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FOSDEM 2026 – Open-Source Conference in Brussels – Day#1 Recap

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Re: FOSDEM 2026 – Open-Source Conference in Brussels – Day#1 Recap

#181

Post by imtringued »

fvdessen wrote: post #98
ignoramous wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Looking at the talk lineup of a LLM related devroom, it sounds forward looking to me: https://fosdem.org/2026/schedule/track/ai/ > but to have a real impact on the world. I did find devrooms, stands, and main track talks on this. > Even the 'evil' ones such as facebook, github, etc, aren't they contributing a lot of open software Google is one of the two lead financial sponsors of FOSDEM (the other being RedHat). So…

> Looking at the talk lineup of a LLM related devroom, it sound forward looking to me: https://fosdem.org/2026/schedule/track/ai/ It doesn't to me at all, it is mainly focused on self hosting llms, which is a complete deadend. It just isn't feasible to self host the useful models, the hardware requirements are just too big. The current topic of focus around AI are: how to adapt development practice to agentic coding,…

I think the one out of touch is you. Do you really think that depending on proprietary third party services is in the spirit of open source software? You didn't just say people should depend on proprietary models, whose output could at least be considered open source, you're talking about "vibe coding platforms" like lovable, which contain an unavoidable proprietary infrastructure component.

You're also engaging in historical revisionism. "5 years ago" means you're expecting everyone to have jumped on Github Copilot on day one or else they're behind. LLM assisted software development only really took off in the last three years and even then you were still a trailblazer.

Re: FOSDEM 2026 – Open-Source Conference in Brussels – Day#1 Recap

#182

Post by gnoack »

ahartmetz wrote: post #82
prima-facie wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi, I'm trying to find Lennart Poettering's presentations, but they don't seem to be available yet? https://fosdem.org/2026/schedule/speaker/lennart_poettering/ Thanks

Look forward to ye olde uncle Lennart's old-timey sales pitch. I'm gonna summarize the Varlink talk: DBus is, and I quote, "very very very complex" and his system with JSON for low-level IPC is, in fact, the best thing since sliced bread and has no significant flaws. It works basically just like HTTP so the web people will love it. Kernel support for more great shit pending! I'm not sure where the hardon for a new IP…

I think you are misrepresenting this;

Varlink is based on much more conventional UNIX technology than Dbus, which is decades old: You connect to a named UNIX socket through its socket file in the filesystem (man page: unix(7)).

This is an old mechanism and it is known to work well. It does not require a broker service, it works right at system startup, and it does not require a working user database for permission checks (which would be a circular dependency for systemd in some configurations). If at all, I am surprised that systemd didn't use that earlier.

The main thing that Varlink standardizes on top of that is a JSON-based serialization format for a series of request/response pairs. But that seems like a lightweight addition.

It also does not require kernel support to work, the kernel support is already there. He mentioned in the talk that he'd like to be able to "tag" UNIX sockets that speak varlink as such, with kernel support. But that is not a prerequisite to use this at all. The service discovery -- and he said that in the talk as well -- is simply done by listing socket files in the file system, and by having a convention for where they are created.

Re: FOSDEM 2026 – Open-Source Conference in Brussels – Day#1 Recap

#183

Post by SPICLK2 »

GreenDolphinSys wrote: post #52
haunter wrote: post #13

> Not every open source project exists to solve geopolitical problems, and not every contributor arrives with a policy agenda. FOSDEM has always thrived on its diversity of motivations, and maintaining that balance will be increasingly challenging. It’s not just the FOSS scene but there is an increasing crowd (mostly on the internet) of “everything is political”. Honestly I’m not sure what will happen in the coming y…

The entire idea of F/OSS itself is political, and was very radical. We're just accustomed to it now, so it's not "political", in other words, it's not "controversial". Perhaps F/OSS is -more- political than other spaces because we organize around projects? Here, and on Reddit, we see the fallout of drama all the time in various F/OSS communities over disagreeing over policies. That's... politics. Unless you happen to…

Just because the idea of F/OSS software is/was relatively radical and a certain type of political act when applied in certain situations, does not mean that it necessarily needs to concern itself with any other political act. After all, all acts are political, right?

To extend your world picture just one more step - for those people whose "existance is political", a F/OSS world that does not concern itself with irrelevant politics provides that very haven where only the merit of ideas is considered.

Re: FOSDEM 2026 – Open-Source Conference in Brussels – Day#1 Recap

#184

Post by teekert »

direwolf20 wrote: post #177
teekert wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let me answer you with 2 other questions: Is this line of thinking going to make things better for future generations or is it not? How important is it to work on defining this boundary, compared to working towards a less polarized society?

How can society become less polarised if we normalise an extremely wide spectrum of different moral axioms? To reduce polarisation, people with extremist moral axioms must stop having them, which can't happen if extremist moral axioms are accepted.

For one, I think that the people you have put the "extreme" label on, are not as extreme as you think they are, and indeed could be quite agreeable when you'd seek them out and sit down with them over tea and try to communicate with them with more nuance than a 160 char message can deliver.

Yes, you will be able to find examples that confirm your statement, but they are an exceedingly small minority, probably despised (almost) as much by their "own group" (as far as people actually feel part of a group) as they are by you.

I believe it is the (incentives of) the (social)media and the bots that have made you believe otherwise, over time and in small steps.

Re: FOSDEM 2026 – Open-Source Conference in Brussels – Day#1 Recap

#185

Post by direwolf20 »

menaerus wrote: post #178
direwolf20 wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How should they know your project is worth investing 500k? I heard they've got 3x8M, per year I presume, so 500k is a huge chunk of that. Everyone thinks their project is worth 500k, what makes yours different from the rest?

Yes, many might believe that their project is worth more than it really is but in my proposition authors of the idea are not the ones who get to decide that but people from NLNET or whatever grant. What I am saying is that currently there is no such process at all and this is a foundational problem with the way how these grants are working.

Another question is what you need 500k for, for an unproven project?

Re: FOSDEM 2026 – Open-Source Conference in Brussels – Day#1 Recap

#186

Post by direwolf20 »

gnoack wrote: post #182
ahartmetz wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Look forward to ye olde uncle Lennart's old-timey sales pitch. I'm gonna summarize the Varlink talk: DBus is, and I quote, "very very very complex" and his system with JSON for low-level IPC is, in fact, the best thing since sliced bread and has no significant flaws. It works basically just like HTTP so the web people will love it. Kernel support for more great shit pending! I'm not sure where the hardon for a new IP…

I think you are misrepresenting this; Varlink is based on much more conventional UNIX technology than Dbus, which is decades old: You connect to a named UNIX socket through its socket file in the filesystem (man page: unix(7)). This is an old mechanism and it is known to work well. It does not require a broker service, it works right at system startup, and it does not require a working user database for permission ch…

What do you connect to, when you connect to varlink, if there is no broker service?

Re: FOSDEM 2026 – Open-Source Conference in Brussels – Day#1 Recap

#187

Post by direwolf20 »

zoobab wrote: post #167

"But in the end, FOSDEM is not just about talks. It is about meeting people, reconnecting with friends, and having spontaneous conversations that no video stream can fully replace." I don't go to the talks because they are recorded, it's more about meeting friends around a coffee or a beer. Maybe in the future, we will have more tables for hacking like at CCC...

FOSDEM is simply not CCC. They are different events run by different people with different visions. If you want CCC you can (with good luck or a group affiliation) go to CCC. Or EMF — Electromagnetic Field.

Re: FOSDEM 2026 – Open-Source Conference in Brussels – Day#1 Recap

#188

Post by direwolf20 »

Sesse__ wrote: post #180
direwolf20 wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This year they said they avoided making single–project rooms. These are the ones people camped in the most, I think.

Is that right? There were devrooms for GCC, Go, LLVM, Nix, Plan 9, Python and many more.

Just repeating what they said from the closing ceremony.

Re: FOSDEM 2026 – Open-Source Conference in Brussels – Day#1 Recap

#189

Post by direwolf20 »

zoobab wrote: post #168
dwedge wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Almost everyone I spoke to this year had issues with the trains into Belgium. Cancellations, delays, strikes.

Strikes are normal when politicians wants to steal pensions.

In Europe it repeats every year. Politicians try to steal pensions, workers strike, politicians back off. In America I think the workers would roll over. I wish the workers good luck and I will tolerate the temporary transport disruption if that's the cost of not being America.

Re: FOSDEM 2026 – Open-Source Conference in Brussels – Day#1 Recap

#190

Post by menaerus »

direwolf20 wrote: post #185
menaerus wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, many might believe that their project is worth more than it really is but in my proposition authors of the idea are not the ones who get to decide that but people from NLNET or whatever grant. What I am saying is that currently there is no such process at all and this is a foundational problem with the way how these grants are working.

Another question is what you need 500k for, for an unproven project?

Did you not understand any of the words I wrote?
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