[Printing-architecture] Google Summer of Code 2008 -- APPLICATION SUBMITTED

[Till Kamppeter <till.kamppeter@gmail.com>]

Hi,

thanks everyone for your cooperation on the application of the Linux 
Foundation to participate in the Google Summer of Code.

I have submitted our application now. Google will decide on which 
mentoring organizations will participate until March 17, ~12 noon 
PDT/19:00 UTC and publish the list of mentoring organizations on

http://code.google.com/soc/

This does not mean that we cannot accept ideas for student projects any 
more. If you still have ideas, please add them before the student's 
application period starts (March 24).

If you are a mentor or backup admin, check your Google account regularly 
or let it forward your mail to your usual mail address. There can be 
e-mails which you are required to answer to validate the application.

Note also that as soon as our participation gets published (March 17) 
that students will find our project ideas list via the GSoC web site and 
so students will ask questions on the mailing lists or on IRC. Or they 
will contact mentors via their Google accounts. Please answer the 
student's questions to not loose potential candidates for your 
project/workgroup.

I will forward student applications to the appropriate mentors or 
workgroups as soon as they roll in.

    Till


Our ideas list:

https://www.linux-foundation.org/en/Google_Summer_of_Code

Our submitted application:


APPLICATION FORM
================


About Your Organization
-----------------------


1. What is your Organization's Name?

The Linux Foundation


2. What is your Organization's Homepage?

http://www.linux-foundation.org/


3. Describe your organization.

The Linux Foundation is a nonprofit consortium dedicated to fostering 
the growth of Linux. Founded in 2007 as a merger of the former Free 
Standards Group (FSG) and the former Open Source Developer Lab (OSDL), 
the LF sponsors the work of Linux creator Linus Torvalds and is 
supported by leading Linux and open source companies and developers from 
around the world. The Linux Foundation  promotes,  protects and 
standardizes Linux by providing unified resources and services needed 
for open source to successfully compete with closed platforms.

More: https://www.linux-foundation.org/en/About


4. Why is your organization applying to participate in GSoC 2008? What 
do you hope to gain by participating?

Our goals are twofold: to meet specific technical goals, and to gain new 
members of our community (and the open-source community, by extension).

For both printing and kernel work, having a specific goal and a mentor 
are important in penetrating areas which can be more complex than some 
other projects.  And none of the projects in question are "filler"; each 
will provide a very specific, in-demand benefit.


5. Did your organization participate in previous GSoC years? If so, 
please summarize your involvement and the successes and failures of your 
student projects. (optional)

No, we did not participate.


6. If your organization has not previously participated in GSoC, have 
you applied in the past? If so, for what year(s)? (optional)

No, this is our first application.


7. What license does your project use?

All the work produced by the Linux Foundation is free software according 
to the OSI definitions, but there is no requirement for a specific 
license. The licenses are selected depending on what is most suitable 
for each individual project.

*LSB: mostly GPL, some tools Artistic
*PAPI: CDDL
*JTAPI: MIT
*CUPS filters: GPL
*Foomatic (including web software): GPL
*Kernel: GPL


8. URL for your ideas page

https://www.linux-foundation.org/en/Google_Summer_of_Code


9. What is the main development mailing list for your organization?

LSB: lsb-discuss Mailing List,
http://lists.linux-foundation.org/mailman/listinfo/lsb-discuss

OpenPrinting: printing-architecture Mailing List,
http://lists.linux-foundation.org/mailman/listinfo/printing-architecture

Kernel: http://kernelnewbies.org/MailingList

Driver Backport: Lf_driver_backport Mailing List,
http://lists.linux-foundation.org/mailman/listinfo/Lf_driver_backport


10. Where is the main IRC channel for your organization?

For LSB work: irc://irc.freestandards.org/#lsb is being used.

For Kernel work: http://kernelnewbies.org/IRC

OpenPrinting is not using IRC currently.


11. Does your organization have an application template you would like 
to see students use? If so, please provide it now. (optional)


12. Who will be your backup organization administrator? Please enter 
their Google Account address. We will email them to confirm, your 
organization will not become active until they respond. (optional)

jeff.licquia@gmail.com




About Your Mentors
------------------


1. What criteria did you use to select these individuals as mentors? 
Please be as specific as possible.

We selected the principal editors/developers of the Linux Foundation 
working groups or free software project where the proposed student 
projects are part of. Very important is also that the mentors are coding 
on things similar to what the student is supposed to do and that they 
are not only designers or managers.


2. Who will your mentors be? Please enter their Google Account address 
separated by commas. If your organization is accepted we will email each 
mentor to invite them to take part. (optional)

till.kamppeter@gmail.com, HinTak.Leung@gmail.com, 
josef.spillner@googlemail.com, riddell@gmail.com, penberg@gmail.com, 
jonmasters@gmail.com




About The Program
-----------------


1. What is your plan for dealing with disappearing students?

If possible (early enough) we would like to replace the disappearing 
student by another one. Otherwise, we will transition their 
work-in-progress to a caretaker (i.e., the appropriate mentor).


2. What is your plan for dealing with disappearing mentors?

We will transition their mentor role to another active member of the 
appropriate Linux Foundation working group.


3. What steps will you take to encourage students to interact with your 
project's community before, during and after the program?

Each of the projects has methods for community interaction, whether 
through conference calls, IRC, or face-to-face meetings.  To the extent 
possible, we intend to give our students time to report on their 
project, both in the progress they make and in the things they learn. 
Invitations to these events will be given at the earliest opportunity.

Some of the projects may take more time than just the summer, or may 
involve integration work after the project is complete.  Even if the 
project is done, we will work to keep the student involved in the 
integration process.  And we hope to suggest other ways the student can 
participate that mesh well with their strengths once this project is done.


4. What will you do to ensure that your accepted students stick with the 
project after GSoC concludes?

We will gauge each student's progress, and suggest other projects they 
may wish to work on after their summer project is done.

Integration with the main upstream projects will likely be an important 
part of the task.  Our students will be encouraged to take part in that 
process, and not just "throw the patch over the wall".

Occasionally, other internships and even contracting jobs can come up. 
In these cases, previous participants in GSoC who have continued to 
participate in their respective projects may find themselves with job 
opportunities, either within a Linux Foundation workgroup or in the 
general community.