Webstock Mini, June 2007

Your host Michael Koziarski

Michael Koziarski is a software architect and leading Ruby on Rails developer. Michael has had a significant career in software architecture and development, designing and building large enterprise scale applications in the banking industry before converting to doing things the lean and simple way.

Michael was quick to join the Ruby on Rails movement which has been and continues to be a key technology driving web 2.0. Michael played a lead role in the development of web based file storage application Strong Space and Textdrive and subsequently Joyent who acquired these businesses.

Michael is on the core team of Ruby on Rails ensuring he's in the loop on the latest and getting his contributions out to the wider world. Michael also blogs here.

Leigh Blackall

Second Life

Come into Second Life and tour educational facilities and chat with educationalists using Second Life in their work. Then come back into your first life and discuss any thoughts ideas from the tour.

Leigh lives in Andersons Bay in Dunedin New Zealand with his partner Sunshine and our dog Mira. His core interest lays in education and networked learning. Leigh works in Educational Development for the Otago Polytechnic and gives presentations and workshops on networked learning to educational organisations in Australia and New Zealand. He maintains the Learn Online weblog and facilitates the Teach and Learn Online eGroup. Leigh also designs and develops educational resources.

Hear Leigh's presentation

Robert O'Callahan

Features of Firefox 3

Robert will talk about the update to the Gecko rendering engine in Firefox 3, demo some of its new features (including features developed by the team in Auckland) and discuss the implications for Web developers.

Robert O'Callahan grew up in Auckland, then spent 10 years in the USA getting a PhD in static program analysis, then worked at IBM Research on programming languages and dynamic program analysis. In parallel Robert worked on Mozilla as a volunteer since 1999, contributing to layout, rendering and other parts of the Gecko engine. In 2005 he returned to Auckland to work full-time on Firefox, and in 2007 started building a local team of Mozilla developers. In his spare time he works on an omniscient debugger for Firefox-sized programs.

Hear Robert's presentation

Web Debate - a webate if you will

That Web 2.0 is all fizz and no substance

Hear the Debate

For the Affirmative:

Mike Brown

Webstock/Signify

Father of Webstock, Matt and Josh. Lover of red wine, twitter and Deb. Writer of HTML and a blog. Director at Signify.

Sandy Mamoli

Sandy is a recent import to New Zealand, coming to us most recently from Amsterdam and Copenhagen where she worked as a database architect and technical business analyst with Sony Ericsson. She has led Agile development teams working on large multi-site projects and knows what it means to be called "scrum master". She is a passionate advocate of Agile methodologies, the internet, Apple and gadgets that can enhance your life, or just look good.

Mark Cubey

Radio NZ

Mark has been cutting his teeth on bleeding edge technology for most of his life and is about to vacate the producer's chair at Saturday Morning with Kim Hill on Radio New Zealand National.

And for the Negative:

Philip Fierlinger

xero

Philip Fierlinger founded iconic US digital design firm Turntable.com, whose clients included Apple, Sony and Macromedia. Before joining Xero, Philip worked for acclaimed web agency Shift, working on the NewZealand.com and IRD websites. His work has garnered numerous design accolades, including two Webby Awards.

Brenda Leeuwenberg

NZ On Air

Brenda is a highly experienced player in the internet world and has just returned to NZ after spending 5 years in Amsterdam working at the forefront of mobile and web technologies with digital communications company Media Catalyst and Sony Ericsson. Prior to that she has been around the Wellington web scene for many years, working with CWA, her own web agency Spunk Media, and Synergy (now Fronde). Brenda was the founder of Webgrrls Aotearoa way back in the day, and has been an (out)spoken advocate of internet and digital technologies since it was first around. She is currently the online producer at NZ On Air.

Che Tibby

Formerly of Public Address

Che is a thirty-something escapee of the bogan lifestyle. After a life of black jumpers and blacker jeans Che migrated to the big smoke of Wellington.

Flipping a coin, Che chose the academic life, wound up a Bachelors and headed from Wellington to Auckland to complete a Masters Degree. A stint working at the New Zealand Asia Institute followed before a scholarship in Melbourne was won.

Three years of not-quite-working-hard-enough and another three years of kitchen drugery later Che left Melbourne and his XD Falcon for 'Wellington again', completing the circle, but bearing a PhD from Melbourne University for his troubles.

He currently works in the public service, and occasionally wears bad jumpers, just to stay in touch with his roots.

And your Moderator:

Rowan Simpson

Formerly of Trade Me, now of Xero.

Hear the Debate