Last week on Friday and Saturday, I attended a very special event called TossConf 25, a meetup by the Tamil Linux Community. It was held at St. Joseph’s College, Chennai.
I usually go to tech meetups every Saturday in Chennai. But TossConf 25 was different. It was special for me because we started preparing for it one month before. I was part of the Payilagam team that helped organize the event. We were all excited to take part and contribute.
We went by bus and reached the college on time. Many known faces from the Linux community were there. I met Syed Jafer brother, Thanga Ayyanar brother, Salman brother, and especially Mohan Sir. Many other people also arrived and started talking and networking.
First Talk by Senthil Kumar Sir:
He is an expert in Debian Operating System. His topic was all about:
1.What is Debian OS
2.How Debian started (its history)
3.His personal experience using Debian in daily life
He explained that Debian is a free and stable Linux-based OS used worldwide. He shared how he started using it, and what makes Debian special. His way of explaining was clear, and it was a great start to the event.
Second Talk by Vignesh Sir – SFLC (Software Freedom Law Center)
His topic was about the legal side of technology. He spoke about:
- What SFLC does (they provide legal help for free software users).
- Why it is important to know your digital rights.
- How to contact SFLC if you face any legal issues related to open-source or tech.
His speech was very unique and helpful. He explained that even in open-source, we should know about privacy, licenses, and laws. He gave some real examples and told us how SFLC supports people in such cases.
Tea Break & Workshop Time:
After a short tea break, we moved on to the workshops. Two workshops were happening at the same time, but I chose to attend the one on Nix OS.
Workshop:1 – Nix OS by Viveganandhan VS
This was my first time learning about Nix OS, and the session was amazing.
- He explained that Nix OS is a special Linux system where software installation is very clean and doesn't affect other parts of the system.
- He used diagrams and pictures to explain how Nix OS works step by step.
- He showed how Nix OS helps to manage packages easily, reduce mistakes, and save time.
- Even though the topic was advanced, he made it easy to understand with real-life examples.
Before this session, I didn’t know anything about Nix OS. But after this workshop, I got a good idea of what it is and why it’s useful. He didn’t have much time, but he tried to cover everything possible.
Lunch Break:
After the workshop, we had a tasty veg lunch at the college canteen. The college team gave us a warm welcome. It felt nice to sit and relax with other participants and talk about what we had learned so far.
Workshop 2:Assembly Language Workshop by Mohan Sir
This was the session I was waiting for. Even though I reached a bit late, I quickly understood what was going on.
- Mohan Sir explained how Assembly Language works and how it’s connected to C programming.
- He created a simple example program and showed how the machine understands code at a low level.
- He explained each step slowly and clearly, which made it easy for beginners to follow.
It was a very informative and hands-on session. I took full notes and learned how assembly is used with C to control how programs run at the hardware level.
Day 1 Ends – Connections & Memories
At the end of the day, I met many new friends, spoke with senior developers, and interacted with Tamil Linux Community members. We had evening snacks, took some photos together, and then returned home by bus.
It was a wonderful day full of learning, meeting new people, and gaining real knowledge. I enjoyed every moment.But I was even more excited about Day 2, because we were going to put up our own stall and show what we had learned and built!!
Day 2 -> Continue.....
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