By Akashdeep Dhar in FOSDEM 2025 —

Introducing SyncStar - A FOSDEM 25 Submission

This is a talk proposal for the FOSDEM 2025 edition of Distributions Devroom titled "Introducing SyncStar - Create Bootable Media At Conference Kiosks" submitted by Akashdeep Dhar, targeting software engineers, budding enthusiasts, software developers and community managers at a FOSS conference.

Introducing SyncStar - A FOSDEM 25 Submission
Photo by Matt Botsford / Unsplash

PROPOSAL

Title

Introducing SyncStar

Subtitle

Create Bootable Media At Conference Kiosks

Content

SyncStar lets users create bootable USB storage devices with the operating system of their choice. This application is intended to be deployed on kiosk devices and electronic signage where conference guests and booth visitors can avail themselves of its services. This self-service system allows booth visitors in free and open-source software conferences to consider using a GNU/Linux Distribution by creating a bootable USB storage device there in the booth, thus helping increase the adoption of GNU/Linux distributions as SyncStar supports multiple free and open-source software GNU/Linux distributions.

SyncStar was inspired by the original Fedorator project, a kiosk device for writing Fedora Linux Live Images onto USB drives, designed for conference booths. While it sparked interest among attendees, its adoption stalled with the pause in in-person events due to COVID-19. The semiconductor shortage also increased the cost of Raspberry Pi and peripherals, limiting project usability as these were used in building the service hardware. Additionally, the limited 3D printer access raised entry barriers for booth organizers, making it challenging for local conferences to promote Fedora Linux easily.

If permitted, this presentation would also include a demonstration of SyncStar with multiple GNU/Linux distributions (notably with the teams organizing the devrooms) and a probable giveaway of multiple 16GiB USB flash drives with the said operating system flashed atop it. While the presentation would demonstrate the use of Fedora Linux with SyncStar, the attendees will be given a choice of GNU/Linux distribution to choose when they would be obtaining their own USB flash drives.

This talk aims to be beneficial to the following fraternity.

  1. Software engineers working on GNU/Linux distributions wanting to exhibit during in-person conferences
  2. Budding enthusiasts visiting in-person conferences to interact with GNU/Linux distribution maintainers
  3. Software developers working on web technologies wanting to contribute to the maintenance efforts
  4. Community managers supervising in-person conferences to study the inclusion of more interactive elements

This service can be made use of in the context of the following scenario.

  1. Set up the SyncStar service on your GNU/Linux distribution promoting booth laptop or Raspberry Pi
  2. Open up the SyncStar dashboard either on the booth laptop or on a smartphone on the same network
  3. Lay over the swags like your GNU/Linux distribution branded USB flash drives on the booth desk
  4. Let a conference attendee ask if the custom branded USB flash drives on the booth table are for taking
  5. Tell them that they are as long as they use SyncStar to get themselves a copy of GNU/Linux distribution
  6. Have them start the live bootable media creation in the service and strike up a conversation with them
  7. Allow other attendees to use their own USB flash drives with protective discretion simultaneously
  8. Advertise for sidestream GNU/Linux distribution communities by keeping their offerings in the collection

Speakers

  • Akashdeep Dhar

Attachments

UNAVAILABLE

Resources

  1. gridhead/syncstar - GitHub (https://github.com/gridhead/syncstar)
  2. syncstar - PyPI (https://pypi.org/project/syncstar/)
  3. Introducing SyncStar - Fedora Magazine (https://fedoramagazine.org/introducing-syncstar/)
  4. sanqui/fedorator - GitHub (https://github.com/Sanqui/fedorator)
  5. Fedorator - Fedora Wiki (https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Fedorator)
  6. SyncStar - LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/gridhead_opensource-bootable-activity-7237299787518144512-38Bs?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

CONVERSATIONS

gridhead/FOSDEM2025_DistributionsDevroom_Comm_A.pdf at master · gridhead/gridhead
My GitHub profile information. Contribute to gridhead/gridhead development by creating an account on GitHub.
GitHubgridhead
gridhead/FOSDEM2025_CommunityDevroom_Comm_B.pdf at master · gridhead/gridhead
My GitHub profile information. Contribute to gridhead/gridhead development by creating an account on GitHub.
GitHubgridhead

SCHEDULE

UNAVAILABLE

VERDICT

REJECTED