Hi Everyone, Here's the latest news about our open source conference at UofT. The speaker's list is great, and the energy is there (we might even have some Microsoft presence...should make the business model session a little provocative). Feel free to check out the website. http://osconf.kmdi.utoronto.ca/ It should be a good time. Take Care, BERNiE -- March 15, 2004 - Toronto FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Digital Entrepreneur Bob Young To Deliver Keynote at Toronto Open Source Conference LULU.COM CEO, TICATS OWNER AND RED HAT CO-FOUNDER TO DISCUSS INNOVATION IN DIGITAL MARKETPLACE Bob Young, CEO of Lulu.com, new owner of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and co-founder of the world's most successful alternative software company Red Hat, will deliver the keynote address at the Open Source Conference May 9-11 at the University of Toronto. Young will address how the open exchange of information stimulates innovation in the marketplace in both the software and publishing industries. Titled "Open Source and Free Software: Concepts, Controversies and Solutions," the conference will take place Sunday, May 9, to Tuesday, May 11, at Convocation Hall, 31 King's College Circle. Bob Young will deliver the keynote address May 10. "It is a myth that successful businesses have to maintain proprietary control of their product and marketplace in order to be successful. Innovation is ultimately the key to success for any business. Closed systems actually discourage innovation," says Young. "At Red Hat we were not in the software business, at least not in the same sense that Microsoft is in the software business. Instead we succeeded by giving more power to our customers and responding to their needs. We are doing the same thing now with Lulu.com, an on-demand publishing tool that provides consumers with access to an open marketplace for content. Lulu.com challenges the assumptions of conventional publishing the same way that Red Hat challenged the assumptions of the software industry." Red Hat is the largest distributor of Linux, the most popular open-source operating system. A graduate of the University of Toronto, Young is truly an open-source visionary according to conference chair Ron Baecker. "He is an imaginative and successful entrepreneur, as well as a thoughtful and entertaining communicator. We are honoured he will be participating as our keynote speaker and as presenter at our 'business models' session." Full details on Young's role in the conference are available at its Web site, http://osconf.kmdi.utoronto.ca. - 30 - Please contact: Ron Baecker, Conference Chair (416) 978-6983, rmb@kmdi.utoronto.ca Kelly Rankin, Conference Coordinator (416) 946-8512, kelly@kmdi.utoronto.ca ============================================================= SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Topic of Young's address: "In a free-market-based democracy the consumer and citizen are one." The speech will be an autobiographical journey through issues that include open source, free software, open content, public domain, public good, entrepreneurship, business, free markets, democracy, customer service and profit. Young will explain how understanding 18th century philosophers, from Adam Smith to Ricardo and Mill, can help identify business opportunities that are not only highly profitable, but extremely beneficial to society. Young studied philosophy at UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO. Named one of BusinessWeek's top entrepreneurs in 1999, Young also founded The Center for the Public Domain, a foundation that supports the growth of a healthy, robust domain of knowledge and the arts. He is currently CEO of Lulu.com, a marketplace for digital content. Conference registration: a discounted fee of CDN$395 for the entire event is available until March 19, after which it increases to CDN$495. Price at the door is CDN$595. Single-day and discounted volume registrations are available. The conference is presented by the following organizations within the UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO: Knowledge Media Design Institute, Connaught International Symposia Fund, Centre for Innovation Law and Policy, Citizen Lab of the Munk Centre for International Studies, Department of Computer Science, Information Policy Research Program, the University of Toronto Libraries and their Resource Centre for Academic Technology. The support of these organizations is hereby acknowledged: Communications and Information Technology Ontario, IBM Centre for Advanced Studies, Linux Professional Institute, Seneca College, Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, Caseware International, Novell, Inc., Openflows Networks Ltd. and The Commons Group. - 30 - -- Using M2, Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/m2/