Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

OpenBSD Lands $2 Million In DARPA Money

Posted by timothy on from the laundering-through-pennsylvania dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Canada's National Post is reporting today that DARPA is (indirectly) funding $2-million (US) to Theo de Raadt of OpenBSD. The article is available here." Update: 04/07 21:01 GMT by T : As several readers have pointed out, this blurb should credit instead The Globe and Mail rather than the National Post.

12 of 326 comments (clear)

  1. cash versus equipement by st0rmcold · · Score: 4, Interesting


    I completly understand how an OSS project can require funds for further development, what I worry is how these funds are donated, is it all contributed in cash?

    Problem with that is some people can easily take advantage of a situation like that, I think funding should instead come in required equipement and/or other expenses, but not cash, because there are many contributors (coders) to projects like this, and no one should be taking coin from it.

    Can someone shed some light? maybe I am off base...

    --
    Posting useless rant since 2003.
    1. Re:cash versus equipement by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Soo.. since they now have funding, does this mean we can finally download the ISO's ? I mean american tax dollars are footing the bill now right? Faq 3.3

  2. no words can describe by frankm_slashdot · · Score: 4, Interesting

    well.. yeah, they can...

    holy fucking shit.... this is turly beautiful.

    there are two types of people in this world (well.. actually more, but ill narrow it down here), those who talk about needing - have their needs filled- then still dont produce... and then there are those who need - and once those needs are met.. they DO produce...

    i hope theo and the rest of obsd are of the latter...

    -frank

  3. OSS by chunkwhite86 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It's a very positive thing to see government funding OSS software. This is something that gives positive returns to everyone.

    --
    I'd rather be a conservative nutjob than a liberal with no nuts and no job.
  4. Can you say, "Hypocrite?" by mgessner · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Oh, man...

    First, I like OpenBSD. I'm in a "network free-state" so I can run NAT to allow me to let my kids play on their machine while I compute on mine and we can all get to the internet... OpenBSD lets me do this.

    But, MAN, how can he take $2,000,000 from the US Gov't and still criticize them at the same time?

    No backbone? No ethics?

    Give us a break; if he felt that strongly about the war, he could've said, "Thanks, but I'll wait till you guys leave Iraq before I'll accept your money."

    Come ON already!

    --
    "Sometimes the truth is stupid." - Lawrence, creator of Prime Intellect
    1. Re:Can you say, "Hypocrite?" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Agreed. Oil grab? Is that like a 2million dollar grab?

      In the end, He took the money anyway. It sickens me....its just a grab for 2 million US dollars. Jeez ..where is the 2million Canadian dollars? Where is the support from the Canadian (government/defense department/oil grabbing department)?

      I like OpenBSD, but i don't think i'll be giving that hypocrite any more money. (US dollars, thank you.)

    2. Re:Can you say, "Hypocrite?" by astroboy · · Score: 4, Interesting
      Give us a break; if he felt that strongly about the war, he could've said, "Thanks, but I'll wait till you guys leave Iraq before I'll accept your money."

      So it's your opinion that money should buy silence? That anyone who accepts money from the governement is morally required to not criticize the government that funded them? Or is it your position that the government should only fund researchers who agree with the current administration?

      I think just the opposite; unless you want all research to lose its independance, you should criticize even your patrons if that's how you feel. That comment might cost him similar money in the future; but he said what he believed anyway. That does show backbone and ethics.

      For all I know, The rationalle might be that he's accepting this money exactly because it'll be $2M that is not going to develop bombs or other WMDs. That seems like a completely self-consistant moral position.

  5. Believe it or not... by 13Echo · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Believe it or not, there is a lot that you can do with $320,000 USD worth of CD sales *alone* each year. That can make a few people live comfortably, paying the bills and meeting the need for servers. That doesn't take into account the sales of other merchandise.

    This is how open source products like OpenBSD and Slackware have been profitable. OpenBSD *is* a product, in a way. Theo seems to make it a full-time effort, as far as I can tell, just as Patrick does with Slackware.

    The extra 2 mil is just a bonus. But it goes fast if you're paying for 4 full-time coders to work on the project for a few years.

  6. Re:No it isn't. by SN74S181 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The thing people forget is that OpenBSD is a much more tightly organized project than Linux or OSS in general. The OpenBSD developers are used to doing their work in a limited environment of reduced cost. The 'Image' of OpenBSD, i.e. the artwork, etc. has that kind of an aura about it (not meant at all as a put-down, more can often be done with less when the people involved are good at what they do).

    The Red Hat organization was already getting crowded with the regular 'expense account' types by the time of their IPO. Obviously $2M wouldn't go far at that place.

  7. Re:Doesn't matter by drinkypoo · · Score: 2, Interesting

    In fact this is the best possible thing that could happen. Think about it, they could have spent that US$2.3M on hiring a programmer or two and forking OpenBSD internally. (They of course have probably already done that too, and we'll just never hear it - Not DARPA, but some other branch of the gov't.) Instead, everything done with their money will either go into the OpenBSD codebase, or into or onto Theo's body. (Got to remain clothed and fed...)

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  8. Re:OpenBSD cd images by methodic · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Not at all..

    Theo just sent this to misc@openbsd.org:

    it may seem like a lot of money, but there are overheads, and some of
    the funding was also absorbed by upenn (that is how grants work when
    you involve a US university)

    however, the grant only runs for about another 6 months.

    CD sales are more important now than ever. He mentions that CD sales in the U.S. have been dropping as FTP installs have been rising. Any open-source project will take all the help they can get.

  9. Re:Don't look a gift grant in the mouth by dolmant_php · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Do you honestly believe that Theo is taking millions of dollars just so he can say "I don't like the war"? There are others forums for that. This grant started long before the war. Get your facts straight.