Last month, a few of us at OpenGeo attended the GEOINT Symposium in San Antonio where, for the first time, open source received some serious attention. There were two panels on open source technologies and multiple keynote addresses highlighting the benefits of open source and the need to reduce software licensing costs.

Our COO, Eddie Pickle, sat on a panel moderated by John Scott, Co-Chairman of RadiantBlue and Dr. Christopher Tucker, USGIF Board Member. He used the opportunity to offer his thoughts on open source geospatial technologies and discuss open source adoption. Eddie highlighted the TsuDAT project as an example of a collaborative, open source GeoNode application. Zoom ahead to 38:00 minutes in the video below to see Eddie discuss OpenGeo’s experiences developing, deploying, and supporting open source solutions.

The video also offers some interesting perspectives from other panelists who discussed their experiences implementing and using open source technologies. Questions start at 58:00 minutes, enjoy.

This week Paul Ramsey will fill in as keynote speaker at the the Illinois GIS Association Fall Conference at Northern Illinois University. This year’s conference theme is “GIS without Borders” and has a special focus on open source geospatial software. The conference takes placeOctober 18th and 19th. Paul’s keynote, entitled “The Unknowns,” will explore the culture of open source and why managers should explore open source in their organizations.

If you’re in the area and haven’t had the opportunity to see Paul speak then now is your chance. The keynote is scheduled for 9:00am on October 19th. Online registration for the conference is still open!

We’re back from FOSS4G and have been reflecting on our jam-packed week in Denver. Our only regret is that we were so busy we missed some of the plenaries, workshops and talks that we wanted to attend. In case you’ve found yourself in a similar situation or would like to review an OpenGeo presentation we’ve compiled the materials below.

First two videos that we’re lucky that the organizers captured:

Paul Ramsey	An exploration of open source business models
Mike Pumphrey	Why your product sucks

And next (almost) all of the materials presented by the OpenGeo team:

Paul Ramsey	An exploration of open source business models
Paul Ramsey	State of PostGIS
Sebastian Benthall & Rolando Peñate	Designing a better SDI
David Winslow	GeoServer Scripting with Python and RESTConfig
Bart van den Eijnden	Introducing GXP: Webmapping made easy
David Winslow & Alyssa Wright	Mapnik2GeoTools
Paul Ramsey	Tips for the PostGIS Power User
Mike Pumphrey	Why your product sucks

We had a great week in Denver and have always felt that FOSS4G is the most interesting and informative conference of the year. FOSS4G certainly proved to be no exception. If you had a conversation with someone at our booth, or at a presentation, and would like to follow up please feel free to Contact us. See you in Bejing!

 

Want expert advice about our open source projects from our real live developers? Come by booth #12 during FOSS4G next month and take advantage our Meet the Experts sessions. In addition to their workshops and tutorials, the OpenGeo Suite developers and team members will be available to answer questions and hear your feedback at the following times throughout the conference:

Wednesday, 9/14/2011

• GeoServer and GeoWebCache, 10:00-12:00: Gabriel Roldán, David Winslow, Ian Schneider, Justin Deoliveira, Sam Smith
• PostGIS, 12:45 to 14:30: Paul Ramsey, Sam Smith
• GeoNode, 14:30-16:15: Andreas Hocevar, David Winslow, Jeff Johnson, Rolando Peñate
• OpenLayers and GeoExt, 16:15 to 18:00: Andreas Hocevar, Bart van den Eijnden, Tim Schaub

Thursday, 9/15/2011

• GeoNode, 10:00-12:00: Andreas Hocevar, David Winslow, Jeff Johnson, Rolando Peñate
• OpenLayers and GeoExt, 12:45 to 14:30: Andreas Hocevar, Bart van den Eijnden, Tim Schaub
• PostGIS, 14:30 to 16:15: Paul Ramsey, Sam Smith
• GeoServer and GeoWebCache, 16:15-18:00: Gabriel Roldán, Ian Schneider, Justin Deoliveira, Sam Smith

We hope to see you there!

There will be plenty of opportunities to learn at this year’s FOSS4G Conference. We’ll once again be attending en masse—not only are we Gold Sponsors but we’lll have nearly two dozen OpenGeo team members in attendance. Along with the first ever OpenGeo Partner Event , we’ll be presenting at nine workshops and tutorials so we’re sure to have an exciting (and busy!) week.

Remember to register for the conference, workshops, and tutorials. If previous years are any indication, they have a habit of filling up. If you’ll be at the show, come by booth #12 to see what’s new or get involved with the communities we work with. Look for us in our signature brown t-shirts. Want your own? Come to one of our workshops, we’ll be giving out t-shirt vouchers there!

Here’s a list of all of the events we’re involved with, all at the Sheraton Denver Downtown:

Date	Event	Start Time	End Time	Location	Speaker/Attending
9/12/2025	Introduction to PostGIS	8:00:00	12:00:00	Windows	Paul Ramsey & Sam Smith
	Web Mapping with GeoServer	13:00:00	17:00:00	Tower Court D	Mike Pumphrey
	OpenLayers Application Development	13:00:00	17:00:00	Windows	Tim Schaub
9/13/2011	Developing OGC Compliant Web Applications With GeoExt	8:00:00	12:00:00	Windows	Andreas Hocevar
	Opening Data with GeoNode	8:00:00	12:00:00	Silver	David Winslow & Jeff Johnson
	A complete open source web mapping stack	13:00:00	17:00:00	Tower Court D	Sam Smith, Ian Schneider & Alyssa Wright
9/14/2011	An exploration of open source business models	9:10:00	9:30:00	Ballroom	Paul Ramsey
	State of PostGIS	10:00:00	10:30:00	Windows	Paul Ramsey
	Designing a better SDI	10:00:00	10:30:00	Denver	Rolando Peñate
	The State of GeoServer	13:00:00	13:30:00	Windows	Justin Deoliveira
	Tutorial: GeoServer Scripting with Python and RESTConfig	13:00:00	13:30:00	Century	David Winslow
	Introducing GXP: Webmapping made easy	15:00:00	15:30:00	Tower Court B	Bart van den Eijnden
	GeoScript - Spatial Capabilities for Scripting Languages	15:30:00	16:00:00	Tower Court D	Justin Deoliveira
	Scripting GeoServer with GeoScriptScripting GeoServer with GeoScript	16:00:00	16:30:00	Tower Court D	Justin Deoliveira & Tim Schaub
	Exhibitor Reception; Birds of a Feather; Poster Session	17:30:00	20:00:00	Ballroom	Rolando Peñate
9/15/2011	Tutorial: Map Caching with GeoWebCache	10:00:00	11:30:00	Century	Gabriel Roldan
	OpenLayers Mobile	10:30:00	11:00:00	Windows	Tim Schaub
	Mapnik2GeoTools	13:30:00	14:00:00	Silver	Alyssa Wright & David Winslow
	Tutorial: Working with GeoScript	15:00:00	16:30:00	Century	Justin Deoliveira & Tim Schaub
9/16/2011	Tips for the PostGIS Power User	10:00:00	10:30:00	Windows	Paul Ramsey

We’re excited to announce the first meeting of our Global Partner Network!

We’ll be having our first annual OpenGeo Global Partner Meeting in Denver, Colorado on September 11th—just prior to the FOSS4G Conference. Getting together with our our rapidly growing network of international partners will allow us to discuss our plans for continuing to support the increasing demand for open source geospatial software.

We’re thrilled to work together to increase the reach of open source geospatial technologies in real-world solutions for clients. Our partners are crucial in helping users around the world improve their geospatial applications using open source software. They extend the first line of support for the OpenGeo Suite, provide important translation services for core components like GeoServer, and are skilled at implementing solutions based on proven open source software.

To learn more about OpenGeo’s Global Partner Network please visit our partner page. Interested in becoming an OpenGeo partner? Contact us!

It seems like only yesterday we were enjoying the tapas, warm sea breezes, and interesting fountain shows at FOSS4G in Barcelona. But time and revision numbers move relentlessly forward, and now we’re already thinking about FOSS4G, held this year in Denver, Colorado on September 12-16.

We at OpenGeo have always felt that FOSS4G is by far the most interesting, most informative, and generally all-around coolest conference on the entire circuit, so we always like to make sure to support it. This year is no different, as not only are we Gold Sponsors, but we will also be presenting nine workshops and tutorials.

Workshops:

• Introduction to PostGIS
• Web Mapping with GeoServer
• OpenLayers Application Development
• Developing OGC Compliant Web Applications With GeoExt
• Opening Data with GeoNode
• A complete open source web mapping stack

Tutorials:

• GeoServer Scripting with Python and RESTConfig
• Map Caching with GeoWebCache
• Working with GeoScript

Workshops and tutorials do have a habit of filling up, if previous years are any indication, so you should register soon. And for all those in North America, you now can’t use the excuse that it’s too far to travel! There’s even a flight discount this year.

Register for FOSS4G

OpenGeo’s Paul Ramsey is traveling to Japan to deliver a keynote message at FOSS4G2010, the regional open source conference series held every year in Tokyo and Osaka. This year’s meetings will be held October 31–November 1 in Tokyo and November 5–6 in Osaka. Paul will be delivering addresses on open source economics and technology disruptions, as well as teaching hands-on workshops on the PostGIS open source spatial database. Conference attendees can meet up with Paul Ramsey and members of Orkney, one of OpenGeo’s Japanese partners.

In the meantime, an OpenGeo team led by Senior Vice President of Sales Ken Bossung will be attending GEOINT in New Orleans, November 2–4. Catch them at booth 715!