It has been nearly three weeks since we set up our booth as a community exhibitor at Texas Linux Fest 2025, and I thought I’d gather my thoughts and share them in a follow-up blog.
Things started off great when we just barely squeezed everything into the car that I rented to haul us all down to Austin!
It went so much better than I expected!
I attended Texas Linux Fest for the first time in 2024, and I really enjoyed the event. My experience in 2024 is what convinced me to be more than just an attendee in 2025, but my intrusive thoughts had me a tiny bit concerned that we’d be sitting at a table having awkward conversations with each other as puzzled attendees walked by wondering what the heck we were even doing there.
And I was right! There were plenty of people who wondered what the heck we were doing there. Thankfully, instead of passing by our table, they came up and asked one of us exactly that question, much to our delight.
I am confident that we were visited by nearly every attendee, volunteer, speaker, and sponsor from Texas Linux Fest 2025. We even spoke to a handful of people who worked or studied around the venue who were passing through to the nearby cafe.
The DIY NAS: 2025 Texas Linux Fest Edition giveaway was awesome!
I was supremely confident that the DIY NAS: 2025 Texas Linux Fest Edition giveaway would be fun. The number of people who stopped by to solely look at makerunit’s awesome 3D-printed 6-bay NAS was equal parts voluminous and unsurprising.
I intentionally scheduled the drawing for midway through the second day. I fully expected that I’d be swapping emails with the winner, trying to work out the logistics of picking up the prize. What I did not expect was a gathering of people skipping interesting talks and choosing to watch the drawing in person.
I also didn’t expect that the winner would almost immediately come running through the venue, excited to collect the DIY NAS: 2025 Texas Linux Fest Edition! But that’s exactly what happened, and it was fantastic!
Will I be at Texas Linux Fest in 2026?
Yes, definitely! I want to be there, and if you read what Pat had to say about TXLF, he wants to be there too! I’ve already saved the dates (November 6th and 7th) on my calendar, and I have a few goals of things I want to potentially do next year:
- Convince TrueNAS/iXSystems to have a presence at Texas Linux Fest: I’m listing this one first because it’s ambitious and I have no idea how I could make it happen. However, my experience with the TrueNAS community makes me think that Linux Fest would be an ideal way to showcase their products and interface with the community.
- A second table: I think everyone who wound up around our table would have benefited if we had some more real estate. I’m not sure how this would work out in 2026, or if it’s even possible, but I’m hoping that there’s a patshead.com table and a briancmoses.com table right next to each other next year.
- Make it to the after-party: Both years I’ve attended Texas Linux Fest, my social battery has been depleted by the end of the conference. Each Saturday I’ve retreated to the hotel and crashed out. And in doing so, I’ve unfortunately missed out on the after-party both years.
- Grow the DIY NAS giveaway: We had a healthy percentage of the attendees who signed up for the DIY NAS giveaway, but I want to move that number up to 100% of the conference. It wasn’t obvious that we were giving away the TXLF DIY NAS, so we had to remember to encourage everyone to enter the giveaway. Next year, I want to see more entries in the giveaway, and I hope we approach 100% of the festival’s attendees entering the giveaway.
I’ll be there, but am I going to see you at Texas Linux Fest 2026?
While I understand that only a small fraction of the people who wind up landing on one of our three blogs are close enough to Texas to make it out to Texas Linux Fest, I still hope that everyone can come next year. And if you can’t make it to Texas Linux Fest 2026, then find something closer to you to attend, set up a table like me, or give a talk!
If I got to see you at Texas Linux Fest, thanks again for swinging by the table! I really enjoyed and appreciated meeting you in person, and I hope to see you all again in 2026. If you have any suggestions on how I can accomplish any of the goals I have for Texas Linux Fest 2026, then please share them in the comments or come join the Butter, What?! Discord server and share them there!