Re: [linux-audio-dev] donations or sponsoring?

On Tue, 2007-02-06 at 12:58 +0100, Robin Gareus wrote:
> great goodness of heart and an ex-employer who lets you "keep the keys"
> - minimizing unnecessary accessories (shaving-kit, vacuum-cleaner, etc)
> helps a lot ;-)

yes.

> open-source coding is an Art not an Industry. - unless you want to sell
> support or merchandise, I recommend to get similar funding as Artists.

in this case, there is only a place for linux and open source in the
"hobbyist segment", as steve ballmer put it.

if open source can not be turned into a business case, the idea will not
catch on.

once linux goes popular, commercial vendors will move their closed apps
to linux - and we'll have our nice little open source world swamped with
black boxes. look at energyxt, vmware, skype and others.

with a business case however, i could prove that open source is not only
a good choice on the ethical, but also on the monetary side.

besides that open source proves to sustain itself - like a compiler that
can compile itself.

> Alas, most open-source code is [considered] craftsmanship not Art and it
> sells as such. - now compare it to music-business: it's a pitiful career
> unless (and even) if you're at the TOP; - ..usual exceptions..

please explain. i can't follow you.

> a "donation" button to sell improvement-on-request seems the best
> option.

either it's a donation or a service. a donation is never associated with
any service in return.

> If you get annoyed/broke: show it:
> donation-progress-splash-screen, change the default-app background to a
> picture of your fridge if a user has not made a donation for a month,
> etc...

i do not want to implement features which the user does not benefit
from.

> > There is no dependency between you and your users, meaning that the
> > choices you make might not necessarily be choices embraced by the
> > community. Again, there is no contract, just a requirement of
> > trust.
>
> that's a feature not e bug :) - I did not yet read your BLOG - but maybe
> you're looking for a shareware-license instead of GPL.

no. i am fond of open source, but i want a business case, for reasons
mentioned above.

> Is this an issue that the linux-audio-consortion could address?
> -> set up a foundation to pay developers on project basis.
> (much like sourceforge donations - but first we need a wiki, blog, forum
> and project-MS :) )

i think this problem applies to gpl-licenced consumer-oriented software
in general.

> PS. facts-from-a-parallel-universe: Vincent cut off his ear after 3days
> of debugging his rendering code.

... with msvc.

-- 
Leonard Ritter
-- Freelance Art & Logic
-- http://www.leonard-ritter.com