OpenBSD Project in Financial Danger 610
DieNadel writes "In an entry to the OpenBSD Journal, Marco, from the OpenBSD project, warns about the somewhat disturbing financial situation in which they are now. The OpenBSD team is the one that also develops the OpenSSH suite, used nowadays almost everywhere. From the entry: 'What I want to point out what a lot of people don't seem to realize is that OpenSSH development is paid from the same pool of money as OpenBSD. OpenSSH is in use by millions around the world however the revenue stream just simply isn't there. This is where other projects could help. Without naming entities or projects by name there are others out there that are sitting on some cash. It would be wonderful if these entities could share some of the wealth to keep us going.'"
order an OpenBSD CD (Score:5, Informative)
The CDs that OpenBSD project sells is their main source of revenue and support.
Re:How to get the money (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.openbsd.org/orders.html [openbsd.org]
Slashdot Editors:Please add this link to the story (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Sad (Score:1, Informative)
quick & painless (Score:4, Informative)
Realize OpenSSH (Score:1, Informative)
One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered *BSD community when IDC confirmed that *BSD market share has dropped yet again, now down to less than a fraction of 1 percent of all servers. Coming on the heels of a recent Netcraft survey which plainly states that *BSD has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. *BSD is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by failing dead last [samag.com] in the recent Sys Admin comprehensive networking test.
You don't need to be the Amazing Kreskin [amazingkreskin.com] to predict *BSD's future. The hand writing is on the wall: *BSD faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for *BSD because *BSD is dying. Things are looking very bad for *BSD. As many of us are already aware, *BSD continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.
FreeBSD is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core developers. The sudden and unpleasant departures of long time FreeBSD developers Jordan Hubbard and Mike Smith only serve to underscore the point more clearly. There can no longer be any doubt: FreeBSD is dying.
Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.
OpenBSD leader Theo states that there are 7000 users of OpenBSD. How many users of NetBSD are there? Let's see. The number of OpenBSD versus NetBSD posts on Usenet is roughly in ratio of 5 to 1. Therefore there are about 7000/5 = 1400 NetBSD users. BSD/OS posts on Usenet are about half of the volume of NetBSD posts. Therefore there are about 700 users of BSD/OS. A recent article put FreeBSD at about 80 percent of the *BSD market. Therefore there are (7000+1400+700)*4 = 36400 FreeBSD users. This is consistent with the number of FreeBSD Usenet posts.
Due to the troubles of Walnut Creek, abysmal sales and so on, FreeBSD went out of business and was taken over by BSDI who sell another troubled OS. Now BSDI is also dead, its corpse turned over to yet another charnel house.
All major surveys show that *BSD has steadily declined in market share. *BSD is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If *BSD is to survive at all it will be among OS dilettante dabblers. *BSD continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, *BSD is dead.
Fact: *BSD is dying
Re:Sad (Score:5, Informative)
Re:I'd be willing to chip in... (Score:3, Informative)
donations are better (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Are many people really using OpenBSD? (Score:2, Informative)
Our webserver, DNS servers, logging boxes, DHCP, wireless DMZ, etc, all exist here thanks to OpenBSD (and we support them). And that's off the top of my head.
Re:Consider going GPL? (Score:3, Informative)
Erm, the WHOLE FUCKING POINT of being BSD rather than GPL licensed is that you CAN change the license. Go read the BSD license. You're permitted to redistribute the software under pretty much any terms you want.
The GPL isn't free software - it's communal software as in communistic communes or hippie communes.
The only way to be truly free is to put it in the public domain. You have to pick a line where you feel software is "free enough" - Stallman's four freedoms seem a pretty good place.
The BSD style license enables true freedom for authors and users alike. Freedom to fork. Freedom to contribute. Freedome to use.
All those are freedoms you have with the GPL
The GPL is so complicated how many of you have actually taken the time to read it?
I have. It's only a page or so, less if you skip the preamble (which isn't part of teh license itself)
It bases is communistic society on rules that restrict your freedom by putting limits on what you can and can't do with it.
The only restrictions there are are there to preserve the freedom of others. Is the only free society a complete anarchy?
For example, you are not free to develop with it and sell your modified versions without contributing your source code back to the commune.
False. You have to give the source code to the people you sell the program to, and you have to give them permission to redistribute and modify it. That's all.
And if you're going to be picky, am I free to sell a warrantied version of BSD software? I don't see how I can.
Re:Sorry, Theo (Score:1, Informative)
Re:How to get the money (Score:2, Informative)
They have a paypal link on their website. http://www.openbsd.org/donations.html [openbsd.org]
Re:Open Source Funding... (Score:3, Informative)
I don't think that wanting to retire someday equates to a "problem". Seriously, you need some schooling. You have some really misguided ideas about investing, the amount of time it takes, and the resources necessary to start. Read the link I gave you. Within two hours (and that just once, not every day) you can be up and running if you choose to.
Re:Do what you can. (Score:5, Informative)
No, if they want to hear what you have to say, they will pay for it. You probably just aren't that good at negotiating.
Re:Consider going GPL? (Score:3, Informative)
You are not allowed to change the license. You may add restrictions, such as the GPL, to the code, but the original license stays.
The only way to be truly free is to put it in the public domain.
I think I have read that in the U.S. it is safer to have an AS-IS license (MIT-style) since people will have an easier time suing you if it is public domain.
All those are freedoms you have with the GPL.
In this case they are not since the BSD definition of use (almost any development or running the program) is different than the GPL definition (GPL development or running the program).
The only restrictions there are are there to preserve the freedom of others.
A BSD license does this by allowing anyone to do almost anything with the code. You are not bound by more restrictions. Which is freer for you? More restrictions or less restrictions?
False. You have to give the source code to the people you sell the program to, and you have to give them permission to redistribute and modify it. That's all.
This is untrue. You are not allowed to sell GPL'd software unless all authors of the software are in agreement with the action. You may charge for the distribution of the software as long as the fee applies solely to the distribution . This is according to the license. As long as someone receives the software, they may request the source by which you, the author(s), must comply.
And if you're going to be picky, am I free to sell a warrantied version of BSD software? I don't see how I can.
Yes, you may. You may add a warranty to BSD (or GPL?) software as long as it applies to you. You cannot add a warranty on anything that makes others responsible for what you warranty.
The moderators suck. (Score:5, Informative)
Once again, with feeling:
http://www.openbsd.org/donations.html [openbsd.org]
I already donated today. Cheque, credit card (my preferred method), and Paypal are all easily listed. I guess having the donations link on the main page (just below project goals) was not obvious enough.
Re:Consider going GPL? (Score:5, Informative)
Just because you have to make the source available to anyone who receives the software and you can't limit their redistribution does not prevent you from selling GPL'd software without the authors consent.
See http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#DoesTheG
Re:You Must Have Missed the Memo (Score:3, Informative)
Re:I'd be willing to chip in... (Score:3, Informative)