The first of two brand-new confabs, both dedicated to open source software, kicks off today at the Oregon Convention Center. A second follows in September.

Each convention seeks to tap into Portland's software community by mining the city's reputation for collaboration and socializing, key elements in open source development.

Open source conferences

Open Source Bridge

Details: Wednesday through Friday at the Oregon Convention Center

Focus: Collaboration within the open source developer community

Expected attendance: 400

Highlights: Thursday keynotes include wiki creator Ward Cunningham and Portland Mayor Sam Adams

Cost: $250, or $99 for a single day

More information: Open Source Bridge



LinuxCon

Details: Sept. 21-23 at the Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront

Focus: Technical conference for developers working on the Linux computer operating system

Expected attendance: 500

Highlights: Talks by Linux founder Linus Torvalds and by IBM open source vice president Bob Sutor

Cost: $399 (for those who register by Aug. 15)

More information: LinuxCon

When Portland lost a major technology conference last year, the city's techies saw an opportunity.

"Nobody gets excited about going to a conference where there aren't people they want to talk to," said Audrey Eschright, a Web developer and co-chair of Open Source Bridge, which starts today.

Open Source Bridge plans a loose "unconference" format, Eschright said, in hopes of bringing together developers from a variety of specialties.

"We wanted people that work with different technologies to talk to each other," said Eschright, one of 30 volunteers staging the conference.

Unlike proprietary software, including Windows, open source software is open to user modification and is frequently given away. Open source software plays an increasingly important role in all manner of computer technology, from Web browsing to mobile phones.

Open Source Bridge and September's LinuxCon replace the O'Reilly Open Source Convention, which announced last year that it was leaving Portland after six years. The conference moved this year to San Jose.

OSCON's organizers gave conflicting accounts of the reason for the switch, first suggesting that the economic downturn made it too expensive for developers to travel to Portland, and later complaining that Portland's convention facilities are too small for a convention that typically drew about 2,000.

OSCON is not only among the biggest open source conferences, it was also the biggest national conference of any kind held annually in Portland. Together, the two new conferences expect to attract slightly less than half of OSCON's attendance this year.

Portland remains a hub for open source developers, though, and is home to some of the biggest names in the field. Those include wiki creator Ward Cunningham, who speaks at Open Source Bridge on Thursday, and Linux inventor Linus Torvalds, who speaks at LinuxCon in September.

"Portland is the open source mecca of the U.S., I would say, so there's no better place to have this," said Amanda McPherson, vice president with the Linux Foundation, which is organizing LinuxCon.

Open Source Bridge and LinuxCon plan on becoming annual events, but McPherson said LinuxCon may visit other cities before returning to Portland. Open Source Bridge plans to be back here next year.

Because open source software is often free, McPherson said, it has an added attraction during the recession.

"In a down economy, we have seen some strength for Linux," she said.

-- Mike Rogoway; twitter: @rogoway