This is...
Kinda sad.
Google, Microsoft, IBM, Amazon, and Facebook, are the lions share of sponsors to SCaLE nowdays.
SCaLE used to be, until very recently, over the past 20 years, a mostly volunteer effort, organized and produced by people, everyday schmoes, like you and me.
It really hasn't felt very Linux'ey, for the past 4 or five years, and seeing this is feeling really over the top. I'm very glad for two things that (somewhat) stave off complete and utter capture by the usual suspects of the Sunnyvale Syndrome:
- Linus isn't dead yet
- Linux is still GPL v2-only.
Why should I continue paying for a pass to attend this expo when it no longer relies upon those private, attendee contributions, and instead derives all of its funding from the #Big_Tech sponsors who directly profit from it?
Just an observation, but judging by the incremental decline into debauchery of #SCaLE over the recent few years, I'm not actually planning on attending this year. It's been captured by the most prolific players and influencers in the world of industrial privacy mining.
I'm not saying that the organizers should turn away deep pocket investors, but the entire ambience of the event is no longer what it was meant to be, nor is it meeting the goals of its original premise.
IMO, SCaLE just isn't kewl anymore. I'mma start checking out the few #LUGs that are still thriving - Yes, there's actually a few of them here in #SuperSunnySouthernCalifornia.
#tallship #FOSS #Linux
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