[Speakers] Re: another SVLUG speaker proposal

[Steve Traugott]

I would really like to see an open-source EDA talk at SVLUG.  Steve,
send me a talk description which looks something like the following,
and we'll get you on the schedule.  Standard call for speakers
boilerplate follows the description.

(Thank you Michael!)

Steve
-- 
Steve Traugott 
Speaker Coordinator, Silicon Valley Linux Users Group
http://www.svlug.org
--
UNIX/Linux Infrastructure Architect, TerraLuna LLC
stevegt at TerraLuna.Org   
http://www.stevegt.com

_______________________________________________________________________


We're pleased to announce the next meeting of the Silicon Valley Linux
Users Group!

WHAT:

  NASA Linux Research

WHEN:

  Wednesday, June 5, 2002, 7pm-9pm or so
	
WHO:

  Sam Clanton, NASA Ames Research Center


ABOUT: 

Sam's work in building an airborne embedded Linux spectrometer control
system was featured on the cover of the March/April 2002 Embedded
Linux Journal -- the ER-2 photo.

Sam is a researcher in Computational Sciences / Atmospheric Sciences
at NASA Ames, where he is involved in a number of Linux-based
projects.  His current work is mainly in EEG pattern recognition and
real-time data processing for brain-computer interface projects taking
place at the NASA Ames Neuroengineering lab.  

Sam will talk about the use of Linux as a part of the research
projects that he has been a part of at NASA, what he is up to inside
and outside of the space agency, and where a relative
newcomer/outsider to the Linux community thinks this Linux thing is
going.

MORE ABOUT THE SPEAKER: 

Sam is a recent graduate from Johns Hopkins University, where he
studied Biomedical Engineering and Computer Science.  He is currently
serving a year-long stint at NASA Ames, before he begins work on an
as-yet-unnamed technological development nonprofit he is co-founding
in South America.  In the future, he is most probably going to go to
medical school.  

Sam got into Linux in college as a result of dissatisfaction in not
being able to really control his own computer, or understand what it
was actually up to, with closed-source systems.  He views Linux as the
natural choice for research, and he believes that if more scientists
were to view a computer as a highly developed and tunable rack of
custom data acquisition and processing equipment, a lot of new
imaginative and effective research could be done.

Aside from work, Sam has been an avid rugby player for most of his
adult life.  He also enjoys mountain biking and hanging out in really
nasty bars.  At one time in his life, he was fluent in Japanese and
had plastic pants.
  
WHERE:

Cisco Building 9.  The land of NUMBERS. The VINEYARDS conference
center.  The side we are on is the Silver Oak/Jordan conference rooms,
where a large Cisco fountain is usually not turned on.  Directions on
how to get there are listed at:

        http://www.svlug.org/directions/cisco-9.shtml 

We've tried our very best for these directions to be accurate.  If you
have any improvements to make, please let our Web Team know!
web-team at svlug.org

NOTES:

It's best if you arrive close to on time, as otherwise there may not
be someone posted at the door to let you in.  After the speakers end
their presentation there is usually a Q&A session, time for job
seekers and employers to meet, and often a few door prizes.  When the
meeting is over people are encouraged to chat a bit, but also to exit
the building so Cisco can lock up. Don't worry, a lot of us go to
dinner afterward so there's plenty of time to chat outdoors or
offsite.

We look forward to seeing you there!

_______________________________________________________________________

			  CALL FOR SPEAKERS

The Silicon Valley Linux User Group (SVLUG) has openings for speakers
for our monthly meetings during several upcoming months.  If you would
like to present a topic of general interest to the Linux community,
please feel free to contact SVLUG speaker coordinator Steve Traugott
at speakers at svlug.org.  

About the group:
================

The Silicon Valley Linux User Group (SVLUG) is the oldest and one of
the largest Linux user groups in the world.  Past speakers include
Marc Andreessen, Paul Vixie, Tim O'Reilly, and Larry Wall.  SVLUG
celebrated its 10th anniversary at the March 4, 1998 meeting, where
Linus Torvalds addressed an audience of 500 people.  

SVLUG members include Linux professionals and enthusiasts in the
vicinity of San Jose, California, internationally known as Silicon
Valley.  Member interests include Linux and free or low-cost
implementations of Unix, open source software, and commercial products
which incorporate Linux.  The group was originally formed in 1988 as
the PC-Unix Special Interest Group of the Silicon Valley Computer
Society.  

SVLUG meetings are held the first Wednesday of the month, in
conference centers provided by Cisco.  The meetings are either
technical presentations, product demonstrations, or general question
and answer meetings.  Typical audience size for the monthly meeting is
150-250 people, with as many as twice that for popular topics.  The
standard room configuration includes video projector and wireless
microphones.  All meetings are free and open to the public.

See http://www.svlug.org for more information.

_______________________________________________________________________






On Fri, Jun 28, 2002 at 02:14:06PM -0700, Michael Baxter wrote:
> Steve and Joyce,
> 
> I wanted to suggest another SVLUG speaker, for December 2002, or early
> 2003. I've been collaborating with the open source EDA community since
> about 1998, when I discovered a state-of-the-art GPL'ed CAD tool called
> Icarus Verilog.
> http://icarus.com/eda/verilog/index.html
> 
> Icarus Verilog was written by a very talented geek named Steve Williams,
> who frequently attends informal open source EDA (OSEDA) meetings that
> are arranged monthly by Rick Munson here in Silicon Valley. I personally
> have been using Icarus for real work for several years now, and it's way
> cool. It's the only EDA tool that I use which regularly gets better
> every single week. This is because the multi-platform source is released
> early and often, usually on Sundays.
> 
> This compiler is really starting to take off, and has become very strong
> through the open source development methodology. For logic design CAD,
> it's the foundational equivalent of GCC. IMHO, as a power user of CAD
> tools, it's the most important lead item in a world of increasing
> options for open source electronic design. Icarus Verilog was recently
> covered in Linux Journal for a second time, and is on the front cover of
> the July 2002 issue #99, right up there with a picture of Yoda. This
> article, and an attendant interview, is also now available for browsing
> on-line:
> http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=6001
> 
> I think Steve would make an excellent speaker, and that the technology
> used for his compiler represents subtle but important structural changes
> happening in the world of CAD tools. This topic sure seems like it has
> "Silicon Valley" written all over it. If you agree, and do have the
> interest, then I'd surely like to collaborate with you and Steve
> Williams to bring a speaking engagement to fruition.
> 
> Kindly yours,
> Michael Baxter
> Xilinx APD System Engineering Group
> 
> 
>