Hi all,
It was a good conference all told. I don't have any major issues (except for the general priciness to be found at the Westin, and in a couple of rooms the lighting wasn't very nice at all). I was, however, asked by a couple of attendees to pass along a suggestion:
How about mixing it up a little? We've had SCALE at the Westin for the past three years and it's been kind of crowded. Also, this is the Southern California Linux Expo, not the Los Angeles Linux Expo.
Might I suggest looking at the Anaheim Convention Center next year. I live down here (Tustin) and can help out if needed. It's right across Katella from Disneyland, it has nice facilities, because of Disneyland it has nice hotels (some of which are reasonably priced, if a little dingy), it's about 15 minutes or so from John Wayne by freeway, there are lots of restaurants nearby, and the changes of us filling it up in the next couple of years are kind of low. Also, since it's a convention center, they might be better equipped than the Westin to host a gathering of that size. ALSO (I'm going to keep alsoing here) you can probably set up a larger expo floor and rake in more cash to help with the planning. SCALE is well enough known now I bet you could fill it if you wanted, or worst case invite more open source groups.
Also, might I suggest maybe broadening the scope a little. I met a guy who came down there from Virginia, I hear there's a lot of international traffic, maybe it should be acknowledged and figured in.
Again, one more also. I have volunteered for the past three years and each year have been ignored. I realize you all have day jobs and are busy, and also that you might have more volunteers than you need. I'm not going away quite so easily this year. I could, maybe, find some musicians and coordinate some live music? (I am a pianist, and while I'm not necessarily talking about performing myself, I'm SURE I could find a band or two that could use the notoriety). Or... who knows. I'll use my imagination if you will.
I know that it's soon to discuss this, so I'll just let it sit for a while. But I'll be back in a few months and see where things stand.
Thanks.
--Russell