LinuxWorld Conference & Expo Keynote Addresses Announced

Stanford University Professor Sebastian Thrun addresses the role
of Linux in artificial intelligence and machine learning during the
opening keynote address
FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--(Business Wire)--
IDG World Expo has announced that Sebastian Thrun, Director of the
Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at Stanford University, will
kick-off the LinuxWorld(R) conference program with an opening keynote
address focused on the role of Linux in robotic technology. Thrun will
discuss the integral part that the Linux operating system is playing
in the emerging area of automotive robotics, a technology that has the
potential to overcome the inefficiencies and environmental challenges
posed by automobiles. LinuxWorld Conference & Expo(R) is scheduled to
take place August 4-7, 2008 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

Thrun's keynote, entitled "Making Cars Drive Themselves," will be
delivered on Monday, August 4, 2008, at 4:30 p.m. Thrun will present
Stanford's research on the basic artificial intelligence behind
robotic technology, in particular, he will report from two recent
autonomous robotic car competitions organized by The Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and dubbed "Grand Challenge" and
"Urban Challenge." Machine perception, computer vision, machine
learning, and probabilistic computation all play major roles in the
design of these systems, as did the Linux operating system. Thrun will
also shed light on the inner workings of these robots and discuss the
impact of self-driving cars on society once the technology has
matured.

"Linux was at the core of both of the Stanford Racing Team's
prize-winning robotic cars, named Junior and Stanley, in the DARPA
Grand Challenges. The cars exhibited unprecedented skill and
reliability in races organized by the US Government to advance robotic
technology," said Sebastian Thrun. "A set of networked computers, all
running Linux, endowed those robots with the necessary artificial
intelligence and I look forward to sharing the details of the project
with LinuxWorld attendees."

Additional keynote addresses scheduled for LinuxWorld include: Jim
Zemlin, Executive Director, The Linux Foundation; Mark Sunday, Chief
Information Officer and Senior Vice President, Oracle Corporation; Bob
Sutor, Vice President, Open Source Standards, IBM; and Simon Crosby,
CTO at Citrix Systems Inc.

"The Linux Foundation is pleased to be speaking and exhibiting at
LinuxWorld this year," said Jim Zemlin, executive director of The
Linux Foundation. "LinuxWorld gathers industry leaders together to
present the latest advancements in enterprise Linux. We look forward
to seeing the extended Linux ecosystem in San Francisco this year."

"IBM is rapidly approaching the beginning of our second decade of
working with the free and open source communities and their
technologies," said Bob Sutor, Vice President, Open Source Standards,
IBM. "We're pleased that we will be at LinuxWorld and Next Generation
Data Center to be able to share our experiences and lessons learned,
then discuss what we see in our crystal ball for the next few years."

For a complete schedule of the 2008 LinuxWorld keynote addresses,
please visit www.linuxworldexpo.com.

LinuxWorld is the premier event for the Linux and open source
community, bringing together industry leaders shaping the future of
new enterprise technology in the largest single gathering of business
and technical leaders deploying Linux and open source solutions. To
register for the event, please visit www.linuxworldexpo.com.

About LinuxWorld Conference & Expo

LinuxWorld Conference & Expo is the premier event exclusively
focused on Linux and open source solutions. As the world's most
comprehensive marketplace for open source products and services,
LinuxWorld provides business decision-makers with information and
resources to implement Linux and open source solutions into business
infrastructure and enterprise networks. For more information or to
register for the event, visit the LinuxWorld Conference & Expo Web
site at www.linuxworldexpo.com, or call (800) 657-1474. For exhibiting
opportunities, please contact Amy Bonner at (508) 424-4892 or
amy_bonner@idg.com or Giovanni Stein at (508) 424-4864 or
Giovanni_stein@idg.com. For sponsorship opportunities, please contact
Ellen Boland at (508) 988-7830 or Michelle Mohr at (508) 424-4855, or
michelle_mohr@idg.com.

About IDG World Expo

IDG World Expo (www.idgworldexpo.com) is a leading producer of
tradeshows and events for professionals and consumers seeking
world-class education, peer-to-peer networking and one-stop comparison
shopping. IDG World Expo's portfolio of conferences and events
includes Entertainment For All(TM) (E For All(TM)), E3 Media &
Business Summit, GreenXchange Xpo(TM), LinuxWorld Conference &
Expo(R), Macworld Conference & Expo(R), Next Generation Data
Center(TM) (NGDC(TM)) and REVEAL Los Angeles...The Fashion & Design
Event(TM). IDG World Expo is a business unit of IDG, the world's
leading technology media, research and event company.

IDG World Expo
Charlotte McCormack, 508-424-4837
charlotte_mccormack@idg.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008