Dear Luggerz I second Trevor's proposal to set up a group to spearhead the cause of getting more of the youth involved in Free Software. Count me in.
A few general points wud be pertinent here.
n We need to target commercial companies if we are to be serious about forwarding the GNU cause.
n In my experience, there are a number of small to medium companies out there, who would be willing to give GNU software a chance, provided they have a guarantee of support. If we want to get GNU software accepted as serious pieces of software, it is upto us to make a provision for that.
n We will need to provide some assurance to these companies that the GNU software being produced is safe, and is of high quality. If the lUG will provide this assurance, then we will need to build up the image of the LUG, so that our assurance will be acceptable to their auditors/ management etc.
n I have a couple of organisations in mind who will be ready to consider GPLed projects etc. If we can get a concrete framework in place, we can go to them with a proposal.
n There are a couple of big names who are using GPLed software like Snort. These companies will jump at an offer of technical support. These companies will want to pay for technical support .(because these companies' corporate policy will dictate so) They obviously will also want some guarantees. If we can fashion a workable model, we can open up a source of funds that can be used to :
o Further the above cause.
o Get more students interested in doing this by channelling a percentage of such inflow to them. So this becomes a way to earn money on the side.
If we are serious about this, then we should meet to plan more on this..I think it's a massive project and I am game to devote time and effort to this.
- Shankar