addresses the importance of Open Source and why he wants it to succeed.  I've spent a good amount of time on his sites recently and am very impressed with his thoughts and ideas.  Being the president of Utah Open Source and desiring to promote Open Source from within Utah, I am excited to see a force of good in Bruce.  He's talking about how Open Source should be, how it can be used in businesses and homes alike and how people can benefit overall from the Open Source movement. I am personally so excited to see the growth of Open Source in Utah.  We have such a vibrant community here and I think we can be so much more.  Bruce has the vision to lead a national or international explosion of Open Source in Business and Community.  I think we all can benefit from hearing what he thinks about Utah and Open Source, about the economic benefits and limitations of Open Source in both the business and user group communities.  And because of this, I think Bruce's presentation is very well timed. So I invite you all to come as my guest, free of charge to the Open Source Technology Center at Novell on September 6, 2007 at 7pm.  I invite you to enjoy a nice dinner, and I invite you to learn more about Open Source and its benefits to our community as well as to the world.   The only requirement for this keynote is that you register, its first come first serve and we only have 100 seats to give away.  This is a thank you to the community for participating in Open Source this year.  We'll be doing this every year as part of the Utah Open Source Conference. =============================================================================== How to Register for the Free Keynote You can register for just the keynote at the Utah Open Source Conference website.   <a href="https://register.utosc.org/" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">https://register.utosc.org</a> Choose "The Bruce Perens Keynote (free)" and follow the prompts from there.  You may also make a tax deductible donation to Utah Open Source when you register to help with the costs of putting on such an event.   Your admission will be confirmed and you'll only need to bring your receipt (along with your ID) to the keynote.  ================================================================================ So I invite you all to attend this *free* keynote which is launching what's proving to be the premier Open Source event in Utah, The Utah Open Source Conference.  As well as helping you find your seat at the Keynote, we'll be there to help you register for the conference.* I look forward to meeting with all of you and enjoying a great presentation. Cheers, Clint Savage Founder, Utah Open Source Conference <a href="https://register.utosc.org/" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"> https://register.utosc.org </a> <a href="http://www.utosc.org/" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">http://www.utosc.org</a> <a href="http://www.utos.org/" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"> http://www.utos.org</a> * - The full conference will run September 7-8.  Any Open Source special interest group member (Open Source user and business groups members, for instance) may obtain a discount code from the group leader.  With this discount code its only $40 to register in advance, or $55 at the door with the same discount code.