2005 O'Reilly ETech Conference Explores "Remix" Culture

For Immediate Release
For more information, contact:
Suzanne Axtell (707) 827-7114 or suzanne@oreilly.com

Culture of "Remix" Celebrated at the
2005 O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference

Sebastopol, CA--Hackers and other innovators have embraced the
do-it-yourself renaissance, tweaking here and integrating there, creating
new tools and inspiring a resurgence of hands-on experimentation. These
new, unexpected combinations--and the opportunities they present--were the
driving force behind the 2005 edition of ETech, the O'Reilly Emerging
Technology Conference, held in San Diego, California, March 14-17. The
conference attracted over 800 attendees, making it one of the
best-attended ETechs to date, illustrating both the popularity of "remix"
and the pervasiveness of technology in our lives.

As new applications, services, and devices simultaneously converge and
morph in unconventional ways, the lens of ETech--articulated on stage and
throughout the program by conference chair Rael Dornfest and O'Reilly
founder and CEO Tim O'Reilly--is particularly helpful in bringing new
trends to light and focusing the future of computing technology for a
wider audience. As in past years, ETech gave developers, IT
decision-makers, lead users, engineers, and tech aficionados maximum
exposure to new ideas and technologies through roll-up-your-sleeves
tutorials, on-point plenary presentations, focused sessions that included
late-breaking issues, and a relevant exhibit hall. Just a few of the
intriguing speakers and topics at the conference included:

- Technology historian George Dyson mapped Von Neumann's universe
- Writer, consultant, and NYU professor Clay Shirky parsed folksonomy,
  metadata, and the phone as platform
- JC Herz, author and defense researcher/consultant, addressed emerging
  technology use in the military
- Joel Spolsky, founder of Fog Creek Software, discussed the ramifications
  of building communities with software
- Author Kathy Sierra outlined her methods for creating passionate users
- James Surowiecki, a staff writer at the "New Yorker," posed the
  question: Is it possible to be too connected?
- Danny Hillis, co-chairman and chief technology officer of Applied Minds,
  discussed how technology is remixed at Applied Minds
- Natalie Jeremijenko of UCSD described her methods of social activism
  using feral robotic dogs
- Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of "Wired Magazine," presented the
  economics of "The Long Tail"

ETech's inaugural Maker Fair illustrated the popularity and "mass
amateurization" of gadgets and grassroots projects. This science fair-like
evening event showcased projects from O'Reilly's new "MAKE" magazine,
which launched in March.

Several announcements were made at the O'Reilly Emerging Technology
Conference:
- Tech Buzz Game, a collaboration between Yahoo! Research Labs and
  O'Reilly, made its debut at ETech
- Amazon's Jeff Bezos announced A9's OpenSearch, a collection of
  technologies built on top of popular open standards to allow content
  providers to publish their search results in a format suitable for
  syndication
- Google code was given a public introduction at ETech by Google's Chris
  diBona
- SafariU, a new custom publishing service that offers computer technology
  educators and trainers a rich platform for creating both online and print
  materials, debuted at ETech.
- The program for the second edition of the Web 2.0 Conference, co-hosted
  by Tim O'Reilly and John Battelle, and co-produced with MediaLive
  International, was unveiled

ETech sponsors also illustrated the event's technical breadth and appeal:
Nokia, Apple Developer Connection, AT&T, Microsoft Reasearch, Yahoo! and
Yahoo! Research Labs, Ask Jeeves, mFoundry, Salesforce.com, and Sxip.

>From hacking a Mac mini into a 1950 Nash auto, predicting next-gen media,
remixing DNA, sharing insights into the digitization of fabrication,
exploring the swarming web, and much more, the 2005 O'Reilly Emerging
Technology Conference publicly celebrated just a few of the many ideas,
projects, and people destined to change the way we use technology every
day.

The 2005 O'Reilly conference calendar includes the Where 2.0 Conference,
the O'Reilly Open Source Convention, and Web 2.0 (co-hosted by Tim
O'Reilly and John Battelle, and co-produced with MediaLive International).
O'Reilly conferences bring together forward-thinking business and
technology leaders, shaping ideas and influencing industries around the
globe. For over 25 years, O'Reilly has facilitated the adoption of new and
important technologies by the enterprise, putting emerging technologies on
the map.

Additional Resources:

For complete conference details, visit:
http://conferences.oreilly.com/etech/

Press coverage, news, blogs, and photos, from the 2005 O'Reilly Emerging
Technology Conference can be found at:
http://www.oreillynet.com/et2005

For information about MAKE, go to:
http://makezine.com/

Complete details about SafariU can be found at:
https://www.safariu.oreilly.com/

For O'Reilly conference links and archive, see:
http://conferences.oreilly.com/

For information on exhibition and sponsorship opportunities at O'Reilly
conferences, contact Andrew Calvo at (707) 827-7176, or
andrewc@oreilly.com

To become a media sponsor at O'Reilly conferences, contact Margi Levin at
(707) 827-7184, or margi@oreilly.com

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