Linux Fund Loses MasterCard Funding Source 122
An anonymous reader writes "The Linux Fund was established in 1999 to provide grants to free and open source software projects from funds raised via a credit card featuring a picture of Tux, the Linux penguin. This credit card was offered through MBNA America Bank, which was purchased in 2006 by Bank of America. Last week, LinuxFund credit card holders received mail from Bank of America informing them that the LinuxFund card would be discontinued. Linux.com has a few details about the end of the credit card including statements from executive director David Mandel, assuring that the LinuxFund will look different but will continue. In the past, the LinuxFund provided one-time grants of $500-$1,000 USD to many projects including SDL, FilmGimp, Xiph.org Foundation, CrystalSpace, K12LTSP, and Kismet. The LinuxFund stagnated in 2003, and in 2005 it was revitalized by new leaders and by 2006 provided a stable $6,000 per year contribution to a number of larger projects including Wikipedia, Blender, Debian, Gentoo, and OpenSSH." Linux.com and Slashdot are both part of OSTG.
It does not matter that much... (Score:2)
Re:It does not matter that much... (Score:5, Insightful)
Honestly, I think a lot more Linux development and advancement has come from BIG money then it ever did from the volunteers. There are a good deal of contributions being made by people with a monetary interest in the success of Linux.
Re:It does not matter that much... (Score:5, Insightful)
If you look at the percentage of code in Linux that was written by people now being paid to work on Linux but who were volunteers when they contributed it, a different picture might emerge. This doesn't discount wholesale contributions of code such as XFS by SGI or JFS by IBM, but without the work of volunteers, including those now being paid, Linux would simply not exist.
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Linux got where it is today because code heads like us put it there irregardless of the powers that be above us. Linux is a great tool that we can shape to our needs that filled a void that wasn't there.
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Re:It does not matter that much... (Score:5, Informative)
I certainly wouldn't want to criticize the work done by unpaid volunteers, but I would have to doubt that they now represent a "large" portion of the code in Linux, either in terms of lines in the kernal or features.
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? I was under the impression that Linux got where it is today because companies like IBM, Novell, and Red Hat paid their employees to work on open source code, organizations like OSDN paid people like Linus Torvalds to manage and organize the material, funders like the Linux Fund and (recently) Google's Summer of Code provided grants for smaller developers, and, finally, some people contributed volunteer work. I certainly wouldn't want to criticize the work done by unpaid volunteers, but I would have to doubt that they now represent a "large" portion of the code in Linux, either in terms of lines in the kernal or features.
In that case, I think you may be surprised by this [lwn.net].
Re:It does not matter that much... (Score:5, Informative)
Quote:
Here is the full list:
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I interpret it differently. IMHO, it shows that no one group is very significant at all, which is a good sign of a healthy development community.
Also, the debate is about volunteers vs paid developers not volunteers versus Red Hat. Imagine if there were tens of thoudands of companies each contributing less than 1%, together they contribute 98.5% while volunteers contribute the remaining 1.5%. Would you say that, being the larg
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It is clear that you do not feel that anyone there is significant and it also appears that you only apply significance to values t
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The LinuxFund does not fund Linux; it funds various Linux-related Free and Open Source software projects as mentioned in the summary...
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Reduced funding wouldn't kill open source, but it would hamper the motion of applications into the prime time.
They should switch to Discover Card (Score:2, Funny)
Fry tries to make a purchase in the future:
"Here's my Visa Card."
"Visa hasn't existed in over 400 years."
"Well, how about my MasterCard?"
"MasterCard hasn't existed in over 500 years."
"I have my Discover card."
(Pause) "Ooh, I'm sorry, we don't take Discover."
Anyone else know any good geek credit cards? (Score:1, Interesting)
BoA again? (Score:2, Offtopic)
Credit card companies (Score:4, Insightful)
In my experience, MBNA / Bank of America have not been that great for credit cards. I used to get a ton of crap from MBNA, and I can be pretty sure those people have infested BoA's credit division.
My best suggestion would be to work with HSBC. A properly set up programme with them would possibly enable same/similar card services globally. I've had no problems with HSBC's customer service, aside from the occasional glitch in a VoIP connection to a call centre.
Otherwise, I've had pretty good experience with GE Money Bank and Citibank (as far as credit cards go). Chase, though, I avoid like the plague. So, if LinuxFund gets a Chase card, well, forget me then.
Re:Credit card companies (Score:5, Interesting)
1) I found out about the charge when I went to use the card and it was 'locked' due to suspected fraudulent activity. The only charge that was with a new company was a $30 charge to a dating service. This hardly seemed like a suspicious enough activity to block an account without first contacting the account holder.
2) More charges were made AFTER the account was locked. If I cannot make charges with the card, it is highly suspicious that someone else can.
3) When they sent me a new card with a new number, charges showed up from before before the card was created and the account number was assigned.
4) When I called Chase to point this out, they sent another card, and locked me out of being able to see the second cards charges online, even though I could still see the first card, and any previous cards I had held with Chase. 5) By the third card, the dates on some of the fraudulent Charges had changed.
Given that some of the problem would have actually required access to Chases computers to make happen, it was clear that it was an internal problem. I understand that there is no way for a company to guarantee that every one of it's employees is honest, but when they lie to me badly to cover up an internal problem instead investigating an fixing it, it is time to take your business elsewhere.
And, most importantly, if they are going to lie to me, they should at least have the decency to tell a half decent lie.
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Now I guess I have no further reason to do business with this company, and I advise everyone I know of the same. It seem
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I'm sorry to hear that you've had a bad experience.
HSBC is not simply a British bank, no more than Citibank is an American bank. Both operate globally, and thus call centres may be located anywhere. Last time I checked, globally, collections people are often obnoxious and arrogant.
The way to get a corporation to stop calling is as follows (for future reference, and so you don't have to block numbers).
Funding for minor projects? (Score:3, Insightful)
I always liked the old LinuxFund's mission of giving many small grants to many small projects. Are there any other similar organizations that do that sort of thing? Google Summer of Code comes to mind, but that is limited to college students. There's always the Paypal links on project homepages or Sourceforge, but I wish there was something more visible.
LinuxFund's current "give a constant source of funding to some projects" is nice too, and donating to the LinuxFund will hopefully remain a convenient way to donate to a number of individual projects.
I am currently a LinuxFund card holder, and was disappointed when Bank of America bought out MBNA. I'll be switching to the card my credit union offers very soon.
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If it were the "GPL fund", or the "Open source fund", it would have been a different matter. OpenSSH is important for Linux, but it isn't Linux... Should Intel get money from the "Linux fund" because their processors can run Linux?
Wikipedia uses the "GNU Free Documentation License". Google uses Linux
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The card dons Tux the penguin, the Linux mascotte chosen by Linus himself, the linuxfund.org website has only one picture: The penguin. OpenSSH is developed by the OpenBSD Project.
That's the mismatch right there.
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-230345.html [com.com]
http://www.openssh.org/ [openssh.org]
More important is debatable, OpenSSH is not the only ssh2
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The LinuxFund was never strictly about Linux, but Free an Open Source Software projects [linuxfund.org]. I'm not sure I'd call Wikipedia a software project, but it is open source and does maintain the Mediawiki software.
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Then they should have used a different name and IMHO deserve their fate for abusing the trademark.
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Perhaps, though it always was about the "Linux community", however one defines that. OpenSSH is certainly important to the Linux community. Wikipedia, not directly. I would support a name change for the fund; aside from Wikipedia, all the currently supported projects could be considered a part of the Linux community. In the end it's up to donors to understand to what they are donating; I'm not familiar with the terms of use of the Linux trademark, but maybe the LinuxFund's donations to the Linux Mark In
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The openssh.org website states on the front page "OpenSSH is developed by the OpenBSD Project."
Very similar, but different community...
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I hold a LinuxFund card (and apparently missed the letter, because this is the first I've heard about them shutting down), and in no way consider donations to OpenBSD's OpenSSH development to be a misuse of funds.
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The answer is probably that Google, Mozilla, and Openoffice.org have alternative sources for funding, and OpenSSH needs it more... Sure, they probably do. But OpenSSH should be getting it from the project they are part of: OpenBSD, which is a different community than the Linux community...
Or the "Linux Fund" should change their name to some
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Huh?
LinuxFund isn't "a part of" the Linux community in any official way; rather, it's a nonprofit that advertised itself as an easy way to financially support what folks who are in the Linux community consider worthy causes by giving members the ability to vote on the direction of funds.
Sure, the BSD folks have their own subcommunity, but the larger free software/open source
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The Linux fund uses the Linux trademark and the penguin mascotte Tux, as the central word in its name, on the website, and on the card.
"rather, it's a nonprofit that advertised itself as an easy way to financially support what folks who are in the Linux community consider worthy causes by giving members the ability to vote on the direction of funds.'"
I have seen the 'Linux fund' credit card offers, and that that is not how it adversitses
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Jockying for points is hardly as useful as coming to consensus -- but this discussion hardly appears headed in the latter direction.
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In the 1999 timeframe, Linux was unique among Free and open source projects in terms of its public visibility within the nontechnical community. Firefox has joined it since then in terms of being well-known -- but identifying oneself as a part of this thing called "Linux" (which occasionally had a news article or somesuch written about it in the major media) was a much better way to raise public awareness about free and open source software in general, because there
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Ok, there you may have a point. Agreed, when "The Linux Fund" started times were different, and the card did seem to give Linux more crediblity. At least, the penguin was so new, it _was_ 'cool' just to see Tux on a card.
Is your point that they should be considered grandfathered in, and it should be fine for them to now also support Soy Milk and "I can't believe it's not Linux"?
Ok, maybe they should be the grandfathered in because of their early involvement. I gue
I've had one for years (Score:5, Interesting)
(posting anonymoosely because, yes, I'm a coward...
Oh come ON! (Score:5, Funny)
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You'd be safe so long as there weren't any chairs in the immediate vicinity! Bill would probably just offer to buy your card from you.
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Bruce
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B of A sucks (Score:2)
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However I've checked into my Credit Union's branded cards (past and present), and they're generally outsourced to the big banks such as MBNA (erm, BofA), HSBC, Elan Financial Services, or others. Their rates are also generally less attractive than some other big bank offerings. For instance, those who got the Linux Fund card some time ago under MBNA at the fixed 7.9% APR are less likely to switch to a variable 12.44%-17.99% card unless 4.5-10% of that interest is going to Linux Fund.
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I also have a revolving line of credit at 24% that they will not negotiate because they are no longer affiliated with the company that initiated that account (Gateway computers).
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Banks need to pay for the costs of maintaining their credit portfolio. (Think of it: cards need to be embossed, statement rendering, overhead in
I've got conflicting feelings (Score:2)
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--
im not sure that would even be remotely legal if a payment was tendered for that month ie starting with a current account
pay in april for april
pay in april for may
pay in may for june
should get you some sort of reward not an extra fee
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It should get you less of a finance charge, but that's the only reward you should get for paying earlier.
BoA sux (Score:1)
Give something back? (Score:3, Insightful)
But I still have that great rate... for now (Score:5, Interesting)
If (or I should say when) BofA changes that single lasting benefit of having one of the lowest non-promotional non annual fee consumer credit card rates around, I'll drop the card. In the mean time, I too look forward to a new Linux Fund (or similar) branded CC from someone else, provided it has reasonable terms and rates.
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Does it get you laid?
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That cute penguin (Score:2)
Bruce
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Options to migrate to? (Score:2)
For all the bad flack I've heard about MBNA, my treatment from Linux Fund has been absolutely amazing, reflecting not one bit of MBNA's bad press. I have been more satisfied with the service and benefits of this card than any of my others (and there is a LONG list). This started as a 0% APR promotion, but after the promotion ended and I paid off my debt, I started using it as a real card ... I've used this card as my primary ever since, and now my APR is quite reasonably below prime and my available credi
How about working with a credit union issuer? (Score:1, Interesting)
their advocacy of open source.
The card was fucked anyway (Score:1)
Why?
"It's an APR card, we can fuck around with it any way we want so long as we notify you in writing!"
I really doubt it made any significant contributions after the buyout. My card sits in a safe helping my credit rating while not seeing the light of day. They refused to lower the APR, so I simply stopped using it.
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I just received my amendment letter yesterday. I have a fantastic credit record, and when I went on my vacation, that is skiing and hiking for the past year 'cause my company decided to comit fraud (Mercury Interactive), I decided to keep a balance on my Sierra Account with MBNA, which is now BofAss.
I called them yesterday, told them that they could 'yada' 'yada' 'yada' me all they want. I told them this was the first revolving account I ever kept a balance on, and I told them I thought they were
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illegals aliens (Score:1, Troll)
Nobody is "illegal", fascist.
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I didn't write the laws. We either enforce the laws or change them, but not ignore them. 98% of all illegal entries into the USA are unprosecuted and mostly "catch and release". We are a nation of laws and "the useless laws weaken the necessary one."
The American Indians found out what happens when you don't control immigration. In any case, Yes, BOA is giving credit cards to people violating US law by being here illegally.
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Thats better, its (in)action, not existence that is legal/illegal.
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Lame.
We are talking about aliens who are not here legally. Hence they are not legal aliens. Their alien status is that of illegal, hence the term illegal aliens.
They are not illegal people, but as aliens, they are illegal.
Avoiding using legal terms and engaging in politically correct usages results in, what I find as somebody who is handicapped, or disabled, awfully insulting. Call me physically challenged to my face, and I'll be sure to show you what DOES work, as you fall on your ass.
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"And by aliens, you mean people, right ?"
The term alien refers to a classification. Kinda like terrorist. Or missionary. Or student.
If one is forbidden by law from being in that status, then one is considered illegal in that class. Illegal terrorists may in their own country or others be considered legal. There are both legal and illegal missionaries in many countries worldwide. In some places in this world, being a student may well be illegal by ethnicity, religion, or gender.
Just because the term alien
Already dead to me. (Score:1)
There are better ways to support free software than to partner with the devil. Hey why not strike a deal with Thailand where 5% of all prostitution income goes to the EFF ?
Picture (Score:2)
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clicky [icculus.org]
~
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I received one of the letters (Score:1, Insightful)
and promptly canceled the card.
Actually I haven't used the card in some time because the terms concerning late payments, etc changed radically about a year ago. I always pay my credit card bills in full every month and don't ever recall making a late payment, but they changed the terms so that past history of prompt payments made no difference. They decreased the time to make a payment and increased the late fee to something like $40.
Personally I think Linux cutting ties with a company that practices
Any official word from LinuxFund? (Score:2)
Many of the other countless posts here add little to the conversation other than "MBNA/Bank of America sucks". The biggest question on my mind, and perhaps even other loyal cardholders is if another bank will be picking up the LinuxFund card? Personal
BofA = Money Grubbing Bastards (Score:2, Informative)
MBNA Sucks! (Score:2)
I haven't had any dealings with them since I cancelled that card over 15 years ago.
Just another reason (Score:1, Flamebait)
Drop the Blood Money, Consider a Credit Union (Score:2)
I have a CC with my credit union. 12 & 1/2 percent APR.
May I respectfuly sugges that the Linux Foundation consider approaching credit unions with this
type of arrangement.
I think that many of us would be more comfortable with a separation between the Linux Fund and the large
CC issuers who are not allways the most Holy in their dealings.
Luv & Hugs
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There should be an OSS Users Credit Union (Score:1)
Credit Union members are required to have a "common bond". I'm not sure if being a Linux/OSS user is sufficient. Also, the family of CU members are also usually eligible for membership.
This would be much better than the current program, since all of the profits of the "OSS Users Credit Union" could be designated for OSS projects, and a variety of credit cards could be issued with Tux Penguins, FreeBSD devils, etc.
Plus, this credit union would not be evil.
I volunteer to be the (paid) president of this c
Donate directly? (Score:2)
Linux Fund? I don't see it on their web site.
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