All Things Open 2024 Recap
Last week, I attended All Things Open in Raleigh, NC, with a fantastic group of people from CIQ. The dream team included Justin Burdine, Michael Ford, Skip Grube, Nathan Blackham, and Jeff Uphoff. This was my first time attending ATO, and my biggest takeaway from the event was the open source community is just as incredible as I thought it would be! The event was so well organized and the people we met were so cool! This event furthers my love for open source due to the collaboration and friendship it brings.
All Things Open was on my must-attend list for the year, and it did not disappoint! We met the most remarkable people and had so many memorable conversations. We spoke to everyone from students to Sr. Engineers and CEOs - each conversation was unique and special. My ATO team and I thoroughly enjoyed sharing our love for open source and CIQ, and teaching attendees about our company, Rocky Linux, Apptainer, Warewulf, Ascender, and OpenELA. We are already looking forward to ATO '25!
One of the best parts about ATO was being able to see some of my fellow Rocky Linux community members in person! I made sure to schedule time to attend Krista's (from RESF) group discussion and talk. It was great to be able to get in a room with folks and discuss some of the problems we are facing in the open source space and to work together to create solutions we could all bring home to our own communities. Everyone left Krista's discussion ready to make a change! It was so uplifting.
We spoke to attendees about so many different things, but the most common question was “why are there so many different Linux distros?” Our answer was simple: everyone loves to be able to choose the OS that fits their needs, and there is enough room in the open source space for all of us - we want everyone to succeed. I also love talking about our swag! At any event, you'll find me raving about my favorite pieces of swag or vendors. We gave away a variation of great swag at ATO, but my favorite item was the Warewulf enamel pins. My team and I loved seeing folks walking around rockin’ the Rocky gear or wearing Rocky, Apptainer, and Warewulf pins on their lanyards. You can guarantee to bring a smile to my face if you pass our booth wearing our swag. If you're heading to SC24 in Atlanta, stop by our booth (#4131). You'll find these fantastic Warewulf pins I've been raving about plus tees, hats, possibly a fun surprise and prizes, and the CIQ team in person!
The overall feeling of All Things Open was collaboration and excitement for the future. There are so many brilliant minds and companies working together, and it is beautiful to witness.
I left All Things Open feeling invigorated, excited and ready to spend more of time working with the Rocky Linux community and other open source projects. There are so many ways to get involved in open source projects as there are technical and non-technical roles to fill. No matter what you have to offer, there's a place for you in open source.
