Linux Credit Card Re-Launches

An anonymous reader writes "The all-new Linux Fund Visa Card launched on July 24th. The Linux Fund began in 1999, and lasted until Bank of America bought MBNA and canceled the program earlier this year. Before that time the fund had distributed $100,000 a year on average. US Bank has inked a new deal to resurrect the program with new features. Currently, the project is open to ideas for supporting well-loved and community-supported software that is underfunded. The current list of supported projects includes Debian, Wikipedia, FreeGeek, Freenode, and Blender."

Comments

Wikipedia?

[niceone]

I wonder why they picked Wikipedia? All the others seem pretty geeky low visibility things that would have trouble raising non-geek funds whereas Wikipedia is pretty widely known.

Re:Wikipedia?

[owlnation]

I wonder why they picked Wikipedia? All the others seem pretty geeky low visibility things that would have trouble raising non-geek funds whereas Wikipedia is pretty widely known.

Yes, this is very questionable. Particularly with the relentless controversies that pursue Wikipedia like a pack of hounds. And will continue to do so for a long time to come.

Also, while the wiki template is open, large parts of the content are very much not open in any true sense. You can very easily get your IP address banned if some Wikinazi disagrees with your opinion, no matter who knowledgeable or correct your opinion is. Entire countries have had their IP addresses banned. This in not in any way open by my definition.

In addition the relationship with Wikipedia and the for-profit Wikia is not as distinct as anyone claims.

There are a great many open source projects that really benefit the community. There are projects that are struggling and this funding would help them. Wikipedia is not one of them.

Wikipedia shouldn't be funded by anything other than advertising (especially since a significant percentage of its content is already advertising copy anyway), or by donations from those who are so inclined to spend their money that way. I'm sure political parties and NGOs would cough up something for ensuring their views continue to be "freely" expressed. Especially the right-wing ones.

Re:Wikipedia?

[Taxman415a]

It's pretty funny how comments bashing Wikipedia get modded up with such ease even when they have nothing insightful or informative to say. "You can very easily get your IP address banned if some Wikinazi disagrees with your opinion, no matter who knowledgeable or correct your opinion is." In addition to fulfilling Godwin's law for us, it's false. One actually has to work pretty hard and behave pretty poorly to get blocked and it's really easy to get unblocked unless you're misbehaving. It's really nearly impossible to get blocked just for disagreeing with people. Any admin that did that would get blocked themselves. The reality is you have to misbehave to get blocked.

"There are a great many open source projects that really benefit the community. There are projects that are struggling and this funding would help them. Wikipedia is not one of them." - Oh yes, Wikipedia just gets millions of hits per day because it's pure trash, thank you for letting us know that it doesn't help anyone. I do however agree there are lots of deserving projects out there and that's why this credit card program is a great idea. It lets people donate without giving up cash flow. Even if you carry no balance, merchants still pay in the range of 4% to the cc company for the service and part of that fee is what goes to this donation.

Re:Wikipedia?

[Bluesman]

"no matter who knowledgeable or correct your opinion is."

Opinions don't belong in encyclopedias. Facts do. Maybe this is why you've had trouble?

firefox mozilla

[operato]

i'm sure if you put mozilla firefox on a visa credit card you'd be able to raise more money. with linux you could get all the high paid IT guys whereas with mozilla firefox you'd be able to get everyone that surfs the web including high rollers in other sectors but hey, what do i know.

Re:firefox mozilla

[Whiney Mac Fanboy]

Firefox already has a sugar daddy - Google.

Re:But how do they select projects?

[RuBLed]

You could nominate

Re:But how do they select projects?

[fyngyrz]

I strongly suggest nomination of the Gimp; it both has enormous potential, and could stand a significant degree of improvement as compared to other graphics mangulators.

Re:But how do they select projects?

[Vintermann]

Still, they decide, it seems. Why shouldn't there be a vote?

Several advantages

[iamdrscience]

Not only do you get to fund open source projects by using this credit card, but because it's a linux credit card, it's more secure, right? Personally, I'm holding out for the OpenBSD credit card, but this is a good start.

Re:Several advantages

[AskChopper]

Is it easy to switch from a regular card and get used to using this one though?!

I know how mine works and am too frightened to make the change!

Will it be compatible with my existing wallet or will I need to download a third party money clip?

Re:Several advantages

[RuBLed]

it's in your wallet.conf, edit it by 'sewdo'-ing and adjust the parameters as necessary.

Re:Several advantages

[IBBoard]

Well this is the newer version, so I'm sure the interface has been improved and brought up to date. It may even perform better and look better without requiring all of the hardware updates of the new Vis[t]a credit cards.

As for third party money clips, they are available but some of them are still in beta and were forked because someone decided it should fit twenty notes instead of fifteen.

Rest assured that even if you do have problems after the change then there'll be a kind and helpful community that will work with you to help you resolve your problem, instead of having some generic helpdesk, an extortionate phone number or a complete lack of support.

Re:wtf is this shit?

[IBBoard]

I really do not use credit cards, but if I did this one wouldn't be a bad choice.

I only use them for online purchases as an additional layer of protection. One of the main purchase is hosting. I could buy my Linux hosting on a Linux card :)

As for the GP, I like how their non-religious people get black hoods and robes and basically turn into cultists :D It's interesting to note how religious trolls relate a lack of religion to a lack of morals. Just because morals are defined by religions doesn't mean that a lack of religion has a lack of morals. It just means it has morals decided by society instead of by some supposed supreme being.

Important Question

[DTemp]

Do well-educated geeks (the readership of this site), on average, make their credit card companies less money than the general public? I'm guessing yes.

Generally speaking, I think people on here pay off their cards and don't get their payments in late. There isn't really much of an incentive for a bank to cater to this crowd... I've had Bank of America credit cards for a couple years, put on around $50K worth of charges, and have paid $0.00 in fees. They don't like me. My parents were actually told that if they kept paying off their monthly bill in full (and thus not allowing any interest to be collected), that their card would be dropped.

But I admittedly don't know that much about the business model of a credit card issuer.

Re:Important Question

[QuantumG]

Generally speaking, I think people on here pay off their cards and don't get their payments in late. Uh huh.

Re:Important Question

[JohnFluxx]

DTemp,

    If you borrow $1000 from the bank, then the bank basically ends up $10,000 to spend.
    Check out: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-905047436 2583451279

Re:Important Question

[Anonymous Coward]

That is bogus. Credit card companies don't drop people with good credit very often at all -- they will hold them for the chance that someday they'll want to buy a $25,000 anniversary ring for their spouse and pay it off over time.

The interest and fees charged to less responsible/capable/cash-flow-endowed/whatever is intended to cover their risk and reduced availability of their own funds.

They make alot (most?) of their money on the per-transaction fees that are charged to the merchants.

Re:Important Question

[asc99c]

Have a look at the cost to vendors of accepting card payments, and you'll probably change your mind about whether they like you. For typical small merchants, there is a 2.5% charge on the purchase cost which the vendor pays to the credit card company. Plenty of stores will pass this directly on to the customer, especially price-sensitive online shops. No doubt the Wal-Marts are only paying closer to 0.5% due to their purchasing power, but it's still quite a bit of money.

For your $50K of charges, your credit card company will have been paid ~ $1000 in fees. The breakdown of that between all the companies involved (Bank Of America, Visa or Mastercard etc) I'm not so sure of. Unless you're constantly ringing up customer services it's fairly certain they will be making a nice profit from your custom.

Re:Important Question

[apt142]

I was going to say that geekiness does not translate to common sense. The smartest geek can be as good or as bad with money as the next person. Also, geeky people tend to get themselves in financial straights just getting educated. It takes a lot to feed a geek's brain after all. That's aside from family troubles, natural disasters, bad luck, recessions and taxes. But, you my friend have said all that in just 2 words.

Uh huh.

Can somebody mod this guy +1(Has a Clue Bat)?

Re:Important Question

[Fishead]

I use my credit card for the same two reasons as you, (credit, and rewards), but also for company expenses. I have to do a fair amount of traveling for work, and there would be NO way that I would personally float my hotel room until the company paid me back.

Then there is emergency use and remote purchases. I can't say that I would always have enough cash in my chequing account to say tow my car across town and replace the starter. Any extra cash SHOULD be sent over to a savings account (2 day wait for my money), or a mutual fund (even harder to get).

Good thing my wife is a budget nazi so I (almost) never pay interest!

Re:Important Question

[mgblst]

You answered your own question: "To me, it appears credit-cards are designed to milk those who are stupid, or who are unable to control their urges sufficiently to do what is wise rather than what is smart." That's exactly it. There are certain kinds of people in the US (and elsewhere too, I'm sure) who feel entitled to have material things. They see it as a need. Additionally, parents tend to coddle their kids - and credit card companies know it, so they give thousands of dollars in credit to college kids, knowing that Mommy and Daddy will pay it off.

Don't be too harsh, there is a billion dollar industry around convincing everyone that they do need these material positions. That there lives are crap without them. They use a variety of psychological manipulations to trick people into this.

Of course, the ultimate blame still lies with the consumer.

And for us non-USians?

[Svenne]

It sounds interesting and I'd like to participate, but unfortunately this is only available for citizens of the United States.

Has anyone seen or heard of anything similar for us Europeans?

Why trust them?

[NovaX]

They don't explain why, as a previous card holder, I should go back. I held the original card from 1999 (my first card, when leaving for college) until a few weeks ago when my replacement (non-branded version) came. The only difference I see so far is a less attractive card and that they switched from MBNA (now BoA) to US Bank for the United States. Since they failed for years to actually donate the funds contributed, the most satasfaction I got out of the card was when a waitress would complement that it was cute.

On their website, they gloss over the past and don't offer a reason why I should trust them again. I'm inclined to believe that new management will help ensure proactive measures are taken, but I'm also tempted to go reward some other charity.

Big projects only?

[blindcoder]

Debian, Wikipedia, FreeGeek, Freenode, and Blender

So the money goes to projects that already have a big financial supporting community?
Wikipedias fundraiser usually works great, no? So does Freenodes. Blender has been 'bought into freedom'.

So, realistically speaking. How are the chances of small, say 1-5 people, projects getting support to actually be able to have a nice booth at a Linux Fair or similiar?

con job.

[timmarhy]

This is a big con. why not donate directly instead of having your "donations" in the form of interest skimmed by the bank.

Debt is DUMB. Donate directly--don't use this card

[gblues]

OK, so you want to help out the F/OSS community, that's great. If you've got the money to contribute, contribute. Don't waste your time supporting others with consumer debt. With the infinitesimally small returns these cards' so-called "rewards" programs generate, you could contribute the same amount or more directly, spend less money overall, and NOT be in debt to someone else.

I'm also going debunk the "geeks are smart enough to pay off their balance each month" myth. Bullshit. Personal finance is 80% behavior, and only 20% head knowledge. Being smart doesn't mean you'll win. There are plenty of brilliant folks out there that are absolute idiots with their money.

Nathan

Sound good for lunch meeting with microsoft rep.

[Bearhouse]

Bottle of wine, $25
Lunch for two, $86
Face on microserf's face when you whip out linux card to pay....priceless

Re:But how do they select projects?

[somersault]

It's difficult to contribute to him though, as he's chained up in a basement somewhere. Katana wielding maniacs may be able to find and free him though.

I stoped using mine

[YGingras]

Because MBNA gives so much money to other causes that are detrimental to freedom or information.

DANGER!!!

[6Yankee]

My other "free-money card" has just about reached it's maximum limit, so it's about time I start looking for a new one.

"Free money". Don't even think it.

Please tell me you want a new one with a better interest rate so that you can transfer everything off the existing card and close it down. And that you'll have the willpower to actually do the transfer once that nice shiny new card arrives, because it won't work unless you do it immediately and shred the cards, both of them. I tried that a couple of times, and I didn't have the willpower - I'd maxed out five cards by the time I got out of uni, and was taking cash out on one to pay the next. I'm still clearing up the mess over five years later.

Really. Don't go there.

I did apply for another card recently, but as soon as the acceptance letter arrived (i.e., before I even had the plastic) I called them up, reduced the credit limit to a mere GBP100, and set up a direct debit to clear the balance every month - that's my "order stuff online" card. I cost them money. They deserve it, for trying to sucker me with over nine grand in credit just for filling in a bit of paper.

I've chopped up all my other cards (surprisingly cathartic!) and paid off all but two of them, and one of those will be gone by Christmas. The other one's going to take a couple of years, but I managed to get it down from 18.5% to 5%. Things are going in the right direction now, but not before I found myself deciding whether to skip the country or kill myself.

Really, no matter how badly you may want to support the causes, or how cute the penguin is, don't do this unless you know exactly what you're getting into. And if they offer you a ridiculously high credit limit, for heaven's sake call them and have it lowered - don't leave it "just in case I need it" because you will "need" it. And then they'll up it. And you'll "need" that. Then they'll jack up the interest rate. Believe me, I know.

Linux Fund is good

[Salsaman]

I got a donation from LinuxFund a couple of years ago to help with my development of LiVES. At the time it was very useful, though of course that money has long since run out.

To all those people saying "why give money to LinuxFund, why not donate directly ?", well...go ahead...why don`t you donate to my project ? The fact is that people hardly ever donate at all, and I`d rather have a couple of thousand dollars from LinuxFund in one go, than get $20 a month or whatever through personal donations.

Re:But how do they select projects?

[Nef]

Plus he's sleeping in that damn trunk all the time!

12.24 or 14.24 minimum interest

[nightsweat]

Bankrate.com shows Pulaski Bank & Trust offering a 7.99% card.

Yes, I recognize Pulaski doesn't donate money to Linux, but if you carry a balance, save yourself the money and donate directly to the project you want to support.

If you don't carry a balance and never intend to, these rewards cards are probably just as good as any.

And the link to apply goes to a windows 2K sit

[awpoopy]

The link to apply for the credit card goes to a website running on Windows 2000 IIS. Do YOU trust your credit card information on a Windows 2000 machine?

Re:But how do they select projects?

[Frosty Piss]

I strongly suggest nomination of the Gimp; it both has enormous potential...

You don't use image software professionally, do you? Clearly not. With all due respect to all of the fine OSS projects that excell, Gimp is not one of them. It's a giant rat's nest of bloated code. It needs a bottom to top rewrite (in other words, start from scratch). Not a good example. Why do people keep bringing this load of shit up as an example? It's simply not a good one.

Re:But how do they select projects?

[sybesis]

can you support what you are saying ? I don't care about photoshop or gimp...But gimp does work very great for many things... Can you tell me wich features professional needs that Gimp don't seriously if you want to put some information here add some meat around the bones because right now...this post is just useless. Or even...if gimp is so bad why don't we bring them some money so they could put more time on their damn fucking missing features? so then we could have a rock solid image application... As far as i know, i too eard that many professional are starting to adopt gimp. as image processing application. If you can't provide any link or number to what you say... I'll just add one more thing...the community of the gimp probably can just grow more everyday as linux does. Slow but steady... Thats like saying that linux isn't use more and more as a day to day desktop Os... Just freaking stupid...