Some random photos from OSDay 2025. I gave a talk about the BSD family and why to use them in 2025.

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#OSDay #OSDay25 #OSDay2025 #Conference #RunBSD #FreeBSD #OpenBSD #NetBSD #OpenSource #OSS

Yesterday’s event was engaging and sparked a lot of reflections. Here are my immediate, unordered thoughts:

• The organizers poured their passion into this conference - they created something genuinely interesting and enjoyable. Thank you for that.

• Every talk offered valuable insights. A recurring theme was developers’ anxiety about large language models: they rely on them heavily and fear losing competitiveness without these tools. I personally resonated more with some speakers than others, especially appreciating the friendly, down‑to‑earth atmosphere that some of them tried to create - we should feel like peers, not influencers on a pedestal.

• I was the oldest (and most traditionally dressed) speaker - some even addressed me formally, which made me feel ancient! Yet I was arguably the most “alternative”, challenging the crowd not just on BSDs but on open source philosophy itself. Instead of blindly rewriting projects in Rust, I urged people to do so only when it truly adds value. I felt like a real hipster 😆

• Many equate open source with large, corporate‑backed projects you can consume or contribute to. This narrow view risks creating mainstream currents dominated by a few profit‑driven companies, ultimately limiting choice and freedom.

• Despite time constraints (the ticking timer was painfully visible, I was a bit nervous while presenting!), I achieved my goal: to broaden minds and open eyes to the BSDs and the deeper spirit of open source. Several attendees - including fellow speaker Sal, whom I already admired - came to chat afterward, sparking wonderful discussions.

• Sometimes I observed a dismissive attitude toward anything outside the mainstream (“Ok, Boomer…”), reflecting a worrying trend. For many, open source is merely a paycheck, which saddens me.

• A few were genuinely curious about the BSDs but unsure how to apply it professionally. Almost everyone I spoke with uses Docker/Kubernetes but dislikes its complexity. I encouraged them to drive change from the ground up by learning different workflows and bringing that value into their work - not just replicating existing OS practices.

• One of the sponsors, Aruba Cloud, gifted me some swag - including a pair of blue socks emblazoned with a cloud logo. I can now literally say I’m walking on clouds (or that the cloud is at my feet)! 😄

#OSDay #OSDay25 #OSDay2025 #Conference #OpenSource

Presenting the BSDs

#RunBSD #FreeBSD #OpenBSD #NetBSD #OSDay #OSDay25 #OSDay2025

Ready to cross the Arno river to talk about the BSDs!

#OSDay #OSDay25 #OSDay2025 #RunBSD

In less than a month I will be speaking at Open Source Day in Florence. 🎤

I will tell you a story about how we closed around 1k plugins from the official WP repo in a month. 🚫

Thanks, Patchstack for making this possible. 🙌

Want to meet? Check the comment 👇

#OSDay2025