Comment a related idea: "source futures" (Score 3) 85
Another idea for funding open-source software: A company C prints 10,000 certificates ("shares" of "software futures.") These "mature" when there exists some open-source software which meets some condition. For instance, there might be shares which mature when there is an Apache-licensed Java 2 implementation for Linux & FreeBSD which runs some benchmarks at some speed. (A company X, separate from C, is paid to act as a tester.)
Suppose Eliza buys 100 shares at $5 each. Then, she works on the Java3D implementation. This drives up the price. A sponser (say, Sun, or Fred, who wants to use the Java3D stuff) might be willing to buy shares for more than the trading price, say, $20 per share. This raises the price. Submitting bug fixes helps the developers, so users who have invested in a project have an incentive to submit bug reports.
When the testing company, X, downloads the package, installs it, and it finally passes, then C pays 1/10,000 of the total that people paid for that certificate (minus a profit), per share. Suppose that each share pays $15. Then Eliza has made money. Fred has lost money, but hey presto! the software he wanted now exists. So: it seems that there's no need to copy-protect, or even too much need to encrypt the CVS archives. Developers choose their level of commitment by deciding how much stock to buy. (You might say this idea is just "open-source stock options.") Developers who buy 100 shares presumably will have more incentive to work on a project than developers who only buy 10 shares. But developers can choose how hard they want to work on something. Clearly, the testing company, X, has to be trusted to certify the software if and only if it's good enough. Also, the spec has to be clear...not so easy...
Josh "stowaway" (jburdick@gradient.cis.upenn.edu)
Suppose Eliza buys 100 shares at $5 each. Then, she works on the Java3D implementation. This drives up the price. A sponser (say, Sun, or Fred, who wants to use the Java3D stuff) might be willing to buy shares for more than the trading price, say, $20 per share. This raises the price. Submitting bug fixes helps the developers, so users who have invested in a project have an incentive to submit bug reports.
When the testing company, X, downloads the package, installs it, and it finally passes, then C pays 1/10,000 of the total that people paid for that certificate (minus a profit), per share. Suppose that each share pays $15. Then Eliza has made money. Fred has lost money, but hey presto! the software he wanted now exists. So: it seems that there's no need to copy-protect, or even too much need to encrypt the CVS archives. Developers choose their level of commitment by deciding how much stock to buy. (You might say this idea is just "open-source stock options.") Developers who buy 100 shares presumably will have more incentive to work on a project than developers who only buy 10 shares. But developers can choose how hard they want to work on something. Clearly, the testing company, X, has to be trusted to certify the software if and only if it's good enough. Also, the spec has to be clear...not so easy...
Josh "stowaway" (jburdick@gradient.cis.upenn.edu)
