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Summary
Geeks, cyberactivists and Internet enthusiasts from all over the world camped out for a week in Sao Paulo as they got online at Brazil's second Campus Party. The Campus Party brings together some 6,500 tech lovers from January 18 to 23 to share ideas and creations they usually only discuss in blogs or via Twitter or Facebook. It is the world's biggest event of its kind for people interested in technology and innovation. The geeks were also able to take part in conferences with tech personalities like Apple retired co-founder Steve Wozniak and Web creator Tim Berners-Lee. At a news conference on Saturday (January 22), Wozniak, who fans call Wizard of Woz, avoided answering questions about Apple CEO Steve Jobs' medical leave. Deemed irreplaceable by many Apple fans and investors, pancreatic cancer survivor Jobs took a medical leave of absence to concentrate on his health -- two years after a previous health-related absence. Wozniak told reporters that the 55-year-old Jobs sounded good in their latest phone conversations. Jobs said nothing about the nature of his latest medical concerns despite widespread criticism over the inadequacy of past disclosures about his health. During the week, Campus Party attendees participated in workshops and seminars, while exchanging knowledge and tips around topics such as open source software, games, music, robotics and blogs. They were also able to test new video games on display at the several stands run by firms such as Microsoft, Sony, and many others. Walking through the pavilion, visitors could run into moving robots and personalized computers, featuring characters such as the evil Chucky doll and the Incredible Hulk. Several prizes are granted to the event's participants, including one of most creative computer. Campus Party started in 1997 in Spain as an event for Internet enthusiasts and became the trendsetter for many disciplines such as robotics, software creation and modeling. Annual editions are held in Valencia, Sao Paulo, Bogota and Mexico City. This year the geek encounter will also take place in US and France.
