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4.7 KiB
HTML
124 lines
4.7 KiB
HTML
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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN">
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<HTML>
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<HEAD>
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<title> Cosource.com Enters Live Beta! LG #44</title>
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<BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#000000" LINK="#0000FF" VLINK="#0000AF"
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<H4>
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"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
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</H4>
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<center>
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<H1><font color="maroon">Cosource.com Enters Live Beta!</font></H1>
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<H4>By <a href="mailto:norm@cosource.com">Norman M. Jacobowitz</a></H4>
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</center>
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<p><a href="http://www.cosource.com/">Cosource.com</a> is a web site
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which gathers financial support for Open Source projects. Users who
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have been frustrated by some missing software feature, nagging bug, or
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unsupported hardware can use Cosource.com to fund an effort to get it
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fixed. Developers can write Open Source projects ... and get paid for
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it. Projects that run on any platform are welcome.
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<p>Let's say you have a sound card for your home PC, for which there
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is no Linux driver. You learn that the manufacturer would prefer to
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have a Linux driver, but for whatever reason there isn't one. Here's
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how you would solve the problem with Cosource.com:
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<ol>
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<li>Go to the site and register as a member, and login.<br><br>
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<li>Browse the request lists. If someone else already has
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submitted the same request, just add that request to your watchlist.
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You'll be notified whenever a proposal to develop your request is
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submitted.<br><br>
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<li> If there's not already a request submitted, you can enter a new
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request for a driver for your sound card via the 'Submit Request'
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form, listing the full functional requirements per the instructions
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found on there.<br><br>
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<li>Developers can then submit proposals to develop the driver. As
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part of a developer's proposal, he or she names someone who serves as
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an 'Authority', or third-party peer-reviewer for the project. It this
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Authority who serves as arbiter of success or failure for the
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project.<br><br>
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<li>You and other members -- perhaps even the manufacturer of
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the card -- then review proposals, and may elect to commit funds to one
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or
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more. The minimum commitment is $10 US.<br><br>
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<li>Whichever proposal first gathers enough commitments to cover its
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bid wins and enters development. The Authority reviews and tests the
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software prior to release.<br><br>
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<li>Once the Authority declares the project complete, it is released
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... then you and all others who committed funds pay your commitment via
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credit card. Cosource.com then pays the developer and authority for
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their work.<br><br>
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</ol>
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<p>The above example shows how non-developers can now have Open Source
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packages written to suit their needs. Plus, no single individual or
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corporation is stuck with paying the full tab for the development.
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<p>The card manufacturer mentioned above can help make their product
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available to the Linux Community at a fraction of the full cost of
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paying to develop the driver themselves. This process also gives
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developers a financial incentive to spend more of their programming
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time producing Open Source products.
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<p>Organizations or individuals who own the copyright to a complete
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software package may also use Cosource.com to solicit funds in
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exchange for re-licensing their product as Open Source.
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<p>It's the goal of Cosource.com to make all of the above factors work
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in favor of the entire Open Source community.
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<p>Cosource.com is now conducting a Live Beta program. Everyone is
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welcome to sign up as a member (it's free) and test the site.
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Hopefully, the site will be fully live and relatively bug-free within
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a few weeks.
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<p><i>Norm Jacobowitz is VP of Marketing at Cosource.com. Write him
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at <a href="mailto:norm@cosource.com">norm@cosource.com</a>.</i>
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<!--===================================================================-->
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<P> <hr> <P>
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<center><H5>Copyright © 1999, Norman M. Jacobowitz <BR>
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Published in Issue 44 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, August 1999</H5></center>
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