[python-advocacy] CaFeConf 2007

[Facundo Batista]

CaFeConf is a conference organized by the CaFeLUG (Linux User Group
from Capital Federal, Argentina). The complete name was "6th Open
Conferences of GNU/Linux and Software Libre" (I wrote "libre" to not
get confused by "free").

This year, as usual, the conference was a big success, with around
1200 assistants. It received articles in several newspapers, and even
a major one published the streaming of the conference (streaming of
the two big rooms, Auditorium and Aula Magna, were available). You can
check this article of the Inquirer:

  http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2007/10/08/open-source-conference

Python had a big participation in the conference. Python Argentina had
a stand that attracted a lot of people (showing OLPCs always brings
people, and they're basically Fedora + Python), and we even showed job
offers.

There were a lot of talks regarding Python, also. I must talk about my
"Introduction to Python", that is now a classic, with more than 100
assistants, and the brand new "Python faster than C", talk that I
prepared with Lucio Torre, that had a surprisingly good repercussion
(with around 80 assistants and nobody throwing tomatoes after!). Of
course, this last talk does not prove that Python is faster than C,
but concludes than "if you program in C and not in Python, normally
(not always, but a lot of times) you'll be doing premature
optimization".

Other talks involving Python were "Programming for the OLPC" of
Alejandro David Weil and Alejandro J. Cura (also a classic, with even
international coverage...

  http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2007/10/08/olpc-retro-futurist

), "Django, web programming with Python" of Javier Derderian, "How to
develop games with Python and PyGame" of Hugo Ruscitti, "PyWeek: a
game in 7 days" of Alejandro J. Cura and Daniel F Moisset.

In general, the conference not only was about the software itself, but
also about education, and the philosophy of FLOSS (for example, the
keynote talked about the community of software libre, where we are,
where we can go, what to worry about, etc). The full program is here:

  http://www.cafeconf.org/2007/modules/myconference/program.php?cid=1&programord=1

The conference even showed strange things, like the Conference Chair
dressed as a penguin in the conference closure. We also have a party
after. You can get a more detailed post (in Spanish), link to my two
talks and to the photos here:

  http://www.taniquetil.com.ar/plog/post/1/298

Regards,

-- 
.    Facundo

Blog: http://www.taniquetil.com.ar/plog/
PyAr: http://www.python.org/ar/