The Beaverton, Oregon-based OSDL is creating the OSDL Fellowship Fund to provide financial support to software developers working on Linux and open source projects that don’t have immediate access to financial resources or support.
While a large number of a open source developers work for IT vendors that is not always the case, and the OSDL already employs Linux creator Linus Torvalds, kernel maintainer Andrew Morton, and Samba creator Andrew Tridgell as OSDL Fellows.
According to OSDL CEO, Stuart Cohen, the need for a fund was identified by the OSDL’s new Technology Advisory Board, which was set up to advise OSDL on technical requirements and issues important to the greater development community.
Sometimes critical open source projects, especially those not directly affiliated with a major technology vendor, can lose focus because their developers have other commitments, commented OSDL TAB chairman James Bottomley. The OSDL Fellowship Fund will make resources available for moving these projects forward.
The OSDL was set up in 2000 by the likes of IBM Corp, Hewlett-Packard Co, CA Inc, Intel Corp, and NEC Corp to promote the use of Linux and has subsequently become home to the Data Center, Carrier Grade, and Desktop Linux working groups, as well as the Mobile Linux initiative.
It also set up a $10m Linux Legal Defense Fund in 2004 to provide legal support for Torvalds and other Linux developers or users targeted with litigation, as well as the Patent Commons Project, a searchable database of more than 500 patents that have been pledged to open source from vendors including IBM, Intel, Red Hat, and Sun Microsystems.
