So here are a few, and over the next few days, more will be revealed.
He is the co-author of what could probably be called "The Bible of Linux Development", in which he uses his keen knowledge of the Linux kernel and its design to show people how to develop device drivers. No one in India would even *think* of trying this without referring to his book, now in the third edition.
He is also the editor of the world's most respected FOSS publication to be found online - the one place where *everyone* goes to read unbiased news, reviews and commentary about the FOSS world.
Our first visiting speaker is Jonathan Corbet, co-author of "Linux Device Drivers", and editor of LWN.NET, aka "Linux Weekly News".
He also brought with him an ocean of experience related to the creation of events for the community, having himself helped bring to life one of the most famous of them all.
From Linux Australia, we have Andrew Cowie.
His code safeguards millions of networks across the world, and can be found in virtually every consumer router these days. And when he isn't writing code, he makes the world a safer place for the GPL, by relentlessly tracking down and exposing corporations who "don't get it" when they use GPL'd code without following the rules of the game, and provided the first precedent of the GPL standing up in court - and winning.
From Germany comes the chairman of the netfilter/iptables project, and the man behind GPLviolations.org - Harald Welte.
He speaks Japanese, German, English and a variety of other languages, but most importantly speaks Geek as well. He had a knoppix CD before people knew what that was, and can lie in the sun for hours without getting a tan or a sunburn.
He is Mr.Wizards-of-OS - Volker Grassmuck.
(watch out for a related announcement)
He also is a shining example of how FOSS does not have to mean charity - as a successful implementor of FOSS technologies in the creation of a a successful business, he has shown the way to many who aspire to do the same in the future.
The man behind the Apache project, COLLAB.NET's Brian Behlendorf.
He can be blamed for the ANSI92 SQL-defying LIMIT clause in mSQL 1.x which has now, at least conceptually, crept into both MySQL and PostgreSQL.
He has been to India before, and his fondest memories have been the complete lack of Internet connectivity at Linux Bangalore/2003. :)
He is Mr.PHP - Rasmus Lerdorf.
When she speaks, people sit up and listen. She was behind the open sourcing of the project that today gives FOSS a place in every office and in every home, and is also part of the organisation that decides what's Open Source, and what is not - literally.
But she is also known as a relentless fighter for the cause of FOSS, and especially for the smarter half of humanity. She is no stranger to India, having been here often enough to be treated as a native, and she is a staunch supporter of India as a future FOSS world power.
The Diva of Open Source - Intel's and the OSI's Danese Cooper.
He has been here before, and many people treasure the T-Shirts that he autographed for them. He has the ear of both the hacker and the corporate world, and spends considerable amount of time telling each world about the other.
He is Yahoo!'s Jeremy Zawodny.
For many years now, our next speaker has been behind both the documentation and the actual creation of FOSS-based music software. As a regular columnist of Linux Journal, as well as a contributor to many aspects of the field of FOSS based Music creation and recording, many people use his work every day without even realising it.
The man behind Linux Sound and Audio - Dave Phillips.
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He is probably one of the most recognisable faces in the FOSS world, and at the same time one of the most respected names, as well. His contributions to Linux rank with those of all the greats out there, and that includes Linus Torvalds.
He has been the official kernel maintainer, and little happens in the Linux kernel today without him having some say in it.
He is an outspoken critic of the DMCA, and has vowed not to set a foot on the USA as long as it exists.
He is the king of his castle, and has his wife's permission to say so.
Conferences and events in India have tried for the past half decade to have him come here, but FOSS.IN/2005 is the first one he has ever agreed to come to.
He is Alan Cox.