Southern California Linux Expo

The Southern California Linux Expo (SCALE) is an annual Linux, open source and free software conference held in Los Angeles, California, since 2002. Despite having Linux in its name, SCALE covers all open source operating systems and software. It is a volunteer-run event.

The event features an expo floor with both commercial and non-profit exhibitors, as well as 4 days of seminars on the topic of Linux and Open Source software. Sessions and presentations cover a broad spectrum of topics and technical levels.

SCALE grew out of a series of LUGFests put on by the Simi Conejo Linux Users Group in the late 90s. There were four of them, held every 6 months at the Nortel development facility in Simi Valley, California. They ended when Nortel closed that facility in 2001. Subsequently, members from SCLUG, USCLUG and UCLALUG organized to create a more regional event, which they named the Southern California Linux Expo.

Companies, organizations and projects represented at SCALE include Linux-based projects such as Debian, Gentoo Linux, the Fedora Project, KDE and GNOME, other open-source operating systems including NetBSD and FreeBSD, software projects such as Django, open-source database systems such as MySQL and PostgreSQL, other open-source applications such as Drupal, Inkscape, MythTV and The Document Foundation, activist organizations such as Software Freedom Law Center and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, major technology companies such as IBM, HP and Sharp, web companies including Google, Facebook and eHarmony, and internet projects including OpenStreetMap.

Locations and dates

Event Year Date Venue Keynote Speakers
SCALE 1x 2002 December 2 University of Southern California Davidson Conference Center
SCALE 2x 2003 November 22 Los Angeles Convention Center
SCALE 3x 2005 February 12–13 Los Angeles Convention Center
SCALE 4x 2006 February 10–12 Radisson Hotel Los Angeles Airport
Janinne Brunyee, Dan Kegel
SCALE 5x 2007 February 9–11 Westin Los Angeles Airport
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SCALE 6x 2008 February 8–10 Westin Los Angeles Airport
Jono Bacon, Stormy Peters
SCALE 7x 2009 February 20–22 Westin Los Angeles Airport
Bradley Kuhn, Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier
SCALE 8x 2010 February 19–21 Westin Los Angeles Airport
Karsten Wade, Tarus Balog
SCALE 9x 2011 February 25–27 Hilton Los Angeles Airport
 Leigh Honeywell, Jane Silber
SCALE 10x 2012 January 20–22 Hilton Los Angeles Airport Greg DeKoenigsberg, Selena Deckelmann
SCALE 11x 2013 February 22–24 Hilton Los Angeles Airport
Kyle Rankin, Matthew Garrett
SCALE 12x 2014 February 21–23 Hilton Los Angeles Airport Lawrence Lessig, Leslie Hawthorne, Brendan Gregg
SCALE 13x 2015 February 19–22 Hilton Los Angeles Airport Ruth Suehle, Monty Taylor
SCALE 14x 2016 January 21–24 Pasadena Convention Center Sage Sharp, Mark Shuttleworth, Cory Doctorow
SCALE 15x 2017 March 2–4 Pasadena Convention Center Christine Corbett Moran, Karen Sandler
SCALE 16x 2018 March 8–11 Pasadena Convention Center John Gossman, Zaheda Bhorat
SCALE 17x 2019 March 7–10 Pasadena Convention Center
 Mitchell Hashimoto, Colin Charles
SCALE 18x 2020 March 5–8
Pasadena Convention Center		 Paul Vixie, Sha Stepter, Jessica McKellar
SCALE 19x 2022

(2021 edition suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic)

July 28–31 Hilton Los Angeles Airport Aeva Black, Demetris Cheatham, Vint Cerf
SCALE 20x 2023 March 9–12 Pasadena Convention Center Arun Gupta, Dr. Kitty Yeung, Ken Thompson
SCaLE 21x 2024 March 14-17 Pasadena Convention Center Bill Cheswick, Casey Handmer, Viral B. Shah