Educators note that students want to learn open source, in part, to distinguish themselves from others in the marketplace. It seems Web mapping is in demand most.

One educator at a university without a geography department finds himself trying to support many staff and students from other departments. Part of the solution: open source.

Many people who have attended several editions of this event note lots of "newbies" who perhaps don't even know of the challenges faced when Autodesk first announced the MapServer Foundation two years ago. That's not a bad thing, they noted.

The opening session reminded on attendee of events held in Palm Springs.

No paper I attended failed to prompt follow-up questions.

One presenter asked if anyone from the mailing list of the product he mentioned were in the session. Two people raised their hands and he lept from the front of the room to shake their hands before returning to the talk.