Aaron Seigo shows one direction desktop interfaces and architectures can take in order to remain relevant in today's Web 2.0 environment. Even more, he shows how to embrace these amazing developments in order to create something more compelling and useful than what we have today with our desktops.

CPU architectures are developing on a relatively radical pace towards more cores, as well as more processing threads per core. At the same time, basic core principles of networking have not changed on any fundamental level. It is these core principles that guide the way networking hardware is being designed, and how systems software must cope to facilitate these designs.

This talk will concentrate on the evolution of CPU architectures, starting from ancient times. So that we can see why vertical scaling is becoming so popular. Next, we will discuss the most basic ideas of networking, and in particular the end node principle.

Today the Linux world is dominated by one-size-fits-all Linux distributions that include thousands of packages and that can be two or three gigabytes fully installed. In this presentation, Nat will introduce the benefits of streamlined, single-purpose software appliances based on Linux -- in the form of virtual machine images, bootable and installable media, or live USB keys. Nat will also demo some exciting new technology that's being developed inside SUSE that will make it fun and easy for you to treat Linux distributions like lego sets to create your own custom Linux appliances.

Ian Murdock, founder of the Debian Linux distribution and vice president of developer marketing at Sun Microsystems, discusses the future of the software distribution in our age of "participatory platforms" - operating systems, virtual machines, rich and mobile clients, and more. Ian also examines the shift of reusable functionality from libraries and frameworks to network-based services and APIs and the resulting opportunities this creates for software developers.