Video: Ken Starks’ & Ruth Suehle’s Keynotes at OLF

Here at FOSS Force we’re proud to be associated with Ken Starks. We’re proud because of the great articles he writes advocating Linux. We’re also extremely proud that he was chosen to be a keynote speaker at this year’s Ohio LinuxFest. But most of all, we’re proud because of his big heart, which he expresses through his work through Reglue, the nonprofit he founded in 2005 to give Linux computers, and training on how to use them, to financially disadvantaged school children in and around the Austin, Texas area where he lives.

Indeed, it’s this last aspect that was honored at Ohio LinuxFest, and the work Ken does with his “Reglue kids” was his focus during his time spent behind the podium. He called his presentation “Deleting The Digital Divide One Computer at a Time.”

Lucky for us, his friend Randy Noseworthy put together a video of the presentation, which we’re happy to be able to offer here. We’re certain you’ll find it as inspiring as we do.

Taking the podium just before Ken at this year’s OLF was Ruth Suehle of Red Hat’s Open Source and Standards group, who used her time to take the audience through a somewhat abridged and always humorous trip covering the entire history of humankind. Along the way she makes stops to explain the first copyrights and patents and the eventual development of the concept of codifying sharing through such things as the GPL. Mostly, she talked about her belief that openness should be brought to other areas besides software and explains how we would all gain if this were to happen. “Default to open,” she says.

Highly entertaining. Highly enjoyable. Watch the video below.