Just a word about 9netave; I have heard from many 9netave customers who have been really unhappy with their support. To the extent that I mentioned this to a customer of ours, and he laughed and said, "They don't have poor support, they have no support."
I'm extremely happy with lightlink, our local co-location provider, just 3 minutes walk up the hill. We get a 4'x2'x2' locked box, 3 IPs on a fast T1, 24 hour card access, and a bunch of freebies, for $250/mo. plus $10/gig.
Linux International (li.org), inlimine.org, etc.
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Yes; it's unclear from their web-site how active this granting program is. They have reports no more recent than 1995. But what do I know, I just started looking into this!
There are other choices in addition to li.org.
inlimine.org, the original sponsor of "The Bazaar" conference in NYC in March, also funds open-source projects. They have educational non-profit charity status, which is a significant milestone for an organization. It can take the IRS over a year to bestow this on non-profits, and it costs around $2500.
But, in addition to simple funding agencies, there needs to be a public forum (a bazaar, if you like) for people to publicly kick around ideas.
The Bazaar at http://visar.csustan.edu/bazaar/
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There are a few reasons why I think the Bazaar is a fundimentally sound solution to this problem, once it gets automated properly.
1, it works ALONGSIDE grant-making organizations such as Linux International so that there is an independent paper-trail for donations.
2, it's a beaurocratically "thin" tool. Most of the work is done by the proposers.
Things I believe need improvement:
1, it needs to be entirely automated. Currently I believe Axel does this by hand.
2, There needs to be an easy way to pre-commit money- such as "I've donated $200 to Linux International, to be paid to you upon completion."
Ah, but do you know how many BILLIONS of dollars are given to major US companies via corporate welfare tax writeoffs? Over $125 billion a year, that's how much.
If you're going to be irritated at unfair government policies, don't get mad at researchers and software developers, get mad at corporations who have custom-written loopholes written into the tax codes just for them.
Hindsight is 20/20, friend. Of course the government has funded ideas that didn't pan out. So does industry. The question is whether industry is willing to fund ideas that aren't immediately profitable to them. The goverment does. Industry does not.
If an idea has commercial value, investors will support it.
That is not important, because so much government sponsored research does not have commercial value.
At least, not for the next fifteen years, then WHAM it's worth a billion dollars. Then you say, "Hey, I could have done that." But, see, the thing is, you didn't, and neither did the private sector, because they aren't omnitient either.
I believe Mosaic was a University product.
Yes, in fact it was created at NCSA, the National Center for Supercomputing Applications. Funded by NSF, and paid for by your tax dollars. Shocked?
Slashdot Mirror
Even better: in Emacs, try:
meta-x spook
:-)
Just a word about 9netave; I have heard from many 9netave customers who have been really unhappy with their support. To the extent that I mentioned this to a customer of ours, and he laughed and said, "They don't have poor support, they have no support."
I'm extremely happy with lightlink, our local co-location provider, just 3 minutes walk up the hill. We get a 4'x2'x2' locked box, 3 IPs on a fast T1, 24 hour card access, and a bunch of freebies, for $250/mo. plus $10/gig.
Yes; it's unclear from their web-site how active this granting program is. They have reports no more recent than 1995. But what do I know, I just started looking into this!
There are other choices in addition to li.org.
inlimine.org, the original sponsor of "The Bazaar" conference in NYC in March, also funds open-source projects. They have educational non-profit charity status, which is a significant milestone for an organization. It can take the IRS over a year to bestow this on non-profits, and it costs around $2500.
But, in addition to simple funding agencies, there needs to be a public forum (a bazaar, if you like) for people to publicly kick around ideas.
There are a few reasons why I think the Bazaar is a fundimentally sound solution to this problem, once it gets automated properly.
1, it works ALONGSIDE grant-making organizations such as Linux International so that there is an independent paper-trail for donations.
2, it's a beaurocratically "thin" tool. Most of the work is done by the proposers.
Things I believe need improvement:
1, it needs to be entirely automated. Currently I believe Axel does this by hand.
2, There needs to be an easy way to pre-commit money- such as "I've donated $200 to Linux International, to be paid to you upon completion."
Anyway, something to consider.
I am just saying it's a matter of scale. Research is a drop in the bucket compared with corporate
tax loopholes.
Ah, but do you know how many BILLIONS of dollars are given to major US companies via corporate welfare tax writeoffs? Over $125 billion a year, that's how much.
If you're going to be irritated at unfair government policies, don't get mad at researchers and software developers, get mad at corporations who have custom-written loopholes written into the tax codes just for them.
'S what I think.
For a bit more (scary) info, look at:http://www.fair.org/media-beat/981126.html
Hindsight is 20/20, friend. Of course the government has funded ideas that didn't pan out. So does industry. The question is whether industry is willing to fund ideas that aren't immediately profitable to them. The goverment does. Industry does not.
If an idea has commercial value, investors will support it.
That is not important, because so much government sponsored research does not have commercial value.
At least, not for the next fifteen years, then WHAM it's worth a billion dollars. Then you say, "Hey, I could have done that." But, see, the thing is, you didn't, and neither did the private sector, because they aren't omnitient either.
I believe Mosaic was a University product.
Yes, in fact it was created at NCSA, the National Center for Supercomputing Applications. Funded by NSF, and paid for by your tax dollars. Shocked?