Linux.conf.au 2012 photos

(University of Ballarat — Caro Convention Centre image by KathyReid, CC BY 2.0)

The conference was held at Ballarat's Caro Convention Centre. Next year's venue, announced at the end of the conference, will be at the Australian National University in Canberra from 28 January to 2 February.

(Stilgherrian/ZDNet Australia)

Open-source luminary Bruce Perens fails to escape after explaining the importance of open software for democracy.

(LCA2012 Monday image by Brett James "SuperRoach", CC BY 2.0)

Hardware hacking seems increasingly popular. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to identify everything photographed here at the Arduino mini-conference at LCA2012.

(LCA2012 Friday image by Brett James "SuperRoach", CC BY 2.0)

Even shirts weren't safe from being hacked. Well, this shirt, anyway. Jenna Downing turns one of the oversized LCA2012 T-shirts into a dress.

(Linux.conf.au 2012 image by Christopher Neugebauer, CC BY-SA 2.0)

Andrew Tridgell, best known for his role in developing the open-source Samba implementation of Microsoft's networking protocols, launches his semi-autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), one of the hardware-hacking highlights of LCA2012.

(Linux.conf.au 2012 image by Christopher Neugebauer "chrisjrn", CC BY-SA 2.0)

NASA it ain't, popular it is.

(Credit: Stilgherrian/ZDNet Australia)

Closer inspection reveals that this isn't the first time Tridgell's UAV has crashed.

(Credit: Stilgherrian/ZDNet Australia)

The Project Horus team prepares to launch one of their high-altitude balloons from Linux.conf.au. This particular balloon was a 100-gram envelope carrying a 50-gram payload that included a GPS receiver, temperature sensors and a telemetry transmitter controlled by a miniature Linux computer. The balloon reached an altitude of around 22,500 metres, and a ground speed of nearly 150 kilometres per hour before bursting and eventually falling into Port Phillip Bay. It was never recovered.

(Credit: Stilgherrian/ZDNet Australia)

Some LCA2112 sessions were technical. Very technical. Too technical for some.

(LCA2012 - Friday image by Brett James "SuperRoach", CC BY-SA 2.0)

These chaps kept the LCA2012 Wi-Fi network running smoothly for the entire week, with support from AARNet. Later, they may have been seen drinking.

(@ioerror reminding us that privacy can't be taken for granted image by Michael Davies "mrda", CC BY-SA 2.0)

Once you've seen this picture, you can skip Appelbaum's one-and-a-half-hour keynote presentation. Unless you want to, you know, learn anything.

(Linux.conf.au 2012 image by Christopher Neugebauer "chrisjrn", CC BY-SA 2.0)

If it's a Linux conference, then long-time open software and government 2.0 advocate Pia Waugh will be there. Occasionally, very occasionally, she will look at a computer screen.

(LCA2012 Organising Team image by Michael Davies "mrda", CC BY-SA 2.0)

The Linux.conf.au organising team receive a standing ovation in the conference's final session. And a telescope each.

(Credit: Stilgherrian/ZDNet Australia)

The swag from Linux.conf.au, including (from left) recruitment brochure and beer stubby holder from Australia's Defence Signals Directorate (DSD); official program booklet; universal USB connector from Intel; insulated coffee cup; merit badge; micro-pore screen-cleaning cloth from Catalyst; hardware-prototyping component from Freetronics; leather mouse mat from Bulletproof Mission Critical Networks. There was also an official conference T-shirt and the Crumpler backpack that everything came in.