The Desktop Linux Summit in Del Mar, California, is on its third year and has grown to at least six-hundred attendees. Some of those who come to the three-day show have been attending from the very beginning, flying in and soaking up the non-stop talks and the chance to talk to vendors and preview products. This is still a Linspire-focused show in many ways, with various Linspire initiatives--LTunes, LPhotos, and so on--spanning booths not in use by other companies and projects, but according to Founder and CEO Michael Robertson, all of the major players were invited. Some have booths (such as Novell), and others have no booths but sent speakers (such as Sun).

One thing's for sure. Not only is the Linux desktop itself growing, but so is interest in it. The European presence is again particularly strong; in fact, it's stronger than I see at most of the shows I attend. There are more members of the general public and Linux community than there are suits, and I've even seen members of the military in uniform speaking with vendors. A number of announcements have been made at this show, and some of the new products previewed have some real promise.

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