2026-09-10 –, Ballroom All times in US/Pacific
The first Linux distribution was created more than a third of a century ago. Thousands have followed, and hundreds are actively maintained to this day. Each distribution has a reason for being, a problem that it solves or a way of doing things that differs from the rest. Join a panel where leads from 4 different Linux distributions (Microsoft Linux, Talos Linux, Alma Linux, and Bluefin/GnomeOS) share what their distribution is for and answer your questions so you can find out if it's for you, too.
I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling firewalls and crushing stacks. I have been known to remodel panic() functions on coffee breaks, making them more efficient in the area of crash recovery. I translate computer jargon for Microsoft refugees, I write eyebrow raising parodies*, I manage time with chrony. Occasionally, I work feverishly for 3 days in a row. I woo Linux with my sensational and hypnotic keyboard typing, I can pilot fsck around bad sectors with ease, and I can induce qubits to spin faster. I am an expert in System Administration, a veteran in UNIX, and an outlaw at CERT.
By day I am a people manager at Red Hat, in charge of the Community Linux Engineering group. We make the platform for Fedora, CentOS, and EPEL & drive it forward.
* Thank you, Hugh Gallagher
Jim Perrin is a Principal Program Manager at Microsoft, with over 20 years of experience building multiple Linux distros. Jim is a former CentOS Board member, working extensively at the intersection of enterprise Linux, cloud, and upstream community.
Sri Ramkrishna has had a colorful and varied career. He started in Enterprise IT, spending 15 years crawling under servers in datacenters, writing tools, and managing enterprise-class storage before moving into professional open source. Since then, Sri has worn many hats — developer advocate, community builder, event organizer — alongside technical roles like firmware QA and building open-hardware servers on open toolchains.
To say Sri loves working with Linux is an understatement. He currently serves as a Director of the GNOME Foundation, the nonprofit that stewards the finances and assets of the GNOME Project. Today, Sri runs a consulting business focused on his core strengths: open source strategy, community development, and technical infrastructure.
Previously at Intel, ITRenew
Infrastructure Lead @ AlmaLinux
