The seasons of open source

With Labor Day marking the change of seasons, a trivial fact has occurred to me. (Original watercolor by Sue Grilli. Just $200 if you're interested.)

My own reporting seasons have changed.

Back when I was covering the PC revolution, and even the Internet, the autumn was the big time for travel. That was when the big trade shows were. That was when the big conferences happened. Summer was a time to take off. My magazine work would disappear around May, then pick up again in August.

No more. Now summer is a big, big time. That's when the open source trade events happen. We had a slew of them over the last few months. I just looked at the calendar for the next few months and it's empty.

There are good reasons for all this. I think PCs were all about merchandising. I think Internet Commerce strategies were set in the fall for the next year. If a store doesn't have its Christmas game plan up by September it's toast.

On the other hand, open source really is all about programming. Programmers work hard in the fall, and in the spring, and in the winter. So open source events happen when people are most likely able to get to them.

A small point, really. A warm-up for what is to come. But is it a valid one?