Harald Welte, noted Linux kernel hacker (netfilter/iptables), GPL enforcer (gpl-violations.org), embedded Linux wizard (Openmoko) and techno-blogger, will be this year’s opening keynote speaker.

This may come as a surprise to some people – because FOSS.IN has the tradition of “a well known contributor, and must be Indian”. When we discussed possible names during a Team FOSS.IN meeting, Harald’s name came up unanimously!

Harald has been a fixture at every one of our annual events since 2003, and has been in India several times a year since then, sees more Bollywood movies than the average Indian each month, is a fan of Sharukh Khan, thrives on Indian food, and when asked by a passport officer why he comes to India so often, famously answered “Mera Dil Hai Hindustani!” (“My Heart is Indian”) – reflecting his close familiarity with Indian movies.

Known for his awesome reverse-engineering skills, he likes to curl up with a good book – in his case more likely a heavy GSM protocol reference manual than a novel. His irc nick, “laforge”, betrays his Star Trek fan roots, but his server hostnames, such as ganesha, varuna, etc., give away where his heart really lies.

He will set the tone of our über-technical conference with his keynote: “How to do embedded Linux right”.