From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 From: Hans Reiser Subject: Namesys now accepts Visa cards on our website (support questions and donations both) Date: Sun, 16 May 2004 10:07:28 -0700 Message-ID: <40A79FD0.3090904@namesys.com> References: <409AC2FF.7080800@lindows.com> <1083917932.14089.281.camel@tribesman.namesys.com> <409BB690.6030604@namesys.com> <409BBDC9.3030809@lindows.com> <409FB387.8080804@namesys.com> <40A19147.4010703@lindows.com> <40A257DA.2010903@namesys.com> <40A26D45.2010707@lindows.com> <40A30B00.8020103@namesys.com> <20040513201142.GT29226@nysv.org> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Return-path: list-help: list-unsubscribe: list-post: Errors-To: flx@namesys.com In-Reply-To: <20040513201142.GT29226@nysv.org> List-Id: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"; format="flowed" To: =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Markus_T=F6rnqvist?= , Reiserfs mail-list From the email below I realized I had forgotten to announce this. We=20 will answer any question we can answer in half an hour for $25 More below. Markus T=F6rnqvist wrote: >On Thu, May 13, 2004 at 10:04:34PM +0200, Paul Wagland wrote: > =20 > >>Just a thought... Have you considered a "pledge" page? I.e, put up a=20 >>list of features, and then allow people to "pledge" donations for when=20 >>those features are finished. I for one would pledge 10USD for the=20 >>repacker/disk optimiser, and yes, I know it isn't much, but you already=20 >>have my donation for nothing :-) And, people often prefer to give money=20 >>"to a cause". >> =20 >> > >Pass the hat around :) > >Problem just is that the repacker is probably commercial for a reason. >The reason being that it provides income at a steady pace. If it were >"pledged" it would give some money, sure, but not at a steady pace. > >I'm surprised if Hans hasn't given this some thought, being the logical >extension of the $25 helpdesk. > >Maybe the biggest problem is safe money transactions. You don't just >deal to a foreign country, you deal out of the European Union. > >And then there's this one country with a fairly large population that=20 >STILL hasn't moved beyond money checks. The one with fifty states. > > =20 > I haven't been able to get a large enough amount from distros to support=20 us (but thanks to Lindows for being a major help), and darpa sponsors=20 research not resizers, so I am thinking I might try selling the=20 resizer. Our fiscal situation remains quite awful, and the resizer=20 might be a way to fund the enhanced semantics. I guess it is time to=20 try the mixed model in which we sell base code that is better than=20 winfs/ext3, and some non-essential addons (like a resizer, maybe some=20 non-essentail plugins, etc., ) are for sale and they fund the free=20 stuff. I really want to see free software work as a business, so I keep=20 trying things. Governments are not really set up to fund free software=20 effectively yet, they fund research which is not quite the same as=20 products that are usable. Support does not make much money, a few hundred a month..... hopefully=20 us accepting visa cards will improve this.