This year marks my first KubeCon, and I cannot overstate how thankful I am for both Universal Blue and Bazzite, especially our teams and our ever-growing roster of users. You all made this dream come true for me, and I will never forget it
We’re all sold the narrative early on that we need to go to college to pursue successful careers. For various reasons, college didn’t work out for me. I had hope I could skip a step and started looking at entry level jobs. While hunting for work, I also filled my time working on personal projects, pursuing certs, and playing video games. One of those projects being a tool that automated the setup for my various OpenSUSE installations; something Universal Blue thankfully made obsolete. Thanks to what I’ve learned and the connections I’ve made working on Ublue, I get to wake up and do something I love every single day (package software and build images)
Looking back, it’s surreal to think this all started because I was simply trying to replace SteamOS on my Steam Deck with something better 
When the Steam Deck was announced in 2021, I was in awe. The idea of playing games like The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion and Grand Theft Auto IV on the go was unreal. However, SteamOS left much to be desired. It’s PC, so I had PC expectations that SteamOS couldn’t accommodate. I wanted the latest kernel, BTRFS for everything, disk encryption (even if the touchscreen prompt came a bit later), and up-to-date packages. I wanted the flexibility I’d enjoyed using Fedora and OpenSUSE. That’s when I found Bazzite, and damn, could it print! (courtesy of cups)
Bazzite is not just a SteamOS replacement—it is something much bigger. It is a love letter to Linux gamers who have struggled with the endless cycle of maintenance. Thanks to Universal Blue, Bazzite is at the forefront of Cloud Native, and that’s something KubeCon really opened my eyes to
I visited Red Hat’s booth, where I had the opportunity of speaking with Dan Walsh and Collin Walters. Dan shared his belief that Bazzite is at the tip of the spear when it comes to bootc; he also often references Bazzite as an example when discussing bootc with others. Hearing that from him was very humbling. It’s clear that Bazzite is not only empowering Linux gamers, but it, along with Universal Blue, is also playing a crucial role in shaping Cloud Native technologies
KubeCon was something to behold. I had the pleasure of meeting Jorge, Marco, and Wayne the first day of the event. I also caught various talks covering everything from using Linux namespaces in place of pods in functional tests to the nuances of Kubernetes platform and API upgrades to the use of WASM in AI workflows. (Additionally, I spread the word of Wolfi over at Chainguard’s booth to countless other attendees)
I’m very excited for our future, especially now as more projects are making their way under the CNCF’s wing, strengthening the Cloud Native community and encouraging more collaboration than ever
Once again, thank you all! I’m so proud of what we’ve been able to achieve together, and I look forward to what we’re able to accomplish in the future 