In the Linux world, the Holy Trinity of Linux conferences is undoubtedly made up of the three major international conventions: the Linux Symposium, linux.conf.au, and the Linux Kongress. LinuxJournal.com had on the scene coverage of the second of these grand Linux events, and now is the time to begin thinking about the third.

Since 1994, the Linux Kongress has been held annually in Germany, with the occasional detour to other lovely European locales. In 2008, Linux Kongress-goers visited the ancient and beautiful city of Hamburg, and apparently liked it so much they didn't want to go home — conference organizers have again chosen Hamburg as the site of the Linux Kongress, to be held September 22 - 25, 2009. Speaking of organizers, the conference is again being orchestrated by the German Unix User Group. OSDevCon, the OpenSolaris Developer Conference, will also be held in Hamburg, concurrent with the Kongress.

Preparations for the Kongress are well under way, and deadlines are beginning to loom — the conference's Call for Papers has been issued, so it's time to get in ideas for presentations. The conference has traditionally focused on core technology in both the user space as well as in the kernel, with the areas are divided into two separate tracks — the call for papers is for the the user space track. The conference takes the form of a two-part event, with the first two days (September 22 - 23) devoted to tutorial programs, while the final two days (September 24 - 25) take the form of a technical conference. Offerings will include both presentations by invited speakers and presentations of papers, as well as keynote speakers.

Interested individuals should submit an extended abstract — 250 - 500 words — in plain text through the Kongress' submission page. Though the conference is held in Germany, the official language is English — submissions must be in English in order to be considered. The standard contents of any submission — title, author's names, & email addresses — are also required — abstracts will be published on the conference's website, though we assume with the required email addresses redacted. A full formal paper, suitable for publication — but not one that has already been published — is required only if a submission is accepted for the Kongress — all authors will be notified, whether their submission is accepted or not.

Relevant dates for the conference and its orchestration include: July 26,the deadline for submissions; August 3, when speakers will be notified; August 8, when the program will be published; August 31, the deadline for speakers to submit final papers; and of course, September 22 - 25, when the Kongress will convene.