[Live-demo] Next Version - New Name ?!

[Hamish]

fyi,
the download.osgeo.org web server and wiki sites are now cleansed of
ambiguous "GISVM"s. I have not (and will not) touch the file names of
previous releases or svn tags as these are consigned to history. Old wiki
pages have automatic redirects in case anything still links to the old 
name. I am not sure if we should rename the livedvd/gisvm/ dir to be
livedvd/build-vm/ or something like that, it could be a lot of work
to fix all the links.

----


Ricardo wrote:
> I am really sorry if somehow I disappoint you guys.

not at all, no worries.


> Take this thoughts:
> "If GISVM has made revenue credit to all GIS Free Software
> Industry, how can they re-pay the GISVM costs?"

the typical FOSS answer there is that you get repaid in good reputation,
which is intangible in the immediate sense but pays back over the long
term. Maybe you get a job offer out of it?  I've no idea really, but I
suspect this is why LisaSoft lets some of their people work on this
project when the hours are not directly billable. You'll find a lot of
BSD'ers in this camp, because they can focus on making their customers
happy.

Another way to look at it is that people get paid in non-monetary ways,
e.g. in the altruistic enjoyment of doing something useful for the world.
You'll find a lot of GPL'ers in this camp, because for them the GPL guarantees that their gift to the world won't get ripped off and they
get "paid" in like code.  And the true purists don't even mind getting
ripped off, it's just their gift to the world.

I can't really speak to, or understand, the myriad reasons why people
contribute to FOSS, I don't think anyone else can either. This is
perhaps a topic best left for the general osgeo-discuss mailing list.


> "Shouldn't OSGeo financial support projects which have a
> public or common interest (like GISVM) and which would not
> develop or would develop at a slower pace if left to the
> market?"

if they had some large financial endowment, perhaps, but as it is
it's a not-for-profit group of volunteers working on a shoe-string
budget. And if programming were to be funded by osgeo I would guess
that it would go to the broadest possible need first, i.e. & e.g. 
funding for proj.4 which is fundamental to pretty much all member
projects but languishes somewhat without steady backing.


> I work on a local government, and this is the main role of
> public entities. It's what I do everyday, balance things
> between individual/Commercial interest and Public interest.
> And that was what I was expecting from OSGeo, to recognize
> the high interest on supporting GISVM project. I suppose you
> call it incubation...
> 
> Since OSGeo doesn't see it, I will try public entities,
> like Portuguese Governement or European Commission funding.

I don't think it is a matter of seeing it, I think it is a matter of
having the financial basis to actually do it. Public entities have
vaults of cash; osgeo doesn't (last time I checked). I believe the
Spanish gov't is funding various FOSS GIS efforts to suit their needs,
by all means I encourage you to go out in search of these things.

> Just like others have done! (gvSIG, Kosmo, etc)

(those are the Spanish, yes? I guess you know more about it that me)

> I really don't believe on long term volunteer talent contribution!

shrug; I mostly know about the history of GRASS. The US Gov't stopped
funding it about 15 years ago, the OGC renamed their "G" and went off
in other directions 10 years ago, and since then it has been thriving
on (mostly) volunteer talent. Some paid work has certainly made big
contributions, but the bulk of it has been volunteers. People come and
go as they want or must, but given critical mass it can work.

QGIS has an interesting model where from time to time they offer bug
bounties to get specific problems fixed for a pre-agreed cash reward.


> People must be reward by it's work... and somehow manage to
> get money revenue from it. (directly or indirectly)

.. or reward in other ways. maybe they find it a better use of their
time than spending those hours watching reality tv? or their day job
does not give them the opportunity to use all their talents or give
them the creative outlet they crave?

I imagine that good poetry or art is a lot of work, but not very well
paid. Yet still people do it..


As for me, I get paid to do analysis and write reports. We are usually
doing new work and "outside of the [black] box", so I happen to choose
the most efficient method for that, which is to have access to the code
and bend it to our task. I may say that I have gained a huge education
by working with very smart FOSS programmers, and am much more productive
and versatile directly because of that.



ok, hmmm look at the time. I've got to get back to work now,
Hamish