IoT (Internet of Things) stories from past Travel Assistance Recipients ¶

This is part of our series of stories from past ApacheCon and Apache Big Data attendees whom the Apache Travel Assistance committee helped be at the event. To learn more about TAC, visit the main TAC page. For more stories, see the TAC stories index page.

Piotr Zarzycki ¶

What’s your name?

Piotr Zarzycki

Which ApacheCon/Apache event did you attend?

I attended ApacheCon.

What Apache project(s)/Open Source Software project(s) are you involved in?

I am involved in the Apache Flex project.

Where in the world are you from?

I am from Poland (Cracow).

What was the best bit about ApacheCon?

Absolutely one of the best things was meeting people who you know only from mailing lists.

Who was the best person you met at ApacheCon, and why?

Chris Dutz - His smile and attitude to me and other people were amazing. He gathered not only people from the Apache Flex project, but also from other projects. Thanks to him I met many amazing people.

Thank you so much, Chris!

What was your favourite ApacheCon talk, and why?

I think one of the best was Chris Dutz’s talk “Building SCADA Systems with Apache Software” - He did his talk with a lot of passion, which not only I have felt but many other people. That was so strong that I know that his idea is realistic.

How did the Travel Assistance program compare to your expectations?

I’m not disappointed in any way related to TAC. People who handled the program were well prepared. My expectations were more than fulfilled.

Thank you, TAC!

Rafael Weingärtner ¶

What’s your name?

I am Rafael Weingärtner.

What Apache project(s)/Open Source Software project(s) are you involved in?

Apache CloudStack and IOTA

Were you a student/academic at the time of ApacheCon?

Yes, I was a Ph.D. student in Computer Science

Where in the world are you from?

Brazil

What was the best bit about ApacheCon?

The opportunity to meet great people from all around the world. Not just technical folks, but also people who know how to create and manage huge projects on a daily basis.

Also Lightning talks; I swear that I am not only saying that because there were free beers and snacks ;)

What was the best new project you heardabout at ApacheCon?

Chronix, a database system based on Lucene and Solr that is optimized for timeseries. That was kind of unexpected to see a project like that that can solve some of the problems I am facing in my Ph. D. It was also interesting to see other scholars actively participating and engaging in the Apache world. The Chronix was a nice example; it is mainly developed by a Ph.D. student.

What was your favourite non-talk part of ApacheCon?

The event at the Steamworks Brewing Company. Great beer and lots of fun.

Who was the best person you met at ApacheCon, and why?

Daan Hoogland; this guy is awesome. He is in the Apache CloudStack PMC, and we have been working together for over 4 years. We exchange emails weekly, and ApacheCon NA was the opportunity to meet and share a beer. Daan is not just a great coder and PMC member, but also a great friend.

What unexpected things did you learn at ApacheCon?

Apache Fey, which is part of Apache IOTA. This project is what I was looking for to serve the base for a system that I have been building.

What would you say to someone thinking ofapplying to TAC for the first time?

Go for it ;)