Tübix Community Conference in Southern Germany

I went to my first Tübix this year. Tübingen is a beautiful college town ( Universitätsstadt ) on the Neckar river in southwestern Germany.

I particularly enjoyed the talks on SSH and authentication, both of which led into my talk on privacy and security via a password manager. I picked up a couple new ways of explaining things from the SSH talk and look forward to listening to it again.

Tübix had audio recorders for the conference rooms, but no video. As in previous years, the talks were in German. Tübix archives the talks on the conference site.

Once again there was a kids program from Teckids e.V. run by other kids, Mini-FrogLabs. Teckids e.V. creates educational experiences using free software. The kids got up during the opening talk to explain what they're doing and ask for support as they're trying to fund a new chapter in Tübingen.

The Mini-FrogLabs program included electronics and game programming along with film and audio play production. They also had a telescope, a small computer museum and pizza.

I had to leave a little early, so missed the end of conference talk, which was likely the second best opportunity for hallway track. I also missed the pre-conference Neckarmüller gathering as I wasn't yet in town. That was certainly the best hallway track opportunity. The Neckarmüller is a well-known brewpub restaurant on the bank of the Neckar. I will be certain to attend the ice-breaker if I can make it to Tübix again.

After Tübix, I went down to the river for a Stocherkannfahrt with up and down the Neckar alongside Neckar Island with friends and family. That was, as always, a great experience. That evening, I did get to eat at the Neckarmüller. Maultaschen for dinner, then a walk down the island. Life can be grand in Tübingen.

Getting to Tübix was an easy drive. The conference was at the top of the hill in the Sand which houses the Wilhelm-Schickard-Institut für Informatik. It's a bit of a ride with public transportation, so plan about 45 minutes from the main train station. The buses in Tübingen were no cost for the weekend ( I believe they are for all of the Summer ).

Tübix is a volunteer run conference that does not charge for entrance. Everyone helps a little bit to put on the conference. Participants can volunteer for shifts on the grill and at the cafe desk. They can offer a guest bed if they live in Tübingen. Volunteers provide room support for the conference rooms. As a surprise to no one, there's also a tech team.

During the conference, LPIC certification exams were available in German or English.

As it turns out, there was a privacy conference the following weekend in Stuttgart. Unfortunately my schedule didn't allow me to pick that up. Perhaps next year I can attend both if they are again on successive weekends.