Blog archives for May, 2005

netproject gets UK money for open source desktop

News.com runs a very short blurb on netproject getting almost quarter a million dollars (in local funds) for secure open source desktop. The contribution is matched by netproject’s Incubator Club. Looking at their news page, it looks like netproject is more involved with Linux advocacy and consulting than actual software development, though.

Google announces Summer of Code for open source developers

Google’s Summer of Code will pay open source developers to write some code over this summer. Submit an application for an open source project you are thinking of doing by June 24, and upon approval Google will pay a stipend of $500. Submit the completed open source application by September 1st, and get a check for $4,000 (as well as t-shirt) in the mail. Not bad for two months’ work for those on student incomes. Frequently asked questions are here. Google asks that you choose BSD, LGPL or GPL license for Google-funded open source projects. Looks like they are pretty open about the platforms, programming languages and general purpose of the application.

Finished reading The New New Thing by Michael Lewis

The New New Thing is a story of Jim Clark. It’s not a retold biography, it’s an insight into Jim Clark’s mind and modus operandi. The reader goes through such great Silicon Valley companies as Silicon Graphics, Netscape Communications, Healtheon and MyCFO. The founder of all of the above companies is portrayed as a simple man, who’sall about changing the world, and leaving execution to the others. A large portion of the book is dedicated to Clark’s boat, Hyperion. The book is pretty old and used to be quite popular, so it’s no wonder you can get it used on Amazon for a penny (plus $3.49 shipping). Pretty interesting story, the boat passages seemed boring sometimes.

Blogging for paychecks

When you hear about blogging, you’re most likely to hear about personal journals, self-expression and youngsters sharing their daily routines online. However, as Wall Street Journal notes, the word blogger can now frequently be seen in corporate job ads. Blogging jobs pay anywhere from $40,000 to $70,000 and frequently require writing copy for corporate Web sites and ability to promote on the Internet. A search for blogger and blogging on some job meta search engines yields several hundred open positions.

Earthlink subsidizes Microtel PCs

Earthlink and Microtel are offering cheap Xandros-based computers to anyone who’s willing to sign up for Earthlink dial-up service at $22 a month. The desktops on Microtel Web site start at $70 for a basic AMD Sempron machine, Microtel laptops start at $399. ExtremeTech says there is also a SkypeOut gift certificate:

All Xandros PCs and laptops include free Skype-to-Skype calling worldwide, plus an exclusive bonus voucher for up to 120 minutes of SkypeOut calling to any phone number in the world.