Compounding the health care crisis is a huge wave of aging populations. Health care needs tech-based solutions based in communities and homes, focused on empowering patients to manage their own health and change their behavior as necessary. Eric Dishman of Intel describes the new technology and platforms being built to improve this health care. Dishman also discusses longer-term efforts including regulatory approvals and reimbursement reform.

Jeff Waugh reaches back to the Middle Ages to bring the lessons that three giants of distant history can teach the free software community. A passionate advocate for software freedom and open source, he speaks about the historical influences on Ubuntu. Waugh also describes how the modern giants Python, Debian, and GNOME have each lent something to the values and culture of Ubuntu.

Matt Asay of Alfresco discusses the continuing issues related to the economy of open source software. He talks with Phil and Scott about his current projects and characterizes Microsoft as a possible software development underdog. They also review an article about DNS poisoning and assess a web tool that will check a DNS server for vulnerabilities.

Doug Fisher of Intel speaks about Intel's joint efforts with Ubuntu to deliver rich capabilities in a MID, a mobile internet device. After giving a summary of Intel's activities in support of the open source space, Fisher focuses on the growing relationship between Intel and Ubuntu to innovate the platform and the operating environment for the MID and to create together new usage models in new markets.

Hardware has not seen the same level of innovation and variety that software has, due to the high costs of manufacturing and distribution. In this presentation from the Emerging Communications Conference, Jeremy Toeman, Head of Marketing at Bug Labs discusses the emerging open source hardware movement and how it will impact the $10 billion consumer electronics industry.

Steve Cousins, President and CEO of Willow Garage, wants to build an open source platform that will allow enthusiasts to get inside the code and experiment with robotic devices in the same way that early automobile enthusiasts were able to tinker with their cars. The goal is to provide more opportunity for individuals and groups to build practical robotic applications.

Rails 2 has a lot of things to feel happy about. Jeremy Kemper, one of the earliest and one of the largest contributors to the Ruby on Rails framework, gives a detailed explanation of the new features in Rails 2.0 and 2.1.

Other frameworks have cloned features of Rails. But according to its creator, David Heinemeier Hansson, the Rails philosophy of convention over configuration and abstracting the user from making choices, continues to give its developer community a competitive advantage. The only parallel that can compete will have to be something that is significantly better than Rails which, although it is a possibility, doesn't seem very likely.

The economic realities of hardware development often stifle innovation. Peter Semmelhack, CEO of Bug Labs, discusses a change in approach, similar to the open source software model, that will promote innovation in the hardware space. Based on the Lego model, Bug Labs is creating a set of tools they believe will eliminate some of the cost and creative prohibitions, and enable a community of users and developers to experiment with the creation of new gadgets.

Using a touch of black humor and irony to convey a noble idea, Nathan Torkington, the chair of OSCON, lightens up the mood as he wraps up the conference, frequently throwing his audience into fits of laughter. He rapidly weaves three keynote messages together into a refreshingly therapeutic open source tonic. Due to brief profanity, this program may not be appropriate for work or family listening.